SLS Now Archive
English Eight
Mrs. Bell's and Mrs. Smith's English 8 classes (joined by Mr. Murray) went to Quw'utsun', the First Nations Cultural Centre in Duncan. We organized this field trip because we have just finished studying a novel titled, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and wanted to appreciate the First Nations culture more deeply. At the Centre, we were warmly welcomed and toured around the museum. We learned many new things about the culture and ways of the First Nations peoples. As we sat around the fire, we heard interesting stories, ones that have been passed down from generation to generation. We also admired the beautiful and colorful totem poles carved by various local First Nations people and were told the meaning and stories behind each one. I am quite interested in the stories told because I find a meaningful lesson in every one. At the end of our tour, we watched a movie, one that showed us the beliefs and the ways of this culture. I think that this is a very fascinating culture and I am glad that our school organized this fun and exciting field trip for our class.
– Shaughne S., Gr. 8 (Groves')
Cross-Country
Hatley Castle Race—We had our best race of the season at Hatley Castle. Everyone earned a medal or ribbon.
Winning Male Time
Scott S. (25:19)
Winning Female Time
Cheryl M. (29:55)
Boys Age Group 16-19
Nick M. - 32:50 (4th)
Lucien N. - 33:14 (5th)
Alistair V. - 36:01 (6th)
Arthur C. - 42:09 (8th)
Girls Age Group 16-19
Alana M. - 38:11 (4th)
Monica C. - 39:32 (5th)
Eva J. - 42:33 (6th)
Michelle C. - 43:37 (7th)
Katie D. - 48:11 (8th)
Charlotte H. - 54:15 (10th)
Age Group U15
Tatum M.: 42:01 (earns a medal for 3rd place)
Growing the Spirit
I accompanied Mrs. Stroebel and a few of the grade nines to Cowichan Bay to help out at "Growing The Spirit," an event to mark the one-year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Inside the Maritime Center, we helped kids make fruit and vegetable paintings, and to build wooden boats. Outside, we served free brownies, chocolates and hot chocolate. My roommate, Emma L. and I took lots of the chocolates and ran around the town handing them out to kids, encouraging them to come. We also talked to lots of their parents outside while serving them food. They were all very interested in Shawnigan, and it gave us an opportunity to tell them all about it. The kids all had a lot of fun painting, and were very proud of what they had made. I would recommend anyone to volunteer for this.
– Kathryn G., Gr. 9 (Groves')
Chapel Music
On Saturday, Nick M., Morgan B. and Adam M. performed the song, "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. It was only intended to be us having fun and introducing a bit of light-heartedness into Chapel—we expected laughs but not at all the response we got! With everyone's encouragement, we hope to be back again with some more awkward skits and corrupted songs!
– Adam M., Gr. 12 (Ripley's)
Bruce-Lockhart Debate Tournament
Shawnigan hosted the 9th Annual Bruce-Lockhart Debate Tournament on Saturday. Participating schools included Pearson College, Glenlyon Norfolk School, Oak Bay High School, Britannia Secondary, Brentwood College School and Pacific Christian. The impromptu topics debated were "Be it Resolved that we should question authority" and "recycling should be eliminated." After three rounds, Lisa Jane D. earned the third place ranking as senior debater. Johnny B. won third place in the impromptu speaking junior category. Undoubtedly, without the assistance of the many student, staff and parent volunteers, this event couldn't have taken place. A giant "Thank-you" to every individual that gave their time for this day.
– Paul Klassen, Debate
Stag Café Date Night
On Sunday evening, the Stag Café (Entrepreneurship 12 class) presented an evening of dining and entertainment for Shawnigan Lake School students. The Ritz was transformed into a fine dining restaurant where students could order a three-course meal from the menu that included steaks, chicken, calamari, smoothies, milkshakes, and chocolate explosion. Olivia, who was the hostess for the evening, ensured that guests were promptly seated and looked after by her team of servers. Students dined by candle light while listening to a professional jazz band playing music that pleased the occasion. Meanwhile, back in the Stag kitchen, "Chef Georgio" and his merry Entrepreneurship 12 students were operating under intense pressure to prepare the delicious fare. The evening proved to be a resounding success with happy customers commenting that they had the "best time of their lives". During an interview "Chef Georgio" gave his annual comment of "never again" . . . until next year.
