News Archive

Fall 2024 has seen a huge run of spawning salmon in the streams and rivers of Vancouver Island, and the creeks on campus have been no exception, a sign of the success of Shawnigan’s Mark Hobson Hatchery thus far, and a valuable educational resource for current students.

 

There are more coho salmon spawning in Hartl Creek (which crosses the Shawnigan campus) than anyone can remember from previous years, said Hatchery Lead Mr. Louis Chancellor, and environmental science classes have been studying them to see exactly how many and where they are spawning. Some are no doubt salmon that were released as fry by past students and are returning to spawn as adults, while others are salmon who spawned in other creeks and are coming to fill available space in Hartl Creek, something that salmon are known to do when habitat is available.

 

A few of the fish have been used as broodstock for egg takes at the hatchery. Eight classes have harvested eggs and sperm from selected fish and combined them to begin the fertilization process, a great example of hands-on experiential learning at the School. It has been a productive year in the hatchery, with about 25,000 eggs taken. Once fertilized, they will be left alone until the classes revisit them in January to see how they have been developing.

 

This year’s VEX Robotics game – High Stakes – proved vexing indeed at the Vancouver Island high school season-opening competition hosted by Shawnigan Lake School last Saturday.

 

High Stakes has quickly gained a reputation as one of the most challenging games in the last several years. It requires teams to build a robot that can collect large plastic rings, place them on mobile stakes, and climb a central tower. This time, however, none of the teams managed to build a robot that was able to climb the tower.

 

A project initiated by Ms. Andrea Robertson in 2022 has blossomed into a larger network of Advanced Placement teachers at independent schools across Vancouver Island, helping place Shawnigan as a leader in professional development.

 

Two years ago, when she was the Bruce-Lockhart Fellow for Academic Excellence, Ms. Robertson created a network of economics teachers on the Island as a way to share resources and collaborate. It was a huge success, so this year, Shawnigan took inspiration from that model and hosted teachers from the four independent schools on the Island that have AP programs for the first AP Island Network (APIN) as part of a province-wide Pro-D day on Friday, October 25.

 

The legacy of Sonia Butt and Guy D’Artois – who met as spies-in-training during the Second World War and eventually raised a family that included four grandchildren who graduated from Shawnigan – was celebrated on Tuesday night when Nahlah Ayed, the author whose bestselling book chronicles their story, visited the School for a reception and question-and-answer session.

 

Ms. Ayed’s book, The War We Won Apart: The Untold Story of Two Elite Agents Who Became One of the Most Decorated Couples of WWII, was released in May 2024, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It tells the true story of Sonia, a young British woman, and Guy, a French-Canadian soldier, and their whirlwind romance as they trained to infiltrate enemy lines in France during the Second World War. The book follows them through their harrowing time in distant corners of France prior to D-Day, and their lives together in Canada afterward, which included raising a family of six children.

 

While many students returned home during November Break to spend time with their families, some opted to travel on School trips. Two groups visited Japan – one to attend the Japan Super Science Fair in Kyoto, and the other on exchange with Azabu High School in Tokyo – and another explored Vancouver Island and the west coast of British Columbia on an excursion packed with unique experiences and learning opportunities.

 

 

Three Grade 11 students had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Japan Super Science Fair, hosted by Ritsumeikan Junior and Senior High School in Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto. Representing our school were Shannon C., Bella Z., and Angus W., accompanied by science teacher Dr. Ed Taylor.

 

Shawnigan was one of 49 schools from 21 countries, and the only one from Canada. This is the 10th time that Shawnigan has sent a delegation to the JSSF.

 

A star in the field of astronomy and astrophysics spent two weeks on campus just prior to the November Break, and in that short time shared his extensive knowledge of the cosmos, physics and coding, and inspired both students and staff at Shawnigan.

 

Dr. Jon Swift, an astrophysicist and the Director of the Observatory at Thacher School in Ojai, California, made countless contributions to the School during his short tenure as Astronomer in Residence.

 

“The work he did with all the science students, particularly the Grade 10s, was incredible,” said Mr. Nigel Mayes, Assistant Head Co-Curricular and science teacher. “He focused on what we do know and what we don’t know. He’s charismatic and engaging, and he could get the kids to really think.”

 

Although students were away from campus on November 11 this year, the School still marked Remembrance Day and honoured the many from the Shawnigan community who have served – including 45 alumni and staff who died in the Second World War – with a service on Wednesday, November 13.

 

This year’s ceremony began with a Chapel Gathering before students moved to the Quad for the traditional placing of poppies on crosses representing Shawnigan’s war dead and laying of wreaths at the School's cenotaph.

 

The Chapel service was led by Head of School Mr. Richard (Larry) Lamont, and began with a land acknowledgement from Grade 11 student Toni D. (Sto:lo Nation), who also read a poem she wrote about Indigenous veterans. In addition to the hymns “I Vow to Thee My Country,” “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” and “Abide with Me,” there were also readings of Lt.-Col. John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields” by Alex F., and Laurence Binyon’s “For the Fallen” by Lucas P. The students also heard an address from Lt.-Col. (Retd) Bruce Gundling MB, CD on the topic of service, reflecting on his 38 years in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

 

 

Shawnigan celebrated Day of the Dead this week with a moving Chapel service and decorations in the Friesen Centre.

 

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is celebrated in Mexico and Central America on November 1 and 2, but with students away for November Break starting this Friday, the School marked the special occasion in the Chapel gathering on Wednesday.

 

As Patricio G. explained last week, Day of the Dead is a time to remember family members who have passed on. November 1, el Día de los Santos Inocentes, is a day to remember the souls of children who have passed on. Everyone else is honoured on November 2.

 

Barbra Streisand’s "The Way We Were" was Billboard's No. 1 song of the year in 1974. Fifty years later, Shawnigan’s Class of 1974 joined counterparts from other years ending in four for Founder's Day 2024 to remember the way they were.

 

Members of the Class of 1974 were inducted into the Gold Club at the Gold Club Luncheon, and alumni from 1964 and 1954 were celebrated as members of the Diamond and Platinum clubs, respectively. The Class of 1984 marked their Silver Reunion with a special reception at the Head's House.

 

All alumni are welcome back every Founder’s Day, but those from 1954, 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2014 were particularly encouraged to attend to mark the decades since graduation, and the Classes of 1999 and 1989 also marked their 25- and 35-year reunions. The day was marked with reconnections, shared memories and enjoyed a variety of activities on campus, including touch rugby, rowing, a pottery class, and campus tours led by current students.

 

Why limit Halloween to just one day? At Shawnigan, we celebrate Halloweek! This year, that meant four days of events leading up to the big day on Thursday, October 31.

 

It all started on Monday, when the Prefects showed up to lunch in costume to announce this year’s festivities. That evening, they also hosted a movie and snacks in the Friesen Centre. Tuesday’s highlight was a Halloween-themed Stag Café, with all the usual favourites as well as a pair of special additions: “webbed” fries (waffle fries) and a pumpkin spice milkshake.

 

Dear Shawnigan Lake Community,

I am happy to address you today and to provide my first AGM report as the Chair of Shawnigan.

There have been exciting developments within our School following another busy and

successful year. We saw many accomplishments, big and small. Shawnigan continues to thrive

thanks to the involvement of all our community who play a crucial role in shaping the future of

the School.

 

A Shawnigan alum who now works on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC delivered the keynote address as the School hosted the annual Model UN Global Goals Conference, a day of conversation and debate about how to accelerate progress toward the UN’s Sustainable Development goals.

