Lifers’ Dinner 2026

4 June 2026Jayden W, Hope ‘26

At Brentwood, it’s no secret that the longest journeys create the tightest bonds. A dinner that may mean very little to you when you first hear about it in Grade 8 or 9, eventually becomes one of the most important milestones of your senior year. There’s one event at the end of May that I believe stands out from all the rest: the Lifers’ Dinner.

It’s an exclusive evening meant only for the select few Brentonians who have spent four or five consecutive years living inside these gates, and lucky for me, I am one of them. The Lifers’ Dinner is a place where a small group of kids who entered Brentwood as total strangers come together to celebrate how much they’ve changed. It’s amazing how people with such different personalities have meshed so well over half a decade, making our graduating class so special. Everyone knows that we’ll have to say goodbye to this campus, but something that I’m coming to terms with as a Grad of 2026 is that I’m going to have to say goodbye to the exact people who watched me grow up.

The anticipation for this night builds all year. I started hearing murmurs about it back in September, everything from talk about how good the food is to speculation about who will make the famous house speeches where tears are inevitably shed. You might think these are just one-off speeches, but you would be wrong. My Houseparent, Mrs. Hedquist, talked to me about doing one all the way back in March, warning me that it “needed to encapsulate the Hopeling culture.” Trying to jam four years of your life into a couple of minutes is not as easy at it may seem.

This year held a different kind of weight for our group. Standing at the podium and watching Kang C, Whittall ‘26, Kate M, Alex ‘26, Timi A, Rogers ‘26, Aiselign M, Allard ‘26, Nimret S, Mack ‘26, Brandon R, Ellis ‘26 and Kieran P, Privett ‘26, all step up to deliver their speeches felt surreal. We all understand what it’s like to struggle through the same daily prep, the same hectic term schedules, and the same chaotic campus routines. Like Liza D, Mack ‘26 said to me right after the final speeches. “It’s going to be weird when we aren’t here, together every day.”

A huge shout-out goes to Ms Tammie Ramsay, who told me beforehand that the Lifers’ Dinner was easily “one of her favourite events to put on,” and it definitely showed in every detail. Our deepest thanks go to Mr Cowie for hosting, Lulu G for the terrific slideshow, the Food Services Team for the incredible meal, and the Advisors and Houseparents who basically helped raise us. To all the Lifers, know that every single person who sat in that room, sharing the stress of speech writing, laughing at the inside jokes, and tearing up over old photos, will be part of your life forever. We share a language that only we understand. Whatever path you may choose in life, Brentwood will always bring us back together.

Goodbye to the 4-year stretch; I am going to miss it all immensely.

Jayden W, Hope ‘26

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