Craik School’s graduating class a party of one

This year’s Grade 12 graduating class at Craik School was one of a kind.

Selina Edwards was the only senior at the school this year — and she wouldn’t change anything about her final year of high school.

“I really liked my Grade 12 year, with just me being me,” Edwards told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Thursday.

Edwards was born and raised in Craik, which is located about halfway between Regina and Saskatoon on Highway 11.

There were 60 students at the town’s K-12 school this year, with 59 of them in the lower grades. It’s the first time in Craik School’s history that the graduating class was just one student.

While Edwards said she enjoyed the year, she admitted it was difficult sometimes being the only student in her class.

“It was (tough) for my math and science because I’m not strong in that, so I couldn’t bounce my ideas off of anybody,” Edwards said. “I’d have to talk to the teacher, which kind of sucked at some times.”

That said, Edwards also got some benefits from flying solo.

“I got most of my classes put online for me, so I could just work at my own pace at home,” she said. “I would sometimes work on my school, but 80 per cent of the time, I would be at the farm working.”

As well, Edwards swept the Grade 12 awards — another of the benefits she derived from the solitude.

“I have lots of time to myself,” she said. “I don’t have to interact with anybody. The presentations, where you have to present in front of people, I didn’t have to do that. I would just submit it in to the teacher and they’d look at my PowerPoint and I wouldn’t have to talk to people.”

That trend continued at the school’s graduation ceremonies.

As the only Grade 12 student, Edwards could have been named the valedictorian and, as such, could have been asked to deliver the traditional address. Instead, she told the principal — her mom Charla — that she didn’t want to speak in front of people.

As it turned out, the graduation ceremony featured Edwards sitting on stage with six other people: The graduates of the school’s kindergarten class.

“It was kind of fun to graduate with the kindergartens, because they were all just antsy to sit with me and smiling,” Edwards said. “Three of them were on one side of me, the other three were on the other side and I just sat there and let them throw their hats up and have the fun of a grad.”

Now that she has graduated from high school, Edwards plans to attend Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alta., to study crop technology. Then she’s looking at another career with lots of alone time.

“I want to go trucking,” Edwards said, “but my mom wants me to get a diploma under my belt before I hop into the semi.”