 

Reid Dagul ’11 (Lonsdale’s), who is now the Chief of Staff to Virginia Congressman Ben Cline, returned to campus to speak to the students. In addition to his current position, Reid has held numerous high-level roles in the US government, including positions in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and as a political appointee in the Trump administration. After his time at Shawnigan, Reid went on to obtain his BA in Political Science from the University of Arizona.

 

The first two months of the school year have been action-packed for Shawnigan’s sports teams. Teams have competed across Vancouver Island and travelled to other parts of BC and Canada, and south to Idaho, Washington and California.

 

The rowing team attended the Head of the Nicomekl Regatta in Surrey on September 21, returning home with a pair of medals: a silver won by Sophia W. in the women’s single, and a bronze from JD P. and Dylan A. in the men’s double. The School also had two mixed quads, one women’s quad, and one men’s quad in action. The Shawnigan crews had a great time racing along a winding 6km course. The rowers will be competing at the Head of the Gorge in Victoria this weekend and the Head of the Lake in Seattle next weekend.

 

Rowing coach Mrs. Julie Platt competed at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Massachusetts last weekend, where her senior-master women’s eight crew finished first out of 32 boats, and set a course record. Mrs. Platt’s crew featured several accomplished international rowers from Canada and the UK, including five-time Olympic medallist Dame Katherine Grainger.

 

It gives me great pleasure, as Head of School, to welcome our 140 Grade 10 students this morning in Chapel and to extend a Shawnigan welcome to the 220 delegates from a record 12 different schools:

 

 

This is Shawnigan’s largest student conference of the year.

 

Shawnigan teachers, coaches, advisors and guidance counsellors often have a long-lasting effect on students and alumni. One such influencer is Mike Johnson, Shawnigan Lake School’s Squash Director. The lasting impact he has had on Shawnigan is immeasurable, and is the inspiration for the Mike Johnson Classic tournament. 

Gigi Yeung ’19 (Renfrew) recently shared her Shawnigan experience and the impact Mike Johnson had on her squash career. Read her story below.

 

"After struggling in my Grade 10 English class in Macau, I knew I needed a change. This led me to consider attending a boarding school in Canada, hoping that a different academic environment would help me improve my English skills and reach my goal of getting into a top university. 

Among the schools I considered, Shawnigan stood out for its balance between athletics, fine arts, and academics, along with its close-knit community. After speaking with a few students on the squash team, I felt Shawnigan was the perfect fit, especially since it would allow me to continue playing squash at a competitive level alongside some of the top junior players in Canada. 

The support I received at Shawnigan was unlike anything I could find elsewhere – whether in academics, sports, or personal growth, there was always help available. Mike Johnson, Shawnigan’s squash coach, had a significant impact on my experience at Shawnigan. His dedication and passion for the sport inspired me to work hard and push myself. 

From the first day, he pushed us hard in practice. Although the training was tough, he was always able to make the sessions enjoyable, and I had fun every time. Whether it was 6:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m., he was always willing to offer extra sessions, allowing me to practice outside of the regular practice times. 

Even off the court, Mike was always willing to help and give me advice in any way he could, and he became like a father figure to me. His constant support and genuine care, and his belief in my potential, both on and off the court, helped me grow a lot. As a result, I was able to improve my squash game significantly, and I was recruited by Yale to play for their varsity squash team – an opportunity I never thought possible before coming to Shawnigan. Mike’s influence continues to motivate me today, as I still work hard and push myself, remembering the lessons I learned from his coaching. Along with Mike, the teachers, advisors, and university guidance counsellors at Shawnigan also played a big role in shaping my journey. Their support helped me thrive in both academics and squash, which led to being accepted into an Ivy League university, something that likely wouldn’t have been possible without the unique support I found at Shawnigan."

Before attending Yale University, Gigi was the top female squash player in Macau and a multiple-time National Junior Champion. Gigi is the first player from her country to play for Yale and she is ranked #252 in the world for squash. Read more about Gigi’s accomplishments here.

 

Students from the Environmental Science 12 class got a unique perspective on the yearly salmon run earlier this month when they went snorkelling in the Cowichan River alongside the migrating fish.

 

Instructors Mr. Louis Chancellor, Ms. Aly Ballantyne and Ms. Tracey Bleackley took the eight students to the river on the afternoon of Saturday, October 5, where they floated downstream through pools where salmon were resting during the journey upstream to their spawning grounds.

 

“It’s something I personally do a lot,” said Mr. Chancellor, “and I’ve wanted to share it with the students.”

 

Students in Mr. Neil Robertson’s Grade 9 social studies class learned about analysis and presentation by sharing research projects with staff members and their fellow students through a showcase this week.

 

The focus of the project was on asking questions and finding out not only what the answers were, but if they could be answered at all. In some cases, the lack of an answer was just as intriguing as getting an answer.

 

“Each student picked an artifact – it could be something personal to them or something from the School museum,” Mr. Robertson explained. “Then they asked questions to see what they could find out about the artifact itself, or the concept of it. For example, if they picked an old car, and they couldn’t find out anything about that specific car, they could ask questions about cars in general.”

 

The first Stag Café of the year is always a big deal – highly anticipated by the entire student body, with a tinge of apprehension on the part of the Entrepreneurship students who run the beloved snack bar. There are always bumps in the road on opening day, but the obstacles – and solutions – are what make Stag such a fantastic, unique learning opportunity.

 

Stag’s grand opening for the 2024-25 school year was just the tip of the iceberg. Under the surface were weeks of preparation by the Entrepreneurship 12 classes – everything from determining the business structure, from CEO to kitchen workers, and going through job interviews to planning the menu.

 

“It’s all an organizational structure they’ve designed themselves in the first couple weeks of class,” explained entrepreneurship teacher Ms. Mariel Solsberg. “They’re designing the actual structure and applying for positions.”

 

Grade 9s went off the beaten track for some exceptional adventures on the trail and the salt water during Beyond the Gates backcountry expeditions in late September.

 

Over two weekends last month, groups of Grade 9s embarked on hiking excursions on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, located on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, and kayaking trips to Portland Island, in the Salish Sea off the north end of Vancouver Island’s Saanich Peninsula. The trips included multiple nights camping in the wilderness, in designated camping areas either beside the trail or on Portland Island. This year, everyone was able to enjoy their first choice of excursion, whether that was hiking or kayaking.

 

“That allowed them to dive into something they were more interested in, with less apprehension,” said Outdoor Education Coordinator Ms. Jessica Dick.

 

A unique Chapel Gathering last Saturday and a day full of special programming on Monday were how Shawnigan marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

 

Also known as Orange Shirt Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home from residential schools in Canada, the survivors of the residential school system, and their families and communities. The day takes place every year on September 30, and is recognized as a statutory holiday in BC.

 

Students with Indigenous heritage provided much of the context for the Chapel Gathering, with a land acknowledgement by Tucker J., a Six Nations Mohawk, prayers by Rio T., who is Maori, and a reading from the author Monique Gray Smith about what it means to be a survivor of the Residential School System by Ella-Rae M., who is Métis. Students Hannah F. (traditional name Usmanahiih) from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Kingston H. (Guudangaay laa) from the Haida Nation spoke about the impact the residential school system had on their families and the value of truth and reconciliation.

 

Carrying on a tradition as old as the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock itself, Shawnigan welcomed the riders in the long-running childhood cancer fundraiser to campus on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

 

The Tour de Rock is a two-week journey down Vancouver Island – from Port Hardy to Victoria – of cyclists representing police services and other emergency responders, raising money for children and their families affected by pediatric cancer. Since 1998, Tour de Rock has raised more than $26 million, including more than $600,000 raised by Shawnigan Lake School over the last 27 years.

