SLS Now Archive
Free Spirit Week
Last week, the Prefects staged a "School Take-Over" and imposed a few of their own rules and a bizarre new dress code. For Earth Day, they proclaimed that students should wear "recycled outfits" or, failing that, they should dress in green clothing. Thursday was ordained "Twin" day and students dressed as pairs—there were all kinds of crazy couples cruising the campus! On Friday, students didn't get dressed up at all and attended classes in their pajamas and, consequently, were fed breakfast in the morning and in the evening! Thanks go to the Prefects for organizing this great week of fun.
Chapel Music
"Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from the musical, "Les Miserables" was the piece performed in Chapel this weekend. A multi-talented Prefect from Copeman's House, this singer/actor recently wowed us in his role as "Ching Ho" in "Thoroughly Modern Millie." This was his second Chapel performance this year and we hope to hear him again before he graduates in June!
Student Photography
Courtney H. '09 (Renfrew), has been an avid photographer for many years and part of the photography fine art for the past three years. We are pleased that she is now also part of the Outdoors Club. Courtney sees landscape and marine life in a unique way through her lens and we are grateful that she is sharing it with us here.
The "porpoise" of going on an Outdoors paddling trip
Going paddling for two days means that we see marine life. On Saturday and Sunday saw a few porpoises, lots of seals and starfish, eagles and other furry ones (otters and racoons). But there are other purposes to going on the paddling trips—having fun, camping, overcoming personal challenges and helping out.
Mr. Yates, Ms Ferris and a group of 11 students and one Thai visitor (Will) ventured to Portland Island to accomplish all of the above and more. Some of the students had never been on a paddling trip before, so there were surprises (fun and hard work). Everyone worked together to create a great team—whether it was cutting unwanted broom plants for the National Parks Branch (to help the regeneration of native plants) or facing the challenge of hard paddling—especially on the return voyage. The wind and tide were in our favour, but the going was still hard for some. Well done to everyone for stepping up to the challenges.
– Jenny Ferris, Outdoors
Graphic Design 10
The Graphic Design 10 class visited Cowichan Woodwork to see how designs on a computer can be manipulated to create real, 3-dimensional graphic art. Computer numeric control (c.n.c.) allows us to use information created in many popular software packages such as Illustrator or ArtCam, to guide machinery to actually produce the "real" product. The demonstrations were based on sign carving, but the same principles are used to shape anything from cabinets to guitars, rowing shells to complex art, in any machinable material. The snacks were good, Mr. Smith was "in his element" discussing and demonstrating the software and machinery, and the items on display were fine examples of the creative side of c.n.c.
Law Day
Three weeks of work, going before two supreme court judges, meeting with three different lawyers, and making a trip to Duncan, boiled down to one final day. One day that was filled with excitement and nerves. We walked into the courthouse, bags in hand and were immediately greeted by a Security guard. Up to the fourth floor, courthouses and interview doors, lining the walls as we walked down the hallway, found out what room our first case was in and then let the Crown team head off to its first case. Ms Cawley, Jessie R. and Logan D. and I made our way through the crowd and found a quiet place to go over our case. We worked for about an hour and twenty-minutes, which seemed like nothing compared to the three weeks of preparation prior. We made our way to the courtroom, and presented our case, it was two against four, Jessie and I against four other lawyers, representing the defense-we won and our client was acquitted of both charges. The amount of fun that we had was incredible. We enjoyed every minute, and I truly believe that our advancement to the semi-finals was made possible by each lawyer and judge that helped us prepare. The feeling of utter joy was incredible and although we did not advance to the Finals, we were happy with where we ended up. On behalf of the whole Shawnigan Lake School Debate Team, I want to personally thank Ms Cawley, Mr. Younie, Judge Bracken, and Judge Wood. This was an incredible trip and gave me a whole different view on lawyers and the British Columbia Court System. Thanks to everyone who made this trip a possibility!
– Johnny B., Junior Debate Captain
Tennis News
Jr. Tennis off to a good start— The Junior Tennis team had their first competition of the year in an exhibition match versus Brentwood. Congratulations to our singles winners, Matt L. and Lucile P.; doubles winners Julien M. and Josh L. and mixed doubles winners Louis L. and Lucile P. We will be visiting Brentwood next week for a rematch.
