News Archive

One of Alan A.’s favourite things about Model United Nations conferences is connecting with new people who are as passionate about MUN as he is. Late last month, Alan had the opportunity to meet a whole new group at the first-ever Harvard MUN Canada Tournament of Champions in Toronto.

 

“The best part about Model UN is meeting new people who are into similar stuff,” Alan explained. “There’s no barrier; people just come up to you and talk. It’s super social.”

 

Alan joined top delegates from across the country for the four-day conference at the Toronto Westin Harbour Castle. It was more competitive than most MUN conferences, he said, but still an outstanding experience.

 

The School thought outside the box when it came to this year’s Bruce-Lockhart Fellowship, and ended up with some thought-provoking boxes.

 

The Bruce-Lockhart Fellowship for Academic Excellence was launched in 2021 to bring in an outstanding local, national or international educator to Shawnigan for one year, with the idea of shedding light on aspects of academics that the School may not have previously explored. This year, the School looked inward and offered the position to someone who was already on staff: archivist and curator Mrs. Sarah Teunis-Russ.

 

Mrs. Teunis-Russ started as archivist and curator in early 2025, and added the Bruce-Lockhart Fellowship to her duties just after Christmas, concentrating on that position one day every week. She worked predominantly with the social studies department, which seemed like a natural fit with her history-related work as archivist and curator.

 

“I did research on my own, and took a couple of courses because I’m not a teacher,” she explained. “And I attended social studies department meetings.”

 

A select group of Grade 12 students bared their souls on Monday in front of an audience of invited guests at the annual “This I Believe” evening of speeches. The evening showcased a wide range of topics and emotions as the graduating students read aloud pieces they have written about topics close to their hearts.

 

As part of the English curriculum at Shawnigan, all Grade 12 students prepare essays about a topic of their choice, reflecting in some way on takeaways from their high school experience, and read it to their classmates. The classes then help decide who reads at the final event, held in the Chapel in early June in front of an audience restricted to their fellow Grade 12 students and invited staff members.

 

It was a dark and stormy night.

 

Honestly, it was more overcast and drizzly, but it still set a perfect scene for the Law 12 classes’ murder mystery night in the Library on Monday.

 

It was the first time that Mr. Galen Loiselle had organized such an event for his Law 12 students, and it was daunting, he admitted, until inclusive education teacher Mrs. Rosalynd Roome – who just happens to have previous experience with murder mysteries – stepped into help organize and coordinate it. With three Law 12 classes totalling 60 students, it was a big endeavour. 

A unique and fundamental part of the School’s social studies program, Shawnigan House of Commons – where Grade 10 students recreate the lower house of the Parliament of Canada – usually takes place in December, but organizers moved it to May this year to give the students more time to prepare. 

Grade 11 student Wendy H. combined her passion for figure skating and her interest in science to create an award-winning project for the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair hosted by the University of Victoria last month.

 

Wendy’s self-guided research project, "Biomechanical Analysis of the Sit Spin in Figure Skating: Assessing Movement Load and Injury Risk” studied the mechanics of the sit spin, a commonly used element of figure skating, with a focus on the physics and forces at work. She entered it in the science fair at UVic in April, with some impressive results.

 

“I did the research project, and I wanted to present it somewhere,” Wendy explained. “Publishing takes a lot of effort, and I wanted professional advice before I tried publishing.”

 

Every school year, Shawnigan students spend months pouring their hearts – and souls – into passion projects, then present the results of those projects to their peers and staff members. We call it Soul Seeking, and it brings out the best in our students, often in unexpected ways.

 

For junior students, the presentations take the form of a fair, with presentations on cardboard trifolds and laptop computers set up throughout the Library and spilling into Mitchell Hall. For seniors, Soul Seeking projects double as their BC education-required capstone projects, and they are presented to a panel of staff members.

 

For junior students (Grades 8-10), work on Soul Seeking projects begins in September and takes place during Career-Life Education classes – where Soul Seeking is part of a student’s final grade –  and in spare time. Students were able to work solo or in small groups, and could apply for small grants, with about 12 grants handed out.

 

A lighthearted collaboration between multiple aspects of the Fine Arts department entertained students with a concert in a unique venue – usually known for being a quiet space – resulted in a high-calibre film, and will hopefully inspire similar projects in the near future.

 

Music fans might be familiar with NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, which has run for 18 years, featuring artists from across the spectrum of genres preforming stripped-down versions of their songs in the NPR office. Shawnigan now has its own spin on the beloved series thanks to a student-led project that combines music, film, and recording arts.

 

Grade 12 student and Academics and Music Prefect Rosa O. and music teacher Mr. Vince Hale are big fans of the series, and take every opportunity to watch the concerts. It was while fulfilling one of her Prefect tasks that she came up with the idea for Shawnigan’s version of the Tiny Desk Concert.

 

Students have a new way to navigate the Shawnigan Journey following last week’s roll-out of the Shawnigan Compass.

 

The Shawnigan Compass is an artificial intelligence resource designed to help students determine what classes they need to take in order to achieve their post-secondary and career goals, in a way that supplements the way students work with the Guidance Office, advisors and parents.

 

“It makes meeting with the Guidance Office more efficient,” said Academic Captain Angus W. “It doesn’t replace guidance counsellors – at the end of the day, they are much better. If you use it in place of guidance counsellors, you’ll be in trouble. But it can get the ball rolling.”