 

The money raised will support the Canadian Cancer Society in fueling pediatric cancer research and sending 600 kids each year to Camp Goodtimes, a recreation experience for children and teens affected by cancer and their families. The very first Camp Goodtimes was held on the Shawnigan campus in 1985.

 

More than 40 years after he graduated from Shawnigan Lake School, Brad Assu ’83 (Lonsdale’s) is preparing to give back to the School in a big way.

 

A member of the We Wai Kai First Nation from Cape Mudge on Quadra Island and an accomplished carver, Brad (traditional name Poo Glee Dee) announced at the Chapel Gathering preceding the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation that he will be gifting a pair of 20-foot-tall house posts to Shawnigan – a phenomenal donation in gratitude for the five years he spent at the School.

Established in 2021 as part of Shawnigan’s commitment to the development of experiential education programming, the Heimbecker Inspiration Chair for Experiential Education supports the development of experiential education at Shawnigan and ensures that Shawnigan’s experiential programming continues to deliver extraordinary learning experiences for our students both on campus and in the beautiful wilderness of Vancouver Island. Through these experiences, Shawnigan students will discover their own untapped potential and experience curriculum through hands-on study beyond the walls of the classroom. 

 

Currently filling the position is Dr. Alexei Du Bois, Hilton College in South Africa, who is working at Shawnigan while on a one-year sabbatical from his position as Director of International Learning at Hilton College. Dr. Du Bois holds a BA in English, History and Music from the University of Cape Town, a PGCE from the University of South Africa, and both an MSc in Comparative and International Education and a DPhil in Education from the University of Oxford (Commonwealth Scholarship), and is recognized as a leader in experiential education and the benefits it brings to communities, individuals and the environment.

 

The first Heimbecker Chair in 2022 was Mr. Tom Hall, the current Vice Principal of Geelong Grammar School in Australia, and former Head of Geelong’s Timbertop campus.

 

It was the dawn of a new era on the ice at Shawnigan as the School hosted and won the inaugural Kingstone Invitational Girls’ Hockey Tournament last weekend.

 

Named in honour of Jo-Anne Kingstone, who worked at Shawnigan from 2004 to 2013 and served as the first female Deputy Head in the history of the School, the tournament is a significant step in the development of girls’ hockey at Shawnigan, and complements the Robertson Invitational which was introduced for the boys’ Prep program in January 2018.

 

“I am thrilled that the School has introduced this tournament to celebrate the accomplishments of our female Prep team and our commitment to maintaining and developing an even playing field in our sports programming,” Head of School Mr. Richard (Larry) Lamont said.

 

This year’s Beyond the Gates programming – an essential part of the Grade 9 curriculum at Shawnigan – got going on Wednesday with the Amazing Race, an introduction to the skills that the students will need and some of the challenges they may encounter over the course of the year.

 

“The goal was to get students working in teams and communicating with each other, and to get to know the campus,” outdoor education teacher Ms. Jessica Dick explained.

 

The race saw teams of students go through five stages: a stretcher race, tent building, critical thinking, orienteering, and plant identification. New this year, the plant identification stage helped students get to know the environment and incorporated the First Peoples Principles of Learning as they were required to locate and photograph six naturally occurring plants on campus with food or medicinal uses.

 

On top of a busy schedule of academics, sports and 360, students were immersed in inter-House competition to start the school year, with three events over the first two weekends.

 

“The goal is to keep kids engaged and create a House culture in the first two weeks,” Student Life Coordinator Ms. Katrina Cholack explained. “It’s such a tradition. We want to create the right culture around it and get just the right mixture of competition, fun, and camaraderie. And it gives Grade 12s a chance to take a leadership role at the beginning of the year.”

 

The inter-House schedule kicked off on Saturday, September 7 with the return of Tug-of-War after a year’s absence. Air Band, always one of the most highly anticipated inter-House events, followed on Friday, September 13. Unlike past years, when Houses have had months to prepare, this time they were only told about Air Band a week before, lending more spontaneity to the festivities.

 

The Guidance Office (GO!) space at Shawnigan Lake School has undergone a transformation thanks to the artistic talents of Lily Han ’24 (Kaye’s). Her series of posters, inspired by the letterhead and logos of various universities, will lend vibrancy and lustre to our walls.

 

Lily incorporated a range of elements used by the universities as she created the pieces.

 

"I found fonts from each university and used their student colours,” she explained. “I compared the colours from their website and integrated them into my designs, ensuring each poster authentically represents each different university." 

 

 

I want to start with a quick shout-out to The Rev, Jim Holland.

 

As The Head of School already mentioned, The Rev is at home recovering from surgery, but my hunch is that he will be watching this Chapel service online. I want him to know that we are thinking of him.

 

One of the biggest choices a Shawnigan student will make at the start of the school year is selecting their 360 option. 360 is Shawnigan’s co-curricular after-school program, and the annual 360 Fair on September 6, the first Friday of the year, gave students an opportunity to check out this year’s offerings – more than 30 in all – before making that all-important selection.

 

360 operates separately from regular classes, but it is still a key aspect of the Shawnigan Journey. It started with a focus on fine arts, but has evolved over the decades to include a wide range of activities, from Figure Skating and Fly Tying to Film Production and Robotics. Some programs run for the full year, while others run for half a year, giving students an opportunity to try out multiple 360s over the year.

 

Young rugby players from across western Canada gathered on campus in August for a powerful camp that marked the 10th anniversary of the partnership between Shawnigan Lake School and Thunder Indigenous Rugby.

 

The camp was led by Mr. Clay Panga, a rugby coach at Shawnigan and the School’s Indigenous Engagement Coordinator, who has been part of Thunder Rugby since its inception in 2013 and a coach with the program for the last five years.

 

“I feel incredibly honoured and privileged to have witnessed the transformative growth of both the program and its participants,” Mr. Panga said.

 

A major project got underway in August to begin the remediation of Lake Omar, the natural centrepiece of the Shawnigan campus.

 

Located in the heart of the school grounds, Lake Omar – one of two catchment ponds on campus – overflows into Hartl Creek, which then flows into Shawnigan Creek and eventually the Pacific Ocean. Lake Omar is the heart of a thriving ecosystem with a plethora of water and riparian plants, invertebrates, insects, birds and mammals. It supplies water to the Mark Hobson Hatchery on a seasonal basis, and in past years, it has also been stocked with trout and has been a favourite spot for students to flyfish. Unfortunately, Lake Omar is only a shallow pond and thus cannot sustain the life of fish year around as during the summer months the water becomes too hot to sustain fish life.

 

In 2013-14, a group of like-minded people with backgrounds in biology, fisheries, and water quality got together with some Shawnigan science teachers to discuss how to improve the year-round health of this water body and how to ensure it could sustain the year-round life of fish. On Founder’s Day 2023, Kevin Tutty ’14 (Lake’s) and his father Brian, a retired fisheries and oceans biologist, brought up those discussions from a decade earlier with Head of School Mr. Larry Lamont, who put a plan in motion.

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome back our returning students after their summer break and to extend a huge welcome to the 171 new students and our new staff in Chapel today. 

 

For many of you, this is a new campus and new adventure. You will have been experiencing a range of emotions this week – anticipation and excitement with a little bit of nervousness thrown in.

 

Just remember that you are following in the footsteps of about 7,000 students over our 108-year history who have felt exactly the same way. As I said to the new parents on Tuesday, the plaque at the base of the Shawnigan stag near the front gates reminds us that it “will watch over all who enter these grounds.”

 

As the 2024-25 school year begins, we are excited to see nearly all members of the Class of 2024 begin the next stage of their education and personal journeys at universities across Canada and around the world. We are also celebrating the success in AP exams of students who were members of that graduating class and who are still at the School.

