Make use of Alberta's Francophone Advantage
Georges P. Vanier Jr. High SchoolKerri Burchill, Assistant Principal
As with many immersion schools, Georges P. Vanier believes that students who live a language will be more engaged in the language process. By organizing a student trip to Edmonton, the school's aims were to validate the French language, and expose students to French cultural activities and the francophone community. With parent support, Vanier was able to use parent fundraising set aside for cultural activities and subsidize the cost of the trip to be $100 per person. Without exception, every Grade 9 student participated.
The trip included artistic workshops facilitated by francophone artists, French plays performed by students and an interesting tour of the Faculté Saint-Jean followed up by university student-led activities. Students also snuck in time at West Edmonton Mall's Waterpark and Galaxyland.
The first day started with an art workshop facilitated by the Centre d'Arts Visuels. There are a variety of workshops available through the Centre d'Arts Visuels and Vanier chose workshops that best suited their population. As the group was too large for the Centre's space, arrangements were made to host the workshop at the Bonnie Doon Community Hall. This hall was ample in size and offered a great playground and green space for lunch and breaks.
The presenters began by speaking to our group about the Group of Seven, Emily Carr and Jean Paul Lemieux. A PowerPoint presentation offered examples of the art they were describing to us. The Grade 9 group was then broken down into three random groupings. Each group worked on a different art activity, based on each of the three styles described in the presentation, each with a different medium. Students enjoyed the activities and it was great to go home with objects in hand. These activities had many entry points - students without art training were equally as successful and engaged as those having taken several art courses.
