Once a year, Lake Forest Academy hosts Family Weekend, previously known as Parents Weekend. Activities like a class coffee, Parents Association Welcome Luncheon, BIPOC family gathering, and brand new Bell Bash allow parents to connect with the community. Other activities – such as mini classes, home sporting events, and a small-scale version of the school’s club fair – offer parents insight into the day-to-day lives of their children.”It was wonderful to meet the parents,” new teacher at LFA Mark Eleveld commented.
This fall, LFA included a new event “Bell Bash” in the diverse lineup of in-person Family Weekend Events. Formerly the Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night, Bell Bash is a concert held in LFA’s formal gardens, and this year it highlighted “Brass From the Past,” a local cover band from Palatine. This celebration was planned extensively by the LFA Parents Association, and it was an opportunity to spread the love for LFA’s dedicated employees and also for LFA parents to relax and enjoy beautiful music alongside the school community.
Parent connection is essential to LFA as the community goes beyond the campus. Family weekend allowed many parents to get together and many boarding families to connect with those they do not see every day. The Parent Association Luncheon is a great example of parents coming together to develop LFA. “Parents of all grades talked of kids’ sports’ teams and saw science labs, asked each other questions about dress code and dorm rules, shared tips on academic help, class courses, student travel and even skate sharpening! I’m sure most parents also learned something important that their child had not yet told them,” Michelle Stastny, a member of the Parents Association said.
Parents also had the opportunity to connect with their students teachers during a shortened version of their childs classes. Mini classes run for fifteen minutes each following the student’s A-day schedule. This program allows parents to meet the teachers of their children and to see what the classroom atmosphere is like. Some teachers put together photo slides, or videos so parents can see their students working during class. “Meeting the teachers is my favorite part of family weekend. I like to hear how each style plays out in the classroom. That gives me a sense of what my children like and don’t like. It’s very fun. I like to see the curriculum. That to me is very impressive for each of the classes and some of the stuff they have us do is beyond us,” said Melissa and Dennis Kelly, P ‘25, P ‘26.
Although mini classes may require extra work for faculty members, “We have continued to offer parents a rounded, fun and educational couple of days to make the best family weekend experience possible,” Dean of Faculty Paul Makovec said.
After mini classes, almost every fall sport took to the ice, field, or courts, representing Caxy orange or showing pride in the yellow Ferry Hall uniforms. These sporting events were a major part of the parents’ experience in seeing school spirit and their students’ spot in the community. “To me, the community is not just the school. You have your obvious community within the school, the teachers, the students and the parents, but then when you have a beautiful weekend, and everyone showing up really adds to LFA’s environment. It was packed, it was cool,” said Bill Danz, P ‘25, P ‘27.
Watching a child represent their school is something that brings joy to the students, parents, and teachers. “The fact that I was lucky enough to have both Audrey and William play at LFA, at the same time, their fields next to each other, I really enjoyed the games this weekend,” said Danz.
With the amazing school spirit from families, there was an exceptional turnout during the sporting events. Boys Soccer, Varsity Field Hockey, and Prep Ice Hockey all secured a shutouts over the weekend, and girls tennis had an amazing performance against UHigh, winning 4-1.
Family weekend activities were not just offered in person. LFA also included options for families that could not attend campus activities. On Friday morning, Caxy parents were able to attend three zoom meetings, including: a conversation with Interim Head of School Tom Johnson, listening in on a presentation about residential life with members of the Dean of Students Office and Dorm parents, while also having the opportunity to livestream the students morning meeting. These activities allowed parents to be involved all over the globe, as it reperesents LFA’s motto “Midwestern Heart, Global Mind”.
