SLS Now Archive
Cowichan Music Festival
A number of our students participated in the 60th Annual Cowichan Music Festival this past month. There were 18 individuals involved in the piano, vocal, and instrumental sections of the festival as well as group dance numbers, one of which included the entire cast of this year's musical. Of the 30 or so classes entered, Shawnigan students received 13 First Place certificates, 14 Second Place certificates, and 4 Third Place certificates. As well, Marisa P., Alex C., Adam M., Ethan C., and Ciara S. received prizes and scholarships while Ben R., Ethan C., Amanda D. and Krit K. were awarded prizes and asked to perform at the gala concerts. On Wednesday night of this week, Jeff T. has been asked to perform at the distinguished Festival Highlights Concert and will be receiving an award. Well done, performers!
– Shannon Bryant, Director of Music
Rugby
Joe McGeachy Tournament—The Senior Girls' Rugby team (Iron Women) completed a very productive weekend tournament with a record of 3 wins, 1 loss, and a tie. Our single loss was to Cowichan High School, a very strong AAA high school. Despite being an AA school (grade 11 and 12 female population of under 250) we were placed in the AAA pool. By the end of pool play we placed second to Cowichan beating perennial AAA finalists Semiahmoo 7-5. This moved us into our final match for 3rd place against Vanier High School. We played our best rugby of the weekend and had many opportunities to win. Costly turnovers at critical times stifled many scoring threats. However, considering our lack of field time and new bodies, we did very well. Shannon (gr.10), our number 8, played consistently well, and newcomers Sarah (gr. 12) and Emily (gr.11), are going to be players to watch. In the centres, we are looking to find the best combination between newcomers, Emma (gr.9) and Diane (gr.12), and veteran, Eva (gr.11). All three of these young ladies are capable runners and ball handlers. Two new locks, Gala (gr.12) and Madison (gr.11), proved that they are capable competitors. Our flankers were led by Dayle (gr. 12) and young Rachel (gr. 10), who played very well in the final game. We have two young halfbacks, Eva (gr. 11) and Francesca (gr. 10), both of whom provided good service. Jules, our fly half played very well and our game revolves largely around her. Veteran full-back, Tasha (gr.12), was ever dangerous and teams are going to find out it is not always a good idea to kick to her. Her speed and deceptive running are exciting to watch.
It would be easy to sing the praises of all our young women, as it was a team effort and all 28 of the girls played. The season looks very promising and our coaching staff is looking forward to watching these talented young ladies grow as rugby players and people. More to come.
– Mark Hall, Coach
Squash Championships
Shawnigan squash players had a most successful culmination to the competitive season with some excellent performances and results at the BC Junior Squash Championships. The tournament was held at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver from the 6-8th March. Thanks go to Mike Johnson for his untiring efforts in coaching the boys to really push themselves to reach their potential. We would also like to express our gratitude to the many parents (and younger future Shawnigan sisters and brothers) for the support they gave to all the players over the course of the weekend. Some notable results were as follows:
Gold U 19 B - Bogdan V.
Gold U 17 B - Andy L.
Gold U 15 B - Haydn E.
Silver U 17 B - Alex H.
Bronze U 19 Main - K'odi L.
Runner-up U 17 B - Max R.
Runner-up U 15 B - Macoy J.
– Lynne Grass, Coach
Rugby
Senior Boys' Rugby Tour—The Shawnigan Rugby Tour took off out of Victoria airport on March 12. They will land in London and carry on to Belfast. We hope to hear from them during their UK tour and will post comments as they come in. To view their itinerary, please click here.
Tour Notes: by Rhodri Samuel
March 14 - We've had a good start. The journey over was long but smooth. We had a good win today for the 1st XV defeating Bangor 36-5. We were more of a physical presence, and scored three tries out wide. The first half tries by Dan, Matt, and Deon. Tye, Dustin and Steven scored in the 2nd half. Carlin made 3 conversions. Man of the match was Matt, who terrified the opposition with his tackling and presence around the park. The 2nd XV lost 29 -10. It was a closer game than what the result showed with many good performances. We are off for a bit of culture tomorrow: to learn a bit about Belfast and to see the Giants Causeway. We will be in Dublin on Monday. The weather is good but windy. The boys are in good spirits and are well looked after by our hosts.
ISA Squash Champions
ISA Squash Championships—On the 27-28th February, the Shawnigan teams competed in the ISA Squash Championships held at SMUS. It was an inaugural event for the girls, and they acquitted themselves admirably against some very experienced players from the Mainland schools. Team members were: Lizzie Y., Annika V., Kat D., Betty V., Courtney H., Tomoko O. In the Boys' competition, the Juniors (Alex H., Haydn E., Josh L., Max R., Miguel D.) came in a very close 2nd place to St. George's. All played very well and many of the matches could have gone either way. The Shawnigan Senior Boys' Team was triumphant in defeating all of the opposition, including a strong St. George's team where we won four of the five matches convincingly. Congratulations to all of the players (K'odi L., Dorian L., Bogdan V., Kevyn V., Krit K., Ron S., Andy L.), and a big thank you goes to Mike Johnson for his
coaching expertise and dedication to the team.
