Getting into The Grove During Orientation Week

The grade-focused orientation programs are an integral part of the opening week at Lakefield College School. A rich variety of activities provide students and staff the opportunity to learn about each other in a comfortable setting. Students have the chance to bond with their classmates, provide leadership and build school spirit.

 

The Leadership, Character, Values (LCV) program is the backbone of the grade-focused orientation program, and permeates throughout every facet of student life during the rest of the year.  An overall goal of LCV is to ensure that our students will leave Lakefield knowing how to love, lead and look after the global community; and to see themselves as an integral part of ensuring a positive future for all. LCV played a large part in shaping each of the orientation programs, often with a focus on particular Lakefield College School values depending on the grade.

In Grade 9 the LCV pillar is defined as “The Confident Self,” and students were introduced to and encouraged to embrace behaviours and attitudes defined in our Learning value during orientation. Our youngest members of the school spent their orientation program exploring campus and the Village of Lakefield before working together to power the dragon boats in Peterborough.

The Grade 10 LCV pillar is “Stewardship.” During their orientation sessions, our students participated in activities centred around service to others and the development of leadership skills—ideals represented within the school’s Citizenship value. The Grade 10s spent most of their time at The Mount Community Centre in Peterborough where they gave their time to the community by painting, moving furniture and helping to change the face of this historic building.  

 

The Grade 11 LCV pillar is “Citizenship,” and orientation activities for this group centered around our Healthy, Caring Community and Citizenship values: understanding the important role we each play in nourishing shared community values like trust, respect, personal dignity, and embracing diversity—the foundation to wellbeing in our communities—along with an appreciation of service to others.  Students spent a day at the Northcote Campus building picnic tables and fire pits that will support future student programming, and then moved to Peterborough where they spent an afternoon getting to know the local community while collecting parts and assembling bicycles to be shared with ten children from Peterborough through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

 

The Grade 12 LCV pillar is “Leadership,” and students spent their orientation sessions focussing on all seven of the Lakefield College School values. Their orientation activity began early as they headed off to Algonquin Park for a four-day canoeing and camping adventure. Upon their return to campus, our grads took part in workshops focused on empathy, the art of listening and relationships, among others. The senior students were busy participating in these discussions and learning more about each other, and the role they play in supporting the growth and wellbeing of the students in our community.

By Saturday, our orientation week will be winding down with its last events and students will be diving in to the new academic and cocurricular experiences ahead of them. The grade-focused orientation program serves as a great jumping off point for all our students moving forward into the year as it provides a variety of rich and diverse opportunities to get comfortable in smaller groups, meet their peers and build the foundation for their year.