Mr. Borkowski's Farewell Address to Graduates

Grade Seven class of 2023,

Tonight needs to be, first and foremost, about being thankful.  We all have many people to thank for helping us achieve milestones in our lives like the one you celebrate today.  We thank the teachers and staff of Star of the Sea School for their years of hard work and dedication, preparing you academically, physically, socially, and spiritually.  The staff of this school care deeply about your happiness and success and we owe them a debt of gratitude.

Most importantly tonight is a night to be thankful to your parents.  Your parents love you and care about you more than you can understand until you become a parent yourself.  Yes, they pay for your things, feed you, house you, clothe you and drive you around, but the part to be most thankful for is the fact that you are blessed with people who will be there for you no matter what happens in your life.  Unconditional love is not something to be taken for granted.

On behalf of the staff of Star of the Sea School, I too wish to thank you parents for your dedication and service to our school.  I would most especially like to thank the Acosta Basantes, Beliveau, Boerma, Diaz-Paquette, Febin, Forbes, Furness, Gustafson, Jagassar, Jope, Kassam, Lott, Pidwerbeski, Pritchard, Russell, Smart, Smith, Stuehmer, Verstraete, Vizena, Watt, Waversfeld, Webb, Wong, Wood, and Yang families who are graduating out of our school this year.  Thank you for your years of sacrifice and commitment for your children and for the Star of the Sea School Community.

Finally, Let me conclude with a short bit of advice to our Grade Seven students.  You are about to embark into a bigger world than the one you have known.  Things may be about to get a little crazy.  Here is what I want you to remember:

You are loved.  The love your parents have for you is the closest thing you will experience to the unconditional love God has for you.  Because you are so loved, you are precious.  Never believe anyone who tries to convince you otherwise.

There is an objective right and wrong.  There is objective truth.  Discovering that truth is an endeavor that has been pursued by many of the most honorable and intelligent people in the history of mankind like Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas.  Honour and respect the work of those people, and don’t follow trends that have been around for 15 minutes just because you saw them on Tik Tok.  You are better than that.

Speaking of Tik Tok…  It used to be that when a human sat down at a computer, the human programmed the computer to do what the human wanted the computer to do.  Now, when a human sits at a computer, or looks at their phone or ipad, the computer programs the human to do what the computer wants the human to do.  You need to be aware of this and stay aware.  Think for yourself.   

There is an adage in computer programming: Garbage in, garbage out.  It is foolish to think that if you fill your head with tik tok videos, instagram pictures, snapchat messages, and VSCO comments that brilliant engineering, meaningful poetry,  thoughtful philosophy, noble leadership, or devout spirituality will come out of your head.  While I understand the draw and fun that can be had on social media, I ask you to consider reading a book once and a while to give your brain a fighting chance of creating something worthwhile.

Finally, it is no secret that the world is literally going insane.  You may feel helpless against the tidal wave of irrationality and angry mobs, but you and your parents can take comfort in the words of Joshua in Joshua 24:14.  Surrounded by both his own people and strangers who had abandoned God, Joshua knew he couldn’t convince everyone to change their ways.  In defiance of the majority and in a little bit of resignation he said “But as for me and my house; we will serve the Lord.”  My prayer for you, my Grade Seven students, is that no matter what new fad, trend, radical ideology comes, you will recognize the truths you have been taught and raised with and stand by your families and your God who love you unconditionally.

You received Rosaries tonight.  I know many of you are not currently in the habit of regularly praying the Rosary.  That is ok.  I hope you do pray it, but in the meantime I ask that you keep it nearby.  Keep it on your dresser or bedside table so that you see it and are reminded of what you have learned here at Star of the Sea.  There will come a time when there will be nothing left to do but to pray, and the Rosary will be there for you.  Please pray for me and I promise I will pray for you.

Thank you and have a wonderful evening celebrating with your families.