For those of you who I haven't had the chance to meet yet, my name is Charlie Kittleson, and I am a Grade 12 student in Lonsdale’s House. It is an absolute honour to stand here today alongside Maddy as this year’s Co-Heads of School.

 

Over my past four years at Shawnigan, I have felt deeply defined by the people I have met, and the lessons this place has taught me.

 

However, the moments that have shaped me the most aren't necessarily the moments when everything went perfectly. They are the moments when things didn't go according to plan, and I would be lying to you if I said that my journey to this point has been a bed of roses.

 

At last year's rugby provincials, the day before our final game, I got severe food poisoning and couldn't play. So you can imagine how I felt sitting on the sidelines, watching my teammates and brothers take the field without me versus our fierce rivals, St. George’s. It was the final game for our Grade 12s in the Black and Gold, and I had imagined that moment so many times. I had imagined being out there with my brothers, representing Shawnigan, and fighting for one another, one last time.

 

Instead, I was watching, and honestly, it hurt. But sitting there that day taught me something that I don't think I would have learned if everything had gone according to plan.

 

We don't always get to choose our moments. But we do get to choose what we do with them.

 

That day made me realize how quickly opportunities can pass us by. How moments that we assume will always be there can suddenly become memories. Whether you have five years ahead of you or just one, remember how quickly time passes by us. This year, there is an opportunity ready to be seized. Not only striving to reach our individual goals, but to decide what kind of legacy we leave.

 

Each year, we talk about excellence. We talk about tradition. We talk about competition, leadership, academics, athletics, and celebrate our achievements in this very chapel. But I think there is something even more important that happens to achieve those accomplishments. 

 

Because the true measure of a school isn't just what happens in the spotlight. It's what happens when nobody is watching. It’s whether we congratulate someone who beat us and lose with honour. Whether we choose to inspire others to rise to the occasion, rather than discourage them. Whether we choose to take the difficult path instead of the comfortable one. 

 

Those small moments might not make the headlines. But those are the moments that create an impactful community. And that is the kind of Shawnigan I want us to build this year.

 

But building that kind of community also means being willing to fail. And I think sometimes we’re afraid of failure. We're afraid of getting a bad grade. We're afraid of losing the game. We're afraid of putting ourselves out there and finding out that we're not as good as we thought we were.

 

Some of the greatest lessons I've learned at Shawnigan have come from things I wish had gone differently. My experience hasn’t always given me the ending I wanted. But it gave me perspective. It reminded me that setbacks don't define us. What defines us is how we respond to them. You will all be tested and challenged throughout your time here. Some challenges will be small, and some will feel enormous.

 

But remember this: Sometimes you just have to take the next step. And you don't have to climb them alone.

 

Look around you. The people sitting beside you are going through their own challenges, carrying their own pressures, and trying to figure things out just like you are. Lean on one another, support each other through the difficult moments, and be there to celebrate the good ones.

 

And let’s celebrate each other's successes without feeling like someone else's success takes away from our own. Let's make sure that when someone falls behind, we don't leave them there.

 

With time already ticking on this new school year, I encourage you to not wait for the perfect moment. And don't assume that there will always be another opportunity. Because sometimes, there isn't. But missing one moment doesn't mean you stop moving forward.

 

This year, I hope we challenge ourselves to be present. To be courageous. To push one another to be our best and to embrace the setbacks alongside the successes. And most importantly, I hope that when the year comes to a close, we don't just remember what we accomplished. We remember who we became.

 

And to the Class of 2027, I encourage us all not to blink. It may feel far away now, but one day all the uniforms will go into our closets. The classroom antics will become memories. The inter-House events will be preserved as photographs. The rinks, fields and stages will belong to another generation. But the people we became here – and the people we helped become better along the way – that is the legacy we leave. 

 

So let’s make every moment of this year count.

 

Let's make it a year we're proud to remember.

 

And let's make sure that when the time comes to walk away from Shawnigan, we can look back and say I gave everything I had to this place, and this place gave everything it could to me.