Our student exchange trip from Nuvviti school, Ivujivik, QC to St-Jean-Vianney College, Montréal, QC expanded our students’ minds and futures to new possibilities. Nuvviti school is in the northern village of Ivujivik, QC, the northernmost settlement in any Canadian province and home to an Inuit community. We were joined by students from 2000km away in St-Jean-Vianney College in Montréal, and the exchange between students from both schools resulted in great benefits. As chaperones, we supervised the students and focused on educational and inspiring group activities.
“Our approach promoted compassion between students of differing backgrounds and personalities”.
Throughout the week, students had full days of activities, starting with an early breakfast and ending in the evening with a fun group activity. Most evenings ended with the group swimming in the hotel pool. It might seem like an ordinary activity, but our students were looking forward to this before the trip even started! Before our arrival to Montréal, we ordered swimming suits for all our students because there are none available in Ivujivik.
Group photo
On our arrival, Claudine and Philippe from St-Jean-Vianney College waited for us at arrivals of the airport with a sign in our language of Inuktitut! After our day of travelling, our students enjoyed their first dinner at a restaurant in Montréal. On Sunday morning, we took public transportation which was an exciting first-time experience for many students. We visited the Biodome, the planetarium, the insectarium, passed by the outdoor gardens, and had lunch in one of the buildings. The evening was spent go-karting, at the arcade, and playing paintball with some of the southern students and it was nice to see both student groups bonding. In our community, driving a small vehicle and shooting are activities to get food from nature, but this time we did it to have fun.
On Monday, the day was spent visiting the students at St-Jean-Vianney College. They showed our students their school’s different facilities, and we were in awe of their full-sized soccer building, arena, dance room and multi-sport gym! There was a Q&A between students from both schools and all students ate lunch together, which gave an opportunity for students to create new bonds. Our students played volleyball and watched dance performers and pre-university basketball players. After the school visit and dinner, our students looked forward to swimming in the hotel pool.
Airport welcome sign
On Tuesday, we met the southern students at Mont-Royal and walked from the bottom of the mountain to the top. The journey up the road of the mountain was easy and fun for everyone, and students rested at the top while enjoying the view. In the afternoon, we went to a bank to let our students open a bank account, something that is impossible in Ivujivik. Having a bank account is now essential to living in Canada, and our exchange trip was able to open important doors for our students. St-Jean-Vianney-College gifted us tickets to a hockey game, and we spent the evening at the Bell Center watching the game. We were amazed that there were more people in the arena than in our region of Nunavik!
On Wednesday morning we left early to reach Kiuna school in Odanak, the first First-Nations school we visited. We wanted to show our students that they can attend a post-secondary school sensitive to their cultural needs. We were introduced to the students, their classrooms and apartments, a museum, and ate delicious sandwiches made from local bread along with tea and hot chocolate in a cabin that was made just like ours.
“One student from Kiuna surprised us by telling us his father grew up in Ivujivik! Our students spent the rest of the afternoon playing laser tag and bowling, activities not yet available in Ivujivik but hopefully this will inspire our students”.
Kiuna Institution
On Thursday, we visited Nunavik Sivunitsavut, a popular post-secondary Inuit institution for our students in Nunavik. Our students had a chance to experience a preview of one class by a teacher and meet a few of the students. The staff showed them what a student attending Nunavik Sivunitsavut could expect, this was an invaluable experience that we planned to inspire our students to further their education. After, we went to the Centre des sciences where we watched an educational video about animals in the IMAX room and visited the different curiosity-inducing exhibits.
Our Friday flight was delayed but we made the best of it by getting the students haircuts and let them explore and shop at Place-Vertu. On Saturday, we headed to the airport early to check in and everyone was happy to go home with the new memories we created together. We had a wonderful time exploring Montreal and look forward to the next half of the exchange, when the southern students from St-Jean-Vianney College come to visit us in Ivujivik!
ᑑᒪᓯ ᒪᖏᐅᖅ | Thomassie Mangiok
ᑲᒪᔨᒻᒪᕆᒃ | Center Director | Directeur de centre
ᓄᕝᕕᑎ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕕᖓ, ᐃᕗᔨᕕᒃ | École Nuvviti School, Ivujivik
-
- Group photo
-
- Montreal subway
-
- Montreal subway
-
- Parc Olympique
-
- Museum
-
- Insectarium
-
- Classroom
-
- Gym activities
-
- Bus ride
-
- Mont-Royal
-
- Fun with friends
-
- Friendship
