Grade 8 Experience - Old
Welcome to Samuel House!
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.
The Grade 8s were already living in separate Houses from the other grades. Shawnigan opened Stanton House for Grade 8 girls in September 2019 and Levien House for boys a year later, which allowed them to adapt to boarding school life, and strengthened the students and the School as a whole by fostering connections before they move on to their senior Houses.
Shawnigan is immensely proud of its Grade 8 program, carefully crafted to provide a nurturing environment for the youngest students at the School, and to provide them with a strong beginning to their Shawnigan Journey.
The name of the new House pays tribute to long-time Shawnigan staff members Gaynor and Rhodri Samuel. Thank you to the Samuels for their decades of service to the School, and also to the many members of the Shawnigan community who dedicated so much time to make Samuel House a reality.
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.
