A Classroom That Carries a Legacy

On Saturday, October 3, the Rosseau Lake College community gathered on our Muskoka campus to cut the ribbon on Shorelines, our new outdoor classroom.

Picture a Muskoka room tucked among the trees, the pond just beyond it. Windows swing open and screens let the breeze through. Light filters in from every side. There is room to gather, tables for working, and space to spread out. Now imagine this is a classroom.

That is Shorelines. It feels unmistakably Muskoka, and unmistakably RLC.

Set in our Outdoor Education Zone, near the pond and climbing wall and backing onto the Robert Carreau Memorial Trail, Shorelines is designed for every season. Screens open it to the breeze in warmer months, and a wood stove keeps it in use through the depths of a Muskoka January. On frosty mornings, Peter Andras, our Director of Outdoor Education, lights the stove before first period. Students help keep it going, splitting and stacking wood and tending the fire themselves. Sometimes staying warm takes a little work, and that is a lesson worth learning too.

At RLC, an independent day and boarding school on Lake Rosseau, our 56-acre campus has never been just a backdrop. It is part of how we teach. Extraordinary learning is in our nature. Shorelines gives it a home.

A home base for outdoor leadership

Shorelines has quickly become the heart of our Outdoor Education program. Our Grade 12 Outdoor Experiential Leadership class uses it as their home base. These students are learning to become outdoor facilitators. They prep equipment in Shorelines before heading to the climbing wall, where they mentor our Grade 7 and 8 Foundation Year students. The building also hosts leadership retreats, team-building games, equipment packing before expeditions, and morning discussions around the fire.

The students who use it every day say it best:

“My favourite part of my morning is being able to start a fire in Shorelines. You can really feel the forest and the outdoors all around you.” Isaac

“It creates a space where we can connect what we learn in the classroom to outdoor experiences, making our learning more hands-on and meaningful.” Rylee

“I’m in Shorelines for my first class every day. Looking out the windows gives me a good start to the day and makes me realize how grateful I am to be in such an amazing spot.” Bella

Named for Bill Cole

Some places are built for a purpose. Others become meaningful because of the stories they carry. Shorelines is both.

The classroom honours Bill Cole, who spent 20 years at RLC, from 1983 to 2003, as an English teacher, houseparent, and coach. For generations of students, Bill made literature come alive and challenged them to see the world differently.

I was one of those students. Bill was my English teacher, and I read Roy MacGregor’s Shorelines in his class. He had a way of making you slow down and reflect on each word, because the author put it there for a reason.

The classroom takes its name from that book, one of Bill’s favourites. Bill loved Algonquin Park and the writers and artists who captured it, from MacGregor to Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. He brought that landscape to life in class, and five-day canoe trips through the park made it real.

“I loved the story in Shorelines by Roy MacGregor. It sparked my interest in Tom Thomson. In my first year we paddled Canoe Lake and heard about his ghost. Mr. Cole had a knack for choosing books that stayed with you, and I always felt he connected with them personally.”
Martin Birthelmer '87

“I still remember Mr. Cole’s excitement as we worked through Shorelines. He chose it knowing it was set in Algonquin Park, and he helped me see my own experiences in it. That joy has stayed with me. I hope today’s students feel the same in this space.”
Anthony Garron '87

A gift that connects generations

Shorelines was made possible through the generosity of Martin Birthelmer ‘87 and Anthony Garron ‘87, who wanted to honour the teacher who meant so much to them and to generations of RLC students.

Their gift reaches far beyond their own years at RLC. Every class held in this classroom, and every conversation that begins within its walls, becomes part of Shorelines’ story. Thank you, Martin and Anthony, for honouring Bill Cole by creating a place where his curiosity will keep shaping the RLC experience.

Bill believed the right book could open up a world. Here, students can read and write with the forest around them, head out on the water, and come back to carry on the conversation. It is a place built for slowing down and paying attention, which is exactly what Bill asked of us. This is Bill’s legacy, carried forward by the students of today.

Were you one of Mr. Cole’s students? We would love to hear your memories of him. Share them with us at kim.morton@rosseaulakecollege.com.

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