THUNDER BAY -- Grade 10 student Kari Peltonen ran from his living room into the kitchen when the news broke like a wave across social media.
"Mom, they're not closing Superior! Both schools get to stay open!"
Peltonen said reactions from his schoolmates ranged from excitement to relief around 8 p.m. Tuesday when the Lakehead School Board trustees voted not to move Superior Collegiate Vocational Institute students to Hammarskjold High School for the 2017-2018 school year.
"The thing I love most about Superior is how welcoming it is and how you can always feel like you fit in, he said on Wednesday.
"The teachers are super nice and I feel safe and at home here."
The notion of being able to graduate from the high school where memories were made was widespread for those on both sides of the board's decisions.
Carly Martin was "absolutely ecstatic and overjoyed" to hear she would be graduating from Superior.
"It was a long, drawn-out process but in the end, I think the trustees really did make an excellent decision that will impact people in a positive manner," she said.
"Obviously, it's a beautiful building. There's lots of technology here and it's just a very welcoming and a very enjoyable community to be in."
Trustees voted unanimously to close Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate & Vocational Institute at the end of the current school year and move its students to Westgate Collegiate & Vocational Institute.
"I kind of feel like this is the school I belong in," said Grade 11 Churchill student Kieran Esquega.
"I didn't really fit in at other schools. My group of friends is at Churchill."
Monica Anderson, also in Grade 11, is not at all looking forward to starting over at Westgate in her graduating year. She lamented the loss of everything from her school colours to its "down to Earth" culture.
"I was actually severely upset," she said.
"Ive been going to Churchill since Grade 8 and I've grown kind of attached to it. I really wanted to graduate from it."
