Grove News Vol.1 2020

Grove News Lakefield College School | Vol.I 2020

INSIDE:

Prepared for The Unforeseen Better for the Experience.

Nature Connectedness and Wellbeing Alumni Onstage and On Screen In the Spotlight

Events 2020/21 Visit lcs.on.ca/events for details

Trustees 2020/21

Lakefield College School

6

Grove Society Alumni Dinner, Toronto (TBC)

Board Chair Hugh Macdonnell ‘85 P ‘18 Past Chair Nicole Bendaly ‘93 Joel Allen ‘01 Bianca Bell ‘06 Tim Bell ‘00 Marilynn Booth P ‘98 Carlo Bos ‘94 Jennifer Cameron P ‘09 ‘10 ‘15 ‘17 ‘21 Stephen Coates ‘90, P ‘19 ‘23 ‘24 Tim Cooper ‘98 Chonée Dennis P ‘14 ‘16 ‘19 Joanna Dafoe ‘04 Peter Dunn ‘62, P ‘92 Amanda Ethier ‘98 Jess FitchetteHart ‘97 Ann Farlow P ‘03 ‘04 ‘08 Romina Fontana ‘94 Jack Freeman ‘21 Ian Fung ‘00 Rory Gilfillan P ‘23 Sue Guest P ‘85 ‘89 GP ‘21 Terry Guest* P ‘85 ‘89 GP ‘21 Neil Hamilton P ‘15 Todd Harris P ‘18 ‘20 James Hicks ‘84 P ‘17 ‘20 Alan Ingram P ‘96 ‘99 ‘04 Brett Jackman ‘03 Warren Jones ’88 Catherine Kim ‘21 Anne-Marie Kee P ‘17 ‘19 Zack Kembar ‘87 Janet Lafortune P ‘08 Nick Lewis ‘77 James (Kim) Little ’53, P ‘81 ‘84 GP ‘13 ‘17

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LCS Trustees’ Day, LCS (TBC)

LCS Foundation

15

Home to The Grove Reunion, LCS (TBC)

15

Regatta Day, LCS (TBC)

NOVEMBER 9-12 LCS Virtual Parents’ Week 21

LCS Virtual Open House

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LCS Speaker Series: Peter McArthur ‘80

LCS VIRTUAL SPEAKERS SERIES We are excited to bring leaders from our community and beyond LCS to share their stories, achievements and experiences with students, parents and alumni.

Watch for details monthly!

Be sure to check Grove Connect for upcoming dates and other alumni events at www.groveconnect.ca

SAVE THE DATE IN MAY, 2021

Public health regulations permitting, stay tuned!

lcs.on.ca/events

Be sure to check online at lcs.on.ca/events or through Grove Connect for upcoming dates and other alumni events at www.groveconnect.ca

Board Chair Jock Fleming ‘74, P ‘03 ‘06 Chair Emeritus Paul Desmarais Jr. ‘73, P ‘00 ‘03 ‘03 ‘11

Emilio Azcarraga Jean ‘87 Marilynn Booth P ‘98 Bruce Boren ‘87, P ‘21 ‘23 Michael Cooper P ‘07 ‘08 ‘10 ‘12 France Deshaies P ‘13 ‘15 ‘17 Andrew Durnford ‘85 Bernard Gault P ‘15 John K. Hepburn ‘68 Angus MacNaughton ‘48

Ross Little ‘81, P ‘13 ‘17 Kevin Malone ‘77 Patrick Marshall ‘90 James Matthews ‘58, P ‘99 Sarah McCain ‘05 Karen McKnight P ‘13 ‘16 John McWilliams ‘65 David Miller ‘77, P ‘15 Andrea Morris ‘99 Bill Morris ’70, P ‘99 ‘02 ‘05 Alex Parker ‘96 Virginia Plunkett P ‘21 ’24 Jonathan Popper ‘87 Emmy Pullen ‘11 Tony Pullen ‘63, P ‘07 ‘11 Vicki Pullen P ‘07 ‘11 Sean Quinn ‘82 Cait Sainsbury ‘96 Danielle Saputo P ‘20 ‘22 ‘24 Belinda Schubert ‘99 Bishop Riscylla Shaw Murray Sinclair ‘79, P ‘11 Scott Smith ‘87, P ‘23 John Stelzer ‘00 Tom Stevenson ‘78 Losel Tethong ‘89 Stuart Thompson ‘91 Richard Tucker ‘77 P ‘17 ‘17 Chris Valentine ‘86 Cara Westcott P ‘14 ‘16 Chris White ‘90 Hilary Windrem ‘07 Terry Windrem P ‘07 Daniel Woolf Susan Wright * Honorary Alumni Directors in Bold

James G. Matthews ‘58, P ‘99 Secretary Bill Morris ‘70, P ‘99 ‘02 ‘05 Marc Parent P ‘15 ‘18 ‘20 Rosemary Phelan P ‘08 Donald Ross ‘48, P ‘79 ‘80 GP ‘17 Felicia Ross P ‘17 John Ryder ‘77, P ‘08 ‘13 Thomas Ryder ‘53, P ‘77 ‘01 GP ‘08 ‘13 ‘15 Murray Sinclair ‘79, P ‘11 Tom Stevenson ‘78 * Honorary Alumni Directors in Bold

Delayed, But Not Lost—The Grove News is Back!

At long last, we are pleased to release this issue of the

two new remote programs and a slate of new summer

Grove News Vol. I, 2020 to our community. The Grove

programming, while at the same time, making plans

News has long represented a coffee table keepsake—

for the future. This included the launch, in September,

resplendent with imagery and stories of LCS—intended

of our Safety First: People, Place and Program return

to inspire pride and record history for the archives of

to school plan replete with COVID-19 protocols and

every individual of our community who owns one.

endorsed by Peterborough Public Health (www.lcs.

It seems like a lifetime ago since we began the process

on.ca/safetyplan).

of creating this issue. In between, the whole world

Through it all, Lakefield College School remains

came to a stop as a result of the pandemic, and the way

committed to offering the best educational experience

we do things needed to change. Our school, in many

to our students, experiences that provide guidance to

ways, had to pivot and adapt.

pursue personalized, post-secondary pathways (p.28),

We were recently able to pick up where we left off and to add to this project that we had put on hold. In this issue, you will discover a snaphot of our 2019/20 year in School Highlights (p.14) where we share some of our students’ experiences, school life and the many successes of last year, including achievements that were celebrated at Closing (p.26).

In the Head of School’s Closing Address highlights, Ms.Kee provides a glimpse of the school’s story of resiliency, demonstrated throughout its 140-year history (p.2). With steadfast grit, our community has overcome the challenges of the past, as we continue to, to this day. This past spring and summer, we held tenaciously on to our school values as they guided us

that encourage student voice and agency (p.36) and include authentic learning experiences (pp.40 and 42). Always, these are grounded in an understanding that how we connect and interact with our natural envornment has a transformative impact on our learning, wellbeing and performance (pp.30 and 38).

Whatever their pursuits, we are incredibly proud of our alumni who go on to pursue their passions in a variety of fields after graduation. Our biggest joy is checking in and hearing about the pathways they are pursuing in their lives. In this issue, we highlight those who’ve tested their creative talents on the stage and on screen with great success (p.44), and others whose passion involves ultramarathon running (inside back cover).

through the first wave of the pandemic and lockdown

Our hope is that, more than ever, this issue of the Grove

in Ontario. In Prepared for the Unforeseen. Better for the

News will bring you some joy and that you will revisit

Experience (p.8), you’ll read about Lakefield’s response

the memories it brings you now and in years to come.

when we took the entire school online, launching

FRONT & BACK COVER: The Class of 2021 joyously welcomed LCS families back to school to begin the 2020/21 school year in September after a 6-month campus closure. ABOVE: Fall 2020 team racing sailing students take advantage of the winds on Lake Katchewanooka.

On the night before Closing, at evening Chapel, the Graduating Class forms an honour guard of candles around our school community—lighting the way from the Chapel to the theatre. This past spring, while completing the year remotely, a candle was lit and named for each of our graduates in their absence. ⁣⁣

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Table of

CONTENTS 2

Note from the Head of School and Foundation A Message from The LCS Board Chair

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Prepared for the Unforeseen. Better for the Experience 2019/20 School Highlights

14

26

Closing 2020 Highlights

30

Nature Connectedness and Wellbeing

38

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University Guidance and Support at LCS

28

Teaching Grounded in Student Voice and Agency

36

ELL Summer Academy: Developing language and outdoor skills while building community.

The Braeckman Method:

40

Applying the Laws of Physics to Life

42

The Magic Shaw: Two Day Residency Program

56

LCS Alumni—Class News

65

In Our Memories

67

Q&A with LCS Alumnus Max McEachern ’13

Alumni On Stage and Screen: Life in The Spotlight

Grove Roots

44

64

In Memory of Robert “Bob” Fleming ’43

66

Editor: Christine Vogel Editorial Committee: Heather Avery, Vicky Boomgaardt, Theresa Butler-Porter, Dave Darby, Anne-Marie Kee, John Runza, Tim Rutherford, Shane Smyth ’96, Dean VanDoleweerd. Contributing Photographers: Simon Spivey, Catherine Leach. Please address correspondence to the Communications Office: Lakefield College School, Lakefield, ON, K0L 2H0 705.652.3324 communications@lcs.on.ca

HEAD OF SCHOOL AND FOUNDATION From

THE

Video capture of a time-honoured tradition, with a twist. During our virtual Grade 12 Closing Celebration 2020, Anne-Marie Kee and all LCS Heads of Houses jumped into Lake Katchewanooka on behalf of our Grade 12 students who joined in remotely. Watch the video at www.lcs.on.ca/Closing2020

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Demonstrating Resiliency for 140 Years Excerpts from Anne-Marie Kee’s Closing Address (Gr. 9-11), June 2020 To the students of 2019/20, it was an unusual year, but I want you to know—you are not alone.

You belong to a long line of Lakefield students who have endured unprecedented global challenges and hard years. We are fortunate to be a small part of the big history of Lakefield College School.

from the honour role, and in speaking to Mrs. Barclay the other day, I told her should I write to you, I would call your attention to the fact.”

Dr. Alexander Mackenzie, who was Head of School from 1895 to 1938—that’s 43 years— was our longest-serving leader, and these

Our school has been around for over 140 years, and we have survived

letters are proof of his extraordinary care for

chaotic world events of the past, starting with World War I. I spent hours in

his students and the relationship he had

the LCS archives, looking for evidence that we have lived through hard

with these boys. In one letter, I discovered a

times before, and I was quite moved to discover all of the letters from LCS

note of thanks from an alumnus to Mr.

alumni written to our longest serving and beloved Headmaster, Mr.

Mackenzie for ‘writing him…for his kind

Mackenzie, in the early 1900s. One of them, from somewhere in Belgium

wishes.’ That he carried on caring for these

close to the German trenches, writes that “snow-ball fights at The Grove

boys after graduation by corresponding

helped to prepare him as he was able to duck his head from the fires, much

with them is inspirational.

faster than he did on the football field.”

The Grove community also lived through

Hard to think of it now, but one of the last times we gathered together—at

World War II. At the School Closing in 1943,

Winter Carnival and K-Rod, we were also playing in the snow.

our other beloved Headmaster, Mr. Smith, who led for 24 years, thanked the visitors

I liked one letter, in particular, as it may be the first evidence of students

that day for using “valuable gasoline

offering feedback to the school. In it, a student in 1916 wrote that he felt

coupons to attend” as gas rationing had

that “Lakefield needed a shooting range.”

prevented parents from visiting often that

Thank you to all of you who have given me feedback this year, in your homes and in my living room. This tradition of the school continues.

How inspirational to know that in the midst of war, our alumni (and you will be alumni for the rest of your lives after you graduate) were thinking of their school, and wanted to reach out to tell their old headmaster that they

year.

The yearbook (The Chronicle), that year, was dedicated to the mothers of the old boys. I think it is amazing that our students thought of the mothers.

have “not forgotten The Grove.” Or, as one alumnus writing from the

It was a sad reminder to flip through the

trenches in Flanders wrote about his “happy days [at The Grove].”

pages of the chronicle and see the Obituary

I loved one letter written to “My dear Mr. Mackenzie” and the detailed concern he expressed, “I notice you have omitted Billy Barclay’s name

Section. We know well over 225 boys served and 56 Old Boys died while serving in both world wars.

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 3

These men—our alumni—are heroes, and they also lived

bigger boys…all of this was done at the government’s

on our campus, walked our trails, paddled our shores,

request.”

and called Lakefield their home. Just like you. You are not alone in living through global crisis and challenging, historical times, and like our alumni, you, too, will get through the hardship and emerge even stronger and more resilient.

The school under the leadership of Headmaster Smith prepared for the hardships of World War II right here in Lakefield, and thrived. There is one note, in the school’s

Mr. Smith, or Boodie as he was known, is another of our leaders. Again, I was struck by the letters sent to him as he, too, was obviously deeply connected to his students.

One of them, Ted Pease, wrote, “Faces will have changed, but the school and all it stands for would be the same.”

Our school has also lived through disease.

Chronicle of 1942, that describes the preparation for life

In the archives, I found a letter written in 1941 from a

at the school during the war—a school committee of The

student to his Dad.

Grove school had been formed consisting of Mr. Smith and the staff (sound familiar?).

He wrote, “we cannot go down to the village until next term because there is scarlet fever down there.”

“A careful map has been made of the school basement, where the four foot passageway built below ground

And we have lived through significant natural

offers an almost completely bomb proof shelter in which

disasters—one document in the archives refers to the

70% of The Grove school boys go on the sounding of the

impact of Hurricane Hazel on Grove House in 1954.

alarm...and the seven rooms also below ground will serve as headquarters for the remaining 30% of the

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My point is, Lakefield College School students have been

inspirational, passionate, and kind. You live the values of

through tough times over the years as a school

Lakefield that we hold so dear, and I truly believe that

community, but we have persevered because we are

you can handle anything.

resilient.

I know you will join me in thanking our staff and faculty

So now, as we live in a serious time of a global

at Lakefield, who have gone to extraordinary lengths to

pandemic, and an economic crisis, and as we witness

ensure you had fun co-curriculars and activities, ongoing

and participate in protests for anti-racism and Black

and robust learning with interesting video conferencing

Lives Matter, and we experience levels of fear, isolation,

and Zoom classes, engaging House and advisory

and anxiety (on a world scale) not experienced in

meetings, and meaningful community gatherings. May

decades, we gather together, albeit by video

the important conversations with faculty and staff and

conferencing, and in other new ways, to ensure Lakefield

with each other continue.

College School will get through these tough times once again.

Why am I so confident in our school’s success? In part, because I believe our history will repeat itself. But

To our teachers, we cannot thank you enough.

And to our students, faculty, staff, family and friends, together, we have made it through the year.

mostly, because I have confidence that you, our

Together, we will make it through future challenges and

students, will pull through. You showed us in the fall and

future great years.

winter that you are a strong class. You made the most of the spring. Your teachers tell me that you are creative,

We are Lakefield. ‘We’ve got this!’

energetic, funny, lively, smart, engaged in global issues,

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 5

A MESSAGE

from THE LCS BOARD CHAIR

Hugh Macdonnell ’85, P’18

(L-R) The Macdonnell Family: James, Margot, Teddy, Betsy ’18, Hugh ’85 and Charlie

Canoeing and My Lakefield Experience A paddle, a canoe, a stretch of northern lake. Nothing

I canoed a lot at The Grove in the six years between

encapsulates/speaks for my Lakefield experience so

those two trips, on regatta days, in Outdoor Education

much as memories of times spent canoeing. In my first

(OE) classes, through Expedition weekends, and on

note as Lakefield College School Board Chair, I wanted

“Scholar Safari” — yes, there was such a thing, and

to consider the importance of that to my Lakefield

someone actually thought this was a good name for it.

experience.

There were hardships: blistered hands, painful portages,

Canoe trips book-ended my time at The Grove: in September 1979, as a new boy, I joined my first Expedition weekend. I vividly remember paddling up Smoke Lake on a wind-blown, grey, rainy day, certain that I was soon going to be swimming—I still don’t quite know how that was averted. In 1985, a group of us decided to skip the week of real-world work experience the school had mandated/organized for soon-to-be-

bug bites. But once you get the hang of it, there’s nothing like the magic of a canoe cutting across a beautiful Canadian lake, whether it’s in the mists of early morning or paddling in at the end of the day to a perfect campsite. I also love the feeling of accomplishment when you leave a portage behind, gliding out into the lake to drift while you watch the rest of your group clamber into their canoes and join you.

graduates in favour of one more LCS paddle together. It

I rarely got into a canoe for 20 years after Lakefield, and

was a magical week of glorious weather on the French

certainly didn’t venture out on a canoe trip. I moved to

River, such a fun and intense and never-to-be-forgotten

the U.S., got busy at my job. My wife Margot and I

opportunity, one that truly celebrated and solidified the

started our family of four kids. All in all, there just wasn’t

bonds we’d formed in our years at LCS.

time for canoeing. And then it happened: my daughter,

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Betsy, came to Lakefield and discovered that she, too, loved canoeing. I was so excited when Al Avard ’85 organized a father/daughter trip in 2015. Eight of us had an unforgettable trip in Temagami. Included, below, is a picture from the last day of that trip as we stopped for lunch at a gravel beach on the way back.

