News & updates

List of 5 news stories.

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  Awards and a Provincials Berth for Roboteers

  1/24/2025
  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.

   
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  Taking a Shot at Biathlon

  1/24/2025
  The Beyond the Gates program is designed to take students out of the classroom and beyond campus to experience places they have never been before and activities they have never tried before. This past Monday, the Grade 9s in the program travelled north to Mount Washington to try biathlon – a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting – and for the vast majority of students, it fit the bill ideally.

   

  According to Shawnigan intern Ms. Kelsey McGaw, who led the trip, some of the students didn’t even know biathlon existed and were thrilled to discover a new sport. Virtually everyone had cross-country skied previously – many at Ski Week when they were in Grade 8 – but few had tried the skate-skiing style they employed at Mount Washington, instead being more familiar with the classic style.

   

  Although Maya B. had tried biathlon while growing up in the Yukon, she had never attempted skate skiing until Monday. “I really enjoyed the experience, and it was nice to talk to people I hadn’t gotten the chance to interact with before. I think it was very successful. Everyone had a lot of fun, and even though we weren’t the best at every aspect of it, everyone did their best.”

   
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  Inside the Tour Guide Experience

  1/17/2025
  Campus tours are a highlight of the admissions process at Shawnigan; not just for the prospective students and families who take part, but for the current students who conduct the tours and cherish the opportunity to share their love of the School with visitors.

   

  Hazel P. has been part of the tour guide program for three years, and calls it “one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of my time here.”

   

  “The campus tours program has given me the opportunity to connect with prospective students and their families, share my love for the School, and give them a glimpse into what makes Shawnigan such a special place to be,” she said.

   
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  Lights! Camera! Innovation!

  1/17/2025
  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.

   
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  Art Monsters!

  1/10/2025
  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.

   
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