 

Of the 140 students who graduated from Shawnigan last spring, 90 percent have gone on to university, while the other 10 percent will pursue a gap year. The primary reason for taking a gap year is to pursue a sport, with hockey being the most popular. Of those students who are in university this fall, over 40 percent will pursue arts programs (including humanities and social sciences). Science is the next most popular program, followed by business.

 

Students in the Class of 2024 submitted on average 7.55 applications each, and 58 percent of these applications resulted in offers of admission, which is in line with 59 percent in 2023 and 57 percent in 2022. Most students accepted offers to study in Canada (73 percent), followed by the US (14 percent), and then the UK (one percent). The most popular institutions for graduates from 2024 are Queen’s University (16 students attending), the University of BC (13), the University of Toronto (12), the University of Victoria (10) and Western University (eight). The Class of 2024 received a total of $3,235,144 CAD in scholarship offers.

 

Shawnigan Lake School hosted the Mike Johnson Classic Squash Tournament from May 10 to 11. Players came from San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver and the Island. We were honoured to welcome back a number of alums, three of whom are still playing at an elite level [Bransten Ming ’15 (Lonsdale’s), Ryan Picken ’17 (Lonsdale’s), Michael Mehl ’18 (Ripely’s)] and have competed at the National Championships. The calibre of squash was outstanding, and it was a unique opportunity for the spectators and our younger players to experience squash at this level. Bransten prevailed in the final, having come through a well-fought semi against his Shawnigan teammate, Ryan Picken. Following the final, Bransten made a heartfelt and thought-provoking address in which he paid tribute to Mike Johnson for the contribution he has made to all of the Shawnigan players. He highlighted Mike’s dedication to his players, coaching expertise (three World Champions), integrity and work ethic. His message for the current Shawnigan players was the recognition that they will inevitably lose matches along their squash journey, but that much more learning comes from the losses than the wins.

The championship match was followed by a social gathering at the pavilion. The alums who came to play had a wonderful time reminiscing and commenting on the stunning campus. It was plain to see their sense of camaraderie, pride in Shawnigan and respect for Mike. Thanks go to Colin Whitney for all his time and organization, which ensured the smooth and efficient running of the tournament.

The weekend would not have been the same without the artistic skill of Ben K. (Grade 10) who designed the tournament t-shirt.

Following the Shawnigan Journey from Grade 8 through to Grade 12 is an experience like no other. Students who complete all five years at the School develop unique relationships with each other and with the School in general.

 

Every year, the students who started at Shawnigan in Grade 8 and remained here through to graduation are celebrated with the 5 Year Dinner, hosted in the back gardens of the Head’s House.

 

The Grade 9s who took part in the Beyond the Gates Capstone Expedition to the West Coast of Vancouver Island surprised even themselves with what they were able to accomplish, and made life-long memories on the trip that combined epic kayaking and hiking adventures.

 

Twenty-three students – nearly three times as many as last year – participated in the event, which marks the conclusion of this year’s Beyond the Gates experiential learning program that takes Grade 9s off campus for adventures across Vancouver Island so they can get to know more about the incredible area where we live and learn.

 

Half of the students – “Team Black” – started by hiking the West Coast Trail, and the others – “Team Gold” – began by kayaking the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound. They overlapped in the middle, all staying at the Broken Group Lodge together for one night, and then Team Black kayaked the Broken Group while Team Gold hiked the trail. Each group was accompanied by multiple staff members throughout the expedition.

 

From the performances on stage to the building of the props and the operation of the lights and microphones, nearly everything was in the hands of the students themselves at this year’s Grade 8 musical, Beauty and the Beast.

 

The students’ months of hard work paid off when the musical took the stage for a pair of showings on Friday, June 21, which none other than Head of School Mr. Larry Lamont called, “hysterical,” and absolutely brilliant.”

 

“They’ve been working very hard,” Theatre teacher Mr. Sal Interlandi said of the Grade 8s. “It’s hard to do something like that in a short period of time, but it’s been a lot of fun. The spirit of the class has been fun to work with. There is a lot of great energy.”

 

 

In Chapel, we often hear tales of the Rev’s cat, Peek-a-Boo.

 

I have to declare, at this point, that I am an out-and-out dog lover and avoid cats wherever possible. But wherever I go, cats inevitably follow me: brushing through my legs, jumping unexpectedly onto my lap – allergies abound. When we lived in the fjords of Norway, our daughter Poppy (then aged about four) asked Kathini from the back of the car if she could get a cat when Dad dies.

 

And I was also in the car!

 

Nearly 10,000 salmon fry were released into the wild this month by students who raised them in the Mark Hobson Hatchery – a facility unique to Shawnigan among schools in British Columbia.

 

The students in Science 9 and Environmental Science 11 and 12 have been nurturing the fish since November, when they caught fish in Shawnigan Creek to use as broodstock, then harvested eggs from the females and fertilized them with milt (semen) from the males. The eggs hatched into alevin – a phase where they are still carrying yolk – then grew into fry in March. Transferred into larger tanks at that point, they were fed and cared for over the following months until they were ready for release into Hartl and Shawnigan creeks.

 

According to Hatchery Lead and Experiential Learning Instructor Mr. Louis Chancellor, the number of fish released this year was nearly double the amount released last year, thanks in part to some changes and improvements made to the system. He says it should be even better next year.

 

The end of the school year has given Shawnigan’s musicians, artists and actors several chances to display their talents and the projects they have spent the last few months working on.

 

On Wednesday, June 5, we celebrated our 360 (arts and activities) groups with colours and awards in the Chapel Gathering, followed by the 360 Fair later that afternoon. The fair included performances by the senior and junior rock bands, displays of art and photography, and demonstrations of everything from fly fishing to search and rescue. In the evening, the annual Cabaret featured performances by the Broadway choir and dance crew.

 

The first Grade 8 students to come out of Samuel House learned where they will take their next steps on the Shawnigan Journey in the Sorting Hat Ceremony on Saturday, June 8.

 

A highly anticipated event for our youngest students as they complete their first year at the School, the Sorting Hat Ceremony is where Grade 8s are informed in which House they will spend the next four years.

 

Boarding houses are special homes away from home for our students, and the students they live with and the House staff become family for them during their time at the School. For each student, their House automatically becomes “the best House on campus.”

 

A project months in the making reached completion this week with a ceremony to celebrate the placement of 20 pieces of unique artwork created by Grade 11 and 12 Graphic Arts students at the Mark Hobson Hatchery, giving an Indigenous-inspired makeover to a vital piece of the science and experiential education programming on campus.

 

The carved salmon, done in a formline style influenced by West Coast First Nations artwork, were created under the guidance of Mr. John Lyall, an artist and member of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation. Indigenous art is part of the BC curriculum, and Shawnigan Graphic Arts teacher Mr. Philip Toews wanted to give students a concrete way to experience that – “Part of my goal is to make graphic arts tangible. It’s not real until you can hold it in your hands,” he explained – but he also needed to be careful to teach his students about the subject matter without risking cultural appropriation. His solution to that quandary was to involve local First Nations artists like Mr. Lyall in the process.

 

The students started with a pencil and sketchbook, drawing a salmon from a photo, then filled those forms out with shapes that are part and parcel of West Coast First Nations art, which they had studied the meanings of. Those pencil sketches became computer graphics in Adobe Illustrator. Those designs were refined – with continuous feedback from Mr. Lyall during the process – and converted into a format for carving on a CNC (computer numerical control) machine. Cowichan Woodwork then helped cut out the pieces, which the students sealed and painted for outdoor display.

