REVIEW OF Lakefield College School BY parent, Jessica Lehr

(5) Student Experience

LCS continues to provide a high-quality experience for our son. From small class sizes to small residences, LCS is about community. Community is created through special events, from school-wide to residence-driven. It is about events, both new and old, that create a sense of LCS through the ages while also adapting to today's climate. The dining hall creates a warm atmosphere that encourages friendships among students and positive role modelling from staff. The variety of classes and co-curricular activities provides something for everyone. This sense of community is one of the best things our son enjoys about the school. Additionally, our son has friends from all over the globe, and they connect through their love of the outdoors, music, sport, and all things teenager.

Why Lakefield College School?

LCS was chosen for its sense of community, outdoor-driven focus and natural campus, small classes, small residences, focus on relationship building, and fantastic communication between school staff and ourselves.

Expectations vs. Reality

LCS exceeded all of our expectations. Care for our son comes from many facets of the staff, including the head of house and supporting staff, teachers, advisors, guidance, and coaches. Care is proactive, as is communication with home. Monthly letters from residence, weekly letters from the school, bonus letters from supporting staff mid-term, and more make us feel very connected to our son and the school. The second property, the farm, provides additional activities for connecting with fellow students in a unique environment. This was an additional bonus to the outdoor experience. The connection between the school and the Town of Lakefield was also a wonderful surprise, from the grade 10's involvement in the Christmas parade, to the sharing of the food from the farm to the broader community, and connections with each house to local organizations.

Your Advice

LCS is unique in its outdoor focus. They ensure that this aligns with your child's interests and comfort. From the outdoor education class run as an alternative to 'regular' physical education classes to the grade 12 canoe trip, the outdoors is intertwined with the school itself and community building. All classes and houses take time at the farm, whether it be helping to plant or harvest food, or meeting to eat homemade pizza made from the fresh produce grown at the farm. Special events that celebrate the seasons also happen outdoors, which helps to create unique and traditional Canadian experiences.

(5) School Leadership

Communication between the home and the school is exceptional. Included in this are weekly updates from the school, monthly letters from the head of house, important notices from guidance which offer opportunities for all grades, online calls with the head of the school periodically, organized parent-teacher communications from the teachers and advisors, and a busy Instagram page. We feel very involved and knowledgeable about what is provided for our son and the activities that he is connected to. The head of the house is wonderfully available to answer questions that we have about our son's well-being. In regard to a positive environment, the staff are very upbeat and happy. This is always a good sign. Regarding known discipline issues, there is a system that all students are aware of, and they seem to respect it well. One known issue was resolved in a fair and judicial manner from both our and our son's perspective.

(5) Teaching

Both our son and I are happy with the quality of instruction. The small classes allow for focused and interactive classes. Our son speaks positively about the time spent in class. The English classes taught in the round table style have helped our son speak in group settings, celebrating a gentle debate style of learning. There are hands-on learning experiences in all classes. The educators are knowledgeable and eager to share their subject matter. This helps to create an engaging style of teaching. Learning and using AI appropriately has been part of our son's experience. LCS is ahead of most institutions in figuring out how it will play a role in the future of our children. Some projects allow for its use within set parameters, while other projects are completed without it. The school keeps on top of AI developments, both the benefits and limitations, and this is explored in our son's learning.

(5) Academics

We feel that the school is preparing our son very well for the future, whether it be in regard to academics in post-secondary school or team and leadership roles in the workforce and life. The small class size creates space for sharing and discussion, as well as focused attention from the instructors. There is a daily Grove Time, which normalizes extra help during the midday. All students are encouraged to attend at times throughout the academic year. Teaching staff are easily available to students to answer extra questions or for clarification. Group work, from time to time, encourages the development of a skill set in teamwork and leadership for the future. The academics themselves are broad in options, including Pre-AP and AP courses. Finally, the staff encourage learning to the best of one's ability, whether a student is academically inclined or not.

(5) Extracurriculars

There are an incredible number of extracurricular options, from the traditional sports and clubs to the less likely ones (rock climbing, cooking, yoga). There are enough extracurriculars to still have choices of interest upon graduation. Some extracurriculars are competitive, while others are based on group action and activity. There are also non-competitive leagues which provide the opportunity to grow within a sport, for example, hockey. With this setup, they are creating the enjoyment of extracurriculars for life.

(5) Students

LCS has a very positive student body. You can feel the spirit developing on day one, and it grows from there. Our son comfortably knows everyone in his grade. While groups of students exist, there is an openness that comes across that anyone can say hi, chat for a bit or even eat a meal with each other. As a small academic year, there is great crossover within classes, which makes getting to know each other easy. Outdoor experiences that foster working together bring people close together, too. This is a benefit of LCS. There is a nice balance of LCS tradition and new and current experiences that creates a sense of belonging and a uniqueness to each school year. At graduation, there seems to be a great sense of self within LCS and within a graduating grade.

(5) School Life

Our son loves going to LCS. Knowing he is a boarding student, it makes it easier as a parent to know that he loves his school and his experience. He appreciates his friendships, which span students from around the world as well as local, and the leadership that helps guide him in both his daily and academic life. He is encouraged positively in his academics, extracurriculars, downtime interests, and involvement in the broader life at school. He has a sense of belonging and with this a comfort to try new things. As a new student, a sense of place is first developed in the house (residence), then the grade, and then the broader school community. This worked really well for our son. LCS does this really well. In the house, a sense of community is created through house events, casual meetings, check-ins, head students, and the staff themselves.

(5) Community

The broader community of LCS is very welcoming. All of the school communications help create this sense. In addition, parent volunteers are welcome to come and help with decorating for holidays, helping with staff appreciation events, and more. Not being a local resident of Lakefield does make it challenging for us to provide help on site, but parents of students who live locally are wonderfully active. As distant parents, we never feel left out, but rather involved with knowledge, which means that we can ask our son questions about school and community events. The fall and spring events are always well attended by the parent community. All that we have attended has been very fun and well attended. Going to these events helps a parent to understand their students' school atmosphere.

(5) School Location

The Town of Lakefield community is very welcoming to the LCS students, their families and the school staff. Our son is very comfortable walking into town for bonus groceries or a treat at the local coffee shop. In addition, I am aware of volunteers for the LCS students at the local town library. To me, this is a great sign of a positive relationship between the school and the community. There is also a very positive and sharing relationship between the school and the local indigenous populations.

(5) Admissions

The admissions team at LCS is very accessible and knowledgeable. From our first call of inquiry to our accepting an offer, everything was very positive. Our student-led tour of the school was wonderful and provided us with a student view of the academics and student life. Meetings with intake staff were also positive and encouraging. One can get a sense of the school community even from these two activities. Advisors were great at answering questions or concerns. As all progressed, parents of existing students reached out to answer questions about student life, the house or residence, etc. We found the admissions process very easy to navigate. The following years have also been easy for reapplication and online forms.