IT TAKES A VILLAGE The boarding life community at the heart of Shawnigan

It Takes a

Village

STORY BY JENNY DUNBAR PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARDEN GILL

ACCORDING TO A WELL-KNOWN AFRICAN PROVERB, IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD.

In other words, it requires an entire community to ensure the protection, well-being, and growth of a child. This saying does not discount the crucial role of that child’s parents, but it does highlight the importance of the people surrounding the family unit and the formative role that they can play. In many ways, Shawnigan Lake School can be viewed as the epitome of village living. As Canada’s largest boarding school – with over 85% of the student population living on campus – the School is, in essence, a community unto itself. The School has a population of nearly 800 students and staff, and every single person on campus has a significant and unique role to play.

Choosing to send a child to boarding school, even as a day student, is an enormous decision and one that parents do not make lightly. Even in an age of hyperconnectivity, it takes a great deal of courage and faith to entrust a child to someone else, especially during their foundational teenage years. What has eased the minds of the parents who choose Shawnigan is their confidence in the School community and all that it provides – in other words, the “village” that will surround their child. “I really believe that the way Shawnigan does boarding sets us apart from all other schools in this country,” says Gaynor Samuel, Shawnigan’s Executive Director of Admissions. “It’s the fact that we have such a high level of care and time commitment from the staff; that level of support, along with everything else that we pour into boarding, is nothing short of remarkable.” It has been said many times that the primary ingredient that makes up the magic of Shawnigan can be found in the people – the community that Gaynor describes. “The support and the student life at Shawnigan are extraordinary,” she continues. “We have put together a community that raises each other up in so many ways, and that includes the staff who are so devoted to the School.” With nearly 250 people on the staff team – creating a student-staff ratio that is close to 2:1 – there are numerous trusted adults on campus to support the students. They

encounter a friendly face at every turn, whether it is a thoughtful conversation with the driver taking them to an appointment, a cheery wave from a grounds crew member on their walk to class, or laughter shared with the laundry team during the early morning drop-off. The extensive staff team includes roles as diverse as nurses, baristas, university guidance counsellors, office staff, electricians, and cooks, to name but a few. And while some work more closely with students than others, they are all there in support of the students. Of those staff members, nearly 70 staff and their families live on campus, which only adds to the village environment. With so many people living in one place, students and staff get to see each other in a completely different light. Staff pets roam the campus and are familiar to all. Students have the opportunity to interact with young staff children, even babysitting them on occasion. Multiple meals a day are eaten together. In short, the interactions that take place on campus are like those of a family. “The teachers, instructors, and coaches are actually here seven days a week. They do duties in the dorms after a full day of teaching students in academic classes, coaching them in a specific sport, or working with them in their co-curricular activity in the afternoon,” explains Gaynor. This particularly applies to the teachers, who work the most closely with the students. As Gaynor shares, the faculty at Shawnigan commit to more than just teaching in the classroom. They also interact with students after school by offering tutorials, coaching a sport or instructing a fine art or activity, and doing duty in a boarding house, a responsibility that includes providing homework help, delivering pastoral care, and supervising dinner and bedtime. These various touch points throughout the week mean that the teachers really get to know their students – and come to genuinely and deeply care about their well-being and success. The exceptional level of care given by the teachers at Shawnigan does not go unnoticed by the students. “The fact that we have tutorials at Shawnigan shows me how much our teachers care about supporting our learning and us as people,” shares Grade 10 student Jackson Palmer. “If you want to learn more or are struggling, they are there to help you. They are also there beyond the classroom, and I feel like I can talk to lots of my teachers, just like I would to my House Directors, beyond things that are just academics.”

