Shawnigan Now
AP Physics Tour
On Sunday morning, 15 senior AP Physics students will embark on an exciting trip to sites of scientific interest in California, while the School is at Ski Week. We will squeeze six visits into three incredibly busy days, but the hard work will be hugely worthwhile!
We commence our adventure in San Francisco, experiencing the thrill of "free fall and terminal velocity" in a vertical wind tunnel. After a lecture about aerodynamic drag and a tour of the engine that propels the air at 200 km/h, we will then don flight suits and have two "dives". That afternoon, the survivors of iFly will visit the Stanford Linear Accelerator, a world-class particle accelerator where, amongst many discoveries, research into the structure of matter confirmed the existence of quarks in the 1960s.
We will then drive by tour bus to the Mojave desert, and on Tuesday we will visit NASA's Dryden Flight Research Centre. Research into aircraft design, both manned and unmanned, is conducted here, and we expect to see famous aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane in Dryden's museum. Its location within Edwards Air Force Base will remind us of Chuck Yeager's famous record, when he first broke the sound barrier, and numerous space shuttle landings occurred here, too. Next, we will visit eSolar in nearby Lancaster, where tens of thousands of mirrors track the Sun, reflecting radiation to towers where water is converted into steam and electricity is produced. This, of course, represents cutting-edge research that will have very positive benefits in helping to reduce the environmental impact of energy production in the decades to come.
The following morning, we will tour the Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel mountains above Pasadena. It was here that Edwin Hubble made his critically important discovery of the red shift of galaxies, paving the way for our current understanding that our Universe is expanding. Albert Einstein himself visited this fabled observatory! What a coincidence it is that a member of our group, Max K., is a distant relative of Edwin Hubble! Our final visit will take us to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, an incredibly exciting location where spacecraft are built, and missions are monitored and controlled. The Mars rover, Curiosity, was built at JPL and, launched two months ago, is currently en route to Mars, scheduled to land in August. By the way, the 2 Voyager spacecraft, launched in the 1970s, and currently at the edge of our Solar System and still operational, were built at JPL.
That night, we are delighted to be hosted for dinner by the Buckley family in Pasadena. The following day, we spend a little down time at Disneyland and the California Adventure Park, experiencing a variety of gravitational and inertial forces, before returning home for the mid-term break.
Stephen and Judy Lane, the staff chaperones, are honoured to have the opportunity to travel to these unique sites with such a wonderful group of AP Physics students! Keep track of our tour on the following blog:
http://physicstour2012.wordpress.com/
– Stephen Lane
The Curious Savage
The Curious Savage, directed by Morgan McLeod, opened on Thursday evening. A charming comedy that takes place in what we once referred to as a "mental institution," revolves around the struggle between a wealthy widow and her three greedy and ambitious children who have had her committed for hiding her fortune from them. Shawnigan's cast handled the material with sincerity and maturity even though five of the characters were harmless and humorous residents of the asylum. Reminiscent of another play of the same era, Harvey, the rich widow has decided to live life less seriously and more whimsically. The audience was treated to strong performances by every member of the cast.
– Gregg Perry
Photos by Stephen Lane
Snow!
Shawnigan recently enjoyed a few days of snow -- just enough to get us in the mood for Ski Week!
APHG Explores Religion
The AP Human Geography classes are currently undertaking a unit on world religions. We considered the differences between universal and ethnic religions, and independently focused in depth on a religion of choice, from Islam to Confucianism. A particular theme we came across was the concept of universalizing: the goal of global conformation to a singular faith. This subject inspired strong classroom discussion, culminating in a formal parliamentary debate: "be it resolved that universalizing religions do more harm than good." The experience of defending and refuting each side gave each of us an opportunity to share our opinions and gain another perspective. The diverse overview of several of the world’s most dominant religions, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, provided a multi-faceted experience which served to open the eyes of many to the complexities of faith and culture. Additionally, Reverend Holland was kind enough to take the time to spend a class with us, sharing his expertise on religion and religious history. Providing details of an intricate knowledge of the study of faith, the Reverend supplied us with an open minded and expansive look at the history of Christianity.
Though I was baptized Greek Orthodox, I had always viewed religion through a relatively narrow lens. Hearing the Reverend speak was an extremely enlightening experience, as it revealed the fact that many religious followers were, in fact, more open-minded than myself, and more than willing to discuss and examine the many forms of spirituality.
– Rosa V., APHG
Top Canadian Squash Referee Visits Shawnigan
On 24th January, the Shawnigan squash players were fortunate to benefit from the considerable experience of Dr. Gerry Poulton, an internationally ranked referee. When our players go to tournaments, they are expected to referee the match following the one on the court they have just played on. Drawing on his vast repertoire of past matches at the highest level, Gerry explained how to interpret the rules and situations as they arise on court. This will prove to be invaluable to the Shawnigan players and give them the confidence to carry out their officiating duties as they head off to the Pacific Northwest Junior Championships 16-18th February in Victoria.
Gerry's other love is Chemistry. He was a Professor at the University of Victoria for 37 years (Chair of the Chemistry Department from 1984-89). He retired a couple of years ago, but remains active on the squash circuit where he referees and also plays in the Victoria Men's 1st League. We are grateful to him for coming up to Shawnigan to share his knowledge with our players.