– Lynne Grass, Coach
Greening the Grounds
The School's Environment Club has recently put an ambitious "green project" in motion. A plan was initiated to replace the aging and inefficient 1-ton truck used by our recycling manager, Mark Forester. In an effort to reduce the significant carbon footprint generated by the vehicle, the Club hopes to purchase an electric truck as a replacement. Earlier this term, Niko Zorkin (Lonsdale's '73) shared his enthusiasm and expertise in environmental matters with the Club and offered guidance for getting this fund-raising project off the ground. A committee was struck to research accessibility of an appropriate vehicle (Canadian Electric Truck, based on Vancouver Island, lent us a prototype truck for a week) and another has been busy putting together a business plan to help validate and provide direction for the initiative.
Fund raising is now under way. The latest donation came in the form of a 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from staff member, Jenny Ferris, and her husband. The vehicle was subsequently sold and the Electric Truck Fund jumped by $800!
– Scott Noble and Angus Murray, Enviro Club
A Three-dimensional World
The Fine arts at Shawnigan is not just about exploring our two dimensional world. Our pottery and sculpture classes open up a whole new horizon, and seek to expand student's understanding of design it relates to the 3 dimensional world. Working primarily in paper, clay, paper mache, metal , soapstone, and foam core, concepts of relief, contour, structure and symmetry, are explored. In these classes, development of specific skills as they apply to three dimensional art forms help students to gain a deeper understanding of visual art.
– Carol Shaw, Art
Inter-House Cross Country
Congratulations to all the runners in this week's race—we had a record number of participants!
The results are determined from the top 10 finishers for each House in each category, and then the junior and senior placements are combined. The results are as follows:
Girls: 1. Kaye’s, 2. Groves’, 3. Strathcona, 4. Renfrew
Boys: 1. Copeman’s, 2. Ripley’s, 3. Duxbury 4. Lonsdale’s 5. Lake’s
– Darrin Austin, Director of Athletics
Rowing
Elk Lake Spring Regatta—This weekend, the rowing team competed in the first sprint race of the season. The Elk Lake Spring Regatta in Victoria is a 1850m race, featuring crews from across the Island and the Lower Mainland. Shawnigan had an excellent weekend of results. In the Senior Men's and Women's and Junior Women's 8+ Shawnigan brought home the early season gold. The Senior Men also won the 4+ and the Senior Women 4+ finished a respectable 3rd. So early in the spring, these results are a great first step in what looks to be a successful season.
– Kiel Petersen, Coach
Squash
ISA Squash Championships—On the 27-28th February, the Shawnigan teams competed in the ISA Squash Championships held at SMUS. It was an inaugural event for the girls, and they acquitted themselves admirably against some very experienced players from the Mainland schools. Team members were: Lizzie Y., Annika V., Kat D., Betty V., Courtney H., Tomoko O. In the Boys' competition, the Juniors (Alex H., Haydn E., Josh L., Max R., Miguel D.) came in a very close 2nd place to St. George's. All played very well and many of the matches could have gone either way. The Shawnigan Senior Boys' Team was triumphant in defeating all of the opposition, including a strong St. George's team where we won four of the five matches convincingly. Congratulations to all of the players (K'odi L., Dorian L., Bogdan V., Kevyn V., Krit K., Ron S., Andy L.), and a big thank you goes to Mike Johnson for his coaching expertise and dedication to the team.
– Lynne Grass, Coach
AP Human Geography
In AP Human Geography, Reverend Holland made a guest appearance to enlighten us on more aspects of our current unit: Religion. The majority of what he talked about was Jerusalem and the history that has shaped the city that now holds the world's major religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam). At the end of his talk, we had an opportunity to ask questions about anything religious. The questions varied from, "Why is the snake pool, called a snake pool and does it contain actual snakes?" to, "What exactly does the Pope do in his free time?" (The answer, Rev. Holland assured us, was that the Pope played long hours of shuffleboard in his basement.) All in all, the class learned a lot and appreciated Reverend Holland's visit.
– Harriet G., AP Human Geography
St. David's Day
Mr. Samuel spoke to the School on Saturday in Chapel about St. David's Day. A National holiday in Wales, the day celebrates Saint David, a Catholic Monk who died on March 1st (the year is uncertain, but it was in the latter part of the 6th century). Mr. Samuel challenged us with St. David's own words, "Do the little things"—pay attention to the details and the larger things will take care of themselves—and, "Be joyful." Happiness, said Mr. Samuel, is inside all of us. He played us various Welsh recordings of some of our favourite hymns. Mr. Doyle and Mrs. John, both also from Wales, helped with the service by reading prayers.
Athletic Colours
Colours were awarded to outstanding athletes this week. Senior Athletic Colours in individual sports are awarded to students who display strong skills and athleticism, as well as significant leadership and solid sportsmanship. Recipients must be in grade twelve, and generally will have at least two years of service to the sport.
Congratulations to this Term's recipients.