– Andy Olson
Field Hockey News
Congratulations to the the Shawnigan girls who participated in the U16 High Performance Field Hockey Tournament held in Vancouver last weekend. Lizzie Y. and Megan L. team placed third while Erin C. and Kelsey P. were 5th. Well done girls!
– Joanne Yates
The Great Wednesday Night Come Back—The troop was at it again last night up on the field hockey pitch. The other team was intimidated by our fierce team of mostly boys so we compromised and Braden M. played on their team to balance the attack. Francis Kelsey had some skilled players who were passing all around us and we were down 1-0 at the half from a goal on a penalty corner. The second half proved much the same, especially as Braden was difficult to get around, and Kelsey scored again on a nice deflection.
It wasn't until there were 10 minutes remaining when the Shawnigan troop stepped up their game and started using each other on the easy pass. The speed of our players helped to win the 50/50 balls and the attack became relentless. Tamlyn T. put one on the board with a beautiful deflection that went over top of the Kelsey goalie with only 4 minutes remaining in the game. This seemed to spark an even greater serge and the team was fired up. Kelsey added to the pressure and was in our defensive end until one minute remained and the ball was cleared to the wing where our wave of forwards charged into the circle and forced a penalty corner with no time remaining! The penalty corner was played out and in the end, after a scramble at the goal mouth, Ed A. jammed the ball to the back of the net!
We are still undefeated thanks to the all-out team effort and the defensive play of Sian M. in goal and a few others who sacrificed their bodies (and manhood) for the game.
Next week, we're in Duncan to play under the lights on the water-base turf!
– Rachel Peters, Coach
Soccer News
Jr. Boys A Soccer win the league—The boys beat gulf islands 3-2 to win the mid-islands and therefore qualify for the Island Championships automatically. It was a beauty with Avi scoring with 5 minutes left with a barn-burner of a shot top corner. Congratulations to these guys for their accomplishments thus far.
– Jarrett Wilke, Coach
Excellent Win for Jr. Girls Soccer—On the back of their best performance of the season, despite losing 3-2 to GISS with goals by Alice C. and Megan L., the girls played very well against Brentwood winning 3-1. Goals again by Alice C. (2) and Megan L. (1). The girls are off to the ISA’s on Saturday and the team are definitely up for the challenge!
– Debra John, Coach
Rugby News
Great Performance for Girls 7s Rugby team—Shawnigan Girls 7s team took a trek down the Malahat to play in the Velox Rugby Club 7s tournament Sunday. They played great all day long and came away with 2 wins and 2 losses on the day, which placed them 3rd. The two losses were hard battles and the games could have gone either way.
Eva J. and Tasha B. earned a spot on the tournament All Star Team. Overall it was a great team effort all day long.
– Doug Wooldridge, Coach
Thursday, April 23 vs Vanier—the Senior Boys' rugby teams travelled north to Courtney to play again G.P. Vanier Secondary School. Some great rugby action was seen on the day with numerous players standing out with strong performances. These performances led to a 36 - 0 victory for the 2nd XV, and a 50 - 0 victory for the 1st XV. The player of the day for both teams was Cameron R.
– Tim Murdy, Coach
Soccer
Jr. Boys A Soccer stay undefeated in League Play—The Jr. Boys A beat Brentwood 2-0 on Tuesday, lifting their record to 4 wins and 0 losses. Thursday is a battle for first place against Gulf Islands.
– Jarrett Wilke, Coach
Rugby News
Great Performance for Girls 7s Rugby Team—Shawnigan Girls 7s team took a trek down the Malahat to play in the Velox Rugby Club 7s tournament Sunday. They played great all day long and came away with 2 wins and 2 losses on the day, which placed them 3rd. The two losses were hard battles and the games could have gone either way.
Eva J. and Tasha B. earned a spot on the tournament All Star Team. Overall it was a great team effort all day long.
– Doug Wooldridge, Coach
Fine Art Colours
Fine Art Colours were awarded to students this week. Mr. Rolston remarked that students at Shawnigan are challenged to be well rounded—intellectual, athletic, creative and spiritual. "Some students come to Shawnigan with very little experience in the arts and discover a passion for one or two Fine Arts and those students grow in enthusiasm and skill and take that with them when they leave. Albert Einstein said, 'Imagination is more important than knowledge.' This morning, we will recognize excellence in the Fine Art Program at Shawnigan. Colours are awarded to students who show leadership, faithful and enthusiastic commitment and solid skill development in their Fine Art."
