Traditions
Lawrence Academy’s traditions are anything but boring; in fact, our community likes to mix the old with the new.
Some school traditions are just emerging, while others have been mainstays on the annual calendar for years.
Mountain Day
Every September, the entire Lawrence Academy community takes a break from the classroom and travels to New Hampshire to hike Mount Monadnock. Some take their time to reach the top; others run to climb it twice, even three times! (a record still held by Jonny Mangini '14). One of LA’s oldest traditions, Mountain Day features a cookout, gorgeous views, and an all-school photo at the summit — the perfect way to kick off the school year.
Spoon Hunt
Spoon Hunt is an annual, week-long, school-wide game of tag, for which both students and faculty can sign up. Participants start the week with a spoon with their name on one side and another participant’s name on the other, with the goal of finding and tagging the person on their spoon. Fancy footwork and strategy are required to be victorious — but the entire community wins thanks to the camaraderie encouraged by the friendly competition.
Windsor Mountain
Another new year means another group of new students stepping on busses and heading up to Windsor, N.H., for two days. Just like LA’s other longtime tradition, Mountain Day, which gives the whole school a chance to spend time together in a natural setting, the New Student Orientation at Windsor Mountain Summer Camp allows LA’s new batch of Spartans to get to know each other and bond with peer counselors, faculty, and staff members. Whether by overcoming their fear of heights on the ropes course or making s’mores at the evening bonfire, students always leave Windsor Mountain closer and ready for their first year on the elm tree-shaded hillside.
Spirit Week
Perhaps no week at Lawrence Academy is more fun than Spirit Week! Held annually during the last week of October, Spirit Week features plenty of surprises and encourages creative attire. Halloween is always celebrated, and other theme days have included Pajama Day, Twin Day, Pink-Out for Breast Cancer Awareness, and Spartan Spirit Day.
Winterim
Winterim — a word everyone on the LA campus knows extremely well — is the annual centerpiece to Lawrence Academy’s commitment to immersive education and experiential learning. A hands-on experience, Winterim is the perfect complement to how students learn in the classroom every day at LA. In 2018, for the first time, a group of students (joined by two faculty members) traveled to Morocco, where they photographed the beautiful landscapes, learned about Moroccan culture, took in local art, and cooked and ate regional foods — experiences they will remember forever.
Visiting Scholar Program
The J. William Mees Visiting Scholar Program has been a mainstay at LA for many years and gives our students the opportunity to interact with career professionals. Learn more...
"For it [Spoon Hunt] to happen earlier in the year and get a name that maybe you don't know and have to look up in the directory - it's a good way to get to know people. You'll see people sprinting across the quad to tag someone that they've met maybe three days before somebody they've known for four years. So it's fun to be a part of because it's so community-based. It's like a giant game of tag - who doesn't like to play tag?"Jack Cameron, Class of 2018
Why Choose LA?
There is no one standard Lawrence Academy experience because there's no one standard LA student. Hear first-hand from a few of our Spartans as to why they chose LA.