As we look ahead to the upcoming November break, I hope you’ve all had the chance to reflect on the first weeks of term at Shawnigan, and consider how you might approach the second half of the term differently. When we return from the break, a few things will have changed. The clocks will have gone forward, the field hockey team will be provincial champions, and many staff and students will have questionable moustaches on their top lip.

 

For those new to our community, the first two changes are easy to explain, but today, my job is to explain the third. For those unfamiliar, Movember is a men's health organization that comes to the forefront every November to tackle three important areas of men's health: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s mental health.

 

In Canada, Movember is the largest funder of research into new prostate cancer treatment options and the second-largest funder overall for prostate cancer projects. In Canada, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Organizations like Movember bring together research and education to confront this issue head-on and raise awareness to all those involved.

 

Movember is also a key educator in the area of testicular cancer. It educates young men to recognize early signs, seek help, and stay informed about treatment options. Once again, Movember acts as a vital connection between research, education, and awareness to all those involved.

 

But what Movember is perhaps most widely known for is its work surrounding men's mental health.

 

As I was preparing this speech, I searched for the right word to describe the current state of men’s mental health. The word I kept coming back to was simply “scary.” Scary because talking about emotions can be very difficult for men. Scary because we are hearing that people we care about may be struggling, and scary because when you look at the statistics involved, it affects more people than you’d think.

 

A video that Movember released during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan drastically shifted my own awareness and perception of men’s mental health.

 

In the video, we see the rugby players George North (Wales), Dylan Hartley (England), James Horwil (Australia), Shane Byrne (Ireland), and Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand) sharing a very powerful message about how a man dies by suicide somewhere around the world every minute. For those of you quick with math – or who are fans of the musical Rent – you'll recognize that this statistic equates to 535,600 committing suicide every year.

 

As a proud Welshman, seeing my idol George North deliver this message made me reflect on my own conversations with friends and family at home. Did I talk enough about the tough stuff?

 

After watching this ad repeatedly during the tournament, I found that when I returned home to Wales and met up with my friends, we didn’t just talk about the joy of watching England lose in the final to South Africa, but we also discussed this advert. How could we support each other better as young men? How could we have more open conversations? How could we become men of more words?

 

Now, how can we as a community contribute to the Movember mission here at Shawnigan Lake School?

 

There are four main ways:

 

You can sign up or donate to Shawnigan’s Movember team at this link.

 

This five-minute conversation has raised awareness of Movember for many of you. This demonstrates the power of simply talking – we, as a community, can tackle these issues together.

 

Thank you for listening to me today, and let’s get Movembering!