This past week at the school, we were treated to some awesome costumes, exciting contests, and plenty of laughter and smiles as we came together to celebrate Halloween! This holiday is always an exciting time at the Senior School, and the Bolton Penguins definitely stepped up to the plate and donned their finest getups. Surprisingly, however, there were no penguin costumes to be found… We did have a chicken and a dinosaur, though.

On Halloween night, everyone in the house helped to transform the first and second floors into a haunted house trick-or-treating experience. Both the traffic and the screams were at an all-time high as we welcomed trick-or-treaters from every single house in boarding.

Our Bolton Penguins, including Seb and Oscar, were not slacking on the academic front, as evidenced by the careful measurements and painstaking calculations on display in Physics 12.

In that same class, Oscar and his classmates were treated to some amazing field hockey action by the SMUS Senior team, who were recently crowned provincial champions for the first time since 1996..!

Ai, Teigan and his classmates were working hard on their drawings with Mr. Ingmundson…

… while Josh and Connor, under the guidance of Mr. Farish, displayed their musical talents in band class.

Marcus and the Junior Soccer team wrapped up their season with an exciting Islands tournament at UVic.

Connor, Declan, Peter and several of their friends watched the movie Up in the common room on the weekend.

Lastly, the Bolton Penguins came together on Sunday evening to host a brilliant Boarder’s Chapel for the other houses and their houseparents! Peter, Ai, Seb and Lucas were recognized for their willingness to go above and beyond to make the whole night a huge success.

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We now look ahead to a slightly short week that culminates with the annual Remembrance Day Service. Until the next post, stay safe, and be on the lookout for a special Bolton Chapel video in the next issue!

(In case you missed it: link to Nokia’s art piece being showcased in our school’s SMART Magazine – https://www.smussmart.com/volume2issue1 )

Hello everyone! This week was met with the change into term two and a change in weather into a whole lot of rain. The Penguins stayed busy this week with their new classes, sports, advisee activities and of course, getting ready for Monday’s Halloween festivities.

On Saturday night, we got a taste of what is come for Halloween costumes. Also, the Grade 12’s hosted a haunted house in Brown Hall. It was a big success, but there weren’t many photos as we were too scared to enter!

On Monday during assembly, our resident physics expert Ernest had the opportunity to present what the Physics club has been up to so far this year.

We like to gather our advisee groups through the beginning of each year to spend some time together. This week, Mr. Kim and Mr. Danskin each gathered their groups to make a few sheets of nachos.

This week there were handful of at home volleyball games played by our senior team. The Penguins were represented by Leupold on the court and there were plenty cheering in the stands.

Following the Halloween theme, Rev. Fletcher told some scary stories during chapel this week. This was followed by a lighthearted rendition of “Country Roads” (Rev Fletcher’s scary chapel)

Out on the soccer field Seb and Harun have been representing Bolton House. They have had many games over the last few weeks including a win this Sunday morning!

Homeroom classes can get up to a variety of activities throughout the week. In Mr. Kim’s homeroom there was a trick shot challenge going on. Here we see Hanson and Marcus attempting to bounce their way to success.

The always creative Nokia designed this pair of jeans recently. You can see that he used multiple pairs of jeans to piece these together. Take a closer look to identify all the different parts!

Saturday’s are always filled with activities for the juniors. This Saturday Mr. Kim took a group from a mix of houses to an escape room. The group was successful in escaping with only 4 minutes 56 seconds remaining!

We are now fully into term 2 and will celebrate Halloween tomorrow! Look forward to next week, we should have many pictures of the boarders clever costumes.

Hi everyone! It has been a busy week here at SMUS, with lots of school and boarding events on the go. The weather has also started to turn here in Victoria, with temperatures dropping rapidly and the rain starting to show itself..! Nevertheless, our Bolton Penguins took to the streets all week and made tons of memories throughout.

On Monday, the Senior School teachers prepared some delicious chili for the students! Although it was not meant to be a competition, it is probably fair to say that there was some “friendly” competition brewing amongst the departments 😂

The Penguins were also busy academically this week, with labs and presentations on the agenda for much of the week.

Bolton was busy on the athletics front as well, with the soccer season quickly approaching its climax. The senior boys team head into Islands season, with a few remaining league games that will be crucial in helping them book a spot in the tournament.

The Grade 9 rugby team had an exciting week as well, with the crew hosting a St. Georges side after school in beautiful sunny conditions. Several Penguins suited up to prevail over the Vancouver side by a margin of two tries. Declan scored a highlight reel try by running over half of the field..!

Both the junior and senior volleyball teams competed in their respective leagues this week, with exciting action being offered up on the court several days in a row.

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On Thursday night, everyone in the house walked down to a local institution, McRae’s, for a group dinner. We filled the place and had a great time!

