News Detail
Thanksgiving Dinner
A tasty Shawnigan tradition
Thanksgiving at Shawnigan is a time for some of our favourite traditions.
On Thursday morning, we saw a tradition of generosity take a new turn, with students and staff asked to bring snacks specifically for teenagers to the Thanksgiving chapel service. The School responded in spades, with the steps at the front alter loaded with Kraft dinner, noodles, granola bars, cookies and other treats.
Later in the day, we enjoyed another tradition, when our catering staff put together another incredible feast. We are all thankful for their hard work and expertise in preparing a sumptuous meal for 600 people. The dinner was preceded by a beautiful grace, composed by Ms Shannon Tyrrell and sung by the chamber choir.
During his Thanksgiving sermon, the Reverend Holland gave the student body much to think about over the break. Here is an excerpt from his address:
Is it possible to be too generous, to give too much?
It depends on what it is we are giving away. For most of us it doesn't make sense to give away so much of your wealth that you become poor yourself. Most people naturally want to spend most of their earnings on themselves and their families.
But there is a way that we can be lavish in our giving, a way that we can give without limits, and it has to do with having a caring attitude toward others. It is about being constantly on the look-out for people who need help, it is about being willing to jump in when someone is in need of support. I am talking about being generous with our energy, our enthusiasm for life, our openness to those who are hurting. We can be lavish with those things, because they don't cost us anything, they don't require sacrifice or putting aside our own needs. They just require having the right mindset. A positive attitude isn't something you have to split up into percentages or shares; some for you, some for me, some for someone else. Positive energy has no limit, it feeds on itself and grows in us the more we practice it. There are countless ways that we can make a difference by the way we approach things, and that is maybe the most important kind of giving, the giving of ourselves.
There are all kinds of things that make Shawnigan a remarkable place, but there is one thing that makes it a family, and that is the care we give to each other and the ways that we reach out to the wider community. If it were not for that one thing Shawnigan would be a very different place.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
