Grade 8 Experience



Coming in Grade 8 was the best decision I ever made. - Adam
One of Shawnigan’s uniquely differentiating features is our carefully crafted Grade 8 experience. For our 12- and 13-year-old Grade 8 students, we have developed a nurturing program that acts as a supportive springboard into the wider Shawnigan community.

Within the Shawnigan Journey – a pathway that intentionally takes students through their time at the School – the Grade 8 year has been specially developed to care for and guide our youngest students. Students are provided the time and space to grow at an age-appropriate pace, learn more about themselves and the School, and develop their confidence. From Grade 8-specific activities to thoughtful integration into the School’s wider programming, students’ passions, skills, knowledge, and sense of belonging are all nurtured.

The foundational Grade 8 year is designed not only as a safe landing pad, but also as a gateway to the remainder of each student’s Shawnigan Journey. By the end of their first year, students are strong and confident citizens of the School, ready for what awaits in Grade 9 and beyond.

Samuel House

The fact that you have your friends in the same House, they end up being like your family. Everybody’s there to support you – your House Director, your Grade 11 mentors, they’re all there for whatever you need.” – Sofia
Samuel House is at the heart of Shawnigan’s Grade 8 experience. Rather than being immersed in a “big House” from the get-go, our youngest students begin their Shawnigan Journey alongside their peers in a dedicated Grade 8 House.

Run by a caring team of House staff, Samuel House fosters a safe co-ed grade culture characterized by close friendships that will shape and support the students’ onward journey at Shawnigan. The House is built with one wing for girls and one wing for boys, with co-educational gathering spaces in the middle. These safe, supervised common spaces include a large kitchen, a crafts room, a games room, and a gym, in addition to the more traditional common rooms found in Shawnigan’s other boarding houses. These spaces are designed to allow students and staff to cook, eat, study, play, and socialize together in new and meaningful ways.

In order to ease the students’ transition into boarding school life, the House has more live-in staff than any other Shawnigan boarding house, along with a fulltime staff member who is based in the House during the day. This unprecedented level of staffing ensures the appropriate care, guidance, and supervision are delivered to the School’s youngest members at all times.

A popular aspect of the House sees a small group of Grade 11 students from each of the other nine boarding houses move into the House to take on mentoring roles. Their responsibilities include helping with homework and bedtimes and offering peer-to-peer support.

Grade 8 News

The Shawnigan Journey

As part of the Shawnigan Journey, each grade experience is guided by a single overall concept that is linked to our core values of curiosity, compassion, community and courage. These guiding concepts have been further developed into concrete grade-specific goals—our distinctive “moments that matter”—that fall under each of our three strategic pillars of Academic Excellence, Co-curricular Distinction and Student Life Unparalleled. Read More
    • Grade 8 Experience videos

      Samuel House - Andrea

    • Grade 8 Experience videos

      Samuel House Interview - Adam Au

    • Grade 8 Experience videos

      Samuel House Interview - Carson

    • Grade 8 Experience videos

      Samuel House Interview - Head of School

    • Grade 8 Experience videos

      Samuel House Interview - Kelly Gave

    • Grade 8 Experience videos

      Samuel House Interview - Sofia

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.