What’s happening in Rainbow Schools?
Rainbow students attend 100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge in France
Students from Rainbow Schools will relive an important part of Canada’s history when they attend the ceremony commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge on Sunday, April 9, 2017. Students will also visit the new Vimy Visitor Education Centre near the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
During the First World War, many Canadians lost their lives at Vimy Ridge, but the allied forces emerged victorious. “The success at Vimy was a pivotal moment in Canadian history, one in which soldiers from across the country came together to fight for democracy,” says Lasalle Secondary School Principal Maureen McNamara.
A total of 42 students from Lasalle Secondary School, Lockerby Composite School and Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School are participating in the educational excursion. Their visit to Europe will begin on Monday, April 3, 2017 with a tour of London and end on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 with a tour of Amsterdam.
Teachers from the participating schools will accompany students, including Principal McNamara, a former history teacher. “Students have learned about the importance of the trip in history and civics classes,” she says.
“The recognition of Canada’s role in WWI at Vimy Ridge provides students with the opportunity to reflect on our past as a people and a nation.” She adds: “It instills a sense of pride and, more significantly, inspires us to think about what it means to be a member of a local and global community. It will be a time to consider the role we all play as contributing members of society here at home and around the world.”
While in London, students will visit the Imperial War Museum and will have an opportunity to see Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, St. Paul’s Cathedral and (possibly) the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Students will attend a Vimy 100 commemorative ceremony by the Canadian High Commission at Green Park Memorial.
Following a day of sightseeing in Canterbury, Dover Castle and Kent, students