 

With four programs at the provincial championships and one at nationals over the last two weeks, it has been a busy period for our gifted athletes, but also a fantastic opportunity for Shawnigan to showcase our tremendous athletic programs.

 

The First XV and the Iron Women earned silver medals in the boys’ AAA Tier 1 and girls’ AA tournaments, respectively in Abbotsford, while the Colts placed seventh at the junior boys’ championship.

 

“All three teams and their coaches can be extremely proud of the improvement and determination shown representing their school,” interim Head of Rugby Mr. John Tait said. “All of our players contributed to successful seasons and wonderful memories and lessons from competing together. The future is bright and no doubt the lessons learned from this year will pay off in the years to come.”

 

Always an emotional event as students share their raw feelings in front of their classmates, this year’s “This I Believe” evening of speeches was held in the Chapel this past Tuesday.

 

Grade 12 students gathered to hear 12 of their peers read essays they have written in their English classes about a topic of their choice – anything close to their heart. All students composed essays and read them to their classes, and those classes subsequently chose who would read their pieces on Tuesday.

 

Shawnigan’s “This I Believe” program was inspired by the 1950s CBS radio series by the same name and many subsequent series that have used the same name.

 

A well-being retreat on Sunday, May 26 gave students a preview of what is to come with the Shawnigan Health and Well-Being Centre.

 

Over the course of the day, students were invited to take part in a variety of sessions related to different aspects of physical and emotional health, many of which are currently offered, or will be offered in the future at the new Health and Well-Being Centre.

 

“This is one of the first times the building is being used to this degree,” School Counsellor Ms. Jennifer Tully said. “This is exciting and hopeful.”

 

Roll out the red carpet for Shawnigan film students!

 

Students in both the curricular and 360 film programs came home from the BC Student Film Festival in Vancouver on May 24 and 25 with a total of three prestigious awards.

 

Curricular film class students Kenzie G., Charlene K., Owen L., Patricio G. and Adam A. won the award for Best Senior PSA for their impactful film Least Expected.

 

The 360 group won Best Junior Documentary for their moving film about Mr. Melvin Gómez, who was Artist in Residence at the School last fall, and Ash B. earned the title of Best Junior Director for the same film.

 

Grade 12s, their families and guests, and a host of staff members made the trip up into the Coast Mountains for Grad celebrations at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler on May 16 and 17.

 

The events began on Thursday evening with Parents Night, where parents and staff members had the opportunity to mingle at the Portobello Restaurant. The restaurant provided an intimate space that encouraged lots of conversation and spurred interaction between the families.

 

On the day of the Grad Gala, families eagerly picked up corsages and boutonnieres, and had the chance to get their photos taken outside by School photographer Ms. Arden Gill. Students then proceeded to their class and House photos, followed by the traditional red carpet walk to the ballroom.

 

It has been a busy few weeks for our many spring sports programs, so it’s time for a quick update on how our teams have been doing in the lead-up to provincial championships.

 

 

The School hosted the Mike Johnson Classic Squash Tournament on May 10 and 11, drawing players from San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island. We were honoured to welcome back several alumni, three of whom have competed at the national championships and are still playing at an elite level: Bransten Ming ’15 (Lonsdale’s), Ryan Picken ’17 (Lonsdale’s), and Michael Mehl ’18 (Ripley’s).

 

Shawnigan rowers made 20 A finals and claimed 11 top-three finishes as the School hosted more than 1,000 athletes and coaches from 19 club and school teams for the 62nd annual Shawnigan Regatta on May 10-12.

 

“What an amazing weekend of sunshine and great racing,” said Head of Rowing Mrs. Jennifer Parfitt, who was overseeing her first Shawnigan Regatta. “The regatta was a great success with students ranging in abilities from our novice Grade 8 rowers all the way up to our athletes who are bound for the national championships. It was great to see many of our parent supporters out there cheering kids on and a whole host of staff and volunteers from across the School contributing to make this event a wonderful experience for all involved. We are looking forward to our next race and seeing you all next year.”

 

Shawnigan is excited to announce the inaugural Kingstone Invitational girls’ ice hockey tournament, coming to the School this fall.

 

The tournament is named in honour of Jo-Anne Kingstone, who worked at Shawnigan from 2004 to 2013 and was the first female Deputy Head in the history of the School. She is remembered with great admiration and respect for her promotion and support of female voice in the student and staff communities, her dedication to delivering a genuine co-educational model at Shawnigan, and for her inspiring leadership.

 

Jo-Anne’s husband, Jim, also taught at the School from 2004 to 2014, serving as Head of English and Head of University Counselling. Her two children graduated from the Shawnigan, Sarah in 2007 and Ben in 2008.

 

A series of sailing trips on the Salish Sea on May 6 and 7 helped set our Grade 8s up for the Beyond the Gates program next year.

 

The Grade 8s boarded the Providence, a historic, 121-year-old ship, in Mill Bay, and sailed to Russell Island, off the southern end of Salt Spring Island.

 

Built in Denmark in 1903, the Providence originally served as a civilian vessel. It was chartered by the Royal Danish Navy during the Second World War, then commandeered by the German Navy. Repatriated by Denmark after the war, it returned to civilian life. It first sailed to the Pacific Northwest in 1979, then worked as a cargo vessel in the Caribbean in the 1980s. The Providence returned to BC in 1988, started working as a charter ship in 2005, and now offers both experiential adventures and cargo services throughout the Salish Sea.

 

Shawnigan students travelled near and far in April for a pair of leadership conferences run by independent school organizations the School is a part of. Inclusive Education teacher Mrs. Jennifer Hutchins took five members of the Grade 8 Round Table to St. Michaels University School in Victoria for a student leadership conference put on by the Independent Schools Association of BC on April 12, and Social Sciences teacher Ms. Andrea Robertson took four Grade 11s to Bishop’s College School in Sherbrooke, Quebec for the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools conference on April 18-20.

 

The event the Grade 8s attended was titled “The Keep it Light 2024 Conference.” “Students were taught about the value of play, being focused on the present, and being a good listener through the power of improv, presented by Dave Morris in his keynote address,” Mrs.  Hutchins explained.

 

The Shawnigan students got to know students from other ISABC schools, and were able to choose from a variety of workshops, including making poke bowls, yoga, creative writing, vision boards, dance, practicing gratitude, jam sessions, and painting. The day wrapped up with all the schools coming together for a drumming workshop, followed by a colour powder celebration.

 

As always, visitors to the Shawnigan campus this spring and summer will be greeted with blooms of every colour in gardens and hanging baskets.

 

There is a twist this year, however, as many of the flowers were grown here at the School by our students. All of the annuals in the gardens and baskets were grown in the Growing Dome, about 3,500 from plugs and 2,500 from seed. Although students have grown vegetables and herbs in the past – and continue to do so – this is the first time they have grown flowers as well, an initiative of Environmental Lead and Horticulturalist Ms. Patricia Hanbidge.

 

Students in Grades 8-10 had a chance to share their passions with their peers this week at the Junior Soul Seeking Fair, which packed the Library and other parts of the Main Building.

 

Work on the projects got under way in October, with the final results displayed this Wednesday on cardboard trifolds, laptop computers, and other creative display formats. Students have had six months to explore topics that fascinate them with the help of their advisors and mentors from the Shawnigan community. The variety of projects is extraordinary.

 

“The only requirements are that it is something they are interested in and that they show us the journey,” Librarian Mrs. Rayna Hyde-Lay explained. “It’s not just about the results.

 

Check out our latest alumni profile!

