Incoming Exchange Student Handbook 2019-2020 Table of Contents Who We Are.......................................................................................................................................p 3 Where We Are ...................................................................................................................................p 3 A Welcome from our Head of School...............................................................................................p 4 A Message from our Director of International Programs................................................................p 5 Travelling to LCS...............................................................................................................................p 6 What to Bring.....................................................................................................................................p 8 Outdoor Life......................................................................................................................................p 9 Staying Connected..........................................................................................................................p 10 Money Matters.................................................................................................................................p 11 Insurance and Medical Information...............................................................................................p 12 Daily Schedule.................................................................................................................................p 13 Term Schedule.................................................................................................................................p 14 Academics........................................................................................................................................p 14 Co-Curricular Program: Athletics and Arts....................................................................................p 17 Special Arrangements for Non-Reciprocal Exchange Students.....................................................p 17 Who We Are Originally known as “The Grove Preparatory School for Boys”—and still affectionately referred to by many as simply, “The Grove”—Lakefield College School was established in 1879 by Sparham Sheldrake on a beautiful 25-acre property on the shores of Lake Katchewanooka. One hundred years later, in 1979, LCS became the first Canadian school to become a member of Round Square (roundsquare.org). Under then Headmaster, David Hadden, Lakefield College School welcomed female students and became a co-educational institution in 1989. In 2007, LCS graciously accepted the gift of Northcote Campus, adding 160 acres to the school’s already expansive 155-acre waterfront property. Although there were only 15 boys in attendance when it first opened almost 140 years ago, today Lakefield College School has an enrollment of about 365 students, approximately three-quarters of whom are boarders and one-quarter are day students from the Lakefield / Peterborough area. We are particularly proud of the diversity represented in our student body, as we typically have students hailing from 40 different countries. Where We Are The village of Lakefield is home to approximately 3,000 people and is located in the Township of Selwyn in the central-eastern part of the Canadian province of Ontario. The village is situated near the edge of the vast geological feature known as the Canadian Shield in the Kawartha Lakes tourist region, which lies in the heart of Ontario’s picturesque cottage country. The nearby city of Peterborough, a 20-minute drive from Lakefield, is home to more than 65,000 residents and boasts a vibrant commercial, cultural, and arts scene. The main campus of LCS is situated on the outskirts of Lakefield, about a 15 to 20-minute walk, along the sidewalk-lined County Road 29, from the village’s “downtown core.” Lakefield College School campus #LakefieldCollege | page 3 A Welcome from our Head of School Welcome! Whether you are visiting us for a few weeks or a few months, it is my hope that you will have a wonderfully memorable exchange experience at Lakefield College School. Arriving in a new school and country, with an unfamiliar culture and a sea of new faces, can be a daunting challenge, to say the least. Thankfully, I think you will find us to be a small, friendly school with a family-like atmosphere, so I’m confident that you will soon start to feel right at home at LCS. My best advice is to try new things, don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone, but also, to have fun! Taking part in a student exchange is all about embracing the opportunities posed by the school community, your adopted country, and host family—all while making new friends and experiencing the amazing personal growth that is possible with an international adventure of this sort. By doing so, it will ensure that you leave Lakefield at the end of your exchange visit, content in the knowledge that you have seized every opportunity and taken full advantage of all that our school has to offer. Along with our students and staff, I am very much looking forward to welcoming you in person to Lakefield College School, and to helping you discover what we affectionately call the “Lakefield difference” for yourself! Anne-Marie Kee, Head of School and Foundation (third from left), with LCS students at a pep rally #LakefieldCollege | page 4 A Message from our Round Square Representative/ Exchange Coordinator Whether you will be joining us for the warm days and cool nights of the fall term (October to December), in the midst of the cold, snowy winter (from January to March), or the gradually warming, sunny days of spring (April to June), I know that I speak for the entire LCS community in saying that we are very much looking forward to welcoming you. If you will be attending Lakefield College School as a day student, then you will reside locally with the family of your exchange partner, and will typically either walk, be driven by one of your host parents, or take the LCS bus to and from school each day. If yours is a reciprocal boarding (“bed swap”) exchange, you will be living on-campus in one of our 12 boarding houses. Each student residence has two full-time staff members, a Head of House and an Associate Faculty member, both of whom live in apartments attached to the residence. At LCS, we value the sense of family and community afforded by life on campus, so each residence is home to anywhere from 12 to 26 students, with most rooms being occupied by only two students. In addition to my role in working with your own school’s Round Square Rep or Exchange Coordinator to organize your visit, I will also be serving as your Academic Advisor during your time at LCS. Prior to your arrival, please read through this orientation booklet carefully to help familiarize yourself with life at Lakefield—you may also wish to visit our website (lcs.on.ca). Should you or your parents have any questions or concerns about any aspect of your exchange visit to Lakefield College School, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email ([email protected]), telephone (705.652.3324 ext. 365), or—preferably only in the event of an emergency—via my cell (705.760.3135). I look forward to meeting and getting to know you, and to working together to ensure that your time at Lakefield is both rewarding and memorable. Gerry Bird, Director of International Programs and LCS’ Round Square Rep (far left), with LCS students in Iceland for the Round Square International Conference pre-conference session #LakefieldCollege | page 5 Travelling to LCS A few weeks prior to your departure, Mr. Bird will send you an LCS Letter of Invitation to carry with you en route to Canada, to show immigration officials if they request additional documentation regarding the purpose of your visit. In such cases, it is recommended that you characterize the experience as a “cultural” exchange and try to avoid describing it as a “school or study” exchange. Otherwise, the official may mistakenly jump to the conclusion that you require a Student Visa. This is not the case, as depending on your country of origin, only a Tourist Visa, or even just an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is normally required for entry to Canada (canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada.html). This is because no tuition fees are being billed to your family by Lakefield College School, nor will you be receiving any form of academic accreditation from the school while you are here. In most cases, we ask that parents of incoming exchange students not book their child’s airline ticket to Canada so as to have them travel as an Unaccompanied Minor. This tends to complicate things on arrival, because most airlines require Unaccompanied Minors to be turned over to a designated adult after clearing Customs at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. This is not usually a problem if the visiting student will be met at the airport by their LCS exchange partner’s parents—and they have pre-arranged in advance exactly who will be there to welcome them—but this isn’t always the case. For example, if the incoming exchange student’s visit is non-reciprocated, or if the LCS host student’s family does not live within reasonable proximity of Toronto / Lakefield (as is the case with our international families or those from other parts of Canada) then Mr. Bird will arrange ground transportation for the incoming exchange student