A group of 20 students from Magog, Que., was in Alberta last week on an exchange with students from Olds. Olds students went to the same Quebec town in February.
The group arrived in Alberta on May 4 and toured Banff and the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller and some of the students went to West Edmonton Mall. The students also took part in various school activities with students from Ecole Olds Elementary School and Deer Meadow School.
Sarah Paquin, a Grade 7 student at École Secondaire La Ruche in Magog, said she liked going to Banff and experiencing the view.
“We don't have mountains like that in Quebec. The view is so beautiful,” she said.
Paquin added all the students in Olds were patient and understanding and it was great to visit with them.
Audrey Roy agreed with her classmate that Banff was the best part of the trip to Alberta.
“I think it's Banff. The view is beautiful,” she said.
Roy said talking to the students in Olds was a lot of fun and they made the trip a great experience.
“It's cool. Even if you don't know them, you can go talk to them and they're just friendly,” she said.
Paquin said most students in Quebec learn English from Grade 1, but not English immersion.
Kim Simoneau, a Grade 7 student from Deer Meadow School who went on the trip to Magog in February, said it was neat to have the Quebec students visit her school.
“It was kind of cool to show new people around the school. It was kind of interesting. They thought it was really small compared to theirs. It's like having another sister around. It was cool to like, have new people (around) and learn what they do,” she said.
Jane Atkins, a French immersion coordinator for Chinook's Edge School Division, said the group from Magog was “here to improve their English and find out what culture is like in Alberta.”
“It's a fantastic opportunity, because they make new friendships and, No. 2, they get the confidence that, ‘Yes, I can use what I've learned outside of my school and my community'.”
Vanessa Hardy, a Grade 2 French immersion teacher at EOES, said the trip provides her students a great way to interact with people who speak a different dialect.
“The great thing about the students from Quebec coming to our class is it gives our students first-hand exposure to francophone people. It's not something that they get to encounter on a regular basis, and unless they do a lot of travelling, may never really encounter, so having that come to us is a wonderful opportunity,” she said.
