What’s Happened
June has proved to be a very busy time for La Lumiere. From the arrival of new students, to a huge party outside with an incredible view of the lake, campus has ceased to be quiet.
The beginning of summer brought with it the arrival of the new freshman class. Each year during June, the entering ninth graders are invited to come to campus and stay in the dorms for a week. The purpose of all of this is to allow the students to get to know the campus, the faculty, and most importantly each other, better before they even start the school year.
Throughout the week the Class of 2025 got to learn all about La Lumiere and what their next four years would look like. Everything from the mission statement to the different kinds of extracurricular activities were discussed, allowing the newcomers a better glance of the school as a whole.
Andrew Hoyt, Assistant Head of La Lumiere and Academic Dean, spoke to the students about how they will grow over their time at the school. This allowed for the students to reflect over what they wish to do with their time there and let them imagine their own high school careers themselves as no one person is the same.
“You can’t see grass grow. Just like we can’t see ourselves grow, it just happens overtime. You have four years here. What you choose to do to help yourself grow over that time is up to you, but when you graduate you will not be the same person you are right now. You will have learned and changed as you grow,” Hoyt said.
There were also a lot of games and activities for the freshman class to play, including games of dodgeball. Students even took a trip to New Buffalo beach one night! On their last night, the class got treated to a tradition of a movie night in the FAB, something boarding students participate in every weekend, allowing them to become immersed into La Lumiere through one of its many traditions.
Although the freshmen experience is relatively new at La Lumiere, it has very quickly become a favorite of both current and past students. The week itself allowed for initial relationships to form within the class, so now when they do walk onto campus this August, they will have some familiar faces to talk to. Many students who have participated in this week-long endeavour have long after talked about how they feel their classes are closer because of this extra time given to bond before officially joining the rest of the school.
At the same time the freshman were first being introduced to campus, returning students were also stepping back onto campus for summer school. However, La Lumiere’s version of summer school is not the one that everyone pictures in their head.
Students at La Lumiere are offered the opportunity to take courses in the summer to get their credits for classes they need to take to graduate. These are shortened versions of the class, but have added elements of fun into them.
For example, this year the summer school Econ class took a field trip to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. They visited Greenfield Village at the museum, which is home to many iconic houses that were moved by the museum from their original resting place into an outdoor town that allows visitors to take a look into the past in depth.
While there, students did a study on how the home economics have changed over history, looking closely at the houses and how the families lived.
However, the biggest event of the summer so far has been La Lumiere’s annual auction. This time though, it was held on campus in a large tent right next to the lake.
While the evening did get off to a bit of a rocky start with a tornado warning forcing guests to move inside to the gym, a beautiful rainbow followed and marked the beginning of what would be a very lovely evening.
Alumni, parents, and board of trustee members all gathered together to celebrate the achievements of the past year in spite of the odds. The night proved to be very successful with many amazing experiences being auctioned off including front row seats to a Memphis Grizzlies game and a chance to watch a Jim Gaffigan show and dinner with him afterward.
What’s Coming Up
While campus has since quieted down from the many different events going on, it will not remain silent for much longer. In less than a month, La Lumiere will be welcoming it’s new international students for international orientation.
Similar to the freshmen experience, international orientation allows for the new international students to come and settle a week before everyone else arrives.
This event is extremely special this year as many students who were meant to come from overseas last year who were not able to come because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coming school year, although a month away, is quickly approaching and students are looking forward to what looks to be a more “normal year” compared to last year. While it is unclear how much will be able to return, there is lots of hope that many favorite traditions and activities will be making their debut back into the lives of La Lumiere students.
On August 15, students will return to campus and officially begin the 2021-22 school year.