Devon Thompson ’00 (Groves’) spoke with the Advancement & Community Engagement team as part of an ongoing series featuring the stories that make up the legacy of Shawnigan alumni. As one of our newest Board of Governors, Devon shared her experiences since graduating from Shawnigan. Devon is currently the Managing Director at RBCx. Read More.

Environmental Science 11 continued Shawnigan’s long-running efforts to help monitor fish in Shawnigan Lake by conducting an annual study of fish stocks and biodiversity.

 

Students put nets in the water for 24 hours in two separate locations and pulled them up the following morning, then removed the fish from the nets. The next day, Grade 11 classes weighed, measured and dissected the specimens, noting the detailed information, including species and sex.

 

With our spring sports all in full swing, this is a busy time of year on the fields, waters and courts on campus and surrounding the School. Our student athletes have been making impressive progress this season in training and competitions and on tour.

 

With numbers on the rise in girls’ rugby at Shawnigan and across Vancouver Island – Shawnigan alone has more than 40 girls in rugby – schools have begun to establish a junior girls’ league to complement the senior ranks. On May 10 and 11, Shawnigan will host the first-ever Junior North Island Championship with the aim of formalizing the junior league and provide talented young athletes with a top-tier competition.

 

It was a historic weekend for Shawnigan at the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, Texas on April 25-27.

 

The team of Colton B., Martin H., Dave P. and Zach P. achieved the School’s best-ever result at the world championships, placing eighth out of 82 teams in their division and making it through the first round of elimination before bowing out in the quarter-finals. It was also the best result for a school from Vancouver Island in the past decade.

 

With more than 800 teams of four divided into 10 divisions, all packed into Dallas’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, it would have been easy for the Shawnigan students to get caught up in the hectic atmosphere, but they remained focused and professional.

 

Shawnigan’s rising stars of theatre took their talents to a big stage on April 26-28 at the National Star Festival West hosted by Douglas College in Vancouver.

 

“The festival is an opportunity for theatre students to perform in front of their peers, test their skills against an adjudication board with the opportunity to receive recognition, and take workshops in many performing arts fields from instructors across BC,” theatre teacher Mr. Sal Interlandi explained. “It also allows them to meet and see what other performing arts students are doing in other schools.”

 

Four teams of Theatre Company students qualified for nationals through the provincial Star Fest at the University of Victoria last December, where they each performed a single scene from a play: DJ B., Bailey S. and Pascal G. in The Philadelphia by David Ives; Gabe B. and Charlie G. in Lone Star; Reo T. and Aava N. in Fight Over Fuchsia by Lindsay Price; and Talia S. and Sora R. in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.

 

On Saturday, April 20, Shawnigan had the honour of hosting the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation’s annual Champagne Dinner & Auction Gala, bringing members of the foundation and their many supporters to Marion Hall for one of the Cowichan Valley’s premier fundraising events. Shawnigan is proud to be a long-time supporter of the foundation.

 

Our incredible dining team and many staff and student volunteers helped create a wonderful evening for the foundation and its patrons.

 

Among the student volunteers was Grade 11 student Desi S., who was helping at the event for her third year in a row.

 

 

Economic Theory 12 students donned hard hats earlier this month for a field trip to the Crofton Mill and an opportunity to learn about the process of making pulp and how it fits into the economy of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and Canada as a whole.

 

The objective of the trip was for students to look into the mill operations and apply course concepts to their observations. Students were assigned concepts from a predetermined list – such as tariffs, supply and demand, capitalism, unions, comparative advantage, protectionism, and free trade – then after the trip, they contributed their observations to a slide display that they presented to the class.

 

Grade 8 students in Samuel House expressed their gratitude to several members of staff and fellow students on April 10, inviting them to the recently opened House for a small celebratory evening.

 

“I spoke to the Grade 8s about what they can do to thank people and give back to the community,” House Director Mrs. Rainbow Bartlett said. The Grade 8s then came up with a long list of people they wanted to thank, including their Advisors; Prefects Ella R. and Zach P.; housekeepers Ms. Wendy Manley and Mrs. Charmaine King; Mr. Salim Rana, who served as Assistant House Director in Stanton until Samuel House opened; and Boarding Well-Being Assistant Mrs. Kathy Lowry for her help in getting them settled into Samuel House.

 

Shawnigan Director of Athletics Mr. Tim Murdy received one of the top national honours in his field when he was presented with the Canadian Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s Dave Rozdeba Award for Athletic Director of the Year.

 

Mr. Murdy received the award in a well-attended ceremony on Thursday, April 11 as part of the CIAAA national conference in Regina.

 

The presentation praised Mr. Murdy’s “honesty, integrity and ethical leadership,” as well as his humility and advocacy for student athletes. It included a testimonial from Harry Jones, a rugby player who was coached by Mr. Murdy in high school in West Vancouver, and who went on to represent Canada at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympics.

 

The Environmental Science 11 class travelled to the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre in Cowichan Bay on Tuesday, April 9, to get a first-hand look at a significant and sensitive ecosystem as part of their wetland ecology unit.

 

“The focus of this field trip was on human impacts to the estuary, and using quadrats to investigate the estuary,” science teacher Ms. Alexandra Ballantyne explained. “A main focus of the quadrat study was to identify species living in the tidal zone and to compare invasive and non-invasive species. We primarily looked at varnish clams and the potential threat of European green crabs.”

 

Lecky House is once again filling the unique niche it was intended for on the Shawnigan campus – as a home-away-from-home for teams and groups visiting the School.

 

Built in 2003, it was used for its original purpose for 17 years. It then functioned, with the permission of the Lecky family, as a temporary boarding house – Levien House – from September 2020 until spring 2024, when the Grade 8 boys from Levien and Grade 8 girls from Stanton moved under their shared roof at Samuel House.

 

Available once again for visiting teams and groups, Lecky House has already hosted three rugby teams as they stopped at Shawnigan on recent tours: the Danville Oaks Rugby Football Club (Danville, California), Xavier High School (New York City), and Wimbledon College (London, England).

 

Students fanned out across the globe over Spring Break – many to their homes both near and far, but some on a variety of School-sponsored trips and tours related to their academic, athletic, and artistic pursuits at Shawnigan.

 

 

Seven students and two staff members flew to Jamaica as part of the EDGE (Engagement, Development, Gratitude and Experience) program, where they took part in projects to improve the lives of children there. They first visited the SOS Children’s Village, a sanctuary for children ages six to 17 who have been separated from their parents. The village houses 40 kids in all, six or seven to a house with an “auntie” who oversees them. The Shawnigan students painted one of the houses, including sanding and preparing the building, and spent three days engaging with the kids.

 

Shawnigan’s U18 Prep girls’ ice hockey team made it back to their national championship final last month, and while they ultimately fell just short of the title, head coach Ms. Carly Haggard was thrilled with the result, and even more importantly, her team’s performance.

 

“The girls came together and peaked at the right time,” Ms. Haggard said.

 

After opening the tournament in Penticton, BC with a 6-2 victory over Delta Hockey Academy Black, Shawnigan earned a 5-2 upset win over Delta Green, the second-ranked team going into the championships, behind two goals from Meera S. and 20 saves from goalie Alex N. Shawnigan closed out the round robin with a 6-3 victory over Okanagan Hockey Academy, then prevailed over Edge School 4-0 in the semifinal thanks to a 15-save shutout by Alex.

 

The Friesen Centre came alive with jazz music, flapper fashion, and everything that made the 1920s roar as it hosted the Great Gatsby Gala, a fine dining experience and fundraiser for the EDGE (Engagement, Development, Gratitude and Experience) Spring Break trip to Jamaica.