– Georg Stroebel, Entrepreneurship 12
Who Am I?
Creating a self-portrait can tell us where the artist has come from and who they were at the time. In Art 9, students are required to produce two self-portrait projects: Conceptual and literal. One task is to create a photo-realistic pencil drawing produced from a back and white photograph and the grid method, but the first exercise is to create a multi-media piece that celebrates who the student is, telling us more about their personalities rather than what they actually look like. Finished portraits can involve paint, paper, collage, text, and random found objects. The end result is an interesting and revealing piece of art that celebrates the unique traits of each individual artist.
– Carol Shaw, Art
Island Qualifiers
The senior boys basketball team advanced to the Island Championships after placing third in the South Island Championships this weekend.
In their opening game on Wednesday, they were defeated by the host team, SMUS 48-65. Shavaan S. had 17 points and 8 rebounds and Kai H. scored 11 points. With the first two Island berths out of their reach, the team did an excellent job shifting their focus and won the next three games to secure the third berth.
On Friday, they defeated Reynolds 65-45. High scorers included Shavaan S. with 27 points and 10 rebounds, Adam C. had 15 points and 9 rebounds and Jordan B. added 7 points and 10 rebounds. In their first game on Saturday morning, Adam C. had a game high 26 points and 12 rebounds, Shavaan S. had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Jordan B. and Kai H. combined for 17 points in a convincing 69-33 win over Esquimalt. In this double knock-out draw, the seniors found themselves in a re-match with SMUS in the final game. Shaw claimed victory over SMUS 76-65. Kane W. was perfect from 3-point range and went 4 for 4 including a buzzer-beater at the half. Both Adam C. and Kai H. were steady at the free-throw line in the final minutes of the game to maintain the lead. Shavaan S. had 26 points and 18 rebounds, Jordan B. added another 9 points and 11 rebounds and Howard Y. contributed a solid 12 points.
The team would like to thank the many staff, students and family members who came to support them throughout the weekend. A special thank you to Sally S. for her videotaping skills.
The Island Championships begin on Thursday at Ladysmith Secondary School. The seniors tip-off against Cedar at 3:45 pm. The top three teams advance to the AA Provincials.
– Vito Pasquale, Coach
Pacific Northwest Squash Tourney
On the 13-15th February, a large contingent of Shawnigan squash players participated in the Pacific Northwest Squash Tournament in Victoria. This major event attracted over 200 players from the Western Canadian Provinces and US, as well as from the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Dorian played well to reach the final of the very competitive U15 Open event, and Bogdan prevailed over Kevyn in a tight final of the U19B competition. Alex and Andy were at the top of their games and both played at a high level in their respective age categories. Other notable performances came from Lizzie, Betty, Kevin and Miguel who won trophies in their first major tournament. All participants gained valuable experience from this major event of our season. Thanks go to Mike Johnson for his outstanding coaching expertise, and also to Mr. Candelaria and Mr. Wands for the many hours spent on court preparing the players for the event.
– Lynne Grass, Head of Squash
Search & Rescue
With patches of snow along the banks of the Cowichan River and the water temperature at 4 degrees Celsius, the SAR team donned drysuits and plunged into their final two days of swiftwater training and certification. Swiftwater expert Jim Lavalley of Rescue Canada was on hand to share his wealth of expertise and stories. As an extra bonus, several alumni from the class of '05 (Logie McLagan, Nathan Comstock and Ian Wright) showed up and joined in the fun; all are former SAR team members who continue to use their training either professionally or recreationally.
When the SAR course began back in November, no one on the team had ever swum in really big whitewater, intentionally or otherwise. In fact, the majority had little or no experience at all in moving water, which makes the confidence and competence they demonstrated last weekend all the more impressive! Check the video to see for yourself.