Academic Colours
Academic Colours were awarded this week to students in Grade 12 and Grade 10. They will be awarded again in June. Mrs. Kingstone noted that Academic Colours recognises those students who bring intellectual energy, leadership, determination and integrity to their studies. While achievement is certainly important, students who are distinguished by their passion for learning and for contributing to the learning environment, thus enhancing the experience of others, find the greatest success in the classroom. And not all academics are the same: some light up the class with their banter, others work quietly helping others as needed, responding to questions when called upon; some push their teachers to answer the hard questions, others seek these answers for on their own. But without a doubt, those who bring to the classroom those values we hold dear at Shawnigan reap the greatest rewards.
Before reading out the names of the recipients, Ms Woollven read the citation for us: "Academic Colours will be awarded to students who consistently demonstrate superior effort, achievement, and leadership in their studies while also maintaining a commitment to the many other facets of the Shawnigan program. Showing genuine interest, working to potential, and supporting classmates must be integral to a recipient's approach. Generally, students will have studied at the School for more than one year."
Art Eight
This month, Shawnigan Lake School is happy to be playing host to a group of teachers who are visiting from Thailand. The Art 8 class was lucky to have a visit this morning from "Apsorn," who gave them all a brief lesson in cartooning—Thai style! The students were given some examples of basic style, and then asked to create their own comic book characters and stories. Although we didn't have time to complete an entire comic book, we came up with some very interesting images and some humorous drawings! Thank you, Apsorn!
– Carol Shaw, Art
Chapel Music
This grade 10 student from Groves' sang solo in Chapel for the first time on Saturday. "The song I sang was 'More Love' by the Dixie Chicks. I take private voice lessons with Mrs. Bryant, but she was not my first voice teacher. I've been singing for about 4 years (private lessons) and about 8 years in choir. My mom was a choir teacher many years back, and that is where I got a lot of my inspiration. I get a lot of support from my friends and family, though mostly from my roommate! Before singing in Chapel, she got me to sing the song to her every night. I knew I had all the support I needed. It's just a bonus that some people enjoyed it. I will sing publicly again because practice makes perfect."
Francis Tjia visits Entrepreneurship and Commerce classes
Mr. Francis Tjia shared his knowledge of financial markets and their inner workings with Mr. Stroebel's business students. Students were fascinated to learn about the stock and bond markets, how to choose and evaluate companies for investment purposes, and how hedge funds operate. He used a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate and emphasize the delivery of his message. Thanks go to Mr. Tjia for his enthusiasm and support of the business program.
Mr Tjia is a hedge fund manager based in Hong Kong.
Senior Choir
On Thursday, the Senior Choir participated in the West Coast Choir Festival, hosted by Pacific Christian School in Victoria. They performed three contrasting pieces ("Crazy," "Lullaby," and "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd") which they have been working on since January. The singers represented the School extremely well and received positive feedback from the two wonderful adjudicators. They will be performing one of the numbers in Chapel in the next few weeks, and will spend the rest of the term learning an exciting and challenging new piece that they hope to have ready by the Fine Arts concert in June.
– Shannon Bryant, Director of Music
PARTY – Prevention of Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, half of the Grade 10 year sat on the steps of Marion Hall for a picnic style lunch before departing for the hospital in Duncan. The PARTY programme describes the route of a patient from the arrival of the paramedics at a vehicle crash site to the trauma room of a hospital. It is not a lecture; it describes the choices available to young adults, choices that might keep them safe or at least safer when they go to parties or out to the bush for a campfire and a few beers. Some of the descriptions are graphic, as are some of the photos. It brings home the message of the need for a good buddy system or a collection plan with parents or a responsible adult that are decided before the teenager leaves the house. The reality is that a parent may be annoyed that their son or daughter has crossed "the stupid line" but they will be so glad that they are not being taken to the trauma room to see a son or daughter with horrific life threatening injuries.
