News Archive
Opening Address to Students and Staff – Academic Year 2023-24
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome back our returning students after the summer break and to extend a huge welcome to all the 200 new students and staff in Chapel today.
For many of you, this is a new campus and new adventure with fresh challenges to face. There will be moments when you are lost, unsure and a little wobbly over the next couple of days and weeks as you learn the rhythm of Shawnigan.
Some of you might be doubting yourselves.
As I said to the new parents on Tuesday, the plaque at the base of the Shawnigan stag near the front gates reminds us that it will watch over all who enter these grounds.
A reassuring message to us all.
One student who graduated last term wrote perceptively and gratefully that Shawnigan “didn’t just give me opportunity – it gave me a community.”
This is your community now.
We pride ourselves that over time you will feel a deep sense of belonging to the people and the place.
From wherever you are in the world – from the Cowichan Valley to Montreal, from Japan to Mexico, from Germany to South Africa – you will find Shawnigan and your boarding house a home away from home.
Underpinning everything we do are the School’s values, the 4C’s of the school: Curiosity, Compassion, Community, and Courage.
Shawnigan is defined by our commitment to these values – and respect for each other. We
tread softly around other peoples’ dreams.
Each year, we pick a quotation for the Gold Book. We have used the inspirational words of Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Arundhati Roy and Kurt Hahn. I drew on the wisdom of Nobel physicist Albert Einstein in my Closing Day address and have chosen another quotation attributed to him to guide us through this year: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
My message for the academic term ahead is: live for today, work hard, connect, be curious, be thoughtful and mindful of others, respect the campus, share a sense of place and belonging – and do and be the best you can be.
I am certain that you will not remember what we said this morning to launch the academic year, but I hope that you remember how you felt sitting together in your Houses in Chapel for the first time.
Enjoy yourselves and good luck with the term ahead.
Richard D A Lamont
Head of School
7 September 2023
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.