Lakefield: in a canoe, you’d better be ready for anything.

This lesson of resilience can transcend a pandemic, even, and being ready for anything has served Lakefield College School well this past year. I feel incredibly proud and fortunate to be associated with such a dedicated group of teachers and administrators. With the support

In true Lakefield fashion, when it came time to christen

of many, LCS students, staff, faculty and the Leadership

the school’s newly refurbished waterfront in 2018, the

Team have managed to pivot, redirect and adapt to these

program included a paddle from Peterborough up the

unprecedented times. Although it is not yet over, we see

Trent-Severn Waterway through the lift locks. While the

our pathway forward.

water was cold, it was a stunning September day, clear and sunny. The canoeists were a mixed group: some alumni like me along with faculty and board members, parents, and a full complement of students (including Grade 9s from Jim McGowan’s house, he gave them no choice). The concept was that as we were getting close to the school, we would all dock in Lakefield, near the rink, to attach flags to our canoes, then paddle triumphantly

With any luck, by next spring, as part of the effort to broaden and enhance our reunion program, we’re shifting the annual gathering of alumni to May (fingers crossed). So, if you share my love of canoeing, mark your calendar for Regatta Day 2021 and head up to the school.

It will be a spectacular day, rain or shine.

With best wishes.

down Lake Katchewanooka flying the flags representing all the students at the school. A perfect plan—until I attempted to tie my flag in my canoe and promptly tipped myself into the water. The rescue was quick— once my fellow paddlers stopped laughing.

Soaked and slightly bruised about the ego, I continued on with that proud flotilla, paddling on towards the school, and straight into a squall. If the paddle-past in front of the gathering of dignitaries and the entire school community wasn’t quite as stately as hoped for, it evoked a lesson learned back when I first got on the water at

Hugh Macdonnell ’85, is the father of Betsy ’18, and a cousin of Monty Bull ’37. Hugh is a senior partner of Clarion Partners, a NYC-based real estate investment management business. He has worked in the real estate business for his whole career as a lawyer (Davies Ward Phillips and Vineberg; 1991-1996) and as an advisor and principal (Morgan Stanley Real Estate; 1997-2011). Hugh is a graduate of McGill University (BComm), Queen’s University (LLB/JD), and the University of Pennsylvania (MBA). He has been involved in a range of charitable activities, including a trustee of The Grove (since 2011) and a trustee of Round Square (since 2002). Hugh has served as Chair of the Finance Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee for Round Square.

Daughters and fathers paddling trip in Temagami. (L-R) Betsy ‘18 and Hugh Macdonnell ‘85, Allie ‘18 and Allan Avard ‘85, Katie ‘17 and Ross Little ‘81, Tess ‘17 and David Fell.

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 7

Prepared for the Unforeseen, BETTER FOR THE EXPERIENCE. This crisis that we are enduring, both together and apart, affects us all. It is hard to imagine a segment of society and life in the 21st century that is not changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not within our control when this crisis will end, but we must never lose faith in our ability to deal with it and come out healthy and whole on the other side. We must endure, and we shall.

As a school, it is our intention and belief that Lakefield College School will emerge from this crisis even better and stronger precisely because of who we are—a school built on strong relationships. Our entire philosophy of education rests on our conviction that students learn best through trusting relationships with their teachers and with each other.

Our experience over the last seven months confirms our belief, as outlined here.

A Safe Shutdown—March 2020 Our first concern when the crisis struck was for the health and safety of our students and staff. Happily, we were able to report that none of our 380 students or 20-plus staff families living on campus became ill.

It all came to a head as we began to disperse for March Break, and school trips were curtailed, reeled back to campus and then cancelled. The Public Health messages escalated in intensity—first, we couldn’t leave campus, then we couldn’t leave our houses except to individually walk and stretch. Then, we were told to go home and isolate.

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It was stressful—no parents, rapidly

or with family or friends in Canada by the following Saturday. We are incredibly

evolving restrictions on travel, a

grateful to everyone for their patience and diligence under pressure. We cared for

lockdown—but our students handled it

each other, and we made it.

with good grace and unshakeable spirits. five-pot chili dinner with our would-be

Learning With Lakefield—Remotely

Collingwood skiers as a sign of cheerful

The next concern was our school year. For Lakefield, this meant our academics

positivity in the face of disappointment and

going online and the unveiling of Learning With Lakefield—Remotely. We were

rising uncertainty.

determined to do this well, not just with academics but also with our co-curriculars

As a boarding school, we had additional

and community activities. How this all came together must surely be a testament

challenges when the need for a substantial

to the Lakefield character that will always be remembered.

campus shutdown became evident—

It helped a great deal that we were prepared. LCS has many national and

especially, how to help everyone get home

international affiliations and, at the time, we were one of only three Canadian

to their families in the midst of border

members of the Global Online Academy (GOA), an independent consortium of

restrictions and flight cancellations.

international schools and a leader in online education and teacher training in

Fortunately, staff members pulled together.

distance learning. The majority of our staff members had already taken training

With steadfast commitment and care,

in online instruction and GOA came up with other courses over the months of

Lakefield alumna and LCS Coordinator

the crisis. They gave us terrific online experiences, world-leading pedagogy and

of International Students and Travel, Jen

spurred a lot of great ideas. It definitely made the transition easier.

Moments to remember will include the

Horrigan ‘99, in particular, worked around the clock to sort out international flights, resolve missing paperwork and keep students safe and in touch back home.

With these heroic efforts, all but 21 of our 281 boarders were able to get home the first weekend of March Break. The majority of our students were back with their parents

We were also glad that we’d done a lot of technological upgrading over the past couple of years. In terms of bandwidth, high-capacity access to programs like Zoom and others, as well as a learning management system (LMS) essential to the delivery of online programs, we were well prepared.

We also benefitted from timing. Our return from March Break was slightly later than most schools, and our worldwide affiliations became a highly useful periscope to see what other schools were doing at different stages of the pandemic nationally and internationally. It remains critical for us to hear and share what

Dr. Melville, P ’24, ‘21, ‘21 created a homemade LED illuminated board to deliver his AP Chemistry lessons while video conferencing with his students.

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 9

other schools are doing—all in different circumstances

like Lakefield, that we maintained the strength of our

from ours, but all very helpful.

community bonds. That’s surely what brings a feeling of

In creating what would become the online world of Lakefield, the first hurdle was thinking creatively about the ways we wanted students to connect—with their house and advisory groups, peers, by grade and through

immense pride to all of us who witnessed it. With our cocurricular clubs, sports and outdoor activities—so much a part of our lives here at Lakefield—all at a premature standstill, we needed a new program of activities.

co-curriculars. To do it, we needed to accommodate

With creativity and grit, the Lakefield staff rode to the

time zones around the world. That was accomplished

rescue with a re-imagined program. They quickly devised

with synchronous class time in the morning and

some 38 co-curriculars in four categories of athletics,

asynchronous times scheduled in the afternoon and

arts, “outdoors every day” and clubs/skills. The creativity

evenings for independent work, group chats and teacher

and speed with which this was turned out is remarkable:

conferencing. Remarkably, LWL Remotely launched on

Nordic high-performance endurance training, language

April 2, just two days after the scheduled return to classes

clubs, a musicians’ corner, “green thumbs”, an

from March Break.

environmental action force, a baking club—there are too

Meanwhile, with the incoming Grade 9 class of Grade 8 students isolated at home, our Associate Head: Strategy

many to list. They launched April 21, and everyone joined at least one; many students joined several.

Dr. Heather Avery came up with a plan for a Grove Prep

The co-curricular program was quickly followed by

program complete with novel study, math, outdoor

another classically Lakefield values-driven addition, an

education and advisor assignments to make sure our

enrichment program called the Learning with Lakefield

newcomers were well prepared for Grade 9 at Lakefield. It

Certificate Program. Once again, LCS staff dug into their

launched April 14, and 61 students signed up.

trove of skillsets, networks and experiences to create

An even greater task was to make sure that it all felt

30 modules, 10 hours each, on hot topics as diverse

Below and Opposite (L-R): Celebrating Crazy Hat Spirit event; Sunrise yoga on Earth Day with Louise Prindiville-Porto ‘22 and sister Alice ’18; Ms. Dalrymple’s at-home whiteboard during Spanish class; Arina, with her pet bird Charlie, during her advisor check-in with Ms. Frickey

10 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

as leadership for young women, an introduction to

with students individually and uniquely, wherever they

entrepreneurship, a stock market simulation, the Vietnam

were, around the clock, whether to answer questions on an

War, even beekeeping. It was another fine example of the

academic subject or to advise on broader matters.

intelligent curiosity of Lakefield translating to an online world—and they attracted 402 registrations.

When you think about what our teachers, staff and students were able to accomplish under the pressure of

It was inspirational. The school opened it up to alumni

negotiating territory that was unfamiliar, changing and

family members, new students, front-line workers and

requiring of so many nuances for the different needs

families who demonstrated support of local businesses

and learning styles of everyone involved, you really

here. For those who finished five courses, plus a short

have to think in terms of Herculean tasks: lesson plans

reflection piece demonstrating how they’ve contributed to

for synchronous sessions, recording and uploading

their community during the crisis, we awarded a Learning

asynchronous lessons, devising new co-curriculars

With Lakefield Leadership Certificate—a testament to life

and then supervising them, creating the certificate

skills learned and a commitment to community during a

programming and then running with it, responding to

time of difficulty.

individual inquiries, counselling their houses and students

Of course, Lakefield showed up online in several other ways that should be mentioned. Each Monday started with Chapel time—synchronously. All over the world, students

in face-to-face sessions and by email, not to mention evaluating and marking assignments. Their response has truly been miraculous.

and staff joined together in community to hear updates,

The evidence is plain. Our community cares. Which

share news, and stand and sing together. The very first

returns us to the starting point: that Lakefield is built

time over 450 people joined together on one call, you

on the premise—the belief—that students learn best in

could feel the emotion and energy.

caring, trusting relationships with their teachers and fellow

Just as importantly, teachers were scheduling to meet

students. Those relationships exist at LCS, and if there is

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 11

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one thing that has been proven since the outbreak of

houses and residence rooms will change depend on

this pandemic, it is this: People are willing and able to

these outcomes.

do more when they’re together and in a group that they

Nevertheless, we are well positioned and prepared for

trust and enjoy.

whatever awaits us, because here is what we do know.

We are committed to our values of providing a well-

What The Future Holds– Fall 2020 and Beyond With all that we have learned, what will change?

Throughout the summer, our extensive planning and consultations have led us through the launch of our Safety First: People, Place and Program Return to School Plan (www.lcs.on.ca/safetyplan), and we have welcomed back 361 students who have completed their first two months safely at school (with students attending both in person and remotely).

There are still many unknowns, such as when borders will fully reopen, when social distancing requirements may be relaxed, and what the relaxed guidelines will be.

Given current predictions and the second wave of spread

rounded educational experience of high academic achievement, broad participation in the community and the world around us, exposure to new challenges, and thoughtful self-reflection supported by a well established THRIVE program with mental health and well-being goals at the forefront.

We also believe in regular outdoor activity as a basis for building healthy minds and bodies. As the key to achieving all of these things, we are committed to fostering strong, trusting relationships between students and their teachers, and with one another.

These tenets have served us well, and will serve in the future. While we may have to find new ways to accomplish them in coming months, they will not change.

for the virus, so much is still uncertain. The details of how our current protocols for classrooms, co-curriculars,

JOHN SOUTHERST

Grove News Vol.I 2020 |  13

2019/20

Highlights Coming Home to The Grove

The opportunity to collaborate across disciplines

In September 2019, we welcomed over 650 visitors

experience for our students to dig into their own

to campus to celebrate our annual Fall Fair and

understanding of history and the significance of

Home to The Grove Reunion weekend. Visitors

Remembrance Day. Igniting the imagination of

were encouraged to observe or participate in

students through activities that bring to life the

activities including: a yoga and mindfulness class;

stories of others through the performing arts allows

open rehearsal of CHICAGO: High School Edition;

them to explore historical themes and events in a

a honey production demonstration; rock climbing;

way that not only engenders a passion for learning,

musical performances; and sampling treats

but also imparts the responsibility of authentic

prepared by Culinary Arts students.

storytelling.

Seven home games were also hosted; devoted fans

A World of “Discovery” at the 2019 Round Square International Conference in India

braved rainy weather to cheer on our Field Hockey and Soccer teams, while in the gym, fans supported our Basketball and Volleyball players.

and peer groups created a powerful learning

Last fall, a student delegation, along with Anne-

Alumni from graduating classes ending in ’4

Marie Kee, Head of School and Foundation, and

and ’9 gathered in Peterborough to kick the

Mr. Gerry Bird, left Lakefield to begin a 27-hour

weekend off with a casual reception. An

journey that would take them to India for the 2019

alumni dinner was hosted after Fall Fair where

Round Square International Conference. Prior

former classmates and teachers enjoyed time

to the six-day conference, the LCS group joined

reconnecting. Many stayed to play in the Andy

delegates from about half a dozen other Round

Harris Cup: LCS Golf Tournament the following

Square schools for a five-day pre-conference tour

day.

of India’s “Golden Triangle,” which included stops in Delhi, Bharatapur, Agra and Jaipur.

Thanks to all of the staff, faculty and volunteers who helped make it a great success!

The trip was an eye-opening, even life-changing, experience for our students who presented an

In 2020/21, we are hoping to enhance our reunion

account of both their geographical and personal

program and to shift it to May (fingers crossed!).

learning journeys in India to the school community in Chapel when they returned.

Gathering Together in Remembrance

Round Square is an organization of over 200 schools in 50 countries, across 5 continents,

Last November, more than 130 students

all of which share a common commitment to

participated in the creation of a moving

experiential and character education. We are proud

Remembrance Day service, a cross-curricular

that Lakefield College School was one of the first

collaborative project which featured Grade 11

Canadian schools to become a member of Round

drama, Grade 10 history and Grade 10/11 curricular

Square in 1978.

dance students. Displays of student photography representative of the theme “Moments of Peace” were accompanied by a musical performance by the Concert Band; other performances included the Lorelei Consort, Concert Choir and Rock Choir.

14 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

OPPOSITE (Top to Bottom) L-R: Over 650 visitors attended the annual Fall Fair and Home to The Grove Reunion weekend; curricular dance students perform at the Remembrance Day service; LCS student delegates and AnneMarie Kee, Head of School and Foundation, in India for the 2019 Round Square International Conference.

CHICAGO: High School Edition named 2019 Best Musical in Peterborough and the Kawarthas by kawarthaNOW

200

handwritten postcards with messages of encouragement mailed to volunteer firefighters in Australia, as part of a Grade 10 student-led initiative

$7,126

45

raised by the LCS Mighty MOs for MOvember

countries our students called home last year

100+

student athletes from 7 schools attended the annual LCS Invitational Nordic Skiing Race

80

instrumentalists and vocalists performed at the Winter Concert

65

dancers and choreographers involved in the 2020 “IGNITE” Dance Showcase

15

students performed spoken word poems at the first annual Slam Poetry Coffee House in Celebration of Seb Jones ’13

Alpine Ski School Trained Female Team

LCS achieved gold and the overall Championship at CISAA Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 15

2019/20

Highlights Inaugural LCS Cross Country Invitational

production, CHICAGO: High School Edition.

Last October, we welcomed close to 250 athletes

performance with challenging choreography

from 16 schools to campus for the inaugural

and vocals, detailed costumes, technical finesse

Cross Country Invitational. While distance

and creative design. The talent, dedication and

running has a long and proud history that dates

professionalism of the 65-member student

back to the founding of the school, this event

cast and crew shone throughout the sold-out

marked the beginning of a plan which included

performances.

From the opening notes of “All That Jazz”, audience members were treated to a dazzling

trail building and launching our signature Nordic Ski program.

The musical received rave reviews from the community. 4th Line Theatre’s Managing Artistic

Local Stewardship and Community Our Grade 10 students spend the year exploring Stewardship as part of their Leadership, Character, Values Program (LCV). As part of this theme, students participated in the Lakefield Santa Claus Parade in November 2019, which provided an opportunity to engage and connect with the local community. The Grade 10s worked together to brainstorm ideas for their participation in the parade in the fall and put their plan into action in November. Everyone contributed through everything from the design, construction, and assembly of a float, to playing music, singing, dancing, or handing out treats. Each student was able to use their unique talents to help make participation in the parade possible. The Grade 10 class was awarded first prize by the Lakefield Lions’ Club for their creativity and festive spirit during the parade.

Students voted to donate the $75 prize to the Lakefield Food Bank.

The Rob Wells Sessions 12 lucky students worked with Rob Wells to learn about the art of songwriting and recording.

Rob is a Peterborough born and raised awardwinning songwriter and producer who has worked with many famous artists. Over the two-day workshop, students wrote an original song and recorded it in our chapel. Rob then produced four professional-quality tracks. Listen online at soundcloud.com/lakefieldcs.

CHICAGO: High School Edition Razzle Dazzles The Bryan Jones Theatre was transformed into 1920s Chicago last year for the fall musical

16 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

Director Kim Blackwell commented “I’ve never seen a better amateur or school production in my life.” The production was named Best Musical of 2019 in Peterborough and the Kawarthas by kawarthaNOW, whose arts and culture journalist, Sam Tweedle, said “CHICAGO is an example of the company’s ‘high tide’... the musical theater experience of 2019.”

Two student-developed initiatives enhanced the evening for audiences. The Entrepreneurship Club (DECA) set up and maintained a concession stand during intermission. Mr. Gordon’s Computer Science class developed the Chicago @ LCS app which included a program and biographies of the cast and crew.

Cross-disciplinary collaboration and a showcasing of the wide range of student talent at LCS made this production an unforgettable community experience.

Making MOves for MOvember Students, faculty and staff joined the LCS Mighty MOs team to raise awareness and support for MOvember, a global campaign that takes place during the month of November for men’s health.

The team raised over $7,100 through events such as polar bear dips into Lake Katchewanooka, a fire truck pull competition and duct-taping students to a wall. The school’s enthusiastic participation in MOvember put into action our focus on community first.

OPPOSITE (Top to Bottom) L-R: Anna Harris ’20, Anna Guest ’21 and Mairi Ross ’20 take part in the inaugural LCS Cross Country Invitational; Grade 10 students participate in the Lakefield Santa Claus Parade; student teams work together to pull a fire truck as part of raising awareness and support for MOvember; students work with Rob Wells to learn about songwriting and recording.

OUR PEOPLE LCs staff snapshot

Gerry Bird P’04,’06

Round Square Representative & Student Exchange Coordinator Life Before Lcs “I began living and working at LCS as a Junior Master in 1979 while attending Trent University in the Biology program. My summers were spent working as a natural history instructor at a boys’ camp on Georgian Bay and later as an Interpretive Naturalist at Georgian Bay Islands National Park.”

B.Sc. (Biology), Trent University BEd. - Queen’s University

unique achievements “In the early 1990s, I was proud to start Lakefield’s first environmental club and school-wide recycling program which, at that time, was run entirely by Grade 10 Environmental Science students.”

current passion project “For the last twelve years I’ve had the pleasure of overseeing the school’s Round Square and student exchange programs.

Working with students in this capacity and being able to witness the amazing learning and personal growth they experience by attending a Round Square International or Regional Conference, or participating in an exchange or a Global Learning trip, has definitely been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.”

My LCS Difference “The school community feels like a family. Everyone knows that waiting beyond every challenge is a circle of cheerleaders including friends, teachers and colleagues who are there to listen and help you learn, grow and ultimately to thrive as a person.”

OUR PEOPLE LCs staff snapshot

Rachel Bemrose P ’22,’24 Dramatic Arts and Dance Teacher Life Before Lcs

“I have a unique background in how I came to the arts. I started when I was a child spending three summers at Royal Winnipeg Ballet and then another at Quinte Ballet School. I did my masters in Human Biodynamics, which is a bridge of your brain and your body. I looked specifically at dance and motor recall in dancers, so I was able to study people like Karen Kain and do some really neat experiments with that.”

B.Sc. (Kinesiology), McMaster University M.Sc. (Human Biodynamics), McMaster University B.Ed, Queen’s University

unique achievements “Believe it or not, I am a Project WILD facilitator. I also won a really nice award that I was nominated for before I came out to Lakefield, the 2014 Canadian Family Teachers Award. I remember feeling at that point like I had finished my career. It was so surreal.”

current passion project “Anything to do with the arts at Lakefield including integrated projects and musicals, now that they are a signature program. It has been incredible watching the dance company grow.”

My LCS Difference “Being able to bring my passion to the arts, in dance specifically, is really special, as I was able to start the curricular dance program.”

2019/20

Highlights

See more online: bit.ly/chicagofallmusical

Grove News Vol.I 2020 |  19

2019/20

Highlights Celebrating the Lunar New Year

Celebration of Seb Jones ’13 in February. Prizes were awarded for the best Junior and Senior

In January, students were treated to an

performances as well as the best in the Free

exceptional evening of food, tradition, and

Slam competition.

entertainment at the third annual Chinese Food and Culture Festival. With the support of LCS

Seb Jones was a sporty outdoorsman, keen

families, this important tradition continues to

canoeist, an artist, and a friend to all who knew

evolve and, in just three short years, we have

him. Sadly, in June of 2019, Sebastian died by

grown to feed over 300 attendees in Hadden Hall.

suicide. As a tribute to Seb’s spirit, his family

This year’s festival featured a dumpling-making workshop, traditional Chinese gifts and games, and a delicious feast shared by students, staff and parents. There was also an afternoon tea and snack with an incredible variety of treats, including special hand-made moon cakes. The evening concluded with an amazing firework display over the LCS waterfront.

Annual Nordic Ski Invitational In February, over 100 athletes from 7 schools came to campus for the second annual LCS Invitational Nordic Skiing Race. This year was the first time racing on the new ski trails, with many athletes commenting on how “fun” the new course was. Skiers competed in distance races and team sprint relays. 20 athletes represented LCS in the competition with exceptional personal accomplishments: Anna Harris ’20 took gold in the Senior Girls category, Ben Freeman ’23 achieved 3rd place overall, Thomas Larson ’22 placed 3rd in the Open Category and Jana Rubel ’22 took 2nd in

and friends will sponsor an annual poetry slam competition to take place each year on Seb’s birthday, February 22. In doing so, they hope to add some joy and lightness during the long dark days of winter.

Congratulations to our 2020/21 Co-Head Students Congratulations to Catherine Kim ’21 and Jack Freeman ’21 who were elected as Co-Head Students by their peers and staff this spring.

Catherine gets her joy from performing and creating. Being a part of productions such as Damn Yankees, Mamma Mia!, and CHICAGO: High School Edition, along with numerous dance showcases have helped her grow as an artist and learn to take direction and assume leadership roles. “Lakefield has given me so much that I feel compelled to give back. I want to be remembered as the student who gave her all in everything she did, and gave her heart to the community she calls home.”

Novice Girls.

Jack shared his personal belief that we should

Alpine Ski Team Captures Gold at CISAA

always keep an open mind and take risks even if

The Alpine Ski School Trained Female team

his time at The Grove where some of his best

achieved gold at CISAA at Devil’s Glen in February

memories are when he took risks. “Throughout

with Antonia von Achten ’23 placing 2nd overall

my time at Lakefield I have had my fair share

and qualifying for OFSAA. The School Trained

of ups and downs. Sometimes these downs

Male team captured 3rd place in the league. In

have been very stressful and overwhelming, but

the highly competitive Open Male category, Matt

through them I have built more resilience by

Northey ’21, the sole member of the LCS team

keeping a positive mindset and never giving up.”

they are out of our comfort zone. This mindset has been further enhanced and encouraged during

in this division, captured 1st place overall in the league and 2nd in the Championship.

First Annual Slam Poetry Coffee House Honouring Seb Jones ’13 Students were invited to express their creativity and share their voice through spoken word poems at our first annual Slam Poetry Coffee House in 20 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

OPPOSITE (Top to Bottom) L-R: LCS students, parents and community members enjoy dinner at the third annual Chinese Food and Culture Festival; members of the LCS Nordic Ski team compete in the LCS Nordic Ski Invitational; Michael Cheaito ’21 performs at our first annual Slam Poetry Coffee House; the Alpine Ski team at CISAA.

View School News and watch our latest videos at lcs.on.ca/News

“

OUR PEOPLE LCs staff snapshot

Jen Horrigan ’99

Coordinator of International Students and Travel Life Before Lcs “It’s difficult to remember a time when LCS has not been part of my life. As a student, I developed so many transferable skills that served me later on that it seems I was constantly being reminded of my time at LCS. I studied Marketing at Providence College, chased a dream of playing NCAA Softball, served as an Admissions Ambassador and graduated Magna Cum Laude. After time spent working for a magazine and various non-profit organizations, an opportunity to return to LCS unexpectedly presented itself in 2004 and I became a member of the residential team.”

BA (Marketing), Providence College

Unique Achievements “I was a member of two OFSAA medal winning LCS teams in Field Hockey and Ice Hockey. The LCS Girls’ Ice Hockey team became the first ever OFSAA Women’s Ice Hockey champions when they won the inaugural tournament in 1999.”

Current Passion Project “I love working to meet the needs and interests of our students. I work closely with our international students and their families, helping them to navigate the challenges that come with attending school far from home. Whether it’s helping them prepare to travel to Canada, welcoming them to campus for the first time, organizing safe programming options during breaks or finding ways for our students to share their culture, I want our students and their families to feel welcome and at home at LCS.”

OUR PEOPLE LCs staff snapshot

Peter O’Grady

Director of Student Leadership, Outdoor Education Teacher Life Before Lcs “I worked for the Limestone District School Board.

I taught at Bayridge Secondary School and North Addington Education Centre and taught 4-creditpackage outdoor education courses. I knew of LCS through friendships with staff and alumni, but my wife was the first to be employed at LCS. As I learned more about the school, the people and the campus, I jumped at the opportunity to be part of the LCS community.”

B.A., B.Ed, Honours Specialist B.P.H.E., Queens University

Current Passion Project “I am really enjoying the many opportunities that we continue to evolve at LCS, to provide the best experience for every individual student who attends.

For me, working with the Leadership, Character, Values (LCV) program, and the amazing staff who are part of it, remain a central focus. It is exciting, challenging and, hopefully, making a difference for our students. At home, being a dad is the best!”

My LCS Difference “The relationships at LCS are my Lakefield Difference, and always have been. It’s an honour to work and grow with students, staff, the board and our trustees.”

22 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

2019/20

Highlights

See more online: bit.ly/tedpopeday2020

Grove News Vol.I 2020 |  23

2019/20

Highlights Celebrating Earth Week 2020 In honour of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the LEAF Club organized and virtually launched Earth Week, which included daily challenges and

programs including dog walking, the School of Remote Rock, fitness programs, baking and more. Our students embraced the opportunity to connect with friends and peers and our community came together with flexibility and

themes dedicated to environmental stewardship.

open-mindedness to deliver authentic learning

Mr. Arsenault gave a virtual Earth Day address,

experiences beyond their virtual classrooms.

encouraging everyone to reflect on how far we’ve come and what we can continue to do, together: “How well we prepared in the past is how we arrived at today. If we extend this to Earth Day, all of the real work that we do to mitigate climate change will allow us to arrive at a better tomorrow. What does that look like in your country, your city, your family? What might we do now to help secure our future vulnerability? Whenever we choose to act from a place of vulnerability, it is courage.”

Our 2020 Graduates Realize a World of Opportunities The closure of the school and the switch to remote learning was not even the slightest barrier to the post-secondary aspirations of the Class of 2020. As the year drew to a close, our students had secured post-secondary placements across North America and Europe, while also receiving offers totalling $1.98 million in scholarships and other funding!

Our graduates are heading to destinations across

International Business Perspectives from the LCS Community Throughout the spring term, Mr. Moffatt’s Grade 12 International Business class virtually welcomed LCS alumni and parents as guest speakers, who shared their experience in the business world including: Dr. Markus Miele P ’20, Anthony Boright ’83, Andrea Morris ’99, Ellis Odynn ’12 and Chris Valentine ’86. This was an invaluable opportunity for students to hear different international perspectives, as well as engage with members of the LCS community.

2020 Peter Dalglish Art Award Chelsea Yue ‘21 has been nominated as this year’s Peter Dalglish Art Award recipient. This award was created to inspire, encourage and recognize artistic talent at Lakefield College School by promoting promising young artists and their future contributions to art in Canada and beyond.

North America, from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver to Dalhousie University in Halifax, and from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State to the University of Washington in Seattle, and south to the University of Texas in Austin and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. Whatever their choices for life after Lakefield, we’re immensely proud of the class of 2020 and the opportunities they have, and we wish them all the best! (lcs.on.ca/GraduateOpportunities).

LCS Summer Programs — Connecting Learning and Leadership The opportunity to enrich LCS summer online programs emerged as students sought additional learning for the summer of 2020. 27 online credit courses across a wide breadth of topics including camp and outdoor leadership, knowledge and learning skills gave students the opportunity to earn a high school credit and stay engaged in learning remotely. Additionally, 41 enrichment

Celebrating our Remote Co-Curriculars

modules were offered this summer through

In March, when our school moved to a remote

of only four Canadian members of the Global

environment, the entire LCS community

Online Academy (GOA), LCS is a proud leader

believed in the power of bringing students

in remote education and the rich learning

together for co-curricular activities; activities

experiences we are able to offer our students.

that allow students to connect, be active, be creative and, of course, to have fun. Students and their facilitators worked together in 38 different

24 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

the Learning with Lakefield Certificate, earned through the completion of five modules. As one

OPPOSITE (Top to Bottom) L-R: Mr. Moffat’s International Business class welcomed Dr. Markus Miele P ’20 as a guest speaker; Chelsea Yue ’21’s artwork, Serendipity, was inspired by Lake Katchewanooka; members of the Dog Club co-curricular; 2020 grads submitted photos of their postsecondary destinations to celebrate their next steps.

450+

registrations from LCS students and the community for the Learning with Lakefield Certificate (enrichment learning)

35

remote co-curricular activities including dog walking, the School of Remote Rock, fitness programs, arts, Green Thumbs, baking and more

200+

students attended the 2020 virtual summer dance

40

remote enrichment modules offered this summer

The LEAF team finished in

2nd place

at the 2020 Ontario Envirothon Competition

41

student submissions to the Lakefield Literary Festival Young Writer’s Contest

20+

alumni from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s connected for a virtual alumni social

60+

incoming Grade 9 students participated in the Grove Prep Program to start connecting with the LCS community

$1.98M total of university scholarships and other funding offers received by the Class of 2020 Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 25

Closing 2020

Highlights

ANNE-MARIE KEE P ’17, ’19, HEAD OF SCHOOL AND FOUNDATION “I believe our students graduating today have the skills that will equip each of them for life, including integrity, independence and resilience. Our hope, and as I think of them today I believe we have been successful, is that they are young leaders who care deeply, who connect with a variety of people and who are ready to contribute to our world.

Getting to know this group of young people has been getting to know a cross-section of what is good and hopeful about young people today.”

HUGH MACDONNELL ’85, P ’18, LAKEFIELD COLLEGE SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR “As you move away from Lakefield, you will realize what a special place The Grove is. It is built on incredibly important relationships and friendships; we also call that, and think about that, as community. You’ve heard it a lot, but you have to leave Lakefield in order for you to realize just how special it is. This is, I believe, what you will come to view as the most important part of your Lakefield education. As the months and years move forward, you will keep coming back to those deep relationships and those deep friendships.”

2019/20 CO-HEAD STUDENTS MADIA MCGOWAN ’20 AND SANTIAGO PAZ ’20 “This was truly a big year. We, as a class, faced many unique challenges and this taught us the virtues of leadership, inspiration and resilience that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Lakefield really lived up to its name and gave us a year ‘like no other.’ That being said, my hope is that moving forward we will not be afraid of making mistakes or reaching out for help when needed.” SANTIAGO PAZ ’20

CELEBRATING OUR RETIRING STAFF MEMBERS This year we bid farewell to many beloved LCS faculty and staff members who retired including: Karen Staunton (38.5 years), Barb Rutherford (28 years), Jackie McQuade (28 years), Millie Artymko (27 years), Elaine Hancock (23 years), Bruce McMahon P ’12 (20 Years), Cindy Best (16 years) and Danielle Labrosse (7 years). We wish you all the best!

BRUCE MCMAHON P’12 26 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

BARB RUTHERFORD

KAREN STAUNTON

Lakefield College School celebrated its 141st Closing with a series of virtual grade celebrations and welcomed 100 graduates into our alumni community.

View the Closing highlights, photos and videos at lcs.on.ca/Closing2020

99.5%

The average for Grade 12 Top of Form student and recipient of the Governor General’s Medal, Liam Cole ’20

Duke of Edinburgh recipients 14 Award 5 Bronze Awards Olivia Geloso ’22, Alexis Pettersen ’22, Jana Rubel ’22, Emma Matsusaki ’21, Abigayle Strano ’21

4,052 Most community service hours completed this year, Faith Dickinson ’20

1 Silver Award Blake Wickware ’20

249

students were Scholars with Distinction (averages of 85% or higher)

3 Gold Awards Andrew Crix ’19, Liam Cole ’20, Eric Zang ’20

View more Closing highlights including videos at lcs.on.ca/Closing2020

ABOVE: Top to Bottom (L-R): Head of School Anne-Marie Kee P ’17, ‘19 gives her address to the graduating class from the shores of Lake Katchewanooka; this year, a candle was lit and named for every one of our graduates, in honour of our Closing Chapel tradition, that they may light the way for our community and wish everyone farewell; teachers created special video messages of thanks for their students; Head of Houses jumped into Lake Katchewanooka on behalf of our graduates to hold their place for when they can safely return to campus to complete their grad jumps; in our community Closing Chapel, Annie Da ’20 shared a song dedicated to her peers, “When I Have Sung my Song.”

