Quebec students here for exchange

With smiles and hugs, 30 students from Quebec City were welcomed to Fort Frances over the weekend.
This week, they’re on a cultural exchange with students at St. Francis School, practising English and learning about life in Northwestern Ontario.
“It’s very small,” said Helene Maquennetian just hours after arriving in Fort Frances.
She paused, trying to find the right English words. “Very small but beautiful,” she remarked.
Maquennetian is staying with 12-year-old Kayla Brady and her family this week. She even celebrated her 13th birthday while away from her Quebec home.
Martine Rochette said she was excited about the trip to Ontario—and to be reunited with her friend, Jennifer Hawley. The two have been e-mailing each other since Hawley and 26 other local French Immersion students visited Quebec City back in February.
“Both of us swim so we talk about that,” Rochette said.
The Quebec students took in Native Awareness and Catholic Education week activities at St. Francis.
They also will visit Sunny Cove Camp and the Manitou Mounds, and watch a performance of “Romeo and Juliet” at Fort Frances High School on Friday before travelling back home Saturday.
Dave Ouellet, the French monitor at St. Francis, said the exchange has been a positive experience for all the students involved.
“The main thing was about the French and English,” he said. “French for our students and English for the kids from Quebec.
“It’s also to know about the different cultures. It’s very different here in a small city than there in a big city,” he reasoned.