– Peter Yates and Angus Murray, SAR
Squash
Pacific Northwest Squash Tournament—On the 13-15th February, a large contingent of Shawnigan squash players participated in the Pacific Northwest Squash Tournament in Victoria. This major event attracted over 200 players from the Western Canadian Provinces and US, as well as from the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Dorian played well to reach the final of the very competitive U15 Open event, and Bogdan prevailed over Kevyn in a tight final of the U19B competition. Alex and Andy were at the top of their games and both played at a high level in their respective age categories. Other notable performances came from Lizzie, Betty, Kevin and Miguel who won trophies in their first major tournament. All participants gained valuable experience from this major event of our season. Thanks go to Mike Johnson for his outstanding coaching expertise, and also to Mr. Candelaria and Mr. Wands for the many hours spent on court preparing the players for the event.
– Lynne Grass, Head of Squash
Rugby
U17 Rugby Canada Camp—These three boys were awesome this past week at the RC U17 Camp. Monty and Lucien have made the squad, and will travel to Millfield England to play against the USA, Wales and Portugal. Martin and Jordan are non-travelling reserves, which is also a great honour.
– Gary Dukelow
Rowing
Head of the Lake and Hungerford Cup Weekend—This weekend started the racing season off for the rowers after a long wait for the ice to melt. The Hungerford cup was held on Saturday with a 1k race course. It was a great success with record numbers of athletes participating. Most notable races were the Men's 4+ and both the Hungerford Cup (M2-) and Roaf trophy (W2-), all won by Shawnigan rowers.
The Sunday head race was shortened by 2k with the ice build up at the top end. The race went off well with over 100 boats competing in all categories from grade 8's up to masters rowers.
With such a long period of time not on the water before this race, the coaches were very pleased with the results this weekend. A big thank you to all the volunteers and supporters that came out and helped run a fantastic regatta.
Hungerford Cup
First
Men's 4+
Men's 2-
Women's 2-
Third
Jr B women's 4X+
Head of Shawnigan
Second
Men's 8+
Third
Women's 8+
Jr. C Women's 4x+
Basketball
Sr Boys Basketball Team Qualify for the Island Championships—The senior boys basketball team advanced to the Island Championships after placing third in the South Island Championships this weekend.
In their opening game on Wednesday, they were defeated by the host team, SMUS 48-65. Shavaan S. had 17 points and 8 rebounds and Kai H. scored 11 points. With the first two Island berths out of their reach, the team did an excellent job shifting their focus and won the next three games to secure the third berth.
On Friday, they defeated Reynolds 65-45. High scorers included Shavaan S. with 27 points and 10 rebounds, Adam C. had 15 points and 9 rebounds and Jordan B. added 7 points and 10 rebounds. In their first game on Saturday morning, Adam C. had a game high 26 points and 12 rebounds, Shavaan S. had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Jordan B. and Kai H. combined for 17 points in a convincing 69-33 win over Esquimalt. In this double knock-out draw, the seniors found themselves in a re-match with SMUS in the final game. Shaw claimed victory over SMUS 76-65. Kane W. was perfect from 3-point range and went 4 for 4 including a buzzer-beater at the half. Both Adam C. and Kai H. were steady at the free-throw line in the final minutes of the game to maintain the lead. Shavaan S. had 26 points and 18 rebounds, Jordan B. added another 9 points and 11 rebounds and Howard Y. contributed a solid 12 points.
The team would like to thank the many staff, students and family members who came to support them throughout the weekend. A special thank you to Sally S. for her videotaping skills.
The Island Championships begin on Thursday at Ladysmith Secondary School. The seniors tip-off against Cedar at 3:45 pm. The top three teams advance to the AA Provincials.
