I want to share a final message with the whole School community.

 

I am often asked what makes Shawnigan distinct. In my answer, I try to capture what is magical about this place: the grounded and unpretentious nature of our students, the kindness and respect for diversity that bubbles through our boarding community, our wilderness location, and much more. And I always flag up the unique partnership on our campus between students and staff. I believe that, at the core, Shawnigan students understand and deeply respect the sacrifices that our staff make – 24/7 in term time – to support you.

 

I have taught in six schools during my career, and Shawnigan by far excels in terms of this partnership. The School cares deeply for each of you and, in return, you care deeply about the School, your people, and your community.

 

Our mission statement invites Shawnigan to “spark minds, kindle hearts and forge futures.”

 

I hope that each of you this year can look back and think of a staff member who has made an important difference to you – from House Director to advisor to housekeeper to classroom teacher to coach to instructor to laundry lady to gardener to kitchen team member to nurse to a friendly face.

 

Please close your eyes for a moment and think of your “person” on your Shawnigan Journey.

 

I remember still, 34 years on from graduation, two influential people in my boarding school journey.

 

Jackie, our housekeeper and laundry lady, who worked tirelessly in our boarding house and was kindness personified.

 

And my English literature teacher in grades 11 and 12.

 

He was a towering six foot, five inches, and was rumoured to have been an Oxford (half) Blue and a provincial 400m hurdler in his day, and to have been hospitalized for chronic sunburn after reading a book in the blazing sun – page to page – in a college quad. His forbidding nickname was “Doom” … (“Doooooooooooooooom”)

 

And he introduced us to the wonders of Shakespeare, encouraged us to banish our self-consciousness, to exclaim 14th century Chaucerian Middle English out loud to the rest of the class, and to think creatively and elastically.

 

He taught us around a large, long table in a cavernous school hall.

 

I can still remember the texts we studied.

 

He encouraged us not just to read the books on the curriculum but to explore way beyond.

 

His handwritten comments on my essays and on my report card were microscopic.

 

I found a report card from the last term of my Grade 12 year, and I think I can decipher his illegible hieroglyphics as “He is endearingly humble” and “Is capable of doing very well.” Rare praise for Student Lamont.

 

 

 

A portrait of self-importance, a façade of immortality, and sad insignificance.

 

Dr. Geoff Day – for this is his name – has never dissolved like “sugar in a cup of tea” for me. He gave me confidence (when I lacked it) and unstinting encouragement (when I needed it).

 

He introduced us to satirical cartoons, original manuscripts, and much more.

 

He took us to see a production of Hamlet at the National Theatre in London – in Romanian!

 

He gave me the confidence to apply for and study English Literature at university.

 

And he inspired me to become a teacher of English Literature later on in life.

 

He and another teacher in the English department put on a special dinner in one of the boarding houses for our class in the last week of our final term and invited each of us to dress up as a character from one of the texts we had studied. At the end of the dinner, some of us jumped over the rather high garden brick wall of the boarding house (as a form of shortcut) and were promptly arrested on a city pavement by a passing police car – taking us for peculiarly dressed burglars!

 

To this day, I still struggle to call him anything else but “Dr. Day.” You will have this issue too. Some of your alumni parents struggle to call Mrs. Grass “Lynne” or Mr. Samuel “Rhod.”

 

Earlier this year at a professional development session, I invited each member of staff to reflect on an adult from their high school days who had made a significant difference to their life, and perhaps to write to them (or a family member) to tell them – even now – that their influence continues.

 

And I know that there will be staff here this evening whose positive influence over you will not dissolve over time “like sugar in a cup of tea.”

 

I ask our staff to create a deep sense of belonging and support for all the students who join us at Shawnigan. 

 

We have all, at times, stumbled in pursuit of success in so many shapes and forms this year. That is what it is to be human. From sports tournaments to exam season, from prize-giving to school colours, from the inter-House competition to prefect selection, from university applications to health challenges.

 

But we have been here for one another, to pick each other up, to encourage, to uplift, to inspire.

 

It is, after all “the difference we have made to the lives of others that determines the significance of the life we each lead,” to quote Nelson Mandela.

 

Please take the time to find those who have supported you at the end of this service, tonight or tomorrow, and let them know how much you appreciate them.

 

I know and trust that you each have your own Dr. Day here at Shawnigan.

 

I was completely blown away when I was told earlier this week that one Grade 12 had taken her earnings from a holiday job and donated it to the squash program. This is the message that accompanied this completely unexpected gift:

 

“Discovering squash and discovering the BEST coaches and people at the courts has been a big part of my incredible journey at Shawnigan, which I never believed possible. Please use these funds to help give others the same amazing memories you gave me. Thank you!”

 

A special thank you to this student for this generous and deeply thoughtful message and gesture.

 

This has been another extraordinary year and I hope that each and every one of us in the Shawnigan community can look back with deep pride and personal satisfaction at what we have achieved.

 

The 4Cs – Curiosity, Compassion, Community and Courage – have been at the centre of our world at Shawnigan.

 

As a message to our Grade 12s and other departing students, I hope you have found a “grand passion” at Shawnigan, a “thirst for adventure” and that you leave with a desire “to live boldly,” in the words of Sir Francis Drake – and that you will continue to make a difference to the lives of others. 

 

We will miss you.

 

I would now like to invite all our students to take this opportunity to thank all the staff here at Shawnigan for what they have given over the course of the school year.

 

You are dedicated advocates and champions of our students, encouraging them at every turn to dream.

 

Have a wonderful summer. We look forward to seeing so many of you back here in September.

 

Richard DA Lamont

Head of School

Thursday, June 19, 2025