News Archive

An outstanding cast and crew, and support from some excellent staff members, helped make a dream come true for Mr. Sal Interlandi with the staging of this year’s School musical: Chicago (Teen Edition) with a three-night and one-afternoon run at Victoria’s McPherson Playhouse.

 

“It’s such a great show,” said Mr. Interlandi, theatre teacher and director of the musical. “When I interviewed for the job here and they asked me what shows I wanted to do, I said it was one of my favourite shows. It’s always been a show I wanted to do.”

 

Written in 1975, Chicago was based on a stage play from 1926. It has become a staple on Broadway and is the longest running current show there. It also became a movie in 2002 that won Best Picture at the 2003 Academy Awards.

 

Two teams from Shawnigan’s robotics program have qualified for the provincial championships this March with a chance to earn berths at the 2025 world championships in May.

 

The teams earned their provincials berths in different fashions last weekend at an event hosted by Claremont Secondary School in Victoria. The team of Tony Z., Justin T., Bella Z. and Aaron N. qualified by winning the skills championship, while the team of Kaho H., Zoe C., Eric H., John P. and Christian W. qualified by making the tournament final, although they ultimately lost and finished as runners-up.

 

In the skills championship, robots work alone for two separate two-minute slots: the first is autonomous and the second is driver-controlled. The team of Tony, Justin, Bella and Aaron had the highest combined score over their two slots. That team also won the “Amaze” award presented by the judges for their innovative design and engineering process. The team of Kaho, Zoe, Eric, John and Christian also had an impressive showing in skills, placing third overall.

 

Improvements over the last two years to the Hugh Wilkinson Theatre funded by C.A.S.E. (Communications, Arts, Sciences and Entrepreneurship) and the Bradley Family Foundation are helping Shawnigan take this year’s school musical – Chicago (Teen Edition) – to the McPherson Playhouse stage.

 

Two years ago, C.A.S.E. funded the purchase of 16 state-of-the-art wireless microphone sets, the same model used by the professionals at the McPherson Playhouse. The mics, which were also used during last year’s musical, Grease, allow the students to sing at the same levels they will be singing in the final production.

 

Last summer, C.A.S.E. provided funding for a renovation of the production booth at the back of the Wilkinson Theatre. Until last summer, all the equipment was in one end of the booth, and the students working there were virtually on top of one another. Now they can work in a more professional environment, similar to that of the McPherson Playhouse.

 

What happens when you combine the wild imaginations of kindergarten and Grade 1 students with the nascent sculpting skills of Grade 11 art students?

 

The answer: a bunch of little monsters.

 

In fall 2024, right around Halloween, Ms. Annilee Guy’s Grade 11 art students collaborated with the kindergarten/Grade 1 class at nearby École Cobble Hill Elementary – which includes Ms. Guy’s son, Callum – on a fun project. The elementary students all drew monsters, then passed their drawings on to the Shawnigan students, who re-created those monsters in clay and painted them, then gave the final products back to the kids who drew them.