Cloe Maisonneuve will be attending the Lycée Fabert in Metz, France.
Olivier Roy will be attending the Lycée Ernest Bichat in Lunéville, France.
Mac Olsen
Express Staff
@SmokyRiverExprs
Cloe Maisonneuve and Olivier Roy, Grade 11 students at Ecole Heritage in Falher, are looking forward to travelling to France at the end of this month.
They will be going to separate schools as part of an international student exchange program.
“I’m excited about everything,” says Maisonneuve. “I can’t wait to see what it will be like.”
Maisonneuve has done a lot of travelling with her family over the years and she’s wanted to participate in a student exchange program.
Roy is also looking forward to a new adventure, especially meeting new people and participating in new activities. He travelled to Moncton, New Brunswick several years ago and participated in a French education program and enjoyed it.
Maisonneuve and Roy are fluent in French, although Roy wants to improve his fluency while there. They leave on Feb. 29 for the month of March.
“École Héritage welcomed two exchange students Arthur Lang and Emma Bastien in October 2015,” says principal Nicole Walisser.
“The return visit will be an exceptional experience for our students Olivier and Cloé, where they will reconnect with their exchange students. They will be immersed in the French language and culture.
“The experience will go beyond that of a tourist, as they will live like résidents of France. The trip will reinforce the importance of the French language beyond Falher, beyond Alberta and beyond Canada. They will experience French at the international level. How amazing is that!
“Je suis tellement fière de nos élèves d’avoir eu le courage à s’aventurer dans cet échange, et tout ça au nom de la francophonie!”
She also says the French Language Resource Centre of Grande Prairie – which serves High Prairie School Division, Peace Wapiti, Conseil scolaire du Nord-Ouest, Grande Public, Grande Prairie Catholic, Holy Family and Peace River School Division – secured a partnership with the Nancy-Metz region of France in May 2015.
It was done for a number of projects aimed at recognizing the importance of global education and intercultural development for student and teacher exchanges.
Roy will be at the Lycée Ernest Bichat in Lunéville and Maisonneuve will be at the Lycée Fabert in Metz.
Walisser will hold a two-day mentorship with the principals in each of those lycées and she will accompany the seven students to France, and then return March 6.