“The key is making sure that the student is exposed to everything, so that they have as many interests to choose from as possible,”
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enior students at Albert College have no intention of hitting the books during their first week back to school. The classrooms will be empty at Canada’s oldest co-educational independent boarding school, a defining landmark in Belleville. Instead of notebooks and pens, their backpacks will be stuffed with play clothes, a toothbrush, and bug spray. After a long bus ride, they will arrive in Algonquin Park where they’ll spend a few days in the woods, getting to know their classmates and teachers. The annual team-building retreat is mandatory for the small group of 170 kids in grades seven through to 12. “It’s a great way to start,” says Dan Manning, a local day student in grade 11 who helped organize the event. “It’s an opportunity to meet everyone and that’s exciting because many of them live in different countries and have different perspectives.” This summer, he and his twin sister Laura used Skype to meet with other members of the Orientation Camp Committee from their homes around the world. They arranged details and created a schedule of cooperative games and outdoor activities like canoeing, rock climbing and hiking. The northern Ontario adventure is all about empowering kids to physically and mentally overcome new challenges outside the classroom. Adventure is one of the five A’s that the school has always lived by. The obvious A is Academics, given that virtually 100% of Albert grads are accepted into universities. But the idea is that academics aren’t everything. There’s also emphasis on Athletics, Arts, and Active Citizenship. “The key is making sure that the student is exposed to everything, so that
they have as many interests to choose from as possible,” says Keith Stansfield, Head of School. The Orientation Camp will be the first impression of Canada for some of the 90 boarders who come from over 20 nations. “It was difficult,” recalls Vivian Xu, a grade-12 student, on leaving her home in Jiangsu, China for the first time last year. “Now it feels very good to be back, meeting old and new friends.” She’s looking forward to returning to camp where she first formed friendships. Like many boarding students and their parents, Vivian chose the College, “because of its long history and strong local community.” Founded as the Belleville Seminary in 1857 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Albert College was a secondary school offering a classical and commercial education. When it received its university charter in 1866, the school was renamed Albert University in honour of Prince Albert, the Royal Consort to Queen Victoria. University degrees in the arts, engineering, theology and music were awarded there until the Canadian Methodist Union in 1884. In fact, the first woman in Canada to graduate with a university degree studied at the College, as women at that time had the rare opportunity to achieve degrees in Literature and Liberal Arts. Originally, Albert College was located on what is now College Street East, but it was partially destroyed by fire in the spring of 1917. Almost a decade later in 1926, the beautiful building on Dundas By Street West opened. Its neo-Gothic style was designed by Alfred COUNTY & QUINTE LIVING AUTUMN 2011
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