– Debra John, Planning 10
Spring Break Rugby Tour
Over Spring Break, thirty-nine senior boys making up the 1st and 2nd XV, along with four staff members, departed for a two-week rugby tour to Ireland and Wales. Major stops along the tour included Belfast, Dublin, Bray and Cardiff. The teams played well against some very tough opposition, with the 1st XV winning two of four games, and the 2nd XV winning one. The focus on the tour was for the boys to advance their skills and develop as a team, in preparation for the upcoming spring season back at home; there were great strides made in both of these areas. Beyond the rugby, we were fortunate to see and experience many sights around Ireland and Wales. Highlights included an in-depth city tour of Belfast, a trip to Giant's Causeway, St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, sightseeing in picturesque Wicklow, and of course 'test-match day' in Cardiff! The hospitality was outstanding at every stop on the tour. The boys represented their school and country in exemplary fashion throughout and received much praise from all of their hosts. All-in-all a very successful tour and a great way to start what should be an exciting season for Shawnigan rugby.
– Evan Hall, Rugby
Soccer
Junior Boys A Undefeated—SLS beat Kelsey 2-1 on Thursday to stay undefeated, 3 wins 0 losses. Congratulations to the boys!
– Jarrett Wilke
Field Hockey News
Wednesday Nighters are 2-0—Another dominating show last night as the Wednesday night field hockey group stormed the field. The opponent this week was a U14 all boys team and, boy, could these guys play—their stick skills were amazing which proves that the closer you are to the ground, the more ball control you have!
Shawnigan started the scoring with Noah S striking from the top of the circle but the boys didn’t back down and countered that goal with one of their own on a penalty corner. That goal seemed to wake the attack and Shawnigan scored again and often. The final score was either 6-1 or 7-1 and we had a different scorer on each goal.
Bench boss, Braden Mc., had a taste of the constant ‘put me in coach’ nattering from his subs and managed very well.
Girls win over BMGS from Australia—It was another exciting evening on the field hockey pitch as the field hockey program hosted Blue Mountains Grammar School from Australia in a friendly match. After their sport commitment, a mix of junior and senior players gathered together to play against the visiting school.
Not only was the passing spot on and the defence stellar, but the determination in the scoring circle was impressive! Although the visiting goalie made some fantastic saves, our girls were relentless and scored some beauties (a majority by Julianne H.)!
We all shared a meal in the dining hall afterwards and made some great connections with the group from ‘down under’!
Thanks to the kitchen for supplying our late meal and to Aly Y. for umpiring!
– Rachel Peters, Coach
Rugby News
This past Tuesday, Shawnigan put out two senior teams to play against our guests from Calgary—the St. Francis Browns. St. Francis have visited us twice before, and are a well organized and keen bunch of young men. However, the skill and experience of the Shawnigan boys proved to be too much for our guests. Shawnigan was victorious in both of the games. Several boys from Shawnigan played well, but Elliot L., playing in his new role of scrum half put in yet another outstanding performance for the men in black and gold.
Two great wins for the Shawnigan Senior Boys' rugby program—On Thursday, both the 2nd XV and 1st XV teams were victorious against S.M.U.S. from Victoria. The boys played very well in both games, and are looking forward to their next challenge-an away game in Courtney versus Vanier next Thursday.
– Tim Murdy, Head of Rugby
Rugby News
Shawnigan welcomes Monty T., Lucien N., and Mr. Gary Dukelow back from their travels with the Rugby Canada U17 side that just finished competing in the Millfield Rugby Festival. Also, returning home from European competition is Ripley's Dustin D. Dustin has just finished captaining the German U18 side in Toulon, France to the European Group B Championship. They defeated Portugal in the final, and next year will be the first German side to ever compete in the group A for the European Championships. Well done to all, and welcome home!
– Tim Murdy, Head of Rugby
Rugby Vs. Oak Bay
A very successful trip down to Oak Bay on Thursday afternoon, as both the 1st and 2nd XV senior boys’ rugby teams came away with victories. The 2nd’s won 22–14, and the 1st XV won 50–6.
– Tim Murdy, Head of Rugby
Happy Birthday Mr. Anderson!