 

Organized by Grade 12 student Ali S. as her capstone project, the event had the Friesen Centre done up in Jazz Age style, while guests – including students, parents and staff members – donned their best period attire and enjoyed an enticing meal prepared by Shawnigan head chef Mr. Dustin Setso and his kitchen team with the help of the entrepreneurship students who operate the Stag Café.

 

Grade 8 students had an eye-opening opportunity to connect with Shawnigan’s history last week when they took a guided tour of the School museum with curator Ms. Rosemary Dolman.

 

Located downstairs in Marion Hall, the museum charts the evolution of Shawnigan, beginning with its founding by C.W. Lonsdale in 1916. Opened in 2005, it contains more than 3,200 items, including Shawnigan memorabilia and other period-appropriate pieces collected over the years. The museum includes recreations of several specific School spaces, including C.W. Lonsdale’s office, classrooms from the 1910s and 1940s, and a dorm room from the 1970s.

 

“The School’s history is so incredibly deep in how far it goes back,” student Quinn M. extolled. “It’s just super inspiring with all the cool stuff that’s here: how the rooms used to look, how the kitchen used to operate. How the whole School used to operate is incredible.”

 

From Marion Hall to the Charlie Purdey Arena, Lunar New Year was celebrated across campus on Friday, March 1.

 

Students wore red – which symbolizes luck, joy and happiness in Chinese culture – to Marion Hall for a special dinner of Chinese food prepared by the kitchen staff. That was followed by a cultural entertainment provided by students of Asian heritage: singing and dancing, both traditional and modern, with plenty of interaction from the audience.

 

The Lunar New Year celebration has been a cherished tradition at Shawnigan for many years. Grace Z., who organized the festivities this year, was proud to help carry that tradition forward.

 

Following on from an internal process for the appointment of the BE A JEDI (Belonging, Equity, Acceptance, and Justice – Embracing Diversity and Intersectionality) Chair, I am delighted to announce that Andrea Carballo has been appointed to this position at Shawnigan for the school year 2024-25.

 

As many of you will know, Andrea is passionate about diversity and inclusion and wants to make sure everyone at our school feels like they belong. She is a Costa Rican Brazilian who has lived in Costa Rica, Spain, the Dominican Republic, the US and Canada, speaks three languages, attended international schools, and is the parent of three multi-cultural children.

Andrea has been at Shawnigan since 2008 and firmly believes there are so many ideas and so many ways to grow as a School. With the support from the BE A JEDI Committee and with the upcoming publication of the CAIS Peer Report, Andrea plans to champion the commendations and act upon the recommendations in a way that calls upon everyone at Shawnigan to BE A JEDI.

 

“You feel really uplifted when you climb,” said Angela C., one of the students behind the creation of Shawnigan’s climbing team, a new student-driven initiative this year. Although that could be taken quite literally, Angela meant it figuratively, referring to the exhilarating rush she and her teammates get from the sport.

 

Although climbing is not an official sport at Shawnigan, there is a climbing wall in the gym, and a group of passionate students have taken to training on it in their spare time, forming a team and attending competitions on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

 

“We started last year with a vision, and turned it into a reality this year,” said Bea H.

 

The Stag Café went international on Tuesday night with a multifaceted celebration of the many cultures represented at Shawnigan.

 

Since she arrived at the School last year, Grade 12 student Anastasiia S. has wanted to implement more cultural events because they help students adapt to a new environment by sharing their culture with their peers, while other students have a chance to get to know the international students better. Initially, the idea for this event was a night for students to share their cultures, but it quickly evolved into a larger event with food and music that was embraced by the student body.

 

“Food is one of those things that represent culture,” Anastasiia said. “It’s at the frontline of culture.”

 

Over an intense three days before Ski Week, the cast and crew of Grease staged four phenomenal performances at the McPherson Playhouse in Victoria, demonstrating boundless talent, imagination, creativity and energy as they took the audience back in time to tell the tale of teenage paramours Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies, and the rest of Rydell High School in 1959.

 

A stellar cast, with Grade 12s in most of the key roles, rose to the occasion and put on brilliant shows night after night. And it wasn’t just the stars, but the entire cast, who stepped up.

 

Josef J. and Ariel M. starred as Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski, respectively, returning after taking lead roles in last year’s production of The Addams Family. But they were far from the only standouts in an ensemble cast that also featured outstanding performances from – among others – Georgia G. as Rizzo, Keegan L. as Kenickie (“He killed every night,” said director and co-producer Mr. Salvatore Interlandi), Sharm P. as Marty, Grant N. as Doody, Luke V. as Roger, Emmett N. as Sonny, Clara P. (stepping up in her first and last year at Shawnigan) as Patty, and Grace S. as Frenchy.

 

Ski Week could be described as Shawnigan’s “alternate reality” – a parallel universe where the School exists in a different form for a few days.

 

This year, both organizers and students were unsure what to expect. Conditions on the hill at Manning Park were said to be dubious, and only limited runs would be open. Of course, when all was said and done, many were calling it “the best Ski Week ever.”

 

“Maybe that was because we were expecting less and got so much more,” Student Life Coordinator Ms. Katrina Cholack said. “The kids kept a positive attitude and took advantage of what was presented to them.”

 

Dear Grease cast and crew,

It was such an absolute joy to be in the McPherson Playhouse on Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10.

There was so much energy, imagination and creativity bubbling through the musical: the choreography of performers, the personality brought to each main character, the chemistry between the T-Birds and Pink Ladies in action and song, the live orchestra (with Mike G. on the drums!), the superbly conceived set and stagecraft, and much more.

It was a startling performance.

Our Grade 8 program took a giant step forward this week as excited students moved into Samuel House, our specially designed and pioneering boarding house for all Grade 8 students. Grade 8 girls and boys are now under the same roof in Canada’s first co-ed boarding house for students of that age.

 

Girls and boys are in separate wings, but have shared common areas. Rooms are designed to accommodate four students. Common spaces include fitness facilities, a kitchen, and lots of room for studying, socializing and relaxing. Furnishings have been specially selected by Ms. Kathini Cameron, and Ms. Cameron and Deputy Head Mr. William Nicholas designed custom-built bedroom furniture. Students are settling quickly into the comfortable atmosphere.

 

Before moving into Samuel House, the students had a chance to tour the building and check out the new living spaces. Clad in new yellow hoodies emblazoned with a red dragon, the Grade 8s were delighted to explore the House and eager to move in.

 

Dear Shawnigan Community,

It is with great excitement that I announce our upcoming Rugby Centenary at Shawnigan Lake School.

In 1928, Senior Master “Tiny” Levien recommended to our founding Headmaster, CW Lonsdale, that the School introduce rugby to its sports programming. We have never looked back.

With the introduction of the girls’ program in 1993, our Shawnigan rugby club has developed players who have gone onto university, provincial and national honours, with all players learning the values that underpin the game.

We plan for a year of celebration in 2028. 

As we get closer to the end of the winter sports season and the beginning of the spring season, here is an update on how some of our teams have been doing.

 

SQUASH

 

On January 13, Shawnigan played host to nearly 100 participants from Vancouver, Victoria and the Cowichan Valley in the largest Squash BC Junior Silver Event ever. Five Shawnigan athletes won their events: Kaleb A. (Div. 1), Tony Z. (Div. 4)., Justin L. (Div. 7), Eliza H. (Div. 8), and Daniel H. (Div. 9).

 

A mutually beneficial collaboration between Shawnigan Lake School and Cowichan Search and Rescue saw students going over the edge — literally — in a slope rescue scenario at Stoney Hill Regional Park west of Duncan.

 

Nine students, three Cowichan SAR members and two Shawnigan staff members took part in the session, the 10th of 16 sessions the School SAR team is conducting with Cowichan SAR this year.