UNIVERSITY

Guidance and Support at LCS When Lakefield College School’s Guidance Administrator

The perennially most-popular universities for LCS grads

Brendan Fell ’04 checks his email, he never knows where

have not changed much over the years: Queen’s, Western

former students are writing to him from: it could be from

University in London, the University of Toronto, and McGill

down the road, or it could be from Down Under.

University in Montreal. More recent additions to that list

With lots of LCS alumni studying at Trent University in Peterborough, Queen’s University in Kingston or the Toronto or Ottawa universities, Brendan often supplies

are the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, Dalhousie University in Halifax, and the University of British Columbia.

transcripts to help those students move on to graduate

“Canadian universities provide a great undergraduate

studies. But just recently he had a request from a former

education for our students,” says Milburn. “And it’s often

student now studying in Australia.

the next phase—graduate school—where we start to see

“I hear from our graduates all the time. They’re always looking for further opportunities for learning. I’ve sent

students branching out even further, such as Australia, the US or elsewhere.”

transcripts to Australia, the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Saudi

But even at the undergraduate level, our students are

Arabia and Japan just this year,” says Brendan.

increasingly looking at applications to international

And as part of his daily work, Brendan sends transcripts to the many far-flung universities to which LCS grads are applying. In addition to universities in the United States and the United Kingdom, the 2020 class of graduates applied to schools in Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia.

“Our graduates truly are seeing a world of possibilities once they leave Lakefield,” says Guidance and Learning team member Tom Milburn. “They are well-qualified to pursue studies anywhere they want worldwide.”

universities. Prestigious universities in the US and UK have certainly attracted a number of our students in recent years, including Oxford, Harvard and Stanford. But applications have diversified as viewpoints on what constitutes the world’s “great universities” have diversified and become more truly international.

“A lot of people might not have heard of ETH in Switzerland, but it ranks number 6 in the QS top 10 worldwide university rankings, ahead of Cambridge,” says Milburn. “We have a student from the class of 2019 studying there this year. We have recent alumni at 7 of the top 10 universities, actually.”

28 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

It’s not a surprise, given that support for our students starts

counsellors twice a week as a class, and individually as

right from Grade 9. Students have several visits from guidance

necessary, to support the application process. As decisions are

counsellors while they are deciding on courses for Grade 10.

getting made about what offers to accept, and where to go,

“Even the choices made for the Grade 10 level can have an impact down the road on further choices and options. That’s

counsellors ensure that the emphasis on well-being, so important to life at LCS, is incorporated into the material.

why we ensure every single student and their parents

“We incorporate key aspects from our THRIVE (health and

understand what they’re signing up for,” said Milburn.

well-being initiative) more intentionally into their guidance

In Grade 10 students take the mandatory Careers course, which takes them on “a journey of self-discovery,” says Dr. Laura Elliott ’02, the Guidance counsellor who has been teaching the course. “It asks them to think ahead about the important decisions they will make in Grade 12, and really connect these decisions to who they are as individuals, where their strengths lie, and how to translate these facts into a career that inspires passion for them in the future.”

That focus on future careers becomes sharper in Grade 11, with Career Day, an opportunity for LCS alumni, parents and friends of the school to speak to students in Grades 11 and 12 about future careers.

“We welcomed 19 speakers in 2019, in fields such as psychology, medicine, entrepreneurship, film, and lab research,” says Guidance counsellor Jennifer Browne. “Being able to hear from people in the career fields they are interested in is an invaluable experience for our students.”

In the last few years, Career Day has been supplemented with a series of mini-sessions held at lunch time, involving visitors in person or online. “These sessions re-establish connections with past alumni and community members and promote mentorship amongst our current student body and our greater community,” says Browne.

classes with students throughout the spring term,” says Director of University Guidance Kirsten Johnston. “This has included sharing some of the latest research and practices known for helping young adults thrive, including learning the benefits of a regular mindfulness practice, incorporating time spent in nature and being physically active into one’s routine, spending time disconnecting from social media and re-connecting with others through clubs and activities, as well as learning ways to find support and learn about the myriad of resources that exist for young people—whether they are studying, working, volunteering or travelling.”

Lakefield also ensures that students who have received the school’s extensive learning supports will understand how to continue with these at university.

Jen Frickey, the Director of Learning Success, says “graduates report how helpful these have been at university. Our approach at Lakefield is to implement learning accommodations that are supported at the post-secondary level so that everything they’re doing here helps them prepare to be successful at university.”

It’s no surprise that LCS graduates really are ready to embark on a world of opportunities, and on a path of life-long learning (see where at: lcs.on.ca/GraduateOpportunities).

Lakefield’s preparation for post-secondary continues through the Grade 12 year, with students meeting their guidance

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 29

Nature Connectedness

AND WELLBEING

30 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

Imagine a typical Wednesday afternoon at The Grove, and regardless of the season, be it a crisp, cold day in February or a warm, sunny spring afternoon with a gentle breeze coming up from a newly thawed lake, one thing holds true – our students are outside ‘at play’. Whether this is more formal in nature, with the Nordic skiers gearing up at the freshly groomed track, or athletes preparing for an afternoon of soccer skills training, or simply recreational fun, with students biking around campus or excitedly taking their paddle boards out on Lake Katchewanooka—students are outside, active and immersed in nature— something a growing body of research is identifying as beneficial for our bodies and our brains.

Our school’s journey into formalizing a well-being

result is a field known as Positive Education, an

program began almost 6 years ago as we identified the

approach to teaching that blends academic learning

need for a proactive approach to physical and mental

with character and well-being. As a result, students are

health. Guided by an advisory board comprised of

more intentionally prepared with life skills such as

faculty, students, alumni, board members, and donors,

empathy, grit, optimism, resilience, a growth mindset,

we conceived the foundation for THRIVE, our framework

engagement, and mindfulness, amongst others.

for health and well-being. Deeply rooted in the principles of positive psychology, THRIVE also emphasizes physical health and the lifelong replication of healthy habits. This has been an ever-evolving and natural direction for Lakefield, given our focus on teaching through relationships, outdoor education programming, and our beautiful campus environment.

It dovetails with our current strategic plan which is centred around Authentic Learning, Outdoors Every Day, and Community First, and has at its core, student well-being.

To provide a full understanding of our approach to wellbeing at LCS, it is helpful to understand what positive psychology is, how it applies to education and why we came to use this as a foundation to our well-being program. American psychologist and one of the ‘founding fathers’ of positive psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman, aptly describes it when he states, “Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning. It aims to discover and promote the factors

Positive Education programmes are playing a crucial role in promoting health for students and staff. It is no surprise that research is finding that motivation to learn and achieving one’s best is linked with higher levels of well-being—when we feel good, we function well. We are starting to accumulate a massive amount of scientific research showing that learning is linked to well-being.

While THRIVE provides a framework to well-being, at Lakefield we believe that nature and the outdoors act as a through-line that weaves and connects Seligman’s six pathways in a way that engages students, ultimately providing a more powerful way to access these pathways to well-being. With one of the largest waterfront campuses among Canadian boarding schools, Lakefield not only provides an incredible natural environment for our students to learn in, it gives students the opportunity to deepen their connections with, and responsibility to, nature and the outdoors.

Indeed, Seligman developed the six key pathways, that

Nature Immersion, Connectedness and Increased Well-Being

when nurtured, lead to greater well-being. This

“Ecological well-being—no one else is doing that.” It’s

framework is known as PERMA-V: positive emotions,

something Dr. Lea Waters, the preeminent Australian

engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment

psychologist known for her strengths-based approach

and vitality.

said last year during her visit to LCS. The comment

that allow individuals and communities to thrive.”

captured the attention of our Head of School and other When positive psychology is applied to education, the

LCS faculty and ignited our journey into deepening our Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 31

“A growing body of scientific research is linking time spent outdoors in nature, with increased levels of wellbeing and academic performance, in addition to lower levels of stress—all things we want to see in our students..”

understanding of the science behind nature immersion

positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality and sense of

and connectedness.

purpose in life. The benefits of nature connectedness

A growing body of scientific research is linking time spent outdoors in nature, with increased levels of wellbeing and academic performance, in addition to lower levels of stress—all things we want to see in our students. Nature immersion has always been a part of our ethos here at LCS. We maintain a collective belief that inspiring students to spend time outdoors is important for their well-being. We also realize how important it is to work with experts in the field and conduct research, using metrics to determine if our program and initiatives are making a difference. Given our longstanding positive history of partnership with Trent University, an innovative and interdisciplinary liberal arts and science university and our neighbour to the south, it was wonderful to discover the research that Dr. Lisa Nisbet and the Nisbet Research Lab is doing on nature-connectedness and well-being.

Trent University Research Partnership

also extend to our cognitive functioning. Studies looking at academic performance following time outside reveal an increased ability to concentrate and focus, greater classroom engagement, memory improvements, and higher levels of creative problem-solving. In addition, Dr. Nisbet’s research indicates that there are social and environmental benefits from nature contact including empathy with others, generous and cooperative behaviours, a greater sense of community and belonging, as well as an increase in pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. Early on in the partnership with Trent, Dr. Nisbet commented, “Encouraging nature contact is the challenge. While the ‘outdoors every day’ philosophy at LCS is unique among high schools, it is clear that it is embedded within Lakefield’s mission, integrated into the outdoor and environmental education program and has woven its way into other courses. The importance of the campus environment for learning and for improving well-being cannot be overlooked.”

In March of 2019, Lakefield and Trent launched a new initiative to research and develop a better understanding

In July of 2019, Positive Education Leaders Libby

of how nature-connectedness and well-being impact our

Dalrymple, Carrie Gilfillan, and Kirsten Johnston

students. The result has been the co-creation of student

represented LCS on the global stage, presenting at the

and parent surveys, as part of a longitudinal research

International Positive Psychology Association’s 6th

study, to learn about how students’ differences in their

World Congress in Melbourne, Australia. They presented

outdoor and school experiences impact their well-being

on the work LCS is doing within the field of positive

and academic performance. We are also interested in

education. Dr. Waters’ earlier words rang true. Lakefield

learning about parents’ and adolescents’ feelings of

is certainly a leader in the field, using nature and the

connectedness to nature, the world around us, and to

outdoors as a pathway to fostering well-being in

others, so that we can gain further insight into the

teenagers. While we are very much in the early stages of

various learning environments and experiences that best

this longitudinal research study, anecdotally, we are

promote well-being at LCS.

seeing more students active, outside and connecting face-to-face, rather than isolated behind the screens of

The research of Dr. Nisbet and others in the field is

their phones and laptops. Early results from the first

revealing remarkable connections between our contact

survey show that students’ self-reported connection with

with nature and our overall well-being. For instance,

nature was associated with higher levels of well-being.

when we have regular contact with nature, whether this

Students with a stronger sense of nature relatedness

comes from living in a natural environment or getting

reported more positive and less negative mood, as well

outside on a regular basis, there is a marked increase in

as a greater sense of curiosity, awe and vitality. The next

32 | Grove News Winter 2018

Grove News Vol.I 2020 |  33

34 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

“In the context of today’s pandemic, schools around the world including LCS are seeking ways to provide more learning spaces outdoors in order to get students outside more and help mitigate the transmission of the virus. For LCS, the circumstances surrounding the pandemic add another level of motivation in the pursuit of our ‘Outdoors Every Day’ strategic goal, and the positive outcomes connected to immersion in nature and the outdoors with overall wellbeing and improved learning.” steps in this longitudinal study will involve connecting

a day active in nature, for 15 days, with the design of

the data to students’ academic achievement results.

their own 15x15 Outdoors Every Day Challenge.

In November 2019, Johnston and one of Dr. Nisbet’s

It is more common than ever to see students outside in

graduate students, Danielle Lachance, collaborated on a

all seasons, well beyond their formal co-curricular

keynote presentation at the Canadian Independent

programming. This can include students actively

School’s (CIS) Experiential Educator’s Network

enjoying themselves at the snowboard terrain park and

Conference, the theme of which was Nature and Well-

outdoor rink in the winter months or sailing, swimming,

being. Educators from across Canada gathered to learn

cycling, hiking and/or playing tetherball or spike ball—

more about how schools can incorporate time spent

two more recent ways our students connect with each

outdoors into their teaching, recognizing that there has

other, and decompress, outdoors.

been a significant and increasing decline in the time young people are spending in nature. Scientists are

In the context of today’s pandemic, schools around the

noting the ‘extinction of experience’ where a growing

world including LCS are seeking ways to provide more

number of people spend over 90% of their time indoors.

learning spaces outdoors in order to get students outside

This data is supported by a 2018 report from the United

more, and help mitigate the transmission of the virus.

Nations indicating that 55% of the world’s population

For LCS, the circumstances surrounding the pandemic

lives in cities and people report 9+ hours of electronic

add another level of motivation in the pursuit of our

media use per day. With a growing mental health crisis

‘Outdoors Every Day’ strategic goal and the positive

observed in both secondary and post-secondary

outcomes—increases in overall well-being and improved

institutions, connecting with nature is simple, cost-

learning—associated with immersion in nature and the

effective and has fast-acting benefits with positive and

outdoors.

lasting impacts on both the individual and global levels.

Lakefield has taken a multi-pronged approach to fostering nature connectedness in students. In addition to establishing partnerships with experts in the field, it includes building upon our strengths, incorporating students in the decision-making and future planning process, as well as making it visible, accessible and most importantly, fun for teens to spend time outdoors. Over the past several years, students have been instrumental in the creation of a community garden, tending to seedlings and plants, as well as making the space more inviting, adding hammocks, benches and creating a beautiful wall mural to brighten the area. Last year, inspired by the David Suzuki Foundation’s 30x30 Nature Challenge, LCS students motivated their peers to take

We are strongly committed to helping our students learn and develop lifelong habits for well-being in order to thrive both within and beyond their time at The Grove.

The longitudinal research partnership with Trent University is designed to develop a better understanding of how nature-connectedness and well-being impact our students. With a majority of our students now having completed what will become an annual LCS: Student Connectedness and Well-being Survey, we are well on our way to an improved understanding of student learning in various environments and types of experiences that best promote well-being at Lakefield College School, which is the goal of all LCS staff.

KIRSTEN JOHNSTON P ‘22

part in an inter-house competition to spend 15 minutes

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 35

TEACHING

Grounded in Student Voice and Agency No teacher knows quite what to expect this year. What

It’s my goal for students to finish a computer studies

will mitigate the impact of challenges our students

course feeling like an artist.

might encounter? The answer may vary depending on the subject. As a computer studies teacher, my response is student agency.

Student Agency Fortunate adults have had the experience of being “in the zone” while applying our thoughts to completing a task that we care about. For me, this feeling occurs often while writing software. Through conversation with colleagues, I’ve come to the conclusion that the emotional experience of authoring software is not that different from an artist working on a piece.

Writing software is a creative endeavour.

There is a place for asking students to complete a task that I define to learn a technique or evaluate a particular skill set. If that is, however, the majority of a student’s experience with my course—while their time with me may have occasionally been interesting—it is unlikely to have felt terribly creative.

How many artists are told what to make?

Know the Student In order for me to know my students, it’s important to understand what motivates them. What do they do for fun? Do they enjoy playing chess, drawing, going for a run? Equally important, what do they worry about?

What problems do they want to solve in this world?

Responses to these questions form the bedrock of our ongoing conversations with each other and influence how we approach the course together.

Authentic Learning is the Main Course, Not the Dessert Computer studies is more than programming. To engage a broad range of students with a diverse range of interests, perspectives and worries, it’s key to begin with the design cycle. Begin by helping the student set a goal for a meaningful problem they want to address.

That goal becomes their individual theme for the entire course.

36 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

The student who loves to run? Set them up with athletes from a local running club to find out what functionality they’d like to see in their ideal intervals training app. Coach the student as they iteratively develop a more complete solution to a problem—one they chose—and one they care about.

Students need to experience what it’s like to repeatedly speak with potential end-users.

Students cannot be their own audience.

Portfolios as Evidence of Mastery Artists create a portfolio of work even as they learn.

Students cannot apply to most post-secondary programs in the arts without a portfolio.

In the same way, summer employers in the technology sector often want to see what computer studies students have on their GitHub profile as evidence of what they can do. (GitHub represents a powerful open-source platform and community of programmers and hobbyists that download, review and evaluate each other’s work).

An authentic goal provides the fuel to power through the frustration of inevitable roadblocks like syntax, or wrapping

Computer studies students can use a portfolio to

their head around tricky concepts, such as abstraction.

differentiate themselves from the pack in university applications.

Foster a Culture of Sharing As adults, we feel fortunate when we have achieved a goal and we can share our achievement with a peer that can appreciate the effort involved.

Students want to share what they’ve made.

