Shawnigan in 110 Objects
A Message from the Head of School
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A Message from the Head of School
Read MoreMy wife Kathini and I recently bought a house on a bend in the Chemainus River and have found ourselves eager to learn the local history – from the first occupants in the late 19th century to a local landmark on the old highway, the Westholme Tree/“The Old Guardsman” (a giant Douglas fir that crashed down in a storm in 1913).The garden at our new house neighbours All Saints Cemetery, and, when exploring on Remembrance Day, the Lamonts discovered that Cedric J G Lonsdale is buried there – a former teacher at Shawnigan and the nephew of our Founder.Shawnigan Lake School was carved out of the Canadian wilderness in 1916 by CW Lonsdale, and modelled on his alma mater, Westminster School in London, England. It has gone from one class of eight students to 550 students and is now perhaps Canada’s pre-eminent boarding school.Character & Courage, a visual history of Shawnigan, was published in 2016 to mark the School’s centenary, and we are hugely fortunate to have the most wonderful museum on campus which captures the journey of the School.
List of 20 news stories.
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Concert Program
Mabel Lonsdale, the Founder’s sister, was enlisted from the start to teach French, mathematics and music. She was an accomplished violinist, having trained under famous Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim. Former students remember that she could teach every instrument in a philharmonic orchestra. Under her direction, the School had at one time the only orchestra on Vancouver Island. The Founder himself played the flute and the oboe, and surely would have joined the ensemble, along with any other willing teachers as they were added to the staff.Read More -
Marion Hall
What better way for a community to gather and share an experience than through the ritual of breaking bread. Marion MacMillan Hawley believed so firmly in the power of this practice that she gifted Shawnigan with a building that would promote exactly that: a shared community experience.Read More -
Rugby Ball
From 1916-1928, the main School sport was soccer. The founder, Christopher W. Lonsdale, had been a semi-professional soccer player in England, who loved playing and coaching the sport. In 1927, E.D.W. (“Tiny”) Levien joined the Shawnigan teaching staff and brought with him his passion for rugby. He had played for England and was determined to change the main sport at Shawnigan from soccer to rugby. By September 1928, Levien convinced Lonsdale to make this shift. From then until the early 1990s every boy played rugby. In the 1990s, rugby became mandatory for boys Grades 8-10, and in 2008, for Grades 8 and 9 only, allowing the older boys to choose to play rugby, or a different sport. In the spring of 1993, the first girls' rugby team was formed and is still going strong.Read More -
Samuel House
House Colours: yellow and redRead More
House Emblem: dragon
House Motto: Cartref – “A Loving Home”
House Hymn: Calon Lan -
Duxbury House
House Colours: royal blue and goldRead More
House Emblem: wolf and crown
House Motto: Cave Lupum – “Beware of the Wolfpack”
House Hymn: I Vow to Thee My Country -
Renfrew House
House Colours: orange and whiteRead More
House Emblem: cougar centred inside a sun
House Motto: Solae paulum uniter tantum – “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”
House Hymn: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee -
Kaye's House
House Colours: purple and whiteRead More
House Emblem: dove
House Motto: Alis volamus propriis – “With wings we fly”
House Hymn: And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time -
Strathcona Lodge School House/School House
House Colours: sky blue and whiteRead More
House Emblem: dogwood blossom with swan in centre
House Motto: Cherchons – “Let us seek”
House Hymn: Be Thou My Vision -
Lonsdale's House
House Colours: forest green, gold and blackRead More
House Emblem: phoenix
House Motto: Ex Fumo Dare Lucem – “To give light from smoke”
House Hymn: "How Great Thou Art" -
Copeman's House
House Colours: crimson and whiteRead More
House Emblem: cross-crosslet
House Motto: Ubi Crux Ibi Lux – "Where there is a cross, there is light"
House Hymn: Lift High the Cross -
Groves' House
House Colours: maroon and whiteRead More
House Emblem: eagle
House Motto: Ex Unitate Vires – "From unity, strength"
House Hymn: I Feel the Winds of God Today -
Lake's House
House Colours: emerald green and light blueRead More
House Emblem: griffin