– Vito Pasquale, Coach
Valentine's Day Dance
The Grade 10 Round Table organized a great Valentine's Dance for February 14th. Prizes were awarded for the best "Pairs" costumes and everyone danced to the music that was masterfully provided by Jordan B. Thanks go to the Stag Café and Mr. Stroebel for helping out. These photos say it better than words—lots of fun was had by all. Congratulations to the Grade 10 Round Table members for organizing the event and thanks to everyone who helped set up and clean-up afterwards.
- Jenny Ferris, Grade 10 Round Table Leader
Set Painting
Over Ski Week, a few dynamic painters and builders stayed behind and worked on the set for the School Musical, "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Mr. Perry is more than thankful for the help and has encouraged anyone with a paint roller to come and join the fun as he finishes the final touches in the next week or so.
The play will be presented in the Cowichan Theatre, April 2-4. Tickets are on sale now and can be reserved at (250) 748-7529
Shawnigan Lake School Museum
Recently, the Grade Eights went to see the Shawnigan Lake School Museum. We learned all sorts of facts about Shawnigan history that dated back to over ninety years ago. Some of the things that we found most interesting about the museum was the first car on campus, the model of the old class rooms and the original type writers and calculators. We thought that it was a very memorable experience. We had a limited amount of time and would enjoy going back there again to see some of the things that we might have missed. We would like to thank Mrs. Grass and Ms Newns for putting together this experience for us.
– Juliana W. and Jordan D.
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Chapel Music
A grade 12 student from Strathcona Lodge School House performed in Chapel on Saturday. She sang "Wagon Wheel," originally by Old Crow Medicine Show and Bob Dylan. Her version was more akin to the one done by the band, Against Me!. "I like the lyrics very much and the way the song sounds," she says and, indeed, her lovely, quiet vocals echoed beautifully in the hushed chapel. "I've been singing since sixth grade and have been playing guitar since the beginning of this year. I used to take voice lessons and now I take guitar lessons at the School with Paul Morelli. He is really fun and he knows his stuff. Playing in Chapel is fun, but at the same time, nerve racking because you don't know if people are going to like what you have to offer."
Math Contests
On Wednesday, 75 eager young mathematicians participated in the Pascal, Cayley, and Fermat math contests. These national contests are for students in grades 9 through 11 and are sponsored, in part, by the University of Waterloo. They involve problem-solving questions which are not directly linked to mathematics curricula in Canada and the questions range from easy to very challenging. Last year, approximately 63,000 students from across the country participated and we had some impressive results with many scores above the 90th percentile. Students who participate in these contests typically have some very strong abilities in mathematics. Our students will anxiously await their scores, which should be available sometime in early May.
– Stephen Cox, Head of Math
Basketball
Junior 'B' Boys win first round of Central Island Championship—On Tuesday afternoon the Jr. ‘'B' boys basketball team won their quarterfinal game of the Central Vancouver Island (CVI) Basketball Championship 48-46 over Lakeside Prep. The boys made a remarkable comeback after being down 11 points with five minutes to play. Top scorers were Brian K. with 24 points and Haydn E., David S. and Ricardo C. all with 8 points each. Next up is the semi-final on Friday against Quamichan.
– Andy Olson, Coach
Sr. Girls Basketball Results—The Sr. Girls Basketball Team played in a challenge game against Brooks from Powell River Wednesday afternoon, trying to advance to the North Island Championships. Unfortunately, there was a little bit of rust from Ski Week that had to be worked out, so the first half of the game was disappointing. However, the girls really stepped it up in the 2nd half and played quite well. It was not enough and Brooks won the game 64-48. Kenzie was the top score in the game (for both teams) with 21 points, and Emilie put together her best game of the year scoring 17 points.
– Darrin Austin, Coach
Sr. Boys Basketball Defeat Reynolds—The senior boys basketball team continue to play in the South Island Tournament on Saturday at 11:00 am and 4:45 pm at SMUS in Victoria. A victory will guarantee them a berth into the Islands.
– Vito Pasquale, Coach
Rowing
Hungerford and Head of the Lake Regattas—This weekend Shawnigan will be hosting two regattas on our Lake. Please go to our Regatta site for more information.
