Grade Ten Quebec Trip

“Joyeux Carnaval!” A phrase often heard on the streets of Quebec City for three wonderful weeks in February.  From February 11th to 15th, students from the grade ten French classes from Assumption College and Holy Trinity high schools participated in the opportunity of a lifetime: Quebec City for a long weekend.  The trip gave students an immersive, entertaining, and educational look into the culture, cuisine, and language of Quebec City. The trip featured many activities throughout the city including snow tubing, dogsledding, skating, hikes, and a healthy number of stops to the many delicious restaurants that Quebec has to offer.  A very important aspect of the trip was for students to realize the value of learning French.  It is often hard to picture using lessons learned at school being used in real life scenarios but the in-class knowledge of day-to-day phrases such as ordering food, greetings, and general instructions was invaluable in a francophone environment.

Staying true to our Catholic roots, we visited two churches. The first one being the Basilica Cathédrale Notre Dame de Québec, in which we attended a beautiful mass (in French of course), and the second was the famous Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.  Both churches were absolutely beautiful and radiated the spirit of the Catholic religion.  Though the weather was often cold, the students of both schools rarely complained and dressed for the weather.  Many expectations of the students were not only met but also exceeded.  If any of the students were to be asked of their time in Quebec they would have nothing but positive things to say.  Salut and once again, Joyeux Carnaval!

Written by:  Josh Squeo