News & updates

List of 5 news stories.

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  Grade 8 Musical: School of Rock!

  6/22/2026
  “I can’t believe they’re only in Grade 8!”

   

  That phrase could be heard uttered again and again following the performances of this year’s Grade 8 musical, School of Rock. The performers and stage crew – many of whom had never been involved in a musical or any other kind of stage production before ­– blew the audience away in back-to-back standing-room-only shows in the Wilkinson Theatre last Friday.

   

  “The vast majority of them had never done any performing before, and all of a sudden we’re telling them they’ve got to perform two sold-out shows in front of the whole School and their parents and siblings,” director Mr. Vince Hale pointed out. “At the end of the first show, they went crazy and they needed a pep talk reminding them that they had one more show to do – they brought it even more the second time.”

   

  School of Rock is based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Black as Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star who poses as a substitute teacher and turns his students into a rock group that enters a Battle of the Bands. Full of Jack Black’s manic energy and the spirit of rock and roll, the show asks a lot of the cast and crew, and the Grade 8s delivered.

   
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  Beyond the Gates: Week Without Walls

  6/19/2026
  For the second year in a row, almost all of Shawnigan’s Grade 9 students ventured off campus for several days at the end of the year to learn more about the natural environment of Vancouver Island – and about themselves. And the School set an unofficial West Coast Trail record in the process

   

  It is the Week Without Walls, the capstone of Shawnigan’s Beyond the Gates program, one of the School’s foundational experiential learning programs. Beyond the Gates was launched with a small group of Grade 9s in 2021, but has grown exponentially. In 2025, the capstone experience expanded to include every student in that age group, with most venturing into the Vancouver Island backcountry and a smaller group staying closer to home. A total of 77 Grade 9 students – almost the entire class – took part in the Week Without Walls.

   

  Two groups of about 10 students each hiked the entire West Coast Trail that covers 75 kilometres on the rugged outer edge of Vancouver Island, and another two groups hiked half of that trail. Two more groups of 10 apiece kayaked the Broken Group Islands. The remaining 16 students spent four days at Camp Pringle, a short distance away from the School on the west shore of Shawnigan Lake, and one additional day engaging in activities on campus.

   
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  Ahoy! It's the Grade 9 Boat Race

  6/18/2026
  Spectators at the docks on Shawnigan Lake could hear tape being ripped off a roll as time ticked down to the beginning of the 10th annual Grade 9 boat race last Thursday.

   

  The Grade 9s were putting the finishing touches on their watercraft as they prepared for the race, which sees the hopeful sailors create a boat from (mostly) recycled material, then attempt to manoeuvre it from the shore, around a buoy at the end of the dock and back.

   

  It’s noisy and wet, and great fun for the participants and spectators. But it’s also a valuable learning experience: students are encouraged to be curious, support their community, find courage, and develop compassion; and it is an opportunity for discovery, team building, expression, and communication.

   
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  June Sports Update: CSSRA Gold!

  6/18/2026
  It has been another outstanding year of athletics at Shawnigan, highlighted down the stretch by remarkable results for our rowing, rugby and squash programs, along with some excellent work by individual athletes in sports that don’t always get recognition at Shawnigan.

   

  Rowing

   

  Shawnigan’s rowing team had an outstanding weekend at the 79th Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association in St. Catharines, Ontario on June 5-7. The School sent 10 rowers to the national championships, and they brought home three medals, including gold in the senior women’s quad.

   

  Isabella P., Charlotte L, Kalissa S., and Sam P. delivered a superb performance on the final day of the regatta to claim the national title after qualifying through a dramatic semifinal a day earlier.

   
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  5 Year Dinner

  6/12/2026
  A select cohort of graduating students who have spent the last five years at Shawnigan were treated to a special dinner with the Head of School, their Advisors, House Directors, and the Senior Leadership Team on Tuesday evening.

   

  The 24 students started their Shawnigan Journey in Grade 8 and have followed it through to Grade 12, developing unique relationships both with each other and the School as a whole. Every year, that group is celebrated near the end of the year at the 5 Year Dinner.

   
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