Shawnigan Now
Berkeley Model United Nations
Several members of the Model United Nations club ventured down to California this past weekend, to participate in the Berkeley Model UN, one of the biggest on the West Coast (www.bmun.net). We arrived the day ahead to take in the sights and sounds of the United States, which included: watching a massive pro-education protest, riding streetcars through the streets of San Francisco, and being invited to a private viewing of the works of Fernando Botero, one of Colombia’s most revered modern artists.
Eventually, though, we did have to do some work; the committee sessions began on Friday afternoon, and before long, things were in full swing. While there were two dozen committees at BMUN, we participated in the Disarmament Committee, the International Court of Justice, the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee, and the highly illustrious Security Council. Some of our delegates even walked away with awards: Arden G., Julia S. and Ian M. (our friend from Brentwood who accompanied us on the trip).
While we didn’t all win, no one came away from BMUN empty-handed—students and staff alike had a tremendous experience, and I, for one, had a weekend that I won’t soon forget. Here’s to BMUN 2010, and hopefully, to many happy returns.
– Lisa Jane D.
2010 EDGE Leadership Project
One of our twelve EDGE Leadership students addressed the Shawnigan community in chapel about the upcoming project.
"On March 12, the Shawnigan EDGE team will be leaving to an agricultural training campus in Baan Nato, Thailand. It won’t be our first time working with the Chiang Rai College of Agriculture in area known as the Golden Triangle, close to Burma border."
We've Got You Covered!
If you're looking to release a musical CD, we've got you covered. Our Grade 9 Art class is full of a very savvy group of designers who welcomed the challenge of creating CD cover art and packaging. In this particular assignment, the class had to come up with a unique band name, and then express the genre of the music with a powerful visual image. Not only were the designs original and highly creative, but the band names were equally as impressive!
– Carol Shaw
Class Afloat
In Thursday's Chapel service, students heard first-hand about the experience of a Shawnigan student on board the SV Concordia:
"I first heard about Class Afloat from Mr. Sarsfield in English 11 last year and the way he described it made it out to be a great travel experience and an awesome adventure overall. For the semester that I was aboard, it was that and more. Not only did we see amazing places like Dublin and Morocco, I and the rest of the crew formed bonds that we will probably keep for a long time to come. You may have heard on the news that the ship sank off the coast of Brazil a few weeks ago, although the ship went down, the SV Concordia remained strong by the friendships we had made. Not only did it connect us to each other, we were also joined to a larger group of alumni that had experienced life aboard. In fact, on the way back home a few old “floaties” (that’s what they call people who have sailed with the program) actually came and met us at the airport just to show us how much they supported us."
To read the full story, click here.
– Jesse S. ’11 (Duxbury)
Photos by Stephen Lane
Cross Country Running
Shawnigan had its turn this past weekend to host the Annual Shawnigan - Brentwood Cross Country Race.
The tough 5 km course run along the perimeter of the campus, had all the elements of a true cross-country challenge: gnarly trails, muddy slopes to scramble up, even a couple of streams to ford. In the senior boys' race, Logan breezed to a convincing victory in 19:35, and in the junior boys' event, Alex W and Trevor B placed second and third respectively. In the girls' race, team captain, Alana M, finished a strong second. Despite some impressive individual performances for Shawnigan, Brentwood re-claimed the team trophy. In the three years we've been running this event, we are one for three, and are looking forward to next year's race and the chance to avenge the loss.
– Jim Kingstone, Coach
Photos by Yearbook
Shawnigan Regattas
This weekend was the kick off to the competitive season for the Shawnigan rowers. Alumni and past rowing captain, Olivia Stewart, arrived on Friday to christen a boat
that her family generously donated to the rowing program. The rowers and headmaster enjoyed a toast and the traditional pouring of champagne on the bow of the boat for good luck.
