While the fall term has kicked off, our athletic teams have resumed a full ISL schedule, and I’m pleased to share below some updates from our coaches and the very early outcomes of games over this past weekend. We hope you will find your way to a game or two this fall. And I hope to include ongoing updates from our coaches throughout the year.

Following our career panels and speaker series's success last November, we are excited to invite our Careers in Sports Panel to return for Part 2. The panel had much more to share, and many of you expressed interest in continuing this conversation. Also, in November, we are excited to welcome back alumnus, past parent, and current grandparent Sam Rowse ’65. He will headline our LA Speaker Series and discuss the fine art of farming and the raising of heritage breeds. Invitation and registration information to follow.

P.S. Our deadline for submissions to the Spring Academy Journal is March 15th for a publish date of May 2022. Please submit your fun and inspiring news and photos to Pru Glover, Program Manager for Alumni Advancement and Trustees, at pglover@lacademy.edu.

"The Football program is at full strength and started preseason on September 6, and at that time, you could feel the excitement in the air with high expectations for the upcoming season. The senior class led by captains Hollis Dirstine and Matt Ragan is a talented group who have a lot of experience playing varsity football and have been working hard together over the past year to develop leadership qualities and set a standard of excellence in the classroom, in the community, and on the gridiron. The junior class has the most participants with future leaders like Ryan O'Connor, CJ Schuster, and Denzel Khasabo. The sophomore and freshman classes will secure our future with good participation numbers and good overall talent."

"Last Saturday, the Lawrence Academy cross-country team raced a tri-meet at Thayer Academy, competing against both Thayer and Governor’s Academy. The girls’ team had a solid showing, with Amber Banks placing 9^th overall at a time of 22:12. Brandon Christ finished first for Lawrence Academy, placing 5^thwith a time of 19:28. Braedon Moitoso placed 9^th, running a time of 20:58 to help the boys’ team beat Governor’s Academy by 1 point. All-in-all, there were many solid finishes for both the boys and girls and the LA runners should be proud of their hard work!"

"Lawrence Academy Varsity Field Hockey opened up their ISL season on Saturday, taking on Milton Academy at home. Despite having a slow start in the first quarter and going down 2-0, the team created more offensive opportunities and distributed the ball up the field. The remainder of the game was a back and forth battle with a lot of play in the midfield. However, the Spartans fell to Milton Academy, 6-2. Spartan goals were scored by junior midfielder Erin Craig and junior forward Hannah Haxton. Katelyn Michaels had a phenomenal game in net making 18 saves."

This past weekend the Spartan pride remained on display with a 22-21 double-overtime victory away at Belmont Hill (mentioned in the Boston Globe). This win showed that LA could handle adversity and overcome an energized environment away from Murbach Field. A well-coached Belmont Hill Team competed hard through the entire game. Meanwhile, the Spartans kept their composure, even noting the high physicality of the game. Those who traveled to Belmont saw Lawrence Academy find a way to win by believing in each other and giving great effort (and perhaps earning a little luck).

With the help of legions of Alumni Trustees who led the way with the Alumni Trustee New Donor Challenge, class agents, reunion ambassadors, and the entire LA alumni community, we are excited to share that alumni LA Fund participation has moved from 10% to 14% with total dollars raised of $542,000, an increase of 28% over last year’s $424,000.

Hello Fellow Lawrence Academy alumni!

Being back on campus for just about two months, I have to tell you; LA is thriving! I could not be prouder of our alma mater. As I mentioned in my previous message, I really do encourage you to stop by campus the next time you are in the Groton area, especially now — as you know — LA looks so beautiful in the fall.

I did want to give you a quick update from Alumni/Development House. In the next few weeks, be on the lookout for some informative pieces about our programming and how you can get more involved. Moreover, your class agents will be reaching out to you and updating you with some cool things happening here at LA.

Meanwhile, if you are interested in becoming a Class Agent or want to learn more about our program, please feel free to contact me.

Lastly, I did want to make an important call to action:

In conjunction with Reunion 2022 (more details below), LA will host a 50th Anniversary Celebration for Winterim. There, we will be sharing stories and memories all about Winterim. To help us prepare, we invite you to submit your unique Winterim story; click the button below, and we will share it with the community.

Until the next edition of the Elm Tree Gazette,

Go Spartans!

Ben Rogers ’02

Director of the Annual Fund

Reunion Planning 2022 has commenced, and we are all excited to be hosting a reunion on campus. On that Saturday, we will also celebrate the long-awaited and twice postponed Hall of Fame induction ceremony. If you’d like to become involved in any way with your class reunion planning, we would welcome your support and interest. We are also forming a new committee to offer input as we plan reunion weekend with an eye to those activities that our alumni would most enjoy. If you have fun ideas and would like to share them, please email us!

Hello!

Please reach out to Raquel Majeski directly with questions.

Assistant Head for Equity & Community Life

Please pass on the following to friends and family with prospective LA students.

Please join the Lawrence Academy community on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., for an afternoon LA Admissions Athletic Reception that features our student-athletes in action.

Please join the Lawrence Academy community on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., for an Open House overviewing of our educational program.

The Elm Tree Gazette | Volume IX | September 2021