Sharing work has an additional benefit. If our students can explain the latest functionality in an app they are writing with enough clarity that their peers understand the

In our classes at LCS, I ask students to build a portfolio and to tag evidence with the learning goal they believe it fulfills using software that makes this process sustainable.

When our conversation is focused on growth and mastery, I find that students open themselves up to authentic learning—and that high achievement is the natural outcome.

achievement, it’s a fair bet that the student deeply

Essential Understanding

understands the work they have done.

This year, more than any other year, we will not be able to predict outcomes.

An important aspect of my job is to make this a regular part of class—something that students look forward to both as

As a teacher, my role is to shape how my students navigate

the person sharing and as part of the audience.

their first experience with computer studies.

I want my students to feel like they are in cahoots together;

Pandemic or not, years from now, if my students tell me

that they can freely lean over, or speak up, and help

that they learned to care for others and make their own

someone else out. It’s part of the joy of sharing and creating

little dent in the universe, then this year will have been a

alongside your peers.

success.

RUSS GORDON

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 37

Inaugural group of LCS ELL Summer Academy Students, Summer 2019

ELL SUMMER ACADEMY Developing language and outdoor skills while building community.

“I made 26 new friends that I can talk to any time, and if I have troubles, they can help me.” LCS ELL Summer Academy student

Its goals were to give our new international students a

Twenty-seven students from three continents. Twenty-

In August 2019, students from Mexico, Germany, Hong

four sunny August days. A team of energized LCS

Kong, China, Korea, and Japan arrived on campus for our

instructors and residential staff. Four LCS student

first ELL Summer Academy and moved into Uplands

counsellors. One beautiful campus. These were the

House, supervised by a team of LCS residential staff (the

ingredients of Lakefield’s inaugural LCS English Language

very capable Michael Daniels and Lily Dart) and four LCS

Learners (ELL) Summer Academy, held in August 2019, and

students—Amy Qian ’19, Kit Wright ’19, David Williams

the recipe has produced inspiring, and occasionally even

’19, and Matt Zhang ’20. The students spent evenings and

magical, results for two summers now, even as a worldwide

time off with this team, exploring Peterborough and the

pandemic did its best to prevent our students from

Kawarthas. They were warmly welcomed as special guests

learning English in the outdoors.

at 4th Line Theatre, and delighted in meeting fellow

Lakefield staff have long recognized that our new international students face multiple integration

head-start, not only with English, but with outdoor education skills and the routines of Lakefield residential life.

Mexicans and world travellers at the Peterborough Folk Festival.

challenges, particularly when English is not their first

But their days were spent learning English through an

language. The culture is new, and the focus on outdoor

intensive Outdoor Education program. Briagh Hoskins-

life and activities can be puzzling. The LCS ELL Summer

Hasbury and Bretton Clark, from The Land Canadian

Academy was conceived to make these transitions easier.

Adventures, and their team of guides, taught students to

38 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

paddle, to build fires, to carve wood, to recognize native

engaging in purposeful and authentic activity together,

flora and fauna, all the while learning vocabulary,

testing themselves and supporting their peers, creates

pronunciation, listening, speaking, reading and writing

community. One student sums it up succinctly: “The

skills.

most valuable part of the ELL Summer Academy is the

As with any outdoors every day experience, there were challenges. Mosquitoes were hugely vexing, as were portages (carrying the canoes between navigable waters). But when the students returned home from five

part where we went to Algonquin, because after that we all had a lot of common experiences.”

Update September 2020

days and four nights in Algonquin Park, they arrived at

This year’s incoming students were looking forward to

LCS beaming with pride. Hoisting backpacks and dry

an equally superb opportunity this past August.

sacks with ease, they were full of stories about their

Demonstrating phenomenal perseverance, three of the

adventures and filled with new-found confidence.

twenty-odd students enrolled managed to obtain visas, cross borders, and complete quarantines in time to

In fact, the students told us, improved confidence was

spend the last two weeks of the summer paddling,

the biggest plus of the ELL Summer Academy.

camping and learning in the outdoors.

Confidence in speaking English, confidence in Outdoor Education skills, confidence in knowing LCS campus

The remainder of the students enrolled completed the

and culture, and confidence in having friends they

course completely online, honing their English while

could turn to before school even began. As one student

learning to tie knots, build fires, and tell legends

offered, “You have to be able to speak English

virtually. Even taught this way, the course allowed

confidently to socialize with others. The Academy

students to learn some Lakefield-specific skills while

helped me with that.”

studying English. Instructor Bretton Clark sums up the students’ experience with a quotation from Proust: “The

Our LCS faculty have been equally enthusiastic about

real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new

the effects of the academy. Suddenly, the international

landscapes but in having new eyes.”

students were leading the Grade 9 Outdoor Education classes, carrying canoes readily on their shoulders and

That said, there’s nothing like paddling on Lake

eager to show off their paddling skills. Residential staff

Katchewanooka or camping at Northcote Campus to

enjoyed the fact that there were new students already

bond students to Lakefield. Matt Zhang ’20 and William

comfortable with the rules and expectations in

Chan ’21, an alum of the inaugural English in the

boarding life. In terms of academic support, our

Outdoors class supported our team of three while they

learning team had a heads-up on any student who might

finished the summer with time in our forests and on the

need additional assistance, and academic plans were in

lake. A hardy subgroup even stayed on for Labour Day

place before classes even began in September.

weekend, cooking for themselves in the OE kitchen and enjoying a windy waterfront.

The ELL Summer Academy participants continued to flourish as the year progressed. Participant Moritz

Two years working with The Land Canadian Adventures

Asche ’22 won the Mobile Device Photography Contest

has solidified our partnership and made co-owners

with a lakefront shot taken while at the Summer

Briagh and Bretton honorary members of the Lakefield

Academy. Other Summer Academy graduates Antony

community. In fact, when our faculty needed

Chan ’23, Joyce Tao ’23, Amy Shin ’23, and Sia Yang ’23

emergency child care coverage this fall (in order to

helped to lead the way for LCS in the University of

return to teaching while their own children waited for

Waterloo Canadian Intermediate Math Contest, all

public schools to open), the couple created Lakefield’s

placing in the top 25% of students worldwide on the

first-ever Forest Camp at Northcote for 29 children. It

exam. Gaku Ogawa ’22 shared his musical talents with

was a final small piece of magic to close the summer,

the school, playing piano regularly in Chapel and

using Northcote to let our children come alive in nature.

elsewhere.

We’re hopeful that Summer 2021 will be even more magical, as we expand to teach not only English, but

At Lakefield, we work continually to build community,

French in the outdoors.

and the ELL Summer Academy serves as a classic example of how building community works. Students

HEATHER AVERY P ‘13 Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 39

THE BRAECKMAN METHOD Applying the Laws of Physics to Life John Braeckman knows a thing or two about flying pigs.

prepared us.” That means much more to Braeckman than

Better yet, he knows how to teach his students a thing or two

hearing about how fun his class is.

about flying pigs.

“Sure I try to make physics fun. But I have a rule: you can play

The porcine objects in question are made of pink plastic and

with my toys if you can explain how they work. They have to

have battery-powered wings that flap. Braeckman, who’s been

understand the concepts first. Then they can have fun

teaching physics at Lakefield College School for twelve years,

applying that learning to tangible problems—such as figuring

hung a number of these curiosities from the ceiling of his

out the speed of a flying pig.”

science classroom. When his students arrived, he told them to get those wings flapping and make those pigs fly. Fortunately,

A Peterborough native who completed the Queen’s-Trent

since they were attached to strings, they flew in circles.

Concurrent Education Degree Program—earning himself a

“Now,” he said “apply the concepts of circular motion you’ve

Braeckman joined the LCS faculty in 2007. He brought with

been learning about for the past few weeks. Find out the mass

him a number of ideas about how to teach physics so that

of the pig, the length of the string it’s attached to, and do at

students were not only quite eager to attend classes, they

least one other measurement of your choice. Then determine

genuinely understood the complex concepts they were

1) the force of tension in the string, 2) the angle of the vertical,

studying.

and 3) the speed of the flying pig.”

degree in physics and education (B.Sc. Hons /B.Ed.)—

“It’s not all fun and games. There are many times when my

Braeckman has a knack for making serious work fun, but he

students are at their desks and I’m at the front teaching them

also has a knack for making sure his students leave his class

a lesson. On any given day, they could be all over the school

with the skills and knowledge they’ll need in university. Last

doing experiments to measure the coefficient of friction.

October, a student from his previous year wrote to say, “I’m

Before they do that fun, active part, they learn all the material

both very mad at you and very grateful to you because I have

in class.

100% in first year physics and I’m not even trying. You over-

“Sometimes they learn through a hands-on experiment. But generally it goes more smoothly if I explain it first, and we

40 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

have a discussion as a class. I do a lot of ConcepTests, where I

the video—which was an exciting demonstration of Newton’s

put a multiple choice question on the board and the students

Third Law showing multiple car and truck crashes—confirmed

respond with their phones. They get time to think about the

they were right. And they’d given the perfect explanation using

question and discuss it amongst themselves, then they vote for

the physics concept we’d just covered. Now, that’s a great

the answer.

moment.”

“My personal philosophy is: I don’t strive to be innovative—I

When asked what teaching methods he thinks are most effective,

strive to be effective. There’s no substitute for a really good

Braeckman says, for him, variety is most important. Once his

explanation, and I’m good at that. The multiple-choice question

students have learned the material, he wants them to apply it to

I give them after a lesson challenges them to think for

a really cool problem.

themselves. If they get it wrong, and their classmates or I explain it to them, it can be very powerful. Students in Gr.11 hate being wrong, and I’m always trying to convince them that it’s okay to be wrong. When students are wrong, we have the best

“I don’t just say: come up with a project. I’ll say something like, ‘Find the coefficient of friction between two surfaces of your choice anywhere in the school.’ But this is at the end of the unit.

discussions.”

They’ve already written the test—they know how to do it.”

As much as Braeckman prefers to be known for his thorough

One of the more challenging—and entertaining—culminating

teaching methods (explaining well, providing thought-provoking questions, testing, class discussions), he has a reputation for bringing the concepts he teaches to life. To spice up Newton’s Third Law, which states that for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction, he gave his students a dramatic action to

activities Braeckman has given his Gr.12 students was to build a trebuchet (a type of catapult) that could launch an egg at a target, without breaking the egg. Scores were based on how far the egg was launched without damaging it and students had to determine what the optimal distance was. Amazingly, many eggs

analyze.

were not broken.

“If I punch my fist through the wall, how does the force of my

A fun experiment Braeckman gives his AP class, based on

hand on the wall compare to the force of the wall on my hand?”

rotational motion, involves two rolls of toilet paper. Students

Students invariably say, “The force of your hand has to be greater

outstretched hand; the roll has to unravel to reach the ground.

because you broke through the wall.” Braeckman then tells

The mission is to figure out how high they’ll have to drop the

them, “You’ve just broken Newton’s Third Law, which we’ve

second unfettered roll so that it hits the ground at the same time.

spent the last 30 minutes talking about. They have to be the

Usually the students cleverly determine the right distance to

same.”

drop the second roll, yet the experiment fails. To their chagrin,

That generates a lively discussion about how the fist was able to break through the wall, which delights Braeckman. “I like it when

take a roll and while holding the paper itself, release it from an

it’s much harder to synchronize the timing of the two drops than the correct distance to drop them.

students challenge me on the misconceptions they have, when

Braeckman’s students also often participate in an engineering

they try to tell me, ‘No, you’re wrong.’ I say: okay, prove it.”

competition in Peterborough. He takes four teams of four, and

“What’s awesome is when one student says ‘But if they’re not equal, then we’re breaking Newton’s Third Law, which you said we can’t do because it’s a law.’ Exactly! That leads to a discussion of: why did it happen; what’s the piece you’re missing? And when the students come up with that missing piece, it’s really great.”

Braeckman asked his Advanced Placement (AP) class another provocative question concerning the same law. “You’re in a car coming around a corner and are faced with two options: you can

most years at least one of his teams finishes in the top three.

There’s no preparation for the competition. The students show up, a presenter explains the project, and they’re given four hours to complete it. Then they’re tested. In 2019, they had to launch an airplane, which they had never done before, and one of his teams finished second.

When asked what Braeckman most hopes to instil in his students that will help them as they move on in life, he doesn’t hesitate.

hit a brick wall, or you can hit an identical car coming towards

“I want them to learn to think and read. I tell them they have to

you at the same speed. Which is the better choice?”

stop reading like a teenager where they skip every other word.

His sixteen students enthusiastically discussed and debated the question. “When I sensed they had come to a consensus, I asked them ‘What’s your answer?’ And they said, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ I asked them why. And they explained it. And I said, ‘Do you believe that?’ They did. So I said, ‘Okay. Let’s watch a

When they do a physics problem, they have to read every single word in the question, and then think. I want them to understand by thinking it through. Those two skills are critical and will serve them extremely well throughout their lives.”

STEPHANIE EDWARDS P ’09

Mythbusters video I’ve set up here and see if you’re right.’ And Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 41

LCS students participating in the Shaw two day residency drama program, 2019

THE MAGIC SHAW Two Day Residency Program

“I’ve been fortunate to sit on the board of the Shaw Festival as well as the school and foundation boards at Lakefield College School. This gave me an insider’s perspective on how I could bring these two great organizations together to benefit the school and the theatre, and especially, the kids.” Nancy Smith P ’87, ’90 On October 1, 2011, a group of 24 Lakefield College School

“I prefer to make my donations experiential,” Nancy

drama students embarked on the very first two-day residency

explains, “so, working with the theatre, we designed a

program at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

two-day, immersive program for Lakefield students that acts

Essentially a deep immersion into theatre life at the

as a masterclass of sorts, including dance, close interaction

renowned festival (one of only three professional repertory

with great actors, directors, wardrobe, music, and staging—

theatre companies in North America), it’s provided hundreds

and, of course, attendance at three plays, which are often in

of stage-struck LCS students experiences most high school

different theatres with very unique programs.”

performers only dream about.

Traditionally, Nancy hosts a dinner at her home in Niagara-

Fully supported by the exceptional generosity of Nancy

on-the-Lake. “One of the highlights for me is dinner at my

Smith P ’87,’90 and the late Jeffrey Marshall P ’87,’90, the LCS

house with students and teachers, as well as Shaw’s Artistic

/ Shaw Festival Residency program has allowed LCS students

Director, Executive Director, actors and others who tell me

the chance to meet and talk with all manner of Shaw theatre

they love the interaction with the kids. It’s a joyful learning

folk, from leading actors to theatre administrators.

experience for everyone involved.”

42 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

LCS alumnus Patrick McManus ’88 (p.45), who’s played

teacher Geoff Bemrose (Outdoor Education, Musical

leading roles in multiple Shaw productions, as well as at

Theatre) says, “so we pick the most senior, since the

the Stratford Festival and in films and television, is a

younger students will have a chance in later years. The

regular guest at this legendary dinner. He and his Shaw

kids also have to write a letter explaining why they want

colleagues give the students ample opportunity to ask

to attend, which goes into consideration.”

whatever questions they have about careers in theatre, and how these successful professionals forged their particular paths.

The event wouldn’t exist without Nancy Smith, and the students and their teachers are enormously grateful for her amazing gift. “She’s incredible,” Bemrose enthuses.

For young people already dazzled by the stage, this

“Nancy makes it possible for our students to hang out

intensive two-day theatre experience is akin to Charlie

with—and be coached by—talented professionals from

winning a tour of the Chocolate Factory. As well as

all aspects of the theatre for two whole days. They come

seeing three shows (a musical, a Shaw play and a play of

to realize that it’s not just about performers and

another genre), the students participate in workshops

directors, or even stage hands and tech people. It’s also

run by professionals (they’ve been given sessions in

about all the people who run the festival—business

acting and choreography). They’re also given backstage

managers, administrators, marketers. The experience is

tours, becoming privy to all its secrets and wonders. Last

hugely inspiring for them. Suddenly a career in theatre

year they had the chance to walk around the set of the

actually seems possible—and it comes in multiple

thriller Rope—which thrilled them to no end. Shaw is a

flavours.”

repertory theatre, with one show at 2:00 pm and an entirely different show in the evening. As such, the

STEPHANIE EDWARDS P ’09

students were also able to watch the stage set become completely transformed between shows.

“So many students want to attend this event that we had to figure out a way to choose the most deserving,” LCS

ABOVE: Fall 2019. LCS drama students participated in acting and choreography workshops and Q&A sessions with actors during a two-day residency program at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-theLake.

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Alumni On Stage and Screen:

LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT We have long been proud of the excellent program of dramatic arts at Lakefield College School, and it’s not surprising that a number of our alumni have gone on to successful careers in the entertainment industry.

LCS is not a theatre school, of course, and these graduates’ careers were also built upon years of dedicated performance studies and experience. Why has LCS produced so many successful performers?

Not every school can make the claim.

Many of our actor alumni mention Lakefield as the genesis of their success. They praise the excellent theatrical instruction with which we have been blessed over the years, but also something more.