For all at Shawnigan, April 8th was a very special day as it marked the 80th birthday of, Graham Anderson, Senior Master Emeritus and much-loved Shawnigan Lake school legend. The whole school sang a rousing ‘ Happy Birthday’ at lunchtime in Marion Hall and, with customary GLA humility, he shared his cake with two students whose birthdays are on the same day. The main celebration was held in the evening at the Headmaster’s house when around 80 or so staff, friends and alumni of every vintage, gathered to surprise Graham. Fine words were spoken, interspersed with humour, reminiscences and heartfelt sentiments. Mr. Anderson was in fine fettle and, in his response, he remarked that he would be glad when April 9th dawned so that he could escape the limelight! He did, however, have a memorable day, as we all did.
Easter Egg Hunt
On Thursday, the Prefects managed to entice the Easter Bunny onto campus to release a few hundred pre-Easter eggs!
Dean's Dinner
The Second Term Dean's Dinner was held on Tuesday night with over 220 students in attendance. As the final "dinner" of the year, students were treated to prawns, steak, asparagus and blueberry crumble in recognition of their superior effort in January and March. With only one term left in the year, students have a final opportunity to make the Dean's List and attend a brunch in the final term.
– Wendy Woollven, Registrar
Field Hockey – Wednesday Night Win
A small army of Shawnigan field hockey players ventured onto our turf last night for the first game of the Spring season. The excitement was momentous and carried through the entire game!
There was a mix of young and old, new and veteran, boys and girls and together their spirit soared (and skills too) to a 5-0 victory! Madie B. started the scoring followed by a diving goal by Alex H. (assisted by Andy L.) and a blast from the top of the circle by Noah S. The 3-0 lead at the half was dominated by the wave of Shawnigan shirts and Noah S. who completed his hat-trick by the end of regulation (with both assists from Braden Mc). The no shot shut-out by Tommy N. proved the strength of our defense. It was a great start — more to come in the weeks ahead!
– Rachel Peters, Coach
International Rugby News
Shawnigan 1st XV forward, Dustin D., Captained the German U18 side to a 27 - 0 victory over Poland today. This Saturday they face Portugal in the Group B - Final of the European Rugby Championships. A victory will see the German side moved up into Group A.
Rugby Canada U17 has named their starting line up for their match versus Wales tomorrow, and Monty T. has been selected as the starting scrum half for the game.
– Tim Murdy, Head of Rugby
Soccer Wins
Jr. Girls Win—In a well-fought game ending in a 0-0 draw, the girls beat Bentwood in the penalty shoot out.
– Debra John, Coach
Another Victory for Jr. Boys' Soccer—Another 3-0 win raised our record to 2 wins 0 losses. Men of the match were Avi, and Dave and Luis in goal. Next game Gulf Islands next tuesday.
– Jarrett Wilke, Coach
School Photo
What does it take to get a photo of the whole School? It takes Ms Woollven and her Yearbook team to organize and Mr. Lane to photograph from the bucket of Mr. Gillam's tractor. Luckily, we had lots of patience since the weather was warm and dry and there wasn't a better place in the world to be than the beautiful Kaye Gardens.
Math Contest Winners
On Wednesday, February 18, seventy-five eager young Shawnigan mathematicians participated in the Pascal, Cayley, and Fermat math contests. These national contests are for students in grades 9 through 11 and are sponsored, in part, by the University of Waterloo. They involve problem-solving questions that are not directly linked to mathematics curricula in Canada and the questions range from easy to very challenging.
This year, approximately 63,000 students from across the country participated and we had some impressive results with many scores above the 85th percentile-remember that students who participate in these contests typically have some very strong abilities in mathematics. Our highest placed student scored higher than 99.7 % of all students who wrote the test in the Cayley contest. Pictured are the highest scoring students at Shawnigan in each math contest.
– Stephen Cox, Head of Math
Azabu High School
Last week we had a great experience with our Japanese friends from Azabu High School in Tokyo! This visit was through our exchange program with Azabu that has been running for many years now. This year,>there were eight students and two teachers in the group. Mr. Ryutani was visiting Shawnigan for his fourth time and has been a teacher at Azabu for over 30 years. Mr. Yasu, a twenty-five year old English teacher from Azabu, was visiting the school for his first time. The Azabu group’s mission was to have the Shawnigan experience and submerge their students in English speaking culture in Canada. The students from this all-boys school stayed in residence with our students and attended classes, sports, and fine arts along with their Shawnigan hosts. They performed “Japan Night” in the Shaw centre on Wednesday for our community, which was greatly applauded by the Shawnigan Students. The group was also able to attend the Shawnigan Musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” which they thoroughly enjoyed! It was a true pleasure having Azabu at Shawnigan for the week and it was sad to see them depart early Saturday morning.