Ski Week 2009!
Thank you to everyone who made this year's Ski Week such a great experience for students and staff alike! Wendy Woollven has provided a wide variety of photos and the following daily description of the highlights at Manning Park.
Ski Week: Thursday
After a long and busy day on Wednesday, it would follow that everyone would be tired on Thursday; however, since it is the last day at Manning Park, everyone makes the most of the day by spending hours up at the hill. We were treated with another sunny day that led to icy conditions early in the morning, but the snow softened as the day went on.
The highlight at lunch was a show put on by the grade 12s as they tested the limits of the definition of "spring skiing." The evening began with the Inter-House tug-o-war competition and closing awards ceremony, where individual and House awards were given out for all the downhill and cross country races as well as for Inter-House snow sculpture.
Ski Week: Wednesday
Wednesday is traditionally a very busy day at Ski Week, and this year was no exception. The morning started off with the junior and senior downhill ski and snowboard races, which took place under more sunny skies. All House representatives raced well, making for stiff competition. The busyness continued with the cross-country skiing race after lunch, with many of the downhill competitors racing the grueling 10-km race as well. These athletes finished amidst the Inter-House snow sculpture competition.
This icy-cold competition, taking about 7 hours in total, always results in incredible works of art, and despite the tough snow conditions, the students were inspired by the "Movies" theme and produced excellent sculptures. The fun ended that evening with the traditional carnival, run by the grade 11's and finals of Reach for the Top where a new game—staff verses the top grade 12s—ended with a strong victory for the students.
Ski Week: Tuesday
We woke to another crisp and clear day with more exciting runs had by all on the hill. The grade 8s and 9s spent part of the day learning how to cross country ski. The evening was capped off with a presentation by Mr. Murray about his Mt. Everest climb and laughs were had by all as the Staff put on another Review for the students.
Rowing
Monster Erg—This past weekend, the rowers kicked off their racing season with a trip to Victoria to compete at Monster Erg. The athletes competed in a head to head very grueling race of 2000m. We started the day with the coxswains' crawl, our little ones have learned a thing or two from their crews with Carina L. placing first. The senior girls have a smaller team this year but that did not hold them back with 6 girls in the top 15. The senior boys showed they are ready to compete as they swept the podium! Most of the juniors are novice but you would not have known that as they raced with aggression and confidence proving to be a strong team this year. Claire O. and Jordan B. cracked the top ten, an impressive result for these two novices. We all look forward to our regatta held here at the school on February 14th and 15th.
Notable Results
Junior A Women
2nd Maylies L.
Junior A Men
1st Alex T.
2nd Alex M.
3rd Lachlan M.
5th Rory R.
Junior A LWT Men
3rd Brendan D.
Junior B Women
10th Claire O.
Junior B Men
6th Jordan B.
Junior C Double Women
2nd Badia R. & Shaughne S.
– Danielle Beare, Head of Rowing
Ski Week: Monday
Monday morning brought the first of many clear days for the week. From the top of the ski hill, you could see far off mountain peaks that have been hidden for the past few years. It was a great first day of skiing and snowboarding, with only a quick break for our delicious lunch. Evening activities ran similarly to Sunday night, with the addition of the Polar Coaster and swimming pool and the first round of Senior Reach for the Top.As before, the evening ended with a large-scale broomball game.
We included a new initiative this year-taking out own mess kits. This worked really well, and we were able to cut down on the amount of compost and our footprint on the environment substantially. Thanks to the environment club for all their hard work in managing this task.
Ski Week: Sunday
Bright and early on Sunday morning, eight large buses departed from Shawnigan for Ski Week 2009. Several hours later, we arrived at a freshly dusted Manning Park, excited for the week ahead. After dinner and group meetings, the evening activities began—the first round of Junior Reach for the Top, karaoke, and a presentation by Ms Wiley. The day ended with the long-awaited staff vs. Grade 12's broomball game, which turned out to be great fun! Everyone went to bed excited for the first day up at the hill.