Opening Address to students and staff – Academic Year 2025-26

My family and I too arrived here at Shawnigan seven years ago via England, Southern Africa and Norway. We know how you feel.

 

As I said to the new parents on Tuesday afternoon in the Schieldrop Amphitheatre, the plaque at the base of the Shawnigan stag near the front gates reminds us that it “will watch over all who enter these grounds.”

 

A reassuring message to us all. 

 

One student who graduated recently wrote perceptively and gratefully that, “Shawnigan didn’t just give me opportunity – it gave me a community.”

 

This is your community now.

 

Chapel is very much part of the Shawnigan Journey. We gather here, as representatives of many faiths, to connect, share and support. Our graduating class cries each year in their last Chapel service – tears of joy mixed with tears of sadness.

 

And Chapel is the place that alumni love to come back to.

 

We pride ourselves that, over time, you will develop and feel a deep sense of belonging to the people and the place of Shawnigan.

 

From wherever you are in the world, you will find Shawnigan and your boarding house a home away from-home.

 

We welcome new students this term arriving from Afghanistan, Austria, Cayman Islands, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Thailand, and – nearer to home – the USA. 

 

Seventy percent of our students are from Canada, and we have representation from our Pacific west coast to the Atlantic east coast.

 

Underpinning everything we do are the School’s values – the 4Cs of the school: Curiosity, Compassion, Community – and Courage.

 

Shawnigan is defined by our commitment to these values – and respect for each other. 

 

We strive to be thoughtful and mindful of others – and we tread softly around other peoples’ dreams.

 

With students drawn from a wide compass of over 30 countries, we pride ourselves on our diversity. Each member of our community is encouraged to respect and learn from the unique remarkable of each individual. 

 

Our diversity is our strength.

 

As you will learn, one of the special elements of Shawnigan is singing – together – in chapel. 

 

Each house has its own hymn – I am sure you will be learning these in the weeks ahead. We take great pride in Chapel, and we love to sing together.

 

Good luck to last year’s Grade 8s who have stepped into their senior Houses. 

 

It has been quite a summer, from the devastating wildfires on the Island to continued conflicts across the world.

 

I have one key message for our Shawnigan community this morning:

 

All of you are embarking on your first or next stage of your Shawnigan Journey.

 

Together we will support each other and meet the challenges of the weeks and term ahead. This is a community of "we," not "me" – and we will be looking out for all our new students in the days and weeks ahead. As staff, we will do everything in our power to make sure your time at Shawnigan is happy, productive and memorable.

 

I am certain that you will not remember what I said this morning to launch the school year but I hope that you remember how you felt sitting together in your Houses for the first time.

 

We are a community and never has this shone through more than last week when we lost a community member unexpectedly – staff and students alike rallied and stepped forward to support a Shawnigan family in need.

 

Together we will encourage you to try new things, to be curious – and to do and be the best you can be. 

 

If you are joining us from another country, we also want you to fall in love with Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver Island, and our School. 

 

Hopefully this gathering in Chapel has been a ‘still, small voice of calm’ before the day ahead of classes and new friendships.

 

A friend sent me an excerpt from this poem by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer, Mary Oliver, last week.

 

The poem is called "Sometimes."

 

"Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it."

 

With this in mind, be attentive, be curious, be open to wonder here at Shawnigan – and remember to tell your friends and family about it! And, if a new student, remember to call or text home tonight!

 

We will meet again here in Chapel on Saturday morning and our wonderful Chaplain, Rev Ruth, will lead the service.
 

We will start singing our house hymns of the senior houses on Saturday – please start practising!

 

Enjoy yourselves, and good luck with the term ahead. 

 

Richard Lamont 

Head of School

September 2025