Saturday activities were a big hit this weekend, with our house taking part in exciting adventures like croquet, an aquarium adventure, and even a haunted house mini golf extravaganza!

On Sunday afternoon, our very own Savo and Alex from Barnacle suited up for Westshore Rugby Club against CW Rugby Club. Both of them played well, and both were able to enjoy a very well-deserved hot dog after the game!

We now look ahead to the first week of Term 1, before we ramp up to Halloween next Monday. Stay tuned for updates on all of the fun events happening next week, and until then, adios!

Bolton penguins have been busy academically, as well as in the outdoors with the Grades 9-11’s exploring the beautiful corners of British Columbia.

While the students do have a positive momentum with all of their wonderful endeavours, everyone is looking forward to a long weekend break for Thanksgiving. This will give students a chance to leave campus, to pause, and to reflect on all of their accomplishments so far this year.

Here are some photos of our Bolton crew from the most recent Grade 10 out trips. As a teacher, I have to say I am jealous of getting out of the classroom and into the outdoors!

Both the Jr. and Sr. Soccer teams continue their efforts on the school pitch with support from the Bolton Penguins.

Each year, September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

SMUS boarding students participated in the South Island Powwow hosted by the Songhees nation. It was a beautiful ceremony, and it was an honour to be a guest for the day. For more information about the event, visit https://www.songheesnation.ca/south-island-powwow

Here are a few other shots from various Saturday activities around Victoria.

And finally, we have a lot to be thankful for – both in the beautiful city where we live and on our campus made up of so many unique cultures and identities. As house parents this Thanksgiving, we are grateful for all of the Bolton penguins who contribute to our culture within Bolton house and who are working to grow personally and socially in this world. Here are a few photos of our semi-formal Thanksgiving feast as a Boarding Community.

This will be our last post for two weeks, but stay tuned for more Bolton action on October 16th.

Happy Thanksgiving from Bolton House!

Well it might officially be fall but we are still feeling the summer sunshine! There have been many events happening both at school and in the boarding community, with many groups even leaving town and the island to embark on exciting out-trips.

Soccer continues to be in full swing with several Bolton Penguins donning the fields and supporting from the sidelines.

With restrictions eased, the kitchen is getting more use this year as well. Ian C has already shown his culinary prowess while cooking up some delicious dishes!

Hard work wasn’t just reserved for the fields and the kitchen. Several Bolton Penguins were seen studying hard as well!

Several students play soccer in the community and Marcus plays for Bays United. He came back with all smiles after his game Saturday which he won and scored a goal!

On Saturday afternoon, the Grade 9s and 10s headed up to the University of Victoria to enjoy some high-quality rugby between the UVic Vikes and the Pacific Pride. The game was hotly contested, with a late try proving the difference in a narrow win for the Pride.

At this weeks Assembly, our school’s string orchestra, directed by our fantastic Ms. Guillen, performed a moving piece in front of the students and faculty.

Here is a picture from last weekend’s Terry Fox Run that didn’t make it into last week’s post! Mr. Kim and Hayes are looking quite happy about the weather.

On Friday night, the boarding community hosted its first Open Mic Night of the year! As you can see from the pictures and videos, the entire Sun Centre Commons was jam-packed with eager audience members.

On Sunday evening, Barnacle House treated us to a great Chapel, filled with piano and violin performances, speeches, slam poetry and a very well-crafted video. Kudos Barnacle! Stay tuned for the Bolton Chapel 👍

During our house meeting, we sang a very happy birthday to our very own Justin!

We also chatted about our 6 Noble Promises during our meeting. Over a few sessions, the students in Bolton House compiled a list of 6 promises that we would make to ourselves in order to make our house, and our entire community as a whole, a more positive and welcoming place.

To cap off the weekend, the students in Mr. Kim’s advising group spent some time in the common room jamming out to music, rolling up their sleeves, and channeling their inner Salt Bae to create delicious nachos that were enjoyed by all!

We now head into a shortened week, with the four-day week culminating in an afternoon of learning regarding National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, to be commemorated on Friday. It will be a week loaded with learning and reflection, but I’m sure that the Bolton Penguins will find time to decompress and enjoy themselves throughout the week as well! Until next time, take care!

House Games

The first Sunday of the school year kicked off with house games. The games were the “House Olympics” which included six different events from filling a pipe with water from a boot to a cup stacking relay. Of course the games wouldn’t be complete without starting off with a house cheer which our Penguins were loud and proud and got Lucas into our penguin mascot costume!

House Games Videos

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Sr. Boys Soccer – 3rd place bronze medalists!

The Sr. Boys soccer season has started with our Mr. Fryer coaching with Sebastian and Harun from Bolton playing on the team. They were successful this weekend, placing 3rd! Good luck with the rest of the season!

Club & Council Fair

On Friday during lunch there was a club and council fair in the quad. The Penguins were well represented as they are involved in running multiple clubs around campus.