Opening Address to students and staff – Academic Year 2024-25

A reassuring message to us all. 

 

One student who graduated last year wrote perceptively and gratefully that Shawnigan “didn’t just give me opportunity – it gave me a community.”

 

This is your community now.

 

Chapel is very much part of the Shawnigan Journey. We gather here, as representatives of many faiths, to connect, share and support. Our graduating class cries each year in their last Chapel service – tears of joy mixed with tears of sadness.

 

Chapel is the place that alumni love to come back to.

 

We pride ourselves that, over time, you will feel a deep sense of belonging to the people and the place.

 

From wherever you are in the world – from the Cowichan Valley to Montreal, from Japan to Mexico, from Germany to South Africa – you will find Shawnigan and your boarding house a home away from home.

 

Underpinning everything we do are the School’s values, the 4Cs of the school: Curiosity, Compassion, Community – and Courage. Shawnigan is defined by our commitment to these values – and respect for each other. We strive to be thoughtful and mindful of others – and we tread softly around other peoples’ dreams.

 

With students drawn from a wide compass of over 30 countries, we pride ourselves on the sense of belonging we strive to create for each student. Each member of our community is encouraged to respect and learn from the unique remarkable of each individual. 

 

Our diversity is our strength.

 

As you will learn, one of the special elements of Shawnigan is singing – together – in Chapel. 

 

I read a recent blog by a Kaye’s student who graduated in 2006 and she said this of Chapel:

 

“Year after year, we were reminded that singing is cool – and it is! We are all made up of energy, [and as] an instant mood-lifter, singing together in chapel is one of my fondest memories at Shawnigan and I always try to visit campus on a Chapel Day because I miss [it].”

 

Each House has its own hymn. I am sure you will be learning these in the weeks ahead. We take great pride in Chapel, and we love to sing together.

 

It has been quite a summer, from the devastating wildfires in Jasper to continued conflicts across the world.

 

Summer sport has certainly lifted spirits, and I must admit to having been gripped with Olympic fever. The Olympic Games provide us with an opportunity to gather every four years, when the world is often faced with turbulence and trouble – and to strive to celebrate what is best about humankind. Olympic athletes from across the world gathered in Paris and served as an unrivalled source of inspiration for us all, and I know that some of you were there with your families.

 

The games were certainly full of unforgettable moments. Controversy, of course, always follows the Olympics: from the controversial opening ceremony to the pollution levels of the River Seine to countries banned from competition to viral Australian breakdancing to the Canadian women’s soccer team and the drone espionage incident – all alongside the tears of triumph and disaster of the competitors.

 

And, of course, Canadian Celine Dion’s fairytale comeback performance at the Eiffel Tower.

 

Shawnigan, with its own proud history and tradition of Olympic success, has been part of some Canadian athletes’ journey to Paris: from the silver medal-winning women’s rowing eight who train at dawn at our crew-house to the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team.

 

The coach of the sevens team, Jack Hanratty, wrote to a few of us on the eve of the tournament to say that “a lot of our story and ‘team moments’ happened at Shawnigan Lake School… we always felt incredibly welcomed and… always appreciated the friendly faces.”

 

In the quarter-final (en route to their silver medal), Canada beat France 19-14. Piper Logan, the 23-year-old scrum half from UBC, scored a remarkable solo try from the base of the scrum – with a sidestep and unmatched acceleration through the flailing French defence. At an event last week in Vancouver, she revealed that it was a play that she honed in a scrimmage against our Shawnigan boys’ team on our very own Canada Field. Muscle memory and an instinctive flash of Shawnigan triggered, mid-quarter-final, this moment of brilliance.

 

How cool is that?

 

All of us will have our favourite moments.

 

I find myself supporting Great Britain, South Africa, Norway, Canada – all places that I have lived and whose people are close to my heart. I was deeply touched by so many athletes recognizing in post-event interviews the support they had received from families and the sacrifices of those around them, for we succeed with the support of others.

 

The refreshed Olympic motto is “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.”

 

A motto for our time.

 

Drawing on the inspiration of the Olympics and Paralympics, I have one key message for our Shawnigan community this morning:

 

Together we will support each other and meet the challenges of the weeks and term ahead. This is a community of “we,” not “me” – and we will be looking out for all our new students in the weeks ahead. As staff, we will do everything in our power to make sure your time at Shawnigan is happy, productive and memorable.

 

I am certain that you will not remember what I said this morning to launch the school year but I hope that you remember how you felt sitting together in your Houses for the first time.

 

Together we will encourage you to try new things, to be curious – and to do and be the best you can be. 

 

The Olympics and Paralympics have served to remind us that if we work hard together and give it our best, we can make our dreams come true.

 

Summer McIntosh, the 18-year-old Canadian swimmer with three gold medals and one silver this summer, perhaps put it best:

 

“You try to continue to get better and better.”

 

Let’s all commit to do this together as we step into this new school year.

 

Each year, I am invited to choose a quotation that lives in the front of the Gold Book and guides us through this year. Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Arundhati Roy, Kurt Hahn and Albert Einstein have all featured.

 

This year I drew on the wisdom of Richard Wagemese, an Indigenous writer: 

 

“All that we are is a story… it is what we arrive with. It is all we leave behind.”

 

Each of you is arriving here at Shawnigan with your own story – and we will all be part of the next chapter.

 

Enjoy yourselves and good luck with the term ahead.

 

Richard Lamont 

Head of School

September 2024