By Glen Herbert

The creation of the new Recreation Centre at Rosseau Lake College (RLC) was a bold move. At $4.3 million, it’s the largest capital project the school has undertaken in its life. With a lead donation of $2 million, it also inspired the largest single gift in the school’s history. A CAIS-accredited day and boarding school for Grades 7 to 12, RLC has long been a leader in outdoor education—the founding headmaster said that “it should be as natural for a person living in North America to paddle a canoe as it is to ski or skate”—but there is more to life, and the new facility recognises that. It increases all-season athletic and recreation space six-fold, significantly broadening the school’s offering.

Opened in January, it’s also patently beautiful. The lobby is dominated by a broad, open staircase—the treads are Douglas fir, matching the porch outside—set inside a bank of two-story windows leading to a large mezzanine and fitness space overlooking the gym.

The walls throughout are finished in Birch ply, which has a distinctive grain, almost like a curly maple, and a warm, incandescent tone. Above, the beams and trusses—all of them are exposed, set off with accent lighting—are made of mass timber, an engineered structural product. Gaining popularity in Canada, mass timber is the material that was used to make the world's tallest timber building, the Mjøstårnet or “Tower of Mjøsa” in Brumunddal, Norway. Darren LeClair, construction manager and alumnus of the school, chose it for the same reasons that the Norwegians did: it’s renewable, cost effective, allows for faster build times, and adds a distinctly inviting feel.  Says LeClair, “showing leadership in this way,” being bold in design and execution, “was very high on RLC’s list of criteria.” It’s also something that the current leadership has a lot of appetite for.

“Today is about more than just opening the doors of a building. It’s about opening the doors to new opportunities, new experiences, and new ways for our students to grow and thrive.”

Founded in 1967 on the site of the former Eaton estate, RLC was initially housed entirely in buildings that predated it. During the first years, the students—it was all boys then—had the run of the mansion. Classes were held in the common spaces, and meals were served in the Eaton’s dining room.

Hints of that time remain, most obviously in the log cabin at the center of the school. It was once Lady Eaton’s sewing room, or so the story goes. Next to the Recreation Centre is a low wooden building that once served as the Eaton’s stable. The family brought their horses up from Toronto at the start of each summer by boat through the lakes, reversing the trip in the early fall.

But apart from those hints, there’s very little that the Eatons would recognise. There are now two dedicated academic buildings on site and four boarding houses, all added over the years as the school grew. An academic centre overlooking the historic Lake Rosseau lighthouse was completed in 2008. Most were built through the support of families of the school, parents and grandparents who appreciated what the school had meant to them. Now with more than a half century of graduates, the alumni are in a position to support the school financially, and they have been. The lead donor for the recreation centre is Dan Campagna who graduated from RLC in 2007. Alumni tend to bring a unique lens, in light of their experience as students, giving in very specific ways. Campagna is an example of that. While he loved the school, he craved a greater range of athletics and coaching, and a greater range of varsity competition. The Centre fills those needs and more.‍

The school has grown over the years, in size and focus, and has added signature programs that are found only here. Students arrive each year from around the world. They tend to be a bit more adventurous, looking for something different, and are attracted by the unique lifestyle that living on the edge of a lake in Muskoka can offer.

With the current capital plans, the school intends, if not to grow, then to amplify its offering. "We're in a better place than we’ve ever been,” says Krocker. “RLC is actualizing its potential with important infrastructure improvements, elevated by outstanding professional educators. There’s a real sense of momentum. As such, we feel we're able to be more assertive in what we’re able to do, and in ways that we might not have before."

“We see this as an investment in the future of Rosseau and the region, one that will draw interest and inspire further initiatives in infrastructure, athletics, and culture. 

The recreation centre is a reflection of that assertiveness. It is the first of three projects—they include a centre for innovation and learning and an administrative complex—that will bring the 56-acre property into a new age.

“At the heart of everything we do is our commitment to the students we serve,” said Krocker, but he says that serving the surrounding communities is a priority, too. For much of the school’s life, the campus has been somewhat insular, keeping to its own. Krocker would like that to change. As he said at the ribbon cutting, “we see this as an investment in the future of Rosseau and the region, one that will draw interest and inspire further initiatives in infrastructure, athletics, and culture.” The Recreation Centre is the first step in redefining RLC’s role in the region, strengthening connections, while continuing to set a standard for education in Muskoka.

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