FINAL WORD From our Co-Head of School

FINALWord FROM OUR CO-HEAD OF SCHOOL

Our journey didn’t begin five years ago when we came to Shawnigan; it began back in 2009. The dawn of kindergarten. Entering elementary school, we were all so excited to get out of there and grow up. I remember thinking to myself back then how all the Grade 12s seemed so old. I remember watching the graduates walk across the stage during my school’s graduation assembly, and I swore to myself that from that day forward I’d stay young forever. I promised my 7-year-old self that I’d never ever grow up. Well, Mom and Dad, look at me now. With a snap of a finger, we all somehow ended up graduating. Our experience is unique compared with every single class that has graduated from Shawnigan. And while we all shared together some of the big events throughout the years, the opportunities here gave us the chance to forge our own unique paths. As we gained more knowledge and skills, something that likely impacted our paths was the answer to the question we were all asked at a young age: What do you want to be when you grow up? In elementary school, this question was seriously the best. I knew kids who wanted to be movie stars, astronauts, and even the Prime Minister. Personally, I wanted to be the taste tester for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Clearly, we all had equally big dreams. But, as we began to grow up, this question became a stressful one to say the least. How are you meant to know what you want to do with your life when there’s a whole world out there? When there are a thousand different types of jobs, lifestyles, and cities just waiting for you. How do you know where your path is meant to go? Over my past five years at Shawnigan, the conclusion I’ve come to is that you don’t have to know exactly what your life might look like, you just have to be willing. You have to be willing to leave your current life here, look forward, and move on. You have to be willing to start somewhere new, and be eager for those exciting opportunities. You have to be willing to understand that, whatever you end up doing next year, it’s going to be scary at first. But since when did anything amazing not start off as terrifying? You need to be willing to have a new roommate. One who hasn’t grown up on the soil of Shawnigan. You need to be willing to pack up your things and unpack them somewhere foreign to you. You need to be able to say a brief goodbye to your amazing friends here, and be willing to make new ones. You need to be willing to know that no matter what, even though you’re graduating, the connections you’ve made here aren’t going to go away. They’re just going to be a little bit further away. You need to be willing to let go, because once you’re able to do that, you’ll be able to see that there’s a whole world out there, just waiting for you to grab on to it. To the graduating class of 2022 – thank you for being just exactly who you ” are. Watching high school musicals as a kid, I always envied the perfect high school experience. I’ve since learned that nothing can ever be perfect. But, what you have all given me these past five years has been the closest thing to it. To this class of 2022: we are just getting started. MacKinley Bourne ’22 (Strathcona) Extracts from her Graduation Speech to the Grade 12s, June 2022

Continuing a legacy

Coincidentally, both of our 2021–22 Co-Heads of School were legacy students – meaning they are children of Shawnigan alumni. The School is always delighted to welcome legacy students to the Shawnigan family, and to honour this important relationship, we have recently introduced the Legacy Student Entrance Award for mission-appropriate students who have had a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle attend Shawnigan Lake School.