Opening Address from our 2020/21 Co-Head Students
Jack Freeman '21 and Catherine Kim '21 - Presented in Chapel on September 17, 2020
Jack: Good morning everyone! I hope you are having a great first week so far. Catherine and I, as well as the entire Grad class, are so excited to be back to campus together to work hard and ensure that we do everything we can to make this a positive year for everyone.
Catherine: As grads, we are committed to uploading the mission and values of the school while embracing the habits and practices of the new norm. Jack and I thought we might share a little bit of our own personal LCS experience to give some insight on why this community, which is built upon seven guiding values, means so much to us.
Jack: I'm going to share an experience I had as a new student in Grade 10 while Catherine is going to talk about more recent events with the hope that what we are sharing can resonate with everyone in some way, regardless of how long you've been at Lakefield.
A few Grads took me on a tour around the school and invited me to eat lunch and hang out with them. In my head, I was so shocked because in Grade 9 at my old school I don't think a Grad ever spoke to me. In the first few days at LCS, I felt an actual connection with these welcoming older students. This moment captures how inclusive and caring of a community we have, while also displaying how unique and special this place is. Now in my final year, I can see how much I have personally grown as a person and now I am excited for our new students as they learn the values immersed throughout experiences at our school. I think it's understandable to feel frustrated and sad that this year isn't quite what we envisioned, but we are very fortunate that despite being in a pandemic the feeling of community at our school has not changed and, if anything, that feeling has gotten even stronger.
Catherine: Stepping on to campus after a 7-month long spring break, delayed COVID-19 test and two weeks of quarantine was the most nostalgic and liberating feeling in the whole world. If there is one thing I can tell you, I would say all of that was worth it. I know some of you remote students are actually still battling and powering through this process right now. I have faith we will all be soon reunited together. Especially for the international students and the amount of hardship, stress and fight we had to put up with just to get here says a lot.
So what sets Lakefield apart from other schools? So much of what Lakefield is and what makes it unique is the community itself and the love we all have for this place as Jack talked about. It is crazy how there are people from more than 45 countries yet the majority of us could call this place our home. I know that even when I graduate from LCS, when I come back I will always be welcomed back and feel right at home as if no time passed. One goal Jack and I have is to work tirelessly to make this as positive a year as possible, but you have heard us talk a lot about community and we need to remind each and every one of you that that is all of us. We want you to feel empowered, ask questions, be yourself, support and trust each other and, if we can do that, we can have the positive year we are all hoping for.
Thank you!
Back
Jack: Good morning everyone! I hope you are having a great first week so far. Catherine and I, as well as the entire Grad class, are so excited to be back to campus together to work hard and ensure that we do everything we can to make this a positive year for everyone.
Catherine: As grads, we are committed to uploading the mission and values of the school while embracing the habits and practices of the new norm. Jack and I thought we might share a little bit of our own personal LCS experience to give some insight on why this community, which is built upon seven guiding values, means so much to us.
Jack: I'm going to share an experience I had as a new student in Grade 10 while Catherine is going to talk about more recent events with the hope that what we are sharing can resonate with everyone in some way, regardless of how long you've been at Lakefield.
A few Grads took me on a tour around the school and invited me to eat lunch and hang out with them. In my head, I was so shocked because in Grade 9 at my old school I don't think a Grad ever spoke to me. In the first few days at LCS, I felt an actual connection with these welcoming older students. This moment captures how inclusive and caring of a community we have, while also displaying how unique and special this place is. Now in my final year, I can see how much I have personally grown as a person and now I am excited for our new students as they learn the values immersed throughout experiences at our school. I think it's understandable to feel frustrated and sad that this year isn't quite what we envisioned, but we are very fortunate that despite being in a pandemic the feeling of community at our school has not changed and, if anything, that feeling has gotten even stronger.
Catherine: Stepping on to campus after a 7-month long spring break, delayed COVID-19 test and two weeks of quarantine was the most nostalgic and liberating feeling in the whole world. If there is one thing I can tell you, I would say all of that was worth it. I know some of you remote students are actually still battling and powering through this process right now. I have faith we will all be soon reunited together. Especially for the international students and the amount of hardship, stress and fight we had to put up with just to get here says a lot.
So what sets Lakefield apart from other schools? So much of what Lakefield is and what makes it unique is the community itself and the love we all have for this place as Jack talked about. It is crazy how there are people from more than 45 countries yet the majority of us could call this place our home. I know that even when I graduate from LCS, when I come back I will always be welcomed back and feel right at home as if no time passed. One goal Jack and I have is to work tirelessly to make this as positive a year as possible, but you have heard us talk a lot about community and we need to remind each and every one of you that that is all of us. We want you to feel empowered, ask questions, be yourself, support and trust each other and, if we can do that, we can have the positive year we are all hoping for.
Thank you!
School Information
4391 County Road 29, Lakefield Ontario K0L 2H0 705.652.3324 admissions@lcs.on.ca
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Lakefield College School is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for students in grades 9 through 12, located in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
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