On Saturday, the rowers raced a sprint distance of 1000m. The two trophies available were both won by Shawnigan crews The Alan Roaf trophy – Junior Women’s pair of Maylies L. and Anna L. and The Hungerfod Cup trophy – Junior Men’s pair of Dylan M. and Quinten R
Sunday was a totally different race with a head style approach where boats were sent off 20 seconds apart down the entire length of the 6k course. All ages competed from Grade 8s to Masters. This year we had the honour of having the National Team race an 8+. The Shawnigan rowers displayed some fantastic results and worked very hard to run the event.
Highlights
1st - Senior Women’s 8+
2nd - Senior Men’s 8+
1st high school crew - Junior Boys’ and Girls’ 8+
A special "thank you" to the coaches and parents for all of their time and effort this weekend!
To see full regatta results, visit our rowing page: www.shawnigan.ca/rowing
– Danielle Beare, Head of Rowing
Photos by Yearbook and Ben R.
Search and Rescue
Although the SAR Program can lead to various certifications that are useful on a resume, its more important outcomes are in terms of personal responsibility, decision-making, group dynamics and self-confidence. The accompanying photos bear witness to the fun and the sense of accomplishment experienced by this year's SAR team during their final weekend of training on the Cowichan River. I thank them for their enthusiasm and commitment, and for their willingness to step outside their comfort zones.
– Peter Yates, Instructor
Photos by Peter Yates
Cowichan Music Festival
This time of year, the Cowichan Music Festival brings together performing artists from around the community to sing, play, speak, and dance. The festival is an opportunity for students to prepare pieces to a high standard and hear others who have done the same. Performers receive feedback from an adjudicator and may be awarded first, second, or third place certificates. A significant number of Shawnigan students are involved this year; last week 17 singers and 2 pianists participated, this week two violinists and one of our dancers will perform. What a great testament to the arts program we have here at Shawnigan!
– Shannon Bryant, Director of Music
Photos by Stephen Lane
Groves' Chapel Presentation
Last Saturday's chapel service was Groves' turn to present. Our word was “believe”—something which I perceive to be very important throughout the Shawnigan community. In Groves' we strongly encourage all girls to support one another and to always be there, for we are a family and believing in each other is truly important. So, when told our theme was “believe,” I was more than overjoyed. Instantly the grade 12's went to work: Jenn ran rehearsals, Monica choreographed the dancing and Ciara put together the song, but most importantly the rest of the House gave it their all. Throughout the previous week, we had several rehearsals--some longer than others. At the beginning of rehearsals, putting on a decent presentation felt impossible. Honestly, we were disorganized. However, as the week progressed, things began getting better until it looked like a presentation. On Friday night, we had a two-hour practice--not one girl complained and their energy was 110% the whole time! Their patience was more than appreciated. I want to thank all the girls for their tremendous hard work. It was a House effort and it couldn't have been done without everyone's support. We “believed” we could succeed and I think we did. Good job girls, thanks for making me cry and for the great memory!
– Martina C., Head of Groves' House
Photos by Stephen Lane
Girls Rugby
The Senior Girls Rugby season officially got underway with the annual Joe McGeachy Memorial Tournament held at Cowichan High School on Friday and Saturday.
There were eight teams involved, split into two pools of four. Conditions were wet and muddy throughout the weekend and made handling very difficult. Shawnigan won two of their three pool games losing only to Cowichan High School, a powerhouse in the “AAA” league. This put us second in our pool to cross over and play the second place team in the other pool Saturday. The "Iron Women" won this game handily so came away with third place. Outstanding play by fly-half, Jules, and inside-centre, Eva, paved the way for an outstanding tournament for Shawnigan. Newcomers, Hilary, Cherry, Rachel and Brittany are great additions to this year's group, all playing exceptionally well for their inaugural introduction to competition. Our first League game is Thursday against Ladysmith, the school that ended our hopes of attending the Provincial Championships last season. It should be an exciting game. The girls are also working hard in their preparations for their upcoming tour to Wales and England.
– Mark Hall, Coach
Photos by Stephen Lane
Contact Us
1975 Renfrew Road
Postal Bag 2000
Shawnigan Lake, BC, Canada
V0R 2W1
Telephone: (250) 743-5516
Fax: (250) 743-6200
Email: info@shawnigan.ca