Something organic.

The expectation to participate and the variety of activities—just as an actor has to be versatile in a variety of roles. Outdoor education for personal reflection and inner peace. The community feel, in the same way an acting troupe needs to be in sync. The ability to put “the real you” in front of others without reservation, just as an actor has to bring their true selves to a role. All of which demands self-knowledge and community awareness, which is really what Lakefield is all about.

If you aspire to be an actor, and even if you don’t, prepare to be inspired. Our actor-alumni’s stories are revealing adventures in many dimensions—creative career decisions, personal knowledge and development, perseverance and dedication, and much more.

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Matt Frewer ’76

Matt Frewer ’76: TOUGH SKIN AND AN OPEN HEART A generation remembers Matt Frewer ’76 as Max

who passed away in 2007, was a long-time art and drama

Headroom, the world’s first computer-generated

teacher and director of theatrical productions at

television host, a digitally and characteristically

Lakefield.

exaggerated personality with a robotically stuttering delivery and arch-phony bonhomie.

Matt looks back on his Hayman-directed performances in Arsenic and Old Lace and The Insect Play—a satire

Max Headroom evolved into a talk-show and music

using insects to parody political and social

video format, where he interviewed—and teasingly

philosophies—as giving him the “bug,”so to speak. It

tormented—top acts of the day such as Sting and Tina

wasn’t just performing that laid the groundwork. “It was

Turner. “In exchange for promoting their records, I

also team sports,” says Matt, who was a hockey, football

would just roast them,” Matt says with reminiscent

and rugby player at Lakefield. “There are so many

satisfaction. “Theoretically, it couldn’t be libellous.”

parallels to acting. Everyone needs to be rowing in the

But far from being digital, Max was really Matt under a pile of makeup. Four-and-a-half hours of makeup, in fact. Another one-and-a-half to take it off afterward.

While that was a gruelling and repetitive “tough go”, the Max Headroom experience greased Matt’s future in acting. Max became a cultural icon in the mid-1980s,

same direction, for one thing. And a good athlete can do many sports, while good actors need to be good at many things, able to adapt to comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi.

Lakefield was very good about that because you were almost expected to do many things—many sports, many activities.”

known and imitated widely and once featured on the

Forty-plus years later and living in the Gulf Islands off

cover of Newsweek magazine.

Vancouver, Matt is “still at the table,” he says, “and

“The exposure meant I never had to pound pavement,” Matt acknowledges. “Also, the amount of makeup meant I didn’t get typecast. I could be considered for other things.”

working all over the world.” He has a long list of credits, ranging from the TV miniseries The Stand and Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, to film roles in the spy drama The Fourth Protocol, the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and the horror classic The Dawn of the Dead. He

Matt was well prepared for those “other things.” He

won a Gemini Award for his work on a children’s sci-fi

earned his acting chops the hard way. He had three

series called Mentors and was nominated for a role on

years at the UK’s prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre

the highly acclaimed Da Vinci’s Inquest. He recently

School, three years in the National Youth Theatre of

returned from shooting a Perry Mason prequel for HBO

Great Britain and 11 years, in all, performing in London’s

in Los Angeles.

West End and in BBC and film productions.

Acting is a difficult lifestyle, even for someone of Matt’s

Matt pegs his start even earlier—at Lakefield. “I enjoyed

accomplishments. There is little to no stability. Casting

acting at Lakefield, and before, but it was never solidified

decisions are often made for reasons entirely out of an

as a plan for the future until Richard Hayman came

actor’s control. “My advice would always be, ‘don’t do it

along and pushed it over the edge.” Richard Hayman,

unless you can’t not do it,’” says Matt. “The profession is brutal. There’s a lot of rejection and heartache. Fame

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and money are fickle. If you can achieve it, that’s a

And afterward, when “cut” is called, he revels in the

feather in your cap but it’s not something you can

repartee and the camaraderie of so many intelligent,

expect. You have to have a tough skin but an open

dedicated and creative people. “But every situation is

heart.”

different, because of the people and the material.”

The son of a Canadian naval officer and born in

Matt doesn’t audition much anymore as roles are mostly

Washington, DC, Matt was raised in Peterborough, ON.

offered to him now, but he remembers those times well.

When he went to study acting in the UK, like any

It was how he developed that inner stillness to maintain

beginner he wondered whether he should have a fall-

poise and confidence, he says. While he has no desire to

back plan. While working in theatre, he says, “I found

direct—directors are pelted constantly with a hail of

my people. It’s like you find yourself. You find you’re

questions during productions, he says—he does write

among your tribe and I feel it every time I walk onto a

screenplays. “Young actors should be writing,” he says.

set.”

“Write the parts for yourself. Discover what captures

What he loves about it is also what he finds most

your imagination.”

challenging. “The biggest challenge on set is being

But he also feels that Lakefield gives young actors

alone. There are hundreds of people there. You talk to

something beyond experience on stage. For him, it was

them, your hair is being fixed, the sound guys are

the time and space to consider what he really wanted

putting a mike on you. Some directors never lift their

and the confidence to go for it. “The thing about

nose from the monitor, some talk to you constantly. The

Lakefield is that the student body is relatively small,”

same with the other actors—some like to stay in

says Matt. “When you become conscious of a path you

character, some don’t. It’s essential to find an inner

may be a little afraid to go down, there’s room to

calm in the storm of activity so that whatever happens, it

breathe and take your time to do it. It makes you aware

won’t disrupt your focus.”

of the runway you want to be on.”

JOHN SOUTHERST

What advice to you have for aspiring young actors?

“With so many options now, there seems to be more work out there but it’s harder for new actors to gain traction. It’s a free-for-all. So it’s even more important to have training—and training in theatre is best because it prepares you for anything. It gives you the scaffolding to leap off with the structure to come back to. Otherwise, you just find you’re playing yourself over and over again. When you can see how multiple roles can intersect with your own personality, that’s when the real alchemy happens.”

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Patrick McManus ’88:

A KETTLE READY TO BOIL The acting career of Patrick McManus ’88 is a study in

and venues. He is fiercely individualistic, and brings himself to

contrasts. He’s the epitome of the classic stage actor, a veteran

his roles. He is proudly Canadian. And being a trusted

of Shakespearean, Edwardian and modern roles at the Stratford

practitioner of his profession is what brings him such varied

Festival and Shaw Festival—and yet he’s recently taken time

roles.

away from the stage to do a feature horror film and a CBC drama series. He’s highly successful and in demand, but has never been attracted to the lights of Broadway or the tinsel of big-budget Hollywood. His favourite roles come from an eclectic mix of Shakespeare and Shaw, Tennessee Williams, the race-conscious melodrama An Octoroon, and the Lord of the Rings musical. Not to mention a few new Canadian plays.

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“There’s something about being on a stage and seeing an audience respond, and knowing you can get a response,” he says of his attraction to performance. “It’s also having a community of like-minded people, working collaboratively on a shared endeavour.”

He loves the preparation almost as much as the actual performance. “I always loved the rehearsal process with a good

cast and a good director. I call it an exercise in trying to fail better!

They’re six-day weeks on an eight-month contract. It’s like

It’s where I feel all my cylinders clicking.”

running a marathon.”

It was in a performance as Mason, in the World War I play

By contrast, he says, film and television are more about being

Journey’s End at Lakefield College School, that he first experienced

nimble. “I shot this movie in the summer over the course of a

that rush of audience engagement. “Mason was the comic relief in

couple of months. On set, I have to quote my aunt. She compares

the bleak world of the trenches,” Patrick recalls, “and the response

it to being a kettle just about to boil. You have to always be ready,

of the audience was something that really affected me.”

because you may be called to set several hours before the camera

While he enjoyed theatre growing up in Toronto and at LCS, he kept other doors open. But acting was always a reasonable career choice in his family—both his older brother and his aunt Helen Shaver chose acting careers. During his university years at McGill

rolls. You get your hair and makeup done, then go back to the trailer. You get called to get into costume, then you wait some more. But it moves very fast once it starts to move and the director calls ‘action’.”

and Carleton, he recalls complaining about unfinished essays and

You might think with all this acting experience, the draw of big US

the stress of his schedule being not as much fun as acting, to

productions would be overwhelming. But for Patrick, it wasn’t.

which his father wryly responded that he should probably pursue

“I’ve never had any ambition to go to LA or the US. What I wanted

the stage, “because he said it’s the only thing I show up for on

to do, and the people I wanted to work with, were all here. I guess

time.”

you can call it youthful nationalistic pride, and it never went

Ultimately, after graduation, he did choose acting, getting

away.”

involved in community theatre in Ottawa and then taking acting

Performing in those plays at Lakefield in his teens may seem a

classes in Toronto, finding other groups of performers and saying

long way from the respected place in Canadian theatre he holds

yes to every opportunity until he started getting offered jobs that

today, but Patrick sees those years as a turning point. “There are

paid. “The more you work, the more you’re going to work,” he

fundamental things that I carry from Lakefield as a person,” he

says.

says. “I was struggling before I went there.” He says outdoor

Besides getting good instruction—and one of his acting teachers was the Broadway performer Uta Hagen who was the original Martha in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? — Patrick advises watching experienced actors carefully. “I did a lot of shows at the National Arts Centre, and I learned a lot from watching great actors, learning their stories and just by observing.”

Now, with nearly 30 years of experience and living in Niagara-onthe-Lake, ON, with his wife, actor Tara Rosling, and their 11-year-old daughter, Patrick has played a string of roles in theatre’s most iconic plays, from Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well and Taming of the Shrew at Stratford to the Madness of

education played an especially important part, as well as the responsibility placed on senior students for the younger ones. “It may not have made me a better actor, but it created an environment for me to develop as an individual, which is so important for an actor,” he says. “The community angle is what I think back on—and it was a rewarding path to follow.”

A career in acting is both difficult and liberating, he says. “It’s a precarious lifestyle. Between roles, you look for the next one. Does it make you anxious? It depends on the day. But we’ve been incredibly fortunate. A lot of incredibly skilled actors don’t make their living from acting. So you have to find value in yourself. You can’t let rejection affect your sense of self-worth.”

George III, The Philadelphia Story, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Hedda

Patrick has been able to do just that. “It’s not glamorous and it’s

Gabler and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Shaw and many more at these

not as lucrative as capital finance, but it’s everything I want to do.”

and several other of Canada’s premier theatres. In 2015, he was nominated as Outstanding Actor at the Shaw Festival for his

JOHN SOUTHERST

original portrayal of Henry Higgins in Pygmalion.

But after 12 straight years at Shaw, he also recently shifted gears by dedicating 14 months to perform in film and television. He did Organ Donor, the latest entry in the Saw horror movie franchise, with Chris Rock, and he landed a continuing role in the CBC’s acclaimed Anne With an E dramatic series. Currently, he’s preparing to return to Stratford in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Wolf Hall, a modern tale of Tudor-era royal intrigue.

Advice for young actors?

“Going in for an audition, many actors will have five different monologues that they can do on a moment’s notice. For me, it’s a Chekhov, two Shakespeares, a Canadian play and a song.”

“When Stratford came calling, I couldn’t say no,” he says of his return to theatre. “I like the intensity of that kind of commitment.

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Barclay Hope ’77:

UNLIKE ANY WORLD YOU CAN IMAGINE A dead body in a box. That was the first role for Barclay

commercials that played to the point where he didn’t want

Hope ’77. And it was at Lakefield College School.

to see them anymore.

The play was Arsenic and Old Lace. In this famous

He has made a career out of it—and a very good one at

comedy, a deluded character removes a body concealed in

that—allowing him to raise three children, now grown,

a box in the living room at the end of the first act, and

and to live comfortably in Vancouver. “But it’s not an easy

carries it offstage, ostensibly to be buried in the home’s

lifestyle,” he says. “There are times of living like a pauper

basement. The deluded character was played by Barclay’s

and taking extra jobs to survive. All the work to get the

older brother Bill, now a successful actor in his own right.

role, only to be rejected time after time. I must say that the

“They needed someone to be in the box,” says Barclay, “and I volunteered to be in the box the whole first act.

That was my first play.”

The love of performance was born. “The Lakefield theatre program was so good,” he enthuses. He dove into it with gusto. Each house put on performances in those days, with prizes for the best. Barclay also remembers a spectacular school production of The Real Inspector Hound, with a cast and crew of more than 30 and a dazzling handmade set of a living room with doors,

passion was there, it just got sucked out of me over the years.”

There have been good times, of course. He was one of 30 out of 500 auditions to win a spot at the Ryerson Theatre School, and he spent a season at the Stratford Festival in Death of a Salesman and Country Wife before joining the Toronto acting scene. He eventually took a class with a casting director who linked him up with an influential agent. “One call from her got me in to every important casting director in the city,” he says.

windows, furniture and pictures on the wall. It eventually

Barclay’s first lead role came as a skinhead on an episode

made it to the finals of a major province-wide drama

of the crime drama Knightwatch. “I just ate it up,” he says.

festival. Another year, he played Fagan in a four-act

When he was cast on Unreal, a series about making reality

production of the musical Oliver!

TV, he got a call from the director and a personal greeting

“I don’t know how you couldn’t come away with positive feelings and a love of theatre,” says Barclay.

Forty-plus years later, Barclay’s passion for acting has dulled somewhat, despite considerable success. He has a long record of achievement—mostly in television productions such as The Hidden Room, Deadly Nightmares, Top Cops and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and recurring roles in Street Legal and Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal. He’s done it all—big budget and small budget, Canadian, US and multinational, even

on set from the producer, an unusual courtesy. “I was willing to do my best work for them.” Working on Psi Factor with Dan Akroyd was “one of the best experiences of my life,” he says, “being on set and learning every day for four years. There’s nothing more valuable to a young actor than doing it.”

When it’s good like that, Barclay says, “it’s unlike any world you can imagine. The people who inhabit that world are really intelligent and just fascinating, from the directors to the camera operators. And they all have their eye on the next level up. It’s a fascinating place to live.

What advice to you have for aspiring young actors?

“Take classes and learn what you are doing. If you want to create, jump in and do it. Shoot it on your phone. Fail. Learn. It couldn’t be easier to make an idea come to life than right now.

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When things crackle, they really crackle, working 12 hours a

In spite of his misgivings about the industry, there is

day at least.”

undeniable excitement when he talks about his best

But there are sides to the business he’s not as fond of.

“Everything comes from the top and trickles down, good vibes and bad vibes,” Barclay says. Sometimes, productions may put a creator in roles they are not ready for. An assistant director can give direction that confounds your

experiences. He is rightfully proud of an ABC miniseries Path to 9/11, starring Harvey Keitel and shot with “an absolute gem” of a director—David Cunningham—at locations around the world. “I couldn’t have been more excited to get to the set every day.”

role. Small-budget productions, commonplace with some

And he’s just as excited about a future miniseries set to

streaming services, may work on a schedule that

begin shooting this year, The Power, backed by Amazon,

undermines the talent of the actors.

which will bring to life Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel about

“Of 100 jobs that come up, maybe five are interesting to me anymore,” says Barclay. “The older you get and the more

women seizing social dominance through an electrifying superpower in a future world.

experience you get, it becomes frustrating. I completely

In the end, Barclay’s love of film and television shines

understand it, but it’s frustrating.”

through. “I am just fascinated by the process,” he says. “I

He can now anticipate what’s going to happen on set with certain kinds of productions. “It’s such a family on set, and you can instantly see whether it’s a dysfunctional one or a well-oiled machine.” And he’s now completely sworn off

see regulars on set who don’t care what’s going on behind the scenes. Why wouldn’t you want to know? It’s fascinating.”

JOHN SOUTHERST

commercials. “The experience is painful,” he says, “being a prop for a prop.”

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Advice for young performers?

“As a dancer, you’re asked to look at yourself in a critical way in every class—stand taller, extend that arm further. That mindset can get you down. Some days you’re on and you land everything; some days, you’re not and you don’t. Give yourself some slack. Listen to your body and don’t be over-critical. You’re thinking of 10 things at once and to slip up is human. It’s a tough lesson to learn.”

Madison Sheward ’18:

OPEN TO GIVING Dancers are athletes and dancing is hard on a body—it

“At LCS, you learn to take care of yourself—your physical and

demands fitness, preparation, diet and concentration. “You

mental health. I learned to listen to my body, listen to

have to take care of yourself,” says Madison Sheward ’18.

myself,” she says. Outdoor Education made a special impact.

“You have to listen to your body. You will have injuries.”

“My whole life, I loved being out-of-doors, but I didn’t realize

Take it from someone who lives that life. Madison has been dancing since she was two or three years old and danced competitively with her Peterborough, ON, studio from the

how much I really needed it until Lakefield—how it recharges me, how much good it does me. I could talk forever about things I learned from Lakefield.”

age of five. “I was scooting around before I could walk and

Something that came in handy for facing her next challenge

singing before I could talk,” she recalls. “My parents thought

was learning not to fear failure. “I was always pretty fearless

it was natural to put me in dance.”

but in my Grade 12 year, I had to apply to performing arts

She started with jazz “because it was so upbeat.” She added

schools and it was unlike anything I had gone through.”

ballet and tap the next year, then over the years dove into

There were not just auditions but pre-screening auditions—

hip-hop, modern and contemporary, “lyrical” dance that tells

and an acceptance rate of 2 percent. “I didn’t get in and it

stories with movement, theatre jazz, and “point,” which is a

made me question whether I was meant to do this. But

form of ballet with hard and flat-toed ballet-style shoes.

people at LCS just reminded me that these are lessons you

“There’s no better feeling than being on your toes,” says

take forward.”

