The Chapel Talk: A Time-Honoured Tradition
In my opinion, one of the best traditions at Lakefield College School is the Chapel Talk. Our Grade 12 students are offered the opportunity during their graduating year to address the whole school community in Chapel. They are invited to share their story, often reflecting on their time at LCS—inspirations and challenges, the role the school played in their journey—and where appropriate, offering some advice to the Grade 9 to 11 students. Most of our Grads take advantage of this tradition and many comment on how they have waited for the opportunity since the days when they sat in the back pews of the Chapel in Grade 9.
Some of my favourite memories of The Grove are from Chapel Talks—self-reflective and often insightful, we really get to know our students and see how they have developed emotionally during their time at the school. I love their humour, their wit, how they recognise their parents, families and friends and most importantly, the many different ways they express gratitude for their experience—to their teachers, coaches, heads of house, and other staff of the school.
Recently, one of our graduating seniors gave a Chapel Talk that really resonated with me on a personal level. He stood up and talked about how great it was to have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). In fact, he said, you should all wish you had it! I connected to this as I have often thought that I made it through my adolescence as an undiagnosed ADHD boy. I had trouble sitting still, my mind was always racing, making it challenging to focus—school was never easy.
What I loved about his Chapel Talk was the confidence and spirit with which he celebrated his unique qualities and communicated how he was a better person for facing the challenges and learning to overcome them. It was a great Lakefield message for a number of reasons: the Chapel represented a place where he felt safe to share his story and did not worry about being judged and, as a result, we all benefited from the experience he had to share.
It was a wonderful way to start off the day. Thank you E!
