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Spooky Happenings on Campus!

Shawnigan’s Halloween Haunted house was created to strike fear in the hearts of students, but it’s possible that no one was more scared on Thursday, October 27 than events coordinator Mr. Blair Sturrock and entrepreneurship teacher and Lake’s House AHD Ms. Mariel Solsberg, who once again guided the project.
 
With just hours to go before the Haunted House was scheduled to open, a windstorm knocked out electrical power to the School. While some buildings continued to function thanks to generators, the Hugh Wilkinson Theatre — the location of the Haunted House this year — was not among them. Mr. Sturrock, Ms. Solsberg and the other staff members and parents who had toiled for countless hours to get the Haunted House ready for that night were left wondering if it would have to be postponed until after students returned from November Break.
Fortunately, BC Hydro came to the rescue and restored power in the late afternoon, just in time for the Haunted House to come to life (life after death, perhaps?) and terrify our students.
 
Dozens of staff members and parents had worked to put the Haunted House together, helping to design and build props and rooms. The result was what Mr. Sturrock called “one of the best ones yet.”
 
“We got a lot of good feedback from the kids,” he said. “Students said it was amazing. Even a lot of Grade 12s said they were extremely scared.”
 
This was the third year in a row that Mr. Sturrock and Ms. Solsberg have led the Haunted House efforts. It is a labour of love for them, and Mr. Sturrock says they will be back to scaring in 2023.
 
“We think this is something people will remember from their time at the School,” he says. “Part of the Shawnigan experience.”
 
Also on October 27, the School held a Dress-Up Day for students and staff, which went over spectacularly.
 
“The students really bought into it,” said Assistant Head - Student Life Mr. Matt Clinton-Baker. “It was an awesome way to finish the term.”
 
The day included a “fashion show” after lunch, with students in costume gathering on the Marion Hall mezzanine, then parading down the stairs and around the dining hall. Prizes were awarded, such as “most terrifying” and “best group,” while “most creative” went to Mr. Paul Doig, who dressed up as Vision from the Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series WandaVision, helping to solidify his “iron grip” on the award.
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