House Motto: Non Sibi Sed Aliis – "Not for ourselves, but for others"
House Hymn: Amazing Grace -
Ripley's House
House Colours: navy and light blueRead More
House Emblem: lion
House Motto: Acta non verba – "Actions, not words"
House Hymn: I Hear Thy Welcome Voice -
The Big School
It has always been important for the School to have a gathering place. By around 1920, a separate building was constructed for this purpose and was called the “Big School,” a term borrowed from British tradition. We know it included a piano. In the new 1927 School, the Big School was a separate room in the centre of the building opposite the front door. It was accessed through arched wooden doors that mirrored the double doors at the entrance. At the far end was a slightly raised platform. The Big School was used for large gatherings of all kinds – assemblies, guest speakers, plays, dances. A stone fireplace was on the east side. In the 1930s, new boys went through an initiation ceremony that required them to walk along the fireplace mantle, stepping over teacups that had been placed along it, while also ducking under a large moose head hunting trophy that hung over the middle. Later the moose head was replaced by a buffalo head.Read More -
Starting Clapper
On your marks! Get set! BANG!!Read More
Many races start with the sound of a starting pistol, a pistol that fires blanks. The School did use a starting pistol in the past, but by the mid-1980s it was replaced by a simple homemade contraption made from two 2x4-inch lengths and a hinge. The "clap" sound it makes is sharp and loud and surprisingly similar to a gunshot. It is known as the starting clapper. -
Kilt
The closure of Strathcona Lodge School in 1977, an all-girls boarding school in Shawnigan Lake, had a ground-altering impact on Shawnigan Lake School. For 40 years the two schools – only 3.5 kilometres apart – had enjoyed a successful working relationship. The administrations worked closely to bring the boys and girls together for dances and other social events, stage plays and musicals and, in later years, even a few classes.Read More -
Marigolds
For many years, when one pictured Shawnigan Lake School, colourful marigolds often dotted the frame. They were a favourite choice of gardener Bernie Dinter, who started with thousands of seedlings in the large greenhouse located on the south slope below Copeman's House. Once the flowers were established, Dinter planted them throughout the campus. For decades, massive swaths of gold marigolds were featured on the covers of prospecti and other publications.Read More -
The Flagpole
In photos of the first School building, there are no signs of a flagpole; the earliest we see one is in 1921, located then in almost the same location it stands today. It is worth noting that the original flagpole actually survived the catastrophic 1926 fire. When building the new School following the fire, the driveway and front garden area were regraded, and a new flagpole was erected slightly west of its original location, next to the driveway near the southwest corner of the Main Building.Read More -
The Quad
By 1928, the new Main Building, the original Gym/Assembly Hall and the Chapel had been built. These three buildings surrounded a rectangular patch of land that has become known as the Quad: a grassy gathering place, used for many purposes. For a number of years, sheep grazed there as a way to keep the lawn trimmed. For many years, the June Closing Ceremonies were held in the Quad. When grad balls were still held at the School, elaborate decorations spilled out from the Assembly Hall into the Quad, everything from Japanese gardens to a pyramid. Not only a place for pomp, the Quad has also housed many a prank, such as a petting zoo. Each fall, the School gathers in the Quad to welcome the Cops for Cancer riders, where staff and student heads are shaved for fundraising. Since 2020, the Remembrance Day Service has been held in the Quad. More recently, it is where the Grad luncheon is served on Closing Day. In addition to these scheduled events, the Quad offers a pleasant place to throw a ball or just relax, and at various times throughout the year, School BBQs are hosted in this space.Read More -
The School Gates
The iron gates gracing the School entrance were a gift from Dr. Peter Banks, a long-time and very active member of the Board of Governors, later serving as Chairman from 1985-1993. The gates were brought from England. Before they could be installed, permission was obtained to change access to the School entrance from Renfrew Road. The ribbon cutting was November 9, 1979.Read More
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