– Lynne Grass, Coach
Graphic Design 10
The Grade 10 Graphic Design class travelled to Cowichan Woodwork, a local cabinet and sign manufacturing facility (cowichanwoodwork.com). Each student had prepared a digital file in Adobe Illustrator to use as the basis for a sign of their own design. Rather than only seeing their work in print or on-screen, this was a chance to see how digital files can manipulate sophisticated machinery either in creative art form or for mass manufacturing. After some classroom theory and an introduction to the computer numeric controlled machine (C.N.C.) the process began. Choosing appropriate bits as needed and constantly changing direction and speed the C.N.C. began to create the outline form of the signs. Students were just able to recognize their work after about 15 minutes and then, rather than standing around watching, we all headed to Mill Bay for lunch. A change is as good as a rest—it's always good to get off campus for a bit! Upon our return to Cowichan Woodwork there were about 15 minutes left of machine time, just right to see the final product evolve, tuck the signs under our arms, thank the owner and head back to the School.
– Gordon Smith, Graphic Design, Architectural Drafting
Senior Ice Hockey
Saturday Night Hockey Returns to Mill Bay
There is something special about the electric atmosphere at Kerry Park Arena when both SLS and BCS battle in front of their fans. The game started on an incredibly exciting note with Shawnigan’s Brandon H. scoring a quick goal at the seventeen second mark. However, a quick response by Brentwood a mere 45 seconds later settled that this was going to be an incredible night of evenly matched hockey. End of first period score: 1:1.
SLS took the lead again in the second with a great go-ahead goal after Mitch M. emerged from the corner against two BCS players. He feathered a pass to the unmarked Max. C. who made no mistake and finished the play returning the lead to SLS. When playing BCS, any unmarked players are a real threat, and they began to display their offensive prowess by capitalizing on poor gap control on our defensive coverage. Giving them room to in our zone proved to be dangerous, and they scored two goals to close out the period, regaining the lead at 3-2. One exceptional play that would have tied the game at the end of the second was the blistering slap shot by Derek D. It passed the Brentwood goalie, rebounded off the crossbar, hit him in the back, then fell to the ice and slowly inched towards the goal line until the netminder fell backwards, smothering the puck in the process.
Coming onto the ice for the third and final period we knew the game would be decided within the next 20 minutes, and we had some work to do. In the meantime, both sets of fans were literally dancing in the stands in the intermissions and sustained the high-energy atmosphere that is characteristic of the showcase game. Despite a lot of pressure exerted in our opponents end, we couldn’t get the puck in the net before BCS did, and we now were down by two goals. Our team was resilient and determined, battling back to a score another goal by Max C. who jumped on a loose puck in front of the BCS net. Now we were battling both our opponents and the clock, and credit to Brentwood they played well in the final minutes to keep us off the scoreboard, and earn the 4-3 victory.
Our player of the game was Sean A. (who had a personalized cheer that captured his presence on the ice “Big Sean, Big Sean, Big Sean”). Special mention to our exceptional goalie Joel B. and to our captain Danny H. for their character and leadership. The entire team represented the school exceptionally well we were very proud of their tremendous compete level. We are very excited to build on this year’s growth and look forward to our rematch with Brentwood at the end of February in the Ross Cup Tournament.
At this moment, I thank the rest of the coaching staff, Mr. Tim Murdy, and Mr. Harry Benson for their contributions to the development of our athletes. Finally, I want to thank the team and our fans for making this game one of the best in recent history.
– Paul Morris, Coach
Photos by Stephen Lane
Soccer in the snow?
With snow covering the fields, the girls soccer skills group had to adjust their play slightly. After some conditioning games, they stayed warm with a beach soccer tournament, Canadian style. Luckily for us, the snow didn’t overstay its welcome and we’re back to normal training this week.
– Mits Nakagawa, Coach
Sr. Girls Basketball
The senior team played good basketball today vs Brentwood, but were unable to maintain the half time lead they had. In the end BCS pulled ahead and won 48-40. Nicole lead the way with 16 points, which include two impressive 3-point shots late in the 4th quarter.
The girls appreciated all the support today–thank you. Our next action is this weekend at Cedar.
– Darrin Austin, Coach
Photos by Stephen Lane
Practice Ways of Giving
Before Christmas, Mrs. Kingstone presented us with a challenge—to practice ways of giving. Here is what she said:
Often times, we are presented with opportunities to practice things. We practice so that when the "real" time comes along, we will have some sense of what to do, how to behave. We have practice earth quake drills. Practice exams. Sports and play practices. We practice how to do things, when and where. Practicing helps us to get the feel for something without the accompanying consequence of not getting it quite right.
Today, if you are taking the vow of silence, in a way you are practicing what it might feel like or how you might manage if, in order to get through your day, to survive, you had to remain silent or you were not permitted to speak. Of course, there's little likelihood that any of us will have to write this test.
I do hope that in addition to thinking about the children who are silenced across the world, you also recognize the ways, even here in our own community, we might silence each other by our attitudes, the things we might say or do, the things we don't say or don't do that prevent someone else from speaking or being heard.
In addition to gaining awareness through today's vow, I would encourage you to take the necessary next step which is to practice ways of giving others a voice--this can be done simply by recognizing someone else's situation and then doing something to help.
Here's a tiny project for five students: The School is giving you twenty dollars and you must use the money as a gift. You can divide it up so that you have many gifts or use it as one. You can use it simply as money, or you can buy something with it to use as the gift or gifts. You must give something to someone you wouldn't normally give a gift to; it might even be someone you don't know. It might be completely random. It must be someone who needs a gift. And, you must be prepared to return after the holiday to tell your story to us in Chapel of what you did with the money. You must explain your gift and your practice of giving voice to others.
Here are stories of giving so far: