It’s no secret that the winter months in Northern Michigan can be grey and cold. Some Michiganders seek the hygge practiced in Scandinavian countries, wanting to stay inside, grab a cup of coffee, and snuggle up with a good book, distracting themselves until things start to bud again. While cozying up can bring peace and fulfillment, if we’re being honest, sometimes the lack of sunlight can get to a person, bringing weariness rather than coziness.

But at The Leelanau School, we’re focused on wintering well. 

It’s risky, of course, to kick off the warm blanket and try something new. But when we step out into the winter world, we find there’s a lot of magic blooming during this time, too!

So bright, in fact, we forget that the sky may be grey and the temperature brisk.

During our winter term, the campus is abuzz with creativity. And creativity is vital to, well, vitality – especially during a time when it feels as though everything is in hibernation. Within our campus, creations of all kinds are sparking up daily. 

In the ever-so-popular Food is Love class, the faculty and students embark on making recipes from scratch. In just the first week, the class cranked out pasta with flour, egg, and salt when preparing their delicious sausage tortellini soup and fettuccine. In Illustrated Storytelling, students are learning to trust their inner voice and wild weirdness by letting words and art flow. The Digital Photography students are capturing the zany details in Mr. Piña’s chickens and the gamers in Gaming Design are inventing their own games like finger golf. As if directly speaking to many dark metaphors of winter, in Accent Lighting, students are quite literally bringing light to campus by making their own intricate metal-pierced lanterns with stained glass while learning about becoming a studio artist.

The fact that this creativity is practiced within a loving community brings even more joy to the process of learning.

Rather than slumping into winter hibernation, our students are taking risks. Their adventurous spirits are quenched when they plummet down Crystal Mountain in the Snow Sports class, travel to the Upper Peninsula to witness dogsled racing in Trains, Planes, and Automobiles class, and dive into the Bahamian waters in Sharks, Service, and Sustainability class. Again, the common theme here is community. 

These opportunities require risk. From sharing your written words and art to plunging into deep seas with the sharks, we ask students to practice bravery. And what greater act of courage is it than to perform a risk with others? When we put ourselves out there—together—true magic ignites. 

Some people can only see winter months as cold and grey, but not at The Leelanau School! Here, we’re thriving, because we’re taking risks and wintering well…