– Doug Woodlridge
Canada Rugby U17
Canada U17 Rugby side defeated USA 32-7 at the Millfield Festival today. Shawnigan students, Monty T. and Lucien N., played in the game. Mr Gary Dukelow is with the team as one of the coaches.
Millfield School in the south west of England hosts this annual event each Easter and the quality of the talent represented, the festival atmosphere and the outstanding facilities attract interest from far and wide. Each team is guaranteed three games during the week. Canada will also compete against Wales A and Portugal. One of the rules of the Festival is that every player in a squad must start in a match, and everyone must play at least half a game. The emphasis is on participation which is why it is a festival, not a tournament, and why there is no declared champion at the end of it.
Rugby
International Rugby results from France—
Dustin D. has been named Captain of the German U18 team that is competing in the European Championships in France this week. Yesterday, they defeated the Netherlands 31-0, and play Poland tomorrow.
– Tim Murdy, Head of Rugby
Newspaper Article
A Modern Success Story
/ Krista Siefken, Cowichan News Leader Pictorial - April 4, 2009 /
The age-old lesson to marry for love comes to life in fringe and set to speakeasy-style jazz in Shawnigan Lake School’s spectacular spring production, Thoroughly Modern Millie, staged at the Cowichan Theatre tonight....
BCSSRU Invitational Sevens Tournament
The senior boys rugby team competed in the BCSSRU Invitational Sevens Championships on the weekend. The boys started out on fire on day 1 defeating Lord Byng 46-0, West Van 47-0, and Williams Lake 52-0. On day 2, the boys played Port Moody in the quarter finals winning 41-5. This set up a semi final match with St George's School. SLS played well, but lost in sudden death overtime putting the boys in the bronze medal match with Oak Bay. In true Shawnigan fashion, the boys finished strong defeating Oak Bay 40-0 for 3rd place. The boys are looking forward to the upcoming season of play, and are very excited to get going with their first league game versus Oak Bay this Thursday in Victoria.
– Tim Murdy, Head of Rugby
Dueling Over a Grand
This past weekend, the senior girls raced in Victoria at Dueling Over a Grand. The race was a head to head 1000m, double knock out event, very unusual for rowing but a lot of fun. The girls managed to win all 3 races on Saturday giving them a place in the final on Sunday afternoon. They continued their winning streak and captured the gold. It was a very fun event, giving the girls great training for the races to come at the end of the month.
– Danielle Beare, Head of Rowing
From Rugby Canada
BEUKEBOOM TAKES UVIC ROOKIE HONOURS
Friday, April 3, 2009 - Submitted by Andrew Smith in Victoria, BC.
It’s pretty rare for a first year University of Victoria rugby player to break into the Vikes starting lineup. But Brett Beukeboom ’08 (Lake's) of Lindsay, Ontario defied the odds this past season as he ascended the ranks to emerge as a dominant member of the UVic forward pack.
His performance in both a Vikes jersey as well as through representing Canada on the recent Under 20 tour of New Zealand earned him the prestigious University of Victoria Robert T. Wallace Shield Rookie of the Year award on Wednesday, April 1st.
“He’s just played outstanding,” UVic rugby Coach Doug Tate said before adding, “[Brett’s] a mobile a player. He can play in the second row, back row, and he’s done real well as a first year guy to even get into the Vikes.”
His dedication and strong performance while playing in the prestigious UVic program recently earned him a spot on the Under 20 Canadian Men’s Team as the squad toured New Zealand in preparations for the Junior World Cup in June.
For Canadian U20 Men’s coach Tim Murdy, Beukeboom was a key player in his roster against some of the toughest development sides New Zealand had to offer.
“He was one of the forwards that was able to keep up with some of New Zealand’s forwards. He wasn’t intimidated by the situation or by the physicality of play,” Coach Murdy said before emphasizing what makes Beukeboom such an important player to his lineup.
