News Archive
Grade 9 Boat Race Sets Sail
What might first appear to be simply a fun morning on the water is actually an important part of the Shawnigan Journey and the Health and Career Education curriculum.
For the seventh year, Grade 9 students took part in the annual Boat Race, designing and building their own watercraft out of recycled materials found around campus — and a few bought items — then attempting to sail them, with all team members on board, a short distance into Shawnigan Lake, around a buoy, and back to shore.
While the end results are mixed and the morning is hectic, noisy, and, most of all, wet, it is actually a valuable learning experience for the students.
“We are giving Grade 9s an opportunity to discover,” teacher Mrs. Rainbow Bartlett explains. “Encouraging them to be curious, support their community, find their courage and to develop their compassion. We have designed exciting opportunities for team building, exploring the community, growth mindset, mental health, skill building, express and communicate, present, resilience and determination. We give our students everything that we want them to behold. The boat building is an element of all these things and every Grade 9 learned a valuable lesson in life.”
Building materials typically included cardboard boxes and wooden pallets, supported by pool noodles and bags of plastic bottles to improve buoyancy. One team made a raft out of packing tape and logs they found in the forest. Another group loaded their boat onto a canoe they found at the dock — a clever ploy, although opinions vary on if it infringed on the spirit of the event.
Boats were decorated in a variety of themes, including a Noah’s Ark loaded with stuffies, and a dinner spread with a tablecloth and pizza boxes that would have doubled as seats for the crew had the boat not gone under immediately after it was launched. A lot of decorations did end up in the lake, but students made sure to recover all flotsam and jetsam once the race was over.
The first team to get around the buoy and back were the Sombreros, who also showed the most courage. Pizza Boat won the award for best boat and best flag, Holy Ship showed the most compassion, and Canadian History was recognized for their community spirit and tidying up the best.
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 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
