Wendy Woollven

“Wendy has empathetic vision. She is sensitive to the needs of others (staff and students alike) and does whatever she can to help, to stand-in, to support. She does this without fanfare or expectation.” A comment like this, from Erica Dalrymple, is a curious one for those of us who do not know Wendy well. The kind of person that most of us see is a no-nonsense, deliberate Registrar whose skill at organizing absolutely anything is confounding. “Wendy’s organizational skills put most of us to shame. If there is ever anything that needs to be organized, we all know that Wendy can do it faster and more accurately than almost anyone on staff. And she does it with a smile every time!” says Beth Hall who works with Wendy in the Academic Office.

Perhaps the best illustration of Wendy’s empathy and organization in tandem was her recent “Weekend to End Breast Cancer” 60k walk in Vancouver in support of her mother. Wendy raised a large cache of donations through family, friends and associates and then put herself on the line to walk the grueling 60 kilometres despite a nagging knee injury.

Wendy graduated from Trent University with a B.Sc. in Math and Geography and then pursued her Education degree at Queen’s. She arrived at Shawnigan in September of 1997 and began teaching in the math department. She took on the House Directorship of Renfrew in 1999 and continued her leadership role there until 2004. Under Wendy’s direction, Renfrew House (previously known as the Annex) created for themselves a unique House spirit. “The best thing about being a House Director,” says Wendy “was the interaction with the girls—seeing them in a different context than just the classroom. I still get Christmas cards from some of my ‘old’ Renfrew girls!”

Wendy continues to teach senior math and works tirelessly for the Yearbook fine art. Among her many tasks as Registrar, she organizes exam schedules and materials, is the Ministry of Education liaison as well as the AP coordinator, and compiles assessment marks and academic awards. Wendy also coordinates the travel and accomodations for Ski Week and “co-produces” all of the activities at Manning Park with Mark Hall. But Wendy still finds time to pursue personal interests outside of the School.

While she was living in Renfrew House, Wendy purchased property above the school fields and has recently finished building her “dream house.” She has signed up for Shawnigan’s next “Learn To” series—a course in landscape design given by Paul Donahue. “Because, now that my house is complete, I really have to focus on landscaping this summer.” Wendy has also become an avid watercolour painter through the “Learn To” series. She and Chocolate lab, Ellie (who spends most days in the Academic Office alongside Wendy), are enjoying life at Shawnigan. “It is more than a school—our job is to educate students, but our ties to the students and staff are much closer. That is why I’ve stayed here so long—Shawnigan feels like ‘home’ for so many reasons!”