Madison, “and that feeling of weightlessness.”

And she did. The following year, she re-applied, this time to

It’s a statement that perhaps only a dancer could understand,

more than 30 schools. “I did it all over,” she recalls. “I spent

although audiences certainly experience it through them.

January and February travelling to different auditions—

Just two years after graduation from Lakefield College School, Madison now studies musical theatre with a dance concentration at Roosevelt University in Chicago under the direction of Jane Lanier, a former “Fosse dancer” for the legendary choreographer Bob Fosse. The program sets a

driving, flying. The acceptances started to roll in around April and May, and one was for this program in Chicago. You’re dancing, singing and acting every day—and it has a dance emphasis so it was ideal. It’s really important I didn’t lose that part of myself.”

demanding schedule, with classes from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm,

The four-year Roosevelt program includes internships at

including two for ballet, for the technique and strength that

Chicago’s best theatres, so she’ll soon be racking up more

form the basis of other styles. Then there are rehearsals from

experience. But she’s already thinking ahead to post-

6:30 pm to 11:00 pm.

graduation. “I’ll have to start auditioning as early as next year

“The days are booked solid,” she says. “You have to get to the gym on weekends and off days to stay limber, and there’s also homework. And you warm up your voice on your own.”

Including dance competitions, showcases, conventions and “intensives”, Madison has worked herself hard from the start.

At 10, she was a volunteer working with noted choreographers and semi-professional actors in several local

for summer work and get seen by as many panels as I can,” she says. “It’s pressure, but it’s also fun. You always come away having learned something.”

She has already learned that perfection is an ideal to aim toward, but not necessary every time. “If I was thinking that all my positions were not perfect or correct, I’d lose my love of it. You have to explore freely without having to be perfect.”

theatre organizations. At 14 and 15, she was doing voice

For her personal satisfaction, she comes back to a big lesson

lessons and working on Guys and Dolls for a local production.

from LCS. “I think of all our service work that we did around

She completed formal training through the British

Peterborough, trying to improve the lives of others. It helps

Association of Teachers of Dancing.

me every day, because I believe that an actor open to giving is

Naturally, when she came to Lakefield College School, Madison jumped at the chance to perform in musicals such as Little Shop of Horrors and Damn Yankees, and in the renowned annual dance showcases, choreographed and workshopped by the students. But there was so much more.

an actor open to receiving. The second you close yourself off to helping others is the second you are no longer open to receiving.”

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Katie Uhlmann ’05:

JUST DO IT If you want to know how to get into acting in the 21st

never lost on me that it was a special place. I took

century, follow Katie Uhlmann ’05 around for a few days.

advantage of everything—choir, chess club, debating, field

Here’s hoping you can keep up.

hockey, volleyball—and theatre. I feel like I really thrived

Katie is an actor in film, television and commercials. In

there.”

fact, this year she landed her “dream job” in the recurring

To this day, she says, she still tries to do a canoe trip to

role of Candy Kemper, a new nurse on season two of the hit

Algonquin Park each year, just as she did at Lakefield. “I

Global television series Nurses. She also appears in Burt

learned to appreciate nature and prioritize it in my life. It

Reynolds’ final film, Defining Moments.

grounds you in ways that nothing else can.”

But these roles did not land in her lap unbidden. Katie has

After graduation, she studied drama and psychology at

worked tirelessly to show she belongs on stage and screen.

Queen’s University. She trained with acting coaches in Los

She has conducted more than 3,000 interviews on her own

Angeles and Toronto, and studied under actress Goldie

YouTube channel, Katie Chats. A few years ago, she wrote,

Semple at the Shaw Festival. Then it was off to Toronto to

co-directed and performed in the short comedy-horror film

get an agent and make her way as a performer. “I just

Pyramid Scream, which won a festival director’s award at

pounded the pavement with my resumé and I got some

the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

professional headshots taken. It took me a week. You have

In 2017, she co-wrote, directed and starred, along with

to be persistent and follow up.”

fellow writer and actor Trish Rainone, in the web series My

In the first year, she lived the classic aspiring-actor lifestyle,

Roommate’s An Escort, which won several awards including

working on the side as a bartender and waitress but landing

Best Actress for Katie and a Best Web/New Media award.

a commercial for the CBC and a lead voice part in an

She also works for a casting director, assisting actors in

animated film. That’s when she started to turn toward new

commercial auditions.

channels for independent productions. “I was getting

On another night, you may also catch one of her standup routines at Yuk Yuks and other Toronto area comedy clubs.

For Katie, all the activity delivers something of a snowball effect. “Sometimes as an actor, you feel you’re always waiting for opportunities,” she says. “But I’m finding the more I create my own opportunities, the more other opportunities I get.”

Katie got her first taste of the stage at Lakefield College School, a theme among our acting alumni. She performed in Les Miserables, directed by former LCS teacher Paul Mason, who has since gone on to a career as an actor and writer. She later played in The Farm Show and the lead in Little Shop of Horrors.

Of course, that’s not all she did at LCS. “It was a sacrifice for my parents to send me there,” she explains, “and it was

frustrated because it felt like my career was always in someone else’s hands, so I started writing and directing.”

It started with Pyramid Scream, a short horror film built around shady multilevel marketing. Later came Katie Chats, with her mother Joanne on the camera and doing the editing, with Katie conducting interviews with entertainment insiders from student films up to Oscarnominated blockbusters on the red carpet.

“That got my feet wet,” Katie says. My Roommate’s An Escort brought everything to a higher—and more complicated—level, demanding new skills as co-writer and director. “As an actor, you’re trying to connect to a character—you have to know yourself to be able to bring yourself to a part. As a director, you have to know all the pieces and work with cinematographers, actors, production designers and location managers to create a feel for

What advice to you have for aspiring young actors?

“So many factors that go into getting a role are out of your control – you’re too young, too old, too quirky. So create your own material. If you’re not a writer, team up with a writer. Producing a short film is within reach of anyone these days.”

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Katie on the set of Hulu’s Holly Hobbie TV series

different scenes. You have to have a vision for how you want it to

increase.” She’s been cast in docu-dramas Cold Blood and

be lit and the kinds of shots you need to tell the story.”

Murder in Paradise—“I was a murder victim at least nine times;

Working with more than 100 people throughout the process, Katie and Trish financed the first season of 11 episodes with an Indiegogo fundraising campaign and backing from producer

my mom keeps count,” she says—and has done commercials for everything from Dell Computers to McDonald’s. She spent last summer shooting Hulu’s Holly Hobbie TV series.

David Carruthers (Workin’ Moms, Billy Madison) that totalled

Her side gig working for a casting director, which she has done

$50,000. With the comical storyline—Katie’s character seems to

for five years now, has also given her an important insight into

be an escort but it’s never really certain—the show gained

the industry. “I love it because I love working with actors,” she

notoriety and recognition. Season two moved to Sault Ste.

says. “I’m on call with the casting director and the client, and if

Marie, ON., and landed backing from the Canada Media Fund

it’s comedic, I tell the actors how they want it played, how they

and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. as well as some

want it blocked. I’m very grateful, because you have good years

in-kind funding from local businesses.

and bad years. It’s good to have something to rely on.”

“It more than quadrupled our budget,” Katie says. It also

And then there’s her stand-up routines. Part of it seems to be

introduced her to a more sophisticated level of production, with

Katie’s love of being on stage, but it’s also an indication of her

lawyers and such necessities as a clearance company to secure

serious intent to grow as a writer. “I write comedy and

permissions and insurance.

sometimes you don’t know if it’s funny,” she explains. “Stand-up

Katie acknowledges it’s all been a good learning experience. She continues to hone her acting skills, working with Toronto acting

is immediate feedback. It helps you get better at structure and to find your voice.”

coach Jeff Seymour. The Roommate series also led her to sign

With the success of Roommate, her role in Defining Moments

with agents Perry Zimel and Amy Parker at Oscars Abrams Zimel

and her regular role on Nurses, Katie feels she is doing what she

& Assoc., where she also has representatives for literary,

has always wanted—and worked so hard—to do. “I really do love

commercials and voice work. “I feel fortunate to have such an

acting,” she says, “and I’m really excited when I get a part. And

amazing team behind me,” she says.

the harder you work at it, the more opportunities you get.”

“But the most valuable thing is that it’s opened a lot of doors for

JOHN SOUTHERST

me,” she says. “I’ve seen the quality of my auditions really

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 55

LCS ALUMNI–Class News!

1970s Ward Reddick ’76 made the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for his work, Waiting at Al Wattayah.

Dr. Geoff Heseltine ’77 came out of retirement in Barbados to return to the Cornwall Community Hospital in Ontario, Canada, to help on the front lines with the COVID-19 pandemic.

1980s Tony Harris ’82 (TH FineArt) was commissioned to paint lifelong friends Kevin Malone ’77, Nick Lewis ’77, and John Ryder ’77, P ’08, ’13. They have been playing pick up hockey every week since attending LCS and university together.

James Hicks ’84, P ’17, ’20 hosted members from the Class of ’84 for a reunion dinner in Toronto, prior to attending the Home to The Grove Alumni Reunion in the fall, 2019.

Peter Kendall ’85 was appointed as a Tony Harris ’82’s (TH FineArt) painting of Kevin Malone ’77, Nick Lewis ’77 and John Ryder ’77, P ’08,’13.

member to the Order of Canada for his “steadfast commitment to conserving and protecting Canada’s biodiversity for future generations.”

Jonathan Hyslop ’87, Colin Trethewey ’87, Michael Kulas ’87 and Hugh Rance ’88 celebrated the 10th consecutive year of their annual Algonquin Park Labour Day canoe trip.

Michael Kulas ’87 was part of a lighting and audio team travelling with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau across Canada to

Dr. Geoff Heseltine ’77

56 | Grove News Winter 2018

Peter Kendall ’85

set up announcements, press conferences and rallies during the 2019 election campaign. He performed the same role for the 2015 Trudeau campaign.

Tim Cormode ’88 was inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame for work with his Power to Be organization.

Dr. Richard McCall ’88, P ’23 is a GP Anaesthetist working at the Hawkesbury

Hugh Rance ’88, Jonathan Hyslop ’87, Colin Trethewey ’87 and Michael Kulas ’87

Michael Kulas ’87 with Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

Tim Cormode ’88

Dr. Richard McCall ’88, P ’23 in his home kitchen working on a prototype model for a New England Journal of Medicine COVID-19 protective shield.

General Hospital in Eastern Ontario. As the Chief of Anaesthesia Department, he is involved in the HGH planning and preparation for COVID-19 and involved clinically in the intubation and medical care of COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Daisy Moores ’96 was featured in

1990s the Ottawa Citizen for her work alongside Dr. Dave Millar in starting a special COVID-19 mom and baby clinic at the Ottawa General Hospital.

Julia (Hermon) Subota ’01 and Byron

2000s Subota welcomed Riley William on February 7, 2020.

Simon Bahr ’02 and wife Kristen and sister Maya welcomed Maxwell Arthur Bahr on August 19, 2019.

Dr. Daisy Moores ’96

Julia (Hermon) Subota ’01 with Riley William

Jenna Shelley ’02 married Thomas Crerar in May 2019 in Toronto, Ontario. They were celebrated by LCS friends including Leslie Najgebauer ’01, Laura Sunderland ’01, Kathryn Ast ’02, Hilary Bauer ’02, Laura (McIntyre) Elliott ’02, Carly Erickson ’02, Kelly (McCauley) Fleming ’02, Jenna Grossman ’02, Liza McWilliams ’02, Gandhi Pinder ’02, Andrew Sainsbury ’02, Brianna (Lyttle) Schumacher ’02, Liza Shelley ’06, Kate Townsend ’02, Melanie Wright ’02, and Daria McWilliams ’04.

Simon Bahr ’02 with wife Kristen, daughter Maya and son Maxwell

Jenna Shelley ’02 with husband Thomas Crerar

Grove News Winter 2018 | 57

LCS ALUMNI–Class News!

2000s Jenna Shelley ’02 and Thomas Crerar

McKague ’04, Andrew Grummitt ’04,

Kristin McGrath ’05 and Mitch McGrath

welcomed a son, Edward Taylor Crerar

Brian Maxwell ’04, Mike Corner ’03, Rob

welcomed Adaline Mae McGrath on

in Vancouver on April 18, 2020.

Blanchette ’02 and Alanna Gravely ’03

November 22, 2019.

Melanie Wright ’02, Andrew Sainsbury

attended.

Hilary Bird ’06 and Brad Poulter were

’02 and big brother Arthur welcomed

Kevin Mako ’03’s company MAKO Design

married on September 7, 2019 in

Willa Hawkes Wright Sainsbury on

+ Invent won the DNA Paris Award Grand

December 5, 2019.

Prix for the ROVER Packhopper, a sport,

Haliburton, Ontario.

Loic Dalle ’03 and his wife Lindsay Parfitt welcomed Charles (Charlie) Harvey Dalle on February 14, 2020.

Kevin Mako ’03 and Kelsey Priestap were married on August 17, 2019.

Kevin’s brother, Randy Mako ’04 was best man. Graham Denure ’04, Trent Long ’01, Adam Cooper ’04, Jason

fitness, and recreational product invention

Melissa (née Gates) Fitzgerald ’06,

created for tennis players. The design also

husband Jordan and big brother

won gold in the Muse Design Awards.

Nathan welcomed a baby boy, Luke,

Riona Petticrew ’03 and Derrick Gisel were married on May 18, 2019 in Vineland, Ontario. Riona’s brother, Brent Petticrew ’06, and other LCS alumni were in attendance: Sara

on April 26, 2019.

Maggie Maxwell ’06 and Shane Haladuick welcomed Harvey James Haladuick on November 5, 2019.

Cooper ’06, Dana Cooper ’11, Lauren Allen ’03, and Brett Jackman ’03.

Edward, son of Jenna Shelley ’02 and husband Thomas Crerar

Willa, daughter of Melanie Wright ’02 and Andrew Sainsbury ’02, with big brother Arthur

Charlie, son of Loic Dalle ’03 and Lindsay Parfitt

Kevin Mako ’03 with wife Kelsey

Riona Petticrew ’03 with husband Derrick

Adaline, daughter of Mitch and Kristin McGrath ’05

58 | Grove News Vol.I 2020

Leslie Schumacher ’06 and Mike Vander Doelen were married on September 15, 2019.

Sarah Thompson ’06 was featured as a guest speaker on the podcast Practical(ly) Zero Waste (Episode 66) to discuss how clothing swaps and wardrobe rentals reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion.

Sarah owns Mon Coquelicot (facebook.

Hilary Bird ’06 with husband Brad

Melissa (née Gates) Fitzgerald ’06 with busband Jordan and sons Nathan and Luke

Harvey, son of Shane Haladuick and Maggie Maxwell ’06

Leslie Schumacher ’06 with husband Mike

com/shopmoncoquelicot), a clothing shop for renting and consigning clothes.

Peter Simon ’08 saved 6 full-time employees’ jobs by switching from event-tent sewing to face mask sewing against COVID-19 in Germany.

Katherine Ross ’09 and Jay Romano were married on October 5, 2019. Riona Mohan-Goad ’09, Joanna Potts ’12, Zoe Knowles ’12, and Keifer Stevenson ’14 were in attendance.

Brendan Urlocker ’09 won the Men’s 50K Race in the Squamish 50 on August 18, 2019. Brendan represented Canada at the World Mountain Running Championships in Patagonia in November.

2010s Felipe Castello ’10 and Lucia Bultó were married on October 10, 2019. Cameron

Peter Simon ’08

Katherine Ross ’09 with husband Jay

Boland ’10 attended.

In January, Jack Cole ’10, Marshall Slipp ’10, Emmy Pullen ’11, Brooke Dunford ’11, Dalton Hill-Whitson ’11, Jessie Blair ’12, Maddy Cooper ’12, Rachel Dunford ’12, Nora Hickey ’12, Cody McMahon ’12 and Alex Procyk ’12 met in Toronto for a game of broomball followed by catching up over food and drinks.

Brendan Urlocker ’09

Felipe Castello ‘10 with wife Lucia.

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 59

OUR PEOPLE LCS Staff Snapshot

Elliott Exton ’11 Associate Faculty Grade 9 Math, Science, and Pre-AP Chemistry Life Before Lcs “I was born in England, but my family emigrated to The Kawarthas to enjoy a better quality of life when I was 13.

After graduating from LCS and completing my undergrad, I wanted to be an Audiologist. However, I realized a passion for education and working with young adults when I returned to Lakefield as a don and subsequently changed career paths to become a teacher.”

