VOYAGE QUÉBEC 2012
At the end of the school year the French Immersion Grade 8 students will have the opportunity to travel to Québec. In fact, a group of twenty-eight students will spend seven days in La Belle Province. Half of the tour will be in the cosmopolitan centre of Montréal (the second most important Francophone city in the world, Paris being the first); and the other half will be in the hub of the French-Canadian culture, Québec City. Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Québec City still maintains the flavour and charm of the Old World: the fortifications, narrow roads, and reminiscent of both New-France and England of the 18th century.
The main focus of the trip is to provide the children with a unique French experience in authentic situations: to value and put into practice what they have been learning within the walls of classrooms. In addition, these few days will also nurture and enrich community skills as well as citizenship attitudes. We are staying in hostels where students will be sharing room, use public transport systems and walk a lot daily (sharing sidewalks with hundreds of other pedestrians); eating in a number of different restaurants, and shopping. In short, this is an educational and cultural experience blended with a lot of fun from sunrise to sunset.
This year the students will depart from our new Winnipeg airport in the early morning of Thursday, June 7th for Montréal, and for the return trip, we will fly out of Québec on Wednesday, June 13th.
The trip will provide the students with unlimited possibilities to enrich their learning through a variety of learning situations which include visits, touring, as well as hands-on and interactive activities: a real outdoor classroom.
The following is a brief itinerary descriptive:
a) Visitations and touring:
The Mont Royal, McGill University, the Musée des Beaux Arts de Montréal, Notre-Dame Basilica, Old Montréal, the Botanical Gardens, the ecosystems of the Biodôme, the Olympic Stadium, Old Quebec, Place Royale Interpretation Centre, Quartier Petit Champlain, Civilization Museum, Montmorency Falls, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre Basilica and more…
b) Fun, interactive and hands-on:
For some students it will be a first time flying and using a subway. They will have a lot of fun at a variety of venues such as: Laser Quest Adventure Game, bike tour of Old Montréal along the canal La Chine, La Ronde (Amusement Park), an evening with folk singer Pierre Leclerc, Disco boat Cruise on the Louis-Jolliet, interactivity on Plaines d’Abraham (le soldat de la tour #2), supper at l’Entailleur Sugar Shack on Ile d’Orléans, Village Valcartier Water Park, and more…
At the end of the day, the Québec Trip remains a life time experience for our students and a springboard when it comes to studying History in High School.
Finally, on a personal note and on behalf of the participating students, I would like to thank the Parents / Guardians and the Administrators for supporting the program, the fundraising committee for their hard work, the numerous Sponsors and Volunteers, and the community at large for their on going support.
H. Marie
Teacher