Looking back on 2024 – and 100 posts
This post marks not only the end of classes for the 2024 calendar year, but also the 100th entry since we launched A Voice in the Wilderness in October 2023, and we are celebrating with a “top 10” of sorts, with 10 blog posts that stood out in 2024. This list is not meant to represent the 10 “best” or 10 “favourite” posts, but rather a cross-section illustrating the variety of pieces that we have published. Thank you to all the students and staff who have contributed – each and every one of the pieces has helped make the blog what it is. And thank you to all our readers!
If you haven’t looked back at the previous 99 entries, we encourage you to do so!
Throughout February, Shawnigan has been marking Black History Month in a number of ways, including a special Chapel service on February 3. Grade 12 student Khanya Mangena-Jellema delivered the following address in that Chapel service, speaking to her fellow students about her experience as a biracial student at Shawnigan.
As part of Shawnigan Lake School’s Chapel Gathering for International Women’s Day, Grade 12 student Marina Musleh spoke about how fortunate she has been to have opportunities that have not been given to other women around the world, including her own family and friends in Afghanistan, how that has allowed her to build a better future for herself, and how she wants to provide support to others.
June 6, 2024 marked 80 years since the Normandy landings, also known as D-Day – the Allied invasion that initiated the liberation of France and eventually led to victory on the Western Front and the end of the Second World War in Europe. Shawnigan Social Studies teacher Mr. Neil Robertson spoke in Chapel about his own visit to Juno Beach last year, how his expectations differed from the reality, and how that changed his perception and appreciation of the events themselves.
If you are preparing for boarding school this fall or sometime in the future, you might wonder what kind of advice current or recent students can offer. Before the end of the 2023-24 school year, Shawnigan Lake School Admissions Assistant Ms. Kieran Ward canvassed some of our students for their tips, and here is some of what they had to offer.
Josh Polak had the opportunity to go into junior A hockey after his Grade 11 year at Shawnigan Lake School, but he chose to finish high school at Shawnigan before moving to the next level. Why? Because he knew the value of everything that he would get at Shawnigan, both on and off the ice. And that decision has helped open even more doors for him, as he explains here.
Every environment has its unique scents, and that is certainly true of Shawnigan. From the many gardens on campus to the natural spaces, and from the dorms to the science labs, the School grounds are an olfactory buffet. Mr. Elliot Logan ’10 (Duxbury), takes us on his personal journey from Copeman’s House, where he is a Residential Advisor, to the Main Building, where he works in the Communications office.
As a boarding school, Shawnigan takes its responsibility for feeding more than 500 hungry students very seriously, and the kitchen staff focuses on providing healthy and delicious meals and snacks. Please join Co-Head of School Desi Shaw on this mouth-watering journey through her favourite selections from the Shawnigan menu and an appreciation of the dedicated Shawnigan kitchen staff.
During the Beyond the Gates backcountry expeditions in late September – either hiking on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail or kayaking to and around Portland Island – Shawnigan Grade 9 students kept journals, writing reflections or descriptive pieces about their experiences in the wilds of Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea. Here are a few selections from their journal entries.
Over the course of the 2024-25 school year, a series of Chapel services will focus on the First Peoples Principles of Learning that are being incorporated into the BC Curriculum. The service on October 19 focused on the principle that learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential and relational. Dr. Alexei du Bois, Shawnigan’s Heimbecker Inspiration Chair for Experiential Learning for 2023-24 spoke during the service about aspects of experiential learning at Shawnigan and at Hilton College in South Africa.
Shawnigan recently revived its exchange program with Azabu High School in Tokyo, part of a long-standing relationship that had gone dormant since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Grade 12 student Sorath Rakhra, the exchange trip began with trepidation, but led not only to a desire to return to Japan soon, but also considerations of cultural differences and globalization.
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.
