News Archive
Terry Fox Secondary School
A visit to hallowed ground
He was just a high school teenager, a jock, a boy with ordinary goals that did not yet include running across an entire country with a prosthetic leg. He was just one of them.
That’s what the Midget Varsity hockey team discovered last week, when they took a small detour on their way to Calgary, and visited Terry Fox Secondary School in Port Coquitlam, B.C. The high school is the same one Terry attended (re-named several years after his historic Marathon of Hope).
The unexpected itinerary add-on (heading for four CSSHL league games in Calgary) was a unique and natural opportunity for the boys and staff to talk about Terry’s legacy, and to explore the theme of finding positivity and hope, even in the most challenging and difficult of circumstances.
“We arranged for a representative of the school to come out and meet us, say Hello, and tell us a bit about what it's like working on such hallowed ground,” reports Mr. Chant. “She told us her brother was in one of Terry's classes during their graduating year.”
Thanks to Mr. Chant and Mr. Compton for thinking of such a meaningful side trip during national Terry Fox Run week!
After the visit, the boys were asked to do a couple of related journalling exercises.
Here are some of their thoughts:
Here are some of their thoughts:
"I've known about Terry Fox my whole life, but it was really amazing to see where he actually grew up. It really reminds you to not take anything for granted."
"It was an unbelievable experience, knowing I stepped foot where Terry Fox went to school, and fought adversity, at such a young age. The thing I take away from this visit is that nothing is impossible if you truly believe in hope. I will always look up to Terry Fox as a role model."
"It is inspiring to know that someone not much older than you can make such a significant difference across Canada."
"I feel it was a great experience, and that the school is a very sacred place, because Terry Fox grew up there, and it was like a second home to him – which is like how Shawnigan is to us."
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 West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