At the heart of the School community is, naturally, the boarding house. Each student is carefully placed in one of 11 boarding houses on campus when they begin their Shawnigan journey, and these Houses become not only a home-awayfrom-home, but part of a student’s identity while they are at Shawnigan – and beyond. House ties are powerful and remain strong after graduation, with alumni retaining fierce loyalty to their former residence long after they have left. It is in the House that connections are formed with the dedicated House team: the House Directors, Assistant House Directors, housekeepers, and duty staff. These tend to be the most personal relationships made between students and staff – a natural consequence of seeing each other at all hours of the day. House staff earn the trust of their students while providing everything from guidance to discipline to a shoulder to cry on. It is also here, in the House, that the most significant student friendships are formed and the most powerful peer mentorship takes place. “Right away, I felt an immediate connection to the House and the boys,” shares Jackson as he reflects on his arrival in Grade 8. “The older boys took me under their wings, and what really stood out to me was that my encounters were never awkward. Right away they really made me feel like I fit in.” Jackson’s experience is a common one. In the journey that a student takes from their younger years through to graduation, they are nurtured, are guided, find their wings, and become leaders themselves – with much of this growth coming from their relationships with peers and mentors. It is often those small, nearly intangible moments that add up to something that is life-changing. “That to me is the secret sauce of Shawnigan – the sense of belonging, the students supporting each other, and the mentorship in the House, in the classroom, or on the field that takes place 24/7,” reveals Gaynor. “The parents of boarding students see a huge development in maturity every time their children come home during a school break.” In recent years, a close look at in-House dynamics and a recognition of the physical, mental, and emotional differences between a 12-year-old and an 18-year-old have led to the formation of two Houses just for Grade 8s – Stanton House for girls and Levien House for boys. These Houses have had such instant and unequivocal success that Shawnigan is now

fast-tracking the construction of Samuel House, a pioneering co-educational Grade 8 boarding house whose conception is the result of much research – and over 100 years of boarding experience. Central to the Grade 8 program is the way in which the youngest members of the School community are surrounded by support, from live-in Grade 11 mentors to a lower-thannormal student-staff ratio. Of course, one can’t talk about Shawnigan’s boarding houses without mentioning inter-House events in the same breath. As most students will attest, inter-House competition is a highlight of boarding life and has been an important part of the Shawnigan experience since the first Houses were established about 10 years after the School’s founding in 1916. Events run throughout the school year and range from athletic to academic to creative, giving people with different strengths a chance to shine. Perennial favourites include track and field, air band, and reach for the top, but each year there is something new to challenge the student population. No matter the event, one thing is certain: the whole School is guaranteed to be there in their brightest House spirit gear and with their loudest cheering voices. The fervent House pride that is instilled in a student from the moment they set foot in their new home-away-fromhome is a testament to the sense of belonging that is so quickly established in the Houses. These moments, however, are only part of the larger mosaic that makes up the Shawnigan experience. Connections spread much farther than just in the House. A Sunday morning conversation over breakfast with a new friend, a casual game of four square in front of another House, a cozy chat in the library on a rainy day, an encouraging pat on the back from a respected Grade 12 student, finding the courage to ask an older student for help only to find that they are more than willing to do so – it is moments like these that cement the Shawnigan family. “I love how close everyone is in this community,” testifies Jackson. “Even teachers that I have never had, or people from other Houses who I have never really talked to, I still feel like I know them already. I can go anywhere on campus, and I never feel like an outsider or that I am not welcome. I am never nervous to walk into a room full of people I have never met before. It shows me how accepting this community is.”

While the village analogy is appropriate on so many levels, this does not mean that the School is insular and removed from the rest of the world – indeed this is far from the case. The School leadership has worked hard to make Shawnigan accessible and to create a place of belonging and diversity. In many ways, the School can be seen as a microcosm of the world, with scholarships bringing in people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds from across Canada and around the globe. This academic year, the School is composed of students from 35 countries as well as staff from all over the world. Students regularly have the chance to celebrate and explore each other’s customs, history, food, sayings, and music. To live, study, and compete alongside people from such diverse backgrounds makes the world that much smaller – and the Shawnigan community that much stronger. While celebrating each other’s differences, students and staff also discover what makes them similar, and it is this, perhaps, that fortifies the Shawnigan community more than anything else. The village only works because of the diversity found within it and the unique contribution that each person makes.

It all adds up to a place that is exceptionally supportive and inclusive and makes students like Jackson feel they are well cared for. “I can honestly say that I am a happier person being at Shawnigan,” he reflects. “And if things are not going well, I have terrific roommates, awesome friends, and supportive adults to rely on.”