A message from Grade 12 Albert College student and Adventure Prefect, Canniff

It takes a certain level of optimism to look at a school year that is bound to be packed with uncertainty and say as the Prefect charged with leading the Adventure program, ‘We can make something from this’. It has been a surreal experience so far; like walking through static, feeling familiar and distant at the same time. Despite these restrictions beset on the Albert College community, there are lights in the fog, smiles on faces and laughter in our classrooms. The warm sense of togetherness that is the Albert College family remains unbroken.

Unfortunately, Albert College was unable to host its traditional school-wide camping trip that usually kicks off the year with campfires, outdoor adventures and most importantly, making friends for life. This is one of the hardest loses for me in my final year at Albert. However, my love of the outdoors and endless adventures is not lost this year - even in the face of a global pandemic. Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of leading a group of Grade 9 students on our annual fall canoe trip to Lake Mississagagon. Although not free from restrictions, our little group of ten students and staff enjoyed the wonders of nature, cooking our meals over an open fire and working as teams of two in our canoes. The best part was that over half of the students who attended this trip were new students to Albert College.

As the Adventure Prefect, it pains me, and my fellow Prefects, to see our portfolios lose much of their unique events and opportunities this year. However, this has not stopped us from pushing forward and doing our best to ‘survive, thrive and jive’ - a phrase we lovingly crafted together at the beginning of the school year.

However hard this year will be, I know from the bottom of my heart that we as a school will rise to any occasion. It is what we always do.