October Update from the Interim Head of School

Dear La Lumiere Community,

Just a few weeks ago, our senior class capped off an unforgettable Parents’ and Alumni Weekend here on campus with one of our most beloved traditions: the Senior Bonfire.

After a full day of events on campus, our community gathered at dusk on the edge of the lake for the culmination of the weekend. Across the water, each of our seniors carried their torch through the darkening forest, slowly making their way toward the assembled crowd. Under a dome of stars, our largest senior class ever cheered and chanted as they convened together around the bonfire, each student’s name being announced as they joined their classmates in a circle of light. And then, on the head prefect’s cue, they set that thing ablaze.

I believe that the Senior Bonfire embodies what is best about our school. Each student carries their own light through a challenging path that includes darkness, ups and downs, and plenty of obstacles. Yet they keep their light burning. In the end, when they gather with their classmates as a community—a community comprising different nationalities, race and ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, talents, orientations, life experiences, and personalities—they unite with one another to create a fire that shines so brightly that it illuminates the night sky.

At La Lumiere, we are fond of a quote attributed to St. Catherine of Siena: “Be who you are created to be, and you will set the world on fire.” For those of us here on campus, it is exciting to walk alongside our seniors as they journey through their final year of high school. We relish accompanying them not only because of how proud we are of everything that they have accomplished during their time at La Lumiere but also because we know that they have such amazing gifts to share with the world beyond.
These seniors are going to set the world on fire.

As a school community, one thing that we should ask ourselves is how we will share our gifts with the world: Who are we, as a community, created to be? Our mission statement calls us to be a school that forms character, cultivates scholarship, and explores faith in order to grow into more complete versions of ourselves. How can we grow into a more complete version of our school?

How will La Lumiere set the world on fire?

To continue our answer to these questions, it is my honor to share with you the overview of our new Strategic Plan for La Lumiere School. The plan was developed by an ad-hoc committee of Trustees and approved by the full Board in February of this year, but we could not have created it without the participation of so many community members. I want to thank all of our families, alumni, board members, current students, and current and former faculty members who participated in focus groups and shared perspectives that shaped this plan. Your input was tremendously helpful.

You can find our Strategic Plan Overview at this link, which also includes the Vision Statement that guides our plan in consonance with our mission statement:

OUR VISION: “To be a community of learners who are ablaze with curiosity, confident of our value, and driven to serve others. Inspired in this way, Lakers will illuminate the world and set a new standard for excellence in education.”

We have already been hard at work putting this plan into action and developing concrete steps to achieve this shared vision, and we believe that the plan represents exciting areas for growth that deepen and extend the strengths of our school. As one senior faculty member remarked to me when we shared the final plan with our teachers, “That’s who we are.”

I look forward to working with our community as we use this plan to grow into a more complete version of ourselves. My invitation to you is to review our plan and to ask yourself, “What role do I have to play in this plan? How will I add kindling to this fire?”

The fire is indeed roaring at La Lumiere this fall, and that is a good thing. An autumn wind is moving across campus these days, and winter is just around the corner. Our students are halfway through “Spirit Week,” which has included goofy spirit days such as “Anything but a Backpack Day” (on which I saw one student carrying their books in a toy car and another in a mini-fridge). The fun and excitement culminates in the Bookstore Basketball championship and the start to winter athletics with our annual “Marsch Madness” on Friday evening in historic Marsch Gymnasium. As with anytime our students come together to support one another, I expect that gymnasium to be on fire.

Until then, warm wishes from all of us here on campus and may we follow in the footsteps of our seniors and keep the fire burning this year!

Onward,

Andrew Hoyt, Ph.D.

Interim Head of School