Students to participate in cultural exchange

Students at St. Francis School will be brushing up on their French next month when they host a class of visitors from Montreal for one week.
A group of 24 Grade 6 students from the Académie St. Clément will be in Fort Frances from Feb. 7-13, staying with the families of students in Mike McInerney’s Grade 7/8 French Immersion class here.
The visit is part of an exchange arranged through the Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada, or SEVEC.
The group is a non-profit association, funded through the Department of Canadian Heritage, to provide youth exchanges—often between classes seeking an opportunity to learn another of Canada’s official languages.
“They’re really excited,” McInerney said of his students.
The two classes already have exchanged letters and soon will exchange e-mail addresses.
McInerney noted teachers interested in having their class participate in an exchange can register with SEVEC, who then twins that class with another classroom with similar ages and objectives.
It then is up to the teachers to pair individual students from each class, based on what they write about themselves in their letters.
The program also includes activities to give the students a chance to see the area and to practice their English.
Marie Brady, a member of the local chapter of Canadian Parents for French, said the students coming here from Montreal are learning English as a second language.
CPF is donating funds to help pay for some of the activities for the students, which may include curling, ice fishing, and a trip to the Fort Frances Museum.
The students in McInerney’s class then will spend a week in Montreal from May 10-16.
McInerney’s original goal had been to twin with a school in Quebec City so his students could attend the world-famous Carnaval de Quebec in February, but said he’s thrilled with the arrangements made by SEVEC nonetheless.
“Montreal in the spring is just beautiful,” he noted.
Brady said besides the language exchange, both groups of students will be able to compare rural and urban lifestyles.
The trip to Montreal also will be an opportunity for the local French Immersion students to put their knowledge to use.
“It gives them a real taste of French beyond the classroom,” Brady noted.