A Voice in the Wilderness - Blog

List of 5 news stories.

• 

  “I have been given a chance… and I will not waste it”

  5/13/2026
  At the recent Scholars’ Chapel, we celebrated our students who receive financial aid – 36 per cent of the School – and the donors who make scholarships and bursaries possible. Among the students invited to speak at the Chapel was Sadaf Nikfar, a student from Afghanistan who is attending Shawnigan as part of our partnership with Women Leaders of Tomorrow, who reflected on the opportunities she has at Shawnigan that she wouldn’t have had in her native Afghanistan.

   
  Read More
• 

  The War Years

  5/8/2026
  The War Years

   

  As part of her series marking the School’s 110th anniversary, Archivist and Curator Mrs. Sarah Teunis-Russ examines the impact of the Second World War on Shawnigan, followed soon after by the passing of the School’s founder, and then a rebound in registration numbers after several lean years.

   
  Read More
• 

  Imagine 30/30: A Generationally Important Initiative

  5/6/2026
  At the recent Scholars’ Chapel Service celebrating the success of our students who are receiving financial aid, Jacqueline Flett ’97 (Groves’), the Chair of Shawnigan’s Board of Governors, announced the Imagine 30/30 Challenge, an initiative aimed at raising $30 million for the School’s endowment before 2030. Mrs. Flett herself was a recipient of financial aid when she was a student, making this campaign extremely personal for her.

   
  Read More
• 

  Ex Fumo Dare Lucem – Embrace the Hardship

  5/1/2026
  Appropriately, the last Chapel service before Shawnigan’s 110th anniversary celebrations on Monday was led by students from Lonsdale’s House, the boarding house named for the School’s founder. Among those who spoke was Grade 12 student Brady Zhang, who talked about how the House motto, Ex Fumo Dare Lucem (“To give light from smoke”), helped him find his place at Shawnigan.

   
  Read More
• 

  Light from Smoke – Like a Phoenix from the Ashes

  4/29/2026
  Appropriately, the last Chapel service before Shawnigan’s 110th anniversary celebrations on Monday was led by students from Lonsdale’s House, the boarding house named for the School’s founder. Among those who spoke was Grade 11 student Charlie Kittleson, who talked about the House motto, Ex Fumo Dare Lucem (“To give light from smoke”), and what it means to him.

   
  Read More