It was a trip they will never forget.
In April, students of Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) learned first-hand some of the hardest battles Canadians have ever fought in, during their school division-wide trip to Vimy Ridge.
On Wednesday, May 24, three students of Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) opened up about travelling out of the country and being a part of history during a presentation for the NLPS school board.
It was an experience the students described as moving and patriotic, as they watched thousands of people dressed in red and white take-in the Vimy Ridge 100-year memorial ceremony.
The trip was nearly five-years in the making, but all of the planning was worth it.
“I started planning five years ago because I wanted every kid who wanted to go to be able to go,” said Barb Lenormand, trip organizer and NLPS teacher.
“This wasn't my first trip, but if it was my last, I'd say I went out with a bang.”
Fifty-two students, nine supervisors, and one nurse spent two weeks travelling among some of the greatest battle sites in Canadian history including Vimy Ridge, Belgium, and the Beaches of Normandy, before wrapping up their trip in Paris.
“I really enjoyed going to Juno Beach and the war memorials. It was surreal. When you were there, you felt the presence of the history,” described Erika Moore, Grade 12 student at BCHS.
“When you're there, there is so much history and so much drama, it was surreal. There were points where I just broke down and cried,” she added.
Learning from a textbook in a classroom is very different from being there in person.
Colton Bamber, Grade 11 BCHS student, said what he enjoyed most was the architecture.
“The way that they built them and how they were able to withstand so many years, and then talking about the history of these buildings, I just found that so intriguing and really cool to see,” Bamber explained.
Each student took in the experience his or her own way. Grade 9 BCHS student Natasha Bowman remembered being in the trenches of Passchendaele, where they listened to the sound of gunfire in an underground bunker.
“It was almost how it would have been if you were in the war and staying in these buildings,” she expressed. “You got to see exactly what it would have been like.”
Overall, the students were left in awe of the history of the places they travelled, and the role Canada played in it all.
On Sunday, April 9, the students travelled to the memorial site for the 100-year commemoration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. They stood among 25,000 Canadians in a sea of red and white.
Having seen the memorial in their history books, the students weren't prepared for the size and beauty of seeing it upclose.
“The moment I saw the Vimy Ridge memorial, that's when it hit me. That was emotional, and it was such a powerful moment,” Bamber expressed.
Moore described the ceremony as a dedication to Canadian heritage that brought many of the students to tears.
NLPS board chair Mandi Skogen was ecstatic that the students were able to take part in such a monumental trip.
The school board had to put a temporary suspension on international travel in 2015, but it was re-visited this school year because of the trip.
“Are we ever glad we did, because hearing the excitement in the kids voices and hearing what they learned hands-on as opposed to a classroom experience, that's why we have these opportunities for them,” she said.
The trip changed Moore's view on Canadian history. She said she now has a deeper understanding of what the soldiers would have been through, and has developed a love and need for learning more.
Skogen noted, “Students have different ways of learning… and so when you have these hands-on experiences such as going to these venues… they're not just seeing the words on a piece of paper or reading someone else's account of what happened, they actually get to be there and they put themselves in the place of the people who actually fought on the beaches… and I think that gives them a much more rounded learning experience.”
