By Dave Krocker, Head of School

This time of year is always exciting in the life of a school. Opening Day is a new beginning of sorts, a moment bursting with potential, excitement, and aspiration. That's what Opening Day always is, so that's what we've grown to expect.

This year, however, has been different: our expectations were exceeded, spectacularly, in every way. It began with the enthusiasm and joy of the students being together again, taking selfies—see a few of those below—and diving, in some cases literally, into the Opening Day programming.

But the momentum is palpable on other ways, too. It includes driving past the new ironwork at the front of the campus. It includes seeing the new sailboats lined up on the new dock, all of them showing the RLC branding. It includes seeing the two site signs that have been installed to mark the areas of the campus that will be home to a new athletic centre and a new teaching and learning complex.

All of those things—students, faculty, the physical development—point to the same thing: community. Everything you can see on campus, everything you can point to, has a name attached to it, someone from our community who has contributed something of themselves. Jim Wallace '69 did the ironwork. JJ Long '92 did the signs and the branding on the boats. The sailing committee, made up of alumni and family, have helped make the sailing program a reality. Mathew King '87 did the sailing dock.

The list goes on. But that's what I see when I look around, particularly this past week. I see the people. The alumni, families, students, faculty and staff. At one point a member of the faculty mentioned to me that "it feels as if RLC is ready to explode." It does and that's because of all the people who contribute to it. (Even the neighbours. Crossroads is donating the food for the Fall Colours event.)

We are ready to explode. In every way, this is going to be a fantastic year.