“He’s a very talented athlete but it’s more his character that has helped him excel. He’s a very coachable young man and he works very hard at trying to accomplish his goals.”
The Shawnigan Lake School graduate climbed the ranks while beginning his rugby career at the University of Victoria. After starting for the Jutes – Uvic’s third-string development side back in September, Beukeboom quickly caught the eye of Coach Doug Tate to earn himself a spot in the Vikes’ first string.
Beukeboom has recently been playing in B.C.’s Canadian Direct Insurance Premier League and faces off against some of Canada’s top senior players on a weekly basis.
“[There’s] not too many guys that play in the forwards their first year for the Vikes,” UVic Coach Tate said about Beukeboom’s recent form. “They’re just not physical enough – there’s only been a handful over the years.”
After accepting the award, Beukeboom spoke of how the university’s program has helped him excel as a rugby player and what it meant to be recognized as one of UVic’s finest.
“It’s a real honour being named rookie of the year - there’s a lot of great athletes here,” Beukeboom said before adding, “The coaching staff here is great. There’s a lot of experienced guys that have played for Canada and the Sevens before so they’ve helped me along with the experience.”
With Beukeboom now finishing his first season in Victoria, Doug Tate and his coaching staff have four more years to watch this young player reach his full potential in a Vikes jersey.
“He’s playing with so much confidence. He’s going to really help us down the road,” Tate said.
Soccer
Congratulations to the Jr Boys who dominated a game against Kelsey 3-0. An excellent start to the season. Leading the way was Nico offensively, and Andrew, Jackie, Dorian, and Ian on defence. The next game will be Tuesday against Brentwood.
– Jarrett Wilke, Coach
David Suzuki
The School was honoured to welcome Dr. David Suzuki to speak in the Chapel this week. The world-renowned scientist and environmental activist was introduced by another special guest, Miles Richardson, past leader of the Haida Nation on the Queen Charlotte Islands, and uncle of Grade 10 student Sienna R.
Dr. Suzuki credits his introduction to the Haida people in the 1980s, as an "eye-opener" to the different attitudes peoples have toward the planet. "We are not separate from the environment," he said, then animatedly tracked how one breath travels across the globe and through time. "We humans consider ourselves intelligent. So why would we dump toxins into everything we consume . . . the air, water, and the earth where we get our food?" he asked.
In response to a question from a student, Dr. Suzuki said he felt that the current economic situation might "give the planet a bit of breather" as people reduce consumption, but said, in the long-run, a basic attitude must change. "From the ancient Greek, ecology means the structure of home, and economy means the management of home," he said. "For too long we've placed priority on management, or the economy, above structure," he said, concluding that if ecology isn't made the priority, there will be nothing left to manage.
Field Hockey vs. Seaford College
It was a great day for field hockey yesterday as we played host to the girls and boys teams from Seaford College (West Sussex, England).
Our boys were enthusiastic and played an exciting game (with a few incidental contacts/tackles). Seaford College was a seasoned team and won 4-0 but we had a few opportunities that just missed the net from Kane W., Ed A. and Alasdair R. Seaford was also introduced to our dog friendly campus when Murphy had a run of the field and stole the ball in the middle of the game!
The girls were evenly matched and came out with a 2-2 draw. There were some exceptional passing plays and incredible drive in the scoring circle from each team. Goals for SLS came from Kristina D. and Julianne H.
– Rachel Peters, Coach
Take Your Seats for "Millie" This Week!
This year's Shawnigan Lake School musical is the most ambitious production that Gregg Perry, our musical theatre director, has attempted. With a cast of 55 students and a stage crew of 12, the School will present Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Cowichan Theatre on April 2, 3, and 4 (this Thursday to Saturday). Although you may remember the movie from the sixties starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Channing, this musical is a newcomer to the Broadway stage. It won six Tony awards in 2002 and was released for amateur production only in 2007. Our production will be one of the first times the show has been seen in British Columbia.
The Guacamole Cup
Students in Señor Klassen's beginner Spanish classes offered up their finest Mexican culinary talents in order to claim the coveted "Guacamole Cup." Although a few distinguished winners emerged, the most memorable moments were experienced on the tip of some students' tongues as they quickly found out that "salsa picante" meant hot sauce. Experiential vocabulary learning at its best!