A trip for education, lessons for a lifetime
May 25, 2022 Innisfil, Ontario By: Atakan Elalmis
Mr.Froese’s History class is not only about learning about the history of Canada itself, but History of the entire globe.
This year is an important one for Mr.Froese’s grade 10 class as this is the first year that the students can travel outside of Canada for a European field trip since the global pandemic began.
The Community trip to Europe.
History Class at Nantyr Shores is taught by the brilliant Mr.Froese, who provides students with teachings of Ancient civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, to modern history such as WWI.
This year for our history students it is as exciting as ever due to 2022 being the first year that students can travel outside of Canada since the global pandemic began. Students will be traveling to the likes of Paris, Amsterdam and more. The Digital Journalism Team asked Mr.Froese about the trip itself and he provided a great display of what students will be doing.
The trip begins with students leaving Canada, students will board a plane and have an overnight sleep before they land in Paris. Within the first few days of Paris, students will have a walking tour of the Latin Quarter. The Latin quarter is famous for its bars and cabarets within the city. Students will then catch a glimpse of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, famous for its Gothic Architecture.
After another sleep, on day four, students will have the opportunity to explore Paris on their own, picking up a souvenir or two or enjoying many eateries Paris has to offer. The trip picks up with the 5th day, students will have a guided tour of famous tourist destinations such as Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Les Invalides and the most famous Eiffel Tower.
The students will later find themselves in Amsterdam. After a Seine River cruise on day 7, day 8 will be spent visiting Omaha Beach. Omaha Beach was the codename for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings during WWII. Other places that will be visited include Abbaye d'Ardènne, the Juno Beach Centre and more. Day 10 will be the most packed day with students ending the trip with visits to many museums and burial sites of ancestors and family who have long passed. Places included are the Bény-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, the Canadian War Memorial and Cemetery in Dieppe, Ypres via Arras and Vimy, Roclincourt Military Cemetery, Bois-Carré British Cemetery, Vimy Ridge Historic Site and stand by the Vimy Memorial, Essex Farm Cemetery, In Flanders Fields Museum and finally a Guided Sightseeing Tour of Amsterdam Visiting the Anne Frank House.
The tour will take place across 3 countries and span over two weeks. The trip will not only educate students but also give them an ecstatic “field trip” before the end of the school year.
What do students think of the field trip to Europe?
The first student interviewed was Meia. Meia was asked why she decided to take history as a course she replied, “I find History interesting and so does my family, I would like to be involved with more topics, so I am choosing to educate myself on Ancient civilizations.” Atakan then asked, ``Are you excited about the field trip and what are you looking forward to?” Meia says “I feel very excited, I am looking forward to Amsterdam and I will be the first in my family to visit the burial site of my great uncle buried in Belgium.”
The second student questioned was Hayley, Hayley says “I really like history, more specifically War history and I wanted to educate myself on that topic”. We also asked what she wanted to see the most during the trip and she replied “”I'm excited to go on the field trip as I have never been to Europe before, I feel really excited about going to Vimy Ridge.”
Finally we interviewed Kendal, a grade 11 student in the course. Atakan asked why she took history she said “I chose history as the class itself starts with early topics such as ancient egypt and vikings, I knew these topics would be present beforehand and was ecstatic to take the class.” The final question of the interview was, what made her want to go on the trip, she said “I am extremely excited! Due to Covid I have never been on a trip in a very long time, and after hearing about the field trip, I couldn't be happier. I am looking forward to Paris”.
Whether you are looking to become more educated about past battles, or wanna learn about something from the past such as ancient Egypt, History class is always an exciting place to be.