Dedicated to the memory of The Reverend Canon W. H. Horace McClelland, MBE 1920-2011 The Report Card JULY 2012 / VOLUME 24, NUMBER 2 / PUBLISHED BY SHAWNIGAN LAKE SCHOOL ADVANCEMENT OFFICE 1 JULY 2012 / VOLUME 24, NUMBER 2 Headmaster’s Column Intimations of Immortality OLUMES OF POETRY, prose others, the more we shape and form their with planned, quality time together. They and song have been written relationship skills. Fittingly, more than ever allow young people room to grow through over the centuries about the before, no one is more sought after in the a multitude of learning moments, and, of finite nature of life and about realms of work and life than someone who course, they supply the different voices that beginnings and endings. Noth- knows how to relate well. wise parents have always tried to enlist in Ving, it seems, lasts forever. Wherever we Modern boarding schools are set their children’s development. turn, we can be confronted all too quickly up to educate young people not only The great frustration for all of us is that by reminders that we are mere travelers and academically, but also socially, athletically, we know that there are no second chances that, “this too shall pass . ” artistically, culturally and spiritually. It’s with many of these parenting decisions. Of course, most of us become reflective an acknowledgement that real education Just as a word uttered and heard can never or philosophical at that point and invari- has never been limited to the classroom. be recalled, we do not have the luxury of ably resolve to enjoy and recognize the Of course, many parents still struggle experimenting with our children. Life will worth of what we have. That is entirely as with the notion of “letting go” of their march on, whether we make conscious it should be, for we are at our best as beings children, of “sending them away,” or of decisions or no decisions. As the saying when we are in appreciative mode. Our “missing parts of their lives,” but the goes, “a man cannot step in the same river capacity to value each other, to love, to reality is that their sons and daughters twice, for he is not the same man and it is honor, to respect and to connect is indeed are being given a special gift. Apart from not the same river.” Time will take care of one of the features of our species that truly the obvious menu of superior opportuni- its passing and nothing goes on forever. sets us apart. We are wired and structured ties, boarding schools can cultivate the However, if we cannot achieve the to interact. independence that teenagers crave and immortality that Wordsworth alludes to Perhaps the greatest gift that we can parents angst over. It’s all done in a struc- in the poem borrowed for the title, we can bestow upon our children is helping them tured and guided environment so I call it at least aspire to the next best thing. Leav- to understand how to conduct themselves “controlled independence.” It may sound ing a legacy in the broadest sense of the when the “curtain goes up.” The more often like an oxymoron, but no more so than term must surely be a goal of most adults. we put young people in the company of the relativity of free speech, or individual That legacy can take many forms, but, in freedom itself. one of its more attractive guises, it stays For most parents, letting in the realm of character and qualities of go is increasingly perturb- being that last a lifetime. Most schools ing as the moment ap- aspire to prepare their students for the proaches; that moment next stage of their lives, but some go fur- when, running alongside ther; they aspire to prepare them for the the two-wheeler with the tests that life will set for them. They seek stabilizers off, you know to develop the habits and attitudes, the it’s time to release your self-belief and the work ethic, the values hold on the back of the and virtues that, in combination, will seat, but you can’t. Multi- make up their character. And, as another ply that feeling many times well-known quotation so aptly captures, and you have the dilem- “ . the applause soon fades away, the mas of parenting teens in spotlight dims, but the character you general. When to inter- build is yours forever.” vene, when to stand back, That’s as close as we will get to immor- when to let go—and how tality, because we invariably hope the same much to let go? Nobody character will color and shape the lives of has all the answers, but so many other fellow travelers. It is indeed schools like Shawnigan can one form of legacy that can live for a very supply the experiences that long time. will address many. Board- ing schools can actually strengthen family relation- ships by removing some of the traditional points of friction and replacing them David Robertson, Headmaster Photo: The Headmaster pays tribute to the guest of honour at Horace McClelland’s 90th birthday celebration in 2010. Read more about Horace’s legacy beginning on page 12. 2 SHAWNIGAN LAKE SCHOOL / THE REPORT CARD NEWS AT SHAWNIGAN 1st XV Defeats New Zealand Champs! by Ryan Panton HE SANIX WORLD RUGBY Youth Invitational Tourna- But somebody must have forgotten to tell Shawnigan. What ment has grown in stature since its inception in 2000, was meant to be a whitewash was more akin to a prize fight, a back and is now widely considered the unofficial high school and forth affair with bone-crunching tackling, incisive running and world rugby championship. Each year, eight top school- slick ball-handling on display from both sides. Against all odds, boy sides from around the world take to the pitch with the 1st XV made it to halftime leading 8-5. Could they withstand Teight teams from Japan for ten days of competition and camara- everything their foes could muster in the second half? derie. 2012 marked the fourteenth edition of the tournament, and Soon after Shawnigan stretched their perilous lead with two for the first time one of the teams invited to compete was clad in penalties, the Kelston side struck back with two quick tries and took black and gold and making the trip from Vancouver Island. a 15-14 lead with time quickly ticking off the clock. After playing Three other times Canada has sent teams to the Sanix Tourna- their opponents to a virtual standstill, it looked as though the 1st ment, and on each occasion the schools struggled mightily against XV would come up just short. The boys steeled their nerves and, their international opponents, registering only a single victory. after a frantic restart, earned a penalty just ten metres inside their The Shawnigan side that took to the field did so having already opponents’ half on the stroke of fulltime. Shortly after sizing up determined that, this year, things would be different. With three the biggest kick of his life, fly-half Guiseppe D. ’13 would play the consecutive Provincial titles under their collective belt, the team hero, coolly splitting the uprights and making the final score 17-15 was quietly confident in their ability to prove that Canadian high Shawnigan! school teams were capable of performing on the world stage. It was, without exaggeration, the biggest victory in the history And perform they did. of the Shawnigan rugby program and, possibly, in the history of After splitting their first two pool games against Japanese op- Canadian schoolboy rugby. The Shawnigan team became the talk ponents, the team entered the final day of pool play with a truly of the tournament, and were flooded with congratulations from daunting adversary before them: Kelston Boys High School, from supporters around the world. Though their victory was not enough the rugby hotbed of Auckland, New Zealand. Long known as a to see 1st XV through to the top half of the knockout stage of producer of top grade talent, including several current and former the tournament, they followed their historic win with two more, All Blacks, Kelston entered the match as favourites, not only for the eventually leaving Japan with a 4-2 record, a 10th place finish and games itself, but also the entire tournament. The defending New a lifetime of memories. Congratulations, boys! Zealand National Champions had overwhelmed the two Japanese To read more about Shawnigan’s experiences at the 2012 Sanix sides in the pool, and were looking to position themselves favour- World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament, please visit the team’s ably entering the knockout phase of competition. blog at http://shawnigan1stxvsanix.wordpress.com/. 3 JULY 2012 / VOLUME 24, NUMBER 2 NEWS AT ShAWNIGAN Hector McIntosh Award HE HECTOR MCINTOSH Speech Competition is held Congratulations to Maddie, and to all of the other Shawnigan annually in Duncan, BC, and features competition from students who submitted their work to the competition! – RP schools throughout the Cowichan Valley. Named in honour of a former Shawnigan teacher, the award was won this year by grade 11 student Maddie T. ’13. Maddie’s Tspeech, about real-life heroes, overcoming fears and exceeding ex- pectations, was selected by a panel of experts, and for her efforts she received a $1,200 prize to be used toward post-secondary studies. Here is an excerpt from Maddie’s winning submission: “Before I fell off that cliff I had heroes like Harry Potter, Super- man, and, because I was a bit of a nerd, Beowulf.