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| NEWS - March 9, 2010 |
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| Barrhead families host Quebec students |
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Andrew Serba
Leader Staff
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Twelve Barrhead homes are playing host to 12 students from Quebec for a week, giving the students a chance to learn about life in Alberta and practice their English before returning the favour.
Barrhead French immersion teacher Valérie Bessette said it is not every year that students from Barrhead Composite High School can set up an exchange with schools in Quebec. The demand is much greater than the number of schools in the province can supply, she said. Often, schools rely on "touristy" school trips to Quebec. While the trips provide students with the experience of using French from day to day, a student exchange is a chance for students to have a deeper cultural experience.
"For many of them, since kindergarden they’ve been learning French," Bessette said. "Now they can feel proud that they can converse with other people and they can see that there’s a benefit to what they’ve been learning. It’s not just to get a mark, they can use the language."
Before the BCHS students get a chance to practice their French in La Belle Province they’ll first give their host students a chance to learn about life in Barrhead and practice their English.
The 12 Grade 9 students involved in the exchange represent about half of the school’s French immersion population. The French immersion program spans Grades 7 through 9 and has 27 kids enrolled, Bessette said.
Barrhead’s guests made the trip from Dégelis, Que., last Saturday. Dégelis is a town of just over 3,000 located near the Quebec-New Brunswick border.
The Barrhead students met their hosts at the school for a reception before settling in for the evening and heading off to Jasper. They’re scheduled to return today. Tomorrow the exchange students will have a chance to explore the town while on a scavenger hunt and will head to classes at BCHS with their host students. A two-day trip to Edmonton and a pot luck dinner back in town will round the Barrhead side of the exchange off. Six weeks after their guests leave, Barrhead students will make the trip to Quebec to put their French lessons to the test. |
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