Reflecting on connection after Alumni Reunion

In early October, I returned to my high school for an alumni reunion. I was excited as I walked across the field to join my fellow classmates. Everything felt familiar and at the same time, so much about the school has changed. The consistent piece was the people. Although I hadn’t seen some of my classmates in many years, the connection was immediate. 

This was a great reminder of the power of connection in high school. Our teen years are transformational and the friendships we make during these years stay with us. 

Travelling home from the reunion, I thought a great deal about the Greenwood students and alumni and how this same connection is exactly what we hope for each person who attends Greenwood. 

This fall, Greenwood staff have visited alumni around the world – from Vancouver, British Columbia to London, England, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and up soon will be visits to Montreal and across Ontario. The Greenwood connection ties people together, even those who were not at Greenwood at the same time or who didn’t know each other well. At the alumni visits, we often see people who have been away from Greenwood for several years offer their contact info to a student in their first year of postsecondary, providing them with a touchstone in a new city. 

Each alumni visit is filled with stories, memories and connection. We always enjoy hearing what people are up to now. And, conversation inevitably veers to the sharing of many “remember when” moments. 

Remember when we paddled against a headwind for hours on the fall canoe trip? Remember when we won the championship soccer game? Remember when we almost won the House Cup? Remember that lip sync video we made in Grade 7?

This fall, our Grade 12 students have had many opportunities to mentor Grade 7-9 students – first on OE trips and then through clubs and committees back at Greenwood. As they work with the younger students, they will often have their own “remember when” moments, remembering what it was like to be a Grade 7, 8 or 9 student. The Grade 12 students are also already looking to their future. In several months time, they will join our alumni and next year at this time, we will be visiting them as they start their new adventures. 

We have started to celebrate our Grade 12 students, all that they bring to Greenwood and each other, and all that they have accomplished over their years here. Earlier this month, they gathered for a Grade 12 breakfast. Tomorrow they will head out to various postsecondary institutions around southern Ontario as they prepare to make applications and choices for their future. We are so proud of them as they prepare for this next chapter.