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Celebrating 100 with a Gathering and a Greaze
Monday was a day to celebrate Shawnigan Lake School’s history – all 110 years of it.
April 27, 1916 was the day that C.W. Lonsdale signed the charter that created Shawnigan, and we marked it with events both serious and – in the words of an alumnus and former Chair of the Board of Governors – “absurd and ridiculous.”
A Chapel Gathering was held after lunch, at which Head of School Mr. Lamont spoke about Mr. Lonsdale, his choice of the School motto Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat (which had previously been the motto of British naval hero Lord Horatio Nelson) and some of the traditions Mr. Lonsdale brought to Shawnigan from his own alma mater, Westminster School in London.
Mr. Lamont also commemorated the end of our series “Shawnigan in 110 Objects.” Dating back to the beginning of 2024, the School has posted to its website each week one object that helps tell the story of the School, selected and written about by former archivist Mrs. Lynn Rolston, former Head of English and current Director of Professional Development Mrs. Cari Bell, and Director of Communications and Marketing Mrs. Jenny Dunbar, with photographs from the School archives or newly taken by photographer Ms. Arden Gill. Appropriately, the final object was the portrait of Mr. Lonsdale that hangs in Marion Hall alongside those of the Heads who have served since him.
Art teacher Mrs. Rainbow Bartlett unveiled a commemorative print made from the stump of a prominent fir on campus that had to be cut down in 2020. The tree’s story paralleled that of the School for nearly its entire existence, witnessing events like the 1926 fire that decimated the campus, the Second World War, and the School going co-ed in 1988. She encouraged all staff members and students to drop by the Bruce-Lockhart Centre for Creativity to make a print of their own from the stump.
After the Gathering, students gathered in the Quad for a surprise re-enactment of the Pancake Greaze, a long-running tradition at Westminster that Mr. Lonsdale brought to Shawnigan, where it had a long run of its own that ended several decades ago. For the Greaze, the executive chef makes a large pancake, reinforced with anything from paper to bits of plastic to horsehair, then tosses it into a crowd of students. The students grapple for the pancake, and the one who emerges with the largest piece is declared the winner.
Each House was represented in competition by its tallest and shortest members. Separate competitions were held for the boys’ Houses (won by Lonsdale’s), the girls’ Houses (won by Strathcona), and the Grade 8s (won by Levien). The students who represented the winning Houses were given the choice of attending high tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria with a friend or a pizza party for their entire House. Not surprisingly, all the winners picked the pizza party. A separate competition was held for staff members who are also alumni, with Mr. Elliot Logan ’10 (Duxbury) emerging victorious.
After they recovered from the silliness of the Greaze, students encamped to the rugby fields for another beloved School tradition, and one that survives to this day: inter-House volleyball.
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 12 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