 

“Upon returning from Ski Week we will complete our sessions, still focusing on rope rescue but also adding in aspects of swiftwater rescue, such as throw bagging, foot entrapment procedures, and what live bait rescues entail,” explained Outdoor Education Coordinator Ms. Jessica Dick.

 

Nathan Bice ’16 (Duxbury) and Kyle Bell ’16 (Duxbury) visited the School in December 2023 to speak to Grade 12 students about potential job opportunities at Queen Charlotte Lodge.

Students in Science 9 learned about two sides of the same coin — the benefits of genetic diversity and the benefits of creating an identical crop quickly and economically — in a lab focused on human-assisted asexual propagation last week.

 

The students learned how to create a genetically identical “daughter plant” or clone of the original plant by taking cuttings from the “mother plant.” In order to understand that method of reproduction, the students first needed to understand the parts of the plants and their roles, the things plants need to survive, and the various types of tissue within a plant and their corresponding roles.

 

“The magic in asexual propagation is the meristematic tissue whose only job is to grow,” said School Horticulturalist Ms. Patricia Hanbidge. Meristematic tissue, she explained, is a type of tissue whose only job is to grow endlessly, and which has the ability to become a specialized cell with specific jobs. For example, meristematic tissue on a leaf cutting can become root or stem tissue.

 

The third time was the charm as Grade 9s finally got to try biathlon at Mount Washington last week as part of the Beyond the Gates program.

 

The first scheduled trip had to be called off because it was too cold. The second attempt was halted because an excessive amount of snow made for treacherous travel conditions. On the third try, 34 Grade 9s, seven staff members and one Grade 10 mentor — Benneit H., who has competed in biathlon (a sport in which athletes alternate between cross-country skiing and rifle shooting) at the provincial level — finally made it to Mount Washington.

 

The students took lessons from members of the Vancouver Island Biathlon Club, learning how to safely handle a .22-calibre rifle before they practiced target shooting from a prone position on a mat, and alternating between shooting and skiing laps.

 

Anastasiia S. was named an outstanding delegate and two other Shawnigan students received honourable mentions as the School sent a significant contingent to the Vancouver Model United Nations last weekend.

 

Twenty-seven students represented Shawnigan at VMUN 2024, joining their peers from around the world at the 23rd annual session of the largest MUN conference in North America organized by high school students.

 

Anastasiia’s award came in the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, where she presented on the topic of refugees’ rights in host countries, representing her own home country of Ukraine.

 

Shawnigan’s robotics program earned its first tournament win of the season last weekend, and the victorious team is hoping to build on that success in a bid to reach the VEX Robotics World Championship.

 

The team of Kathryn Y., Esme L., JD P. and Zekai L. brought home the top prize from the tournament at Claremont Secondary School in Victoria, the third of five tournaments this year, and Shawnigan’s first win since the 2022-23 season opener at Shawnigan in November 2022.

 

After the first two tournaments of the year, the Shawnigan team was more familiar with this year’s game, VEX Robotics Over Under, and was better able to prepare for the competition this time.

 

A major snowfall last week created excellent learning conditions for a group of Shawnigan students to take part in the Avalanche Skills Training Level 1 program at Mount Washington.

 

Outdoor Education Coordinator Ms. Jessica Dick took eight students in grades 9-12 to Mount Washington for the program, facilitated by Mr. Brian Jones, the owner of Canada West Mountain School, who travelled from the Mainland to provide instruction. The students — including five members of the Search and Rescue 360 — chose to take part in the course in order to improve their knowledge about avalanche terrain, snow safety, rescue skills, and general backcountry trip planning.

 

“These skills can be used in a wide array of experiences, including ski touring, winter camping, snowshoeing, and general backcountry adventures,” Ms. Dick related. “They were provided with a plethora of resources to allow them to be able to view avalanche bulletins, weather forecasts, potential avalanche problems, and conditions of travel. Now that they are equipped with these skills, these students have the ability to safely plan an excursion into the backcountry to further extend their regions of exploration and adventure.”

 

Between a visit to campus by the Stanley Cup and a spectacular opportunity for two of our U18 Prep girls’ ice hockey players, Shawnigan was fortunate to take part in the festivities last week when Hockey Day in Canada came to nearby Victoria.

 

Once a year, the weekly Hockey Night in Canada broadcast turns into Hockey Day in Canada, with a full day of NHL games interspersed with stories from a selected community in Canada. For the 2024 edition (which took place on Saturday, January 21), Victoria was the lucky community, and some of the stories they chose to tell involved the School.

 

Mr. Andrew Ference, who won the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins and is now a parent and hockey coach at Shawnigan, helped arrange for the Cup to be brought to the School’s Charlie Purdey Arena on Wednesday, January 17. He surprised the players with the Cup, with a crew from Sportsnet on hand to film the event.

Grade 10 students celebrated the end of the first term with a pair of Fine Arts showcases this week, highlighting their efforts and progress over the last few months.

 

Grade 10 students go through a rotation, picking two curricular Fine Arts over the course of the year, and the performances this week marked the end of the first portion. Wednesday saw drama and instrumental students take the stage, while Friday featured dance, film and music technology inside the theatre, along with a visual arts exhibit in the lobby.

 

On Wednesday, the drama students performed vignettes from the play It’s Not You, It’s Me, a short comedy by Don Zolidis. The instrumental music group played three songs: “Counting Stars,” “Hallelujah” and “Clocks.” Music teacher Mr. Vince Hale noted that several students in that group had never played an instrument prior to this year, but took huge steps to being ready to perform for their peers.

 

Grade 12 student Morgan J. returned to the School this week after helping Team Canada bring home a bronze medal from the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s U18 Championship in Switzerland.

 

The tournament wrapped up last Sunday, with Canada taking third place thanks to an 8-1 win over Finland in the bronze-medal match. Canada was unbeaten in the preliminary round, outscoring their opponents 29-1 over three games, then defeated Switzerland 6-0 in the quarter-finals before being upset by Czechia 4-2 in the semifinals.

 

“It was disappointing that we didn’t take home the gold medal, but I am still very proud of our group,” Morgan said. “The overall experience was amazing because of the teammates and Team Canada staff I was surrounded by. I have made many friends and created many memories with them that will last a lifetime. I grew as a player, but most importantly as a person on and off the ice from this experience. Playing with and against the best U18 players in the world was an honour. It has been an unforgettable experience, and I was sad to see it end and say goodbye to all my friends.”

 

Shawnigan’s U18 Prep boys’ ice hockey team proved once again that they can skate with the best with another strong showing at the Circle K Classic, the top tournament in North America for their age group, which ran in Calgary from December 26 to January 1.

 

After reaching the final four in the 2022-23 edition of the tournament, this year Shawnigan won four games and lost two, and made it to the C Division final to finish near the top of the 32-team, invite-only tournament.

 

Shawnigan went 2-1 in pool play, recovering from a 6-3 loss to the Bishop Kearney Selects (Irondequoit, New York) to beat the Warman Wildcats (Warman, Saskatchewan) 7-4, and the Airdrie CFR Bisons (Airdrie, Alberta) 3-2.

 

Tiny Adirondack chairs produced by Shawnigan’s senior woodworking class will add some homemade whimsy to the Montessori preschool on campus and help enhance the relationship between the School and the youngsters.

 

The woodworking class explored batch production techniques and processes during the project, teacher Mr. Declan Bartlett explained.

 

“A major part of good woodworking is planning and preparation,” he said. “By understanding a systems approach to guaranteeing quality, students were able to frame the project as a series of attainable steps that they could focus on, divide the labour and track the progress of the build.”