B.Sc. (Hons), Western University B.Ed., Trent University

Current Passion Project “Leveraging the new schedule to maximize learning experiences. It’s a blessing to see our classes every day for 95 minutes. Alongside an incredible Grade 9 Team, I’m taking an iterative approach to craft, reflect, and then tweak lesson/course plans that build long-term understandings that can be transferred beyond the classroom.”

My Lakefield Difference “My Lakefield Difference is the extensive network and community of support, behind the scenes. This is unique for each student, based on their needs, but it serves the purpose of helping realize potential across all aspects of life and wellness. From teachers to coaches to advisors, ‘The Well’ staff, Learning Strategists, Guidance, and Heads of House, there are countless people whose life’s work is caring deeply about our students’ wellness and their development into well-rounded individuals.”

See more at: Facebook.com/LakefieldCollege

ABOVE: Top to bottom (L-R): London, UK Friends of Lakefield College School Alumni Dinner; Ottawa Alumni Reception; LCS alumni gathered for an afternoon of broomball in Toronto; Montreal Community Reception; Kingston Alumni Social

d and big

LCS ALUMNI–Class News!

2010s Ellis Odynn ’12 was given the ‘One to Watch’ award by the Women in Finance Award Series for her work leading the Digital Finance Institute, a Torontobased think tank for Fintech, AI and Blockchain.

Sarah Douglas ’12 was named Sail Canada’s Gallagher Skipper’s Plan Female Athlete of 2019 and Rolex Sailor of the

Ellis Odynn ’12, recipient of the ‘One to Watch’ award by the Women in Finance Award Series

Sarah Douglas ’12, recipient of Sail Canada’s Gallagher Skipper’s Plan Female Athlete of 2019 and Rolex Sailor of the Year

Faith Dickinson ’20 was nominated as a Women of Impact in Canada in the Trailblazers category.

Taryn Walsh ’20 made the World Performers Canadian Dance team.

Dr. Merrilee Brown, P ’22 has been the Pandemic Director for Westshore Retirement Residence in Port Perry.

Audrey, daughter of Alaina and Brad Connelly

Year.

Lyndsay Armstrong ’13 was a member of the team who received the Data Journalism Award from the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists Awards for their investigative article titled “Tainted Water”, published in the Toronto Star on November 4, 2019.

2020s Faith Dickinson ’20 was nominated as a Women of Impact in Canada in the Trailblazers category as the founder of Cuddles for Cancer which provides fleece blankets to cancer patients and others in need of “cuddles” throughout the world.

Taryn Walsh ’20 made the World Performers Canadian Dance team, which has been in training since July 2019.

Dr. Merrilee Brown P ’22 has been working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic as an Emergency Room Physician, Hospitalist and Family Physician-Obstetrics at Lakeridge Health Port Perry, and Palliative Care Physician, and Pandemic Director for Westshore Retirement Residence.

Staff Congratulations to LCS staff member Alaina Connelly, her husband Brad and big brother, Hamish, who welcomed Audrey Clare on April 1, 2020.

Other News Grove Society Honorary Alumni Five incredible members of our community have been

Alumni by the

numbers in 2019/20

named Honorary LCS Alumni. We look forward to recognizing and celebrating their contributions to the LCS community in the future.

•

Marilynn Booth P ’98 Lakefield’s first female Chair of the Board of Governors (2001-2004), Marilynn has served in numerous governance roles for LCS and the LCS Foundation since 1997, helping craft an indelible impact on the school.

•

Kate Ramsay P ’06, GP ’14, ’16 A champion of our school’s history, Kate has been an integral supporter of our school archives and most recently, our Miltary History Project. Kate has served as a trustee and board member of the school (2002-2012) and as a trustee and board member of the LCS Foundation (2006-2016). A quiet and selfless leader, she was awarded Lakefield’s coveted Page Wadsworth Award for Volunteerism in 2014.

•

•

Gretchen Ross P ’79, ’80, GP ’17 Gretchen’s legacy at LCS is one of generosity and deep care for our school. She has served as an LCS School Trustee since 1997. Her philanthropic contributions to LCS have supported valuable infrastructure and program development, and most important, have helped give many wonderful students the opportunity to study at The Grove.

Nancy Smith P ’87, ’90, ’96 A visionary thinker and thoughtful strategist, Nancy has been central in the creation of each of the school’s last four strategic plans. Her philanthropic support of LCS created the LCS / Shaw Festival Residency program which since 2011 has provided real-world theatrical experiences for our student artists.

•

Vera Wilcox P ’03 With her retirement from LCS in June 2019, Vera ended an incredible tenure of 18 years living on our campus.

She helped shape hundreds of students between Lower Colebrook and Uplands Houses, as well as nurturing Grove culture as a leader of our School Life Class, and the official keeper of Paper House points.

LCS History – Call for Submissions Stephen Smith ‘85 is seeking contributions for a compilation of a history of Lakefield College School from 1879 to today. Anecdotes and reminiscences, yarns and journals, artifacts, relics, photographs and artwork, scraps and scrapbooks are all are welcome! Contact Stephen at lakefieldcollegehistory@gmail.com.

19

1,100+

8

26

current students with alumni parents

current students supported by the Hepburn Alumni Challenge Bursary

Hepburn Alumni Challenge participants

alumni and community events

Alumni with Children at The Grove in 2019/20 Bruce Boren ’87—Patrick Boren ’23 and Valentina Boren ’21 James Bradburn ’89—Noah Bradburn ’23 David Butterfield ’89—Margaux Butterfield ’22 Stephen Coates ’90—Simon Coates ’23 John Guest ’85—Anna Guest ’21 James Hicks ’84—Will Hicks ’20 Andrew Johnston ’95—Olivia Johnston ’22 Bill Lett ’92—Petra Lett ’23 Paula (Crawford) Mbonda ’99—Griffin Mbonda ’23 Richard McCall ’88—Matthew McCall ’23 Scott Ross ’95—Mairi Ross ’20 Rupel Ruparelia ’89—Jaden Ruparelia ’23 and Maya Ruparelia ’22 Scott Smith ’87—Dylan Smith ’23 Kristian Tommasi ’96—Renata Tommasi ’23 Luis Tommasi ’89—Carlota Tommasi ’21 Todd Watts ’90—Nick Watts ’20 Blair Whittemore ’53 (GP)—Tori Whittemore ’21

Interested in connecting with fellow alumni for coffee chats?

Career advice? Networking opportunities? Check out our diverse network through Grove Roots with experience from 20+ industries: Communications

Consulting

Industrial Distribution

Publishing

Public Sector

Non-Profit

Technology

Real Estate

Environment

International Development

Finance

Education

Marketing & Advertisement

Acting & Entertainment

Medicine/Health

Design

Information Services

Journalism

Law

Engineering

Hospitality/Food & Beverage

Politics

Veterinary

Spotlight on our incredible alumni!

Jennifer Macko ’03

Zahid Jafry ’00

Tim Cooper, CFA ’98

• Carleton University – Bachelor of Arts, Political Science

• Wilfred Laurier University

• Yale University – BA

• China Europe International Business School

• London School of Economics and Political Science – MSC

• University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management

• Senior Markets Analyst – MNI – Market News, London, UK

• Queen’s University – Law • Assistant Manager, By-Law Administration Services at the Law Society of Ontario

• Director at RootLogix – San Francisco, CA

For more information contact groveroots@lcs.on.ca Join Grove Connect to advance your career and access exclusive opportunities with mentors/mentees at www.groveconnect.ca

In Our Memories Bob Webster ’42 passed away on February 6, 2019 in

Christine Macintosh passed away on April 15, 2020 in

Mississauga, Ontario.

Georgetown, Ontario. Mother of Roderick Macintosh ’80

John Giroux ’44 passed away at home on July 31, 2019 in Brampton, Ontario.

Janet Gilmore Greene passed away on September 3, 2019.

Mother of Abigail Greene DeWolfe ’93.

Hugh MacNicol Sr. passed away on September 24, 2019.

Father of Hugh MacNicol ’75 (predeceased), Bob MacNicol ’78, Dave MacNicol ’81 and Scott MacNicol ’82.

Janet Hill passed away October 1, 2019 in Peterborough, Ontario. Sister of Stephen Hill ’81 and Bill Hill ’84, aunt to Molly Hill ’11 and Gregory Hill ’13.

William Higgs ’59 passed away on November 4, 2019 in Goderich, Ontario.

Hugh MacDonald ’55 passed away on November 14, 2019 in North Bay, Ontario.

Katherine Alexandra McColl Salloum, wife of Mark Ambler ’00 and sister-in-law to Kim Ambler ’96 passed away on November 26, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario.

Jane Van Buskirk, wife of Peter Van Buskirk ’53 passed

and former LCS staff member.

Nicholas E. (Ted) Galambos ’53 passed away on April 22, 2020 in Ottawa, Ontario.

Norma Orgill passed away on April 27, 2020 in Peterborough, Ontario. Mother of Peter Orgill ’69 and sister to Peter Perry ’42 (predeceased) and Charles Perry ’44 (predeceased). Mother-in-law to Tam Matthews ’73.

Ruby Hicks passed away on May 15, 2020 in Peterborough, Ontario. Mother of Maurice Switzer ’63.

Tara Hilton passed away on May 25, 2020 in St. Catherine’s, Ontario. Mother of Grace Devitt ’21.

Nancy Bos passed away on May 29, 2020 in Peterborough, Ontario. Mother of Carlo Bos ’94, Jeff Bos ’96 and Graham Bos ’99.

Antonia Mitchell ’09 passed away on June 29, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario.

Douglas McGowan passed away on July 2, 2020 in White Rock, British Columbia. Father of LCS faculty member Jim McGowan, grandfather to Madia McGowan ’20 and

away on November 30, 2019 in Huntsville, Ontario.

Harper McGowan ’22.

Bob Fleming ’43 passed away on January 13, 2020 in

Betty Hewson passed away on July 8, 2020 in Toronto,

Kingston, Ontario. Brother of Louis Fleming ’43 (predeceased).

Gerald Wilkes ’42 passed away on January 30, 2020 in Mississauga, Ontario. Brother of John Wilkes ’40 (predeceased), uncle to David Tredinnick ’81 and Michael Tredinnick ’83.

J.F.W. (Ted) Weatherill passed away on April 13, 2020 at home in Ottawa, Ontario. Father of Tim Weatherill ’79 and Andrew Weatherill ’85.

Ontario. Mother of Roy Hewson ’79.

Shelagh Grant passed away on July 11, 2020 in Peterborough, Ontario, Mother of David Grant ’86, Grandmother to Sean Aben ’14 and Michael Aben ’10.

Mother-in-law of LCS faculty member Mike Aben.

John David Stearne ’73 passed away on August 23, 2020 in Stratford, Ontario.

Gerhard (Gary) Alfred Knopf passed away on Sept.7, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. Father of David U.K. (Knopf) ’81.

Grove News Vol.I 2020 | 65

IN MEMORY:

Robert “Bob” Fleming ’43 (1925 - 2020) Bob was co-founder and editor-in-

At 17, during the Second World War,

chief of PACE Magazine during its

Fleming was offered an opportunity

run from 1964 to 1970, which was

to photograph and travel to Nova

published in Los Angeles and geared

Scotia with a musical revue, Pull

toward youth. Throughout the 1960s

Together Canada, and had to decide

and 1970s during his time with PACE

whether to get a post-secondary

and in his freelance career afterward,

education or go on the tour.

Bob met and photographed soccer star Pele, music and movie star Roy Rogers, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, a young U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, and Canadian professor and philosopher Marshall McLuhan, Robert “Bob” Fleming ’43, who

among others.

passed away in January, 2020, lived an extraordinary life as an author,

After the magazine closed, Bob came

photojournalist and columnist.

back to Canada and chaired the Youth Employment Skills Canada

As a teenager, he was inspired by

training program, served as the

Julien Bryan, an American filmmaker

executive secretary of the Ontario

and photographer specializing in

Royal Commission on Book

war photography, and took an

Publishing, and was the Chief

interest in photojournalism. Near

Administrator of the Ontario

the end of the Second World War, he

Legislature for 13 years.

met his mentor, British photographer Arthur Strong.

He was also the editor of Fleming’s Canadian Legislatures, a study of the

Bob began to travel the world as a

inner workings of all provincial

freelance journalist during the 1950s,

legislatures.

taking his camera across the United

“I didn’t go to university. I was told by my high school principal at Jarvis Collegiate in Toronto that if I went (on the tour), I’d be a failure for the rest of my life.” He spent his life proving that principal wrong.

Bob’s son, John, said “An encounter with my father’s flow of positive energy inevitably gave those around him hope for the future, based on the fundamental respect and the richness of our differences. I’ve seen his charisma work its natural magic many times, yet he remained humble and unassuming while listening and understanding.”

Bob died peacefully with his family by his side at Kingston General Hospital on Monday, January 13, 2020. He leaves behind his son, Robert John

States, Africa, the Middle East and

Over these years, he met with

Carruthers Fleming (Claudine Roy),

Japan. That led to meetings and

Canadian and international

three grandchildren and three great-

photographs of children from the

politicians and celebrities including

grandchildren.

black slums of Atlanta, to a German

Prince Charles, former prime

coal mine and to a Japanese peace

minister Pierre Trudeau, New

treaty signing in San Francisco in

Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield,

1951. Four years later, he

and the Aga Khan, Prince Shah

photographed the Shah of Iran and

Karim Al Hussaini.

Queen Soraya in his capacity as the official photographer for the World Statesmen’s Mission.

brother Louis Fleming ’43 in the 40s.

Decades later, he continued to speak fondly and frequently of LCS and the many special memories he had.

While in retirement in May 1999, Bob and his wife Patsy were Red Cross volunteers when about 1,100

In 1963, Bob photographed United

Kosovo refugees arrived at Canadian

States President John F. Kennedy at

Air Forces Base Kingston and stayed

the Arkansas State Fair about six

on the base until August of that year.

weeks before he was assassinated.

Bob attended The Grove with his twin

EXCERPTED FROM THE KINGSTON WHIG-STANDARD Originally published January 15, 2020

Q&A with

LCS ALUMNUS Max McEachern ’13

Q: Hometown?

A: Sudbury, Ontario.

Q: Day Student or Boarder?

A: I was a boarder for four years in Ryder House. As an Associate Faculty member, I have been living in Cooper House for the last two years.

Q: LCS service trips?

A: South Africa and Mozambique. We visited game reserves and ocean reefs.

Q: Favourite LCS memory?

A: LCS Irving Expedition canoe trip on the Wind River in the Yukon. It sparked my interest in Canada’s Northern Territories and inspired me to want to work and live in the NWT.

A:

Q: Who had a profound impact on you at LCS?

Both Brent Hurley and Garret Hart were hugely

influential during my time at Lakefield. They helped me to realize my full potential as a young man and taught me to pursue my passions by working for everything I wanted.

Q: Achievements you are most proud of?

A: Setting the Fastest Known Time (FKT) record

Q: Most important thing learned at LCS? A: LCS taught me how to be resilient, independent, and to listen to different perspectives.

Q: Favourite spot on campus at LCS?

I spent every single night playing pick up hockey on the Bob Armstrong Rink during the winter. The way the snow fell under the lights was magical.

Q: Post-LCS Pursuits?

A: Bishop’s University then University of British Columbia, Okanagan, in Kelowna, which is where I graduated with a degree in Political Science and Art. History.

Q: Post-Graduate Pursuits?

Traveling and running really long distances (80km-100km). I am currently working to start my own business in

running the 102 km Cataraqui Trail in Smith Falls,

Adventure Tourism and Trail Running.

ON: 10h 23m 18s. Exploring Canada’s Arctic and

The business will offer luxury trail

Territorial regions by canoe while working and

running retreats in remote places around

guiding for Al Pace ’77 at Canoe North Adventures.

Canada.

Q: Current professional or passion projects?

Q: Words of advice for the Class of 2021?

current goals include to run the West Coast Trail (80

Lakefield has to offer, and challenge

km) in one day, the Chilkoot Trail (53 km) in one day,

yourself each and every day to get out of

and Akshayuk Pass (100 KM) in one day.

your comfort zone.

A:

Long distance trail running (ultramarathons). My

Take a deep breath, enjoy everything

SHARE the MAGIC of THE GROVE • Last year, almost 49% of the students who were accepted to LCS, were referred to us through members of our community. Each year, our families and friends connect us with great students considering an independent school experience.

• We welcome you to share the magic of LCS (and the many good news stories in this issue of the Grove News) among your networks of friends who may have children that are interested.

• If you do, please let the Admissions Team (admissions@lcs.on.ca) know about your efforts, including if you would like to participate in a small virtual gathering.

• Admissions is now recruiting for the Class of 2025. Have your friends inquire today.

lcs.on.ca If addressee has moved, DO NOT forward. Return with present address if known. Mailed under Canada Post Publication Agreement #40025808

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The Grove News is published twice a year by the Communications Office.

Lakefield College School, 4391 County Road 29, Lakefield, Ontario, Canada K0L 2H0