Lake Forest Academy invited families to campus for another annual Family Weekend, allowing them to experience students’ daily lives firsthand by featuring mini-classes, an outdoor picnic and campus tours led by student ambassadors. The event bridged the gap between students’ lives on campus and their families.
On Friday, parents were given the opportunity to learn more about the school through student panels, open rehearsals in the theater and meetings with students’ advisors. There was also a Parents Association Luncheon offered in Reid Hall.
Among the weekend’s activities were Saturday morning’s model classes designed for parents to experience the academic environment through their kids’ schedules. Student ambassadors volunteered to guide families in the main academic buildings, helping them to navigate around campus smoothly. While students spend much of their time in the classroom, parents do not usually get the chance to see what a typical day looks like at LFA. By attending these classes, parents were able to gain a better understanding of the educational atmosphere their children encounter every day, including meeting their teachers and seeing what they learn about in each class.
Outside the classroom, an outdoor picnic on the quad provided a more informal occasion for families to connect with each other. The cafeteria staff delivered plenty of food, including a taco bar, while name tags helped families introduce themselves and start conversations. Teachers also walked among tables, welcoming questions and giving parents the chance to speak to them informally.
Family Weekend also emphasizes the interconnectedness between the school community and families in shaping students’ future paths. Despite support given by teachers at school, families play an equally essential role in building the foundation of their kids’ growth. Through strengthening the relationship between families and educators, the school demonstrates the importance of a collaborative approach to education.
For students, Family Weekend is equally important. The same friends, academic buildings and schedules might become increasingly ordinary over time, but showing them to families can motivate rediscoveries from someone else’s perspective. Thus, the event also reminds students that home and school are not separate worlds, but intersecting systems of support and development.
As a half-boarding, half-day school, LFA also hosted a lot of international parents who traveled long distances from different parts of the world. The gathering brought together families of diverse backgrounds, which showcased the multicultural community that defines LFA. For international students, school can gradually become a second world built by friendships, routines and places that are hard to explain to family members from afar. Family Weekend offered them the chance to spend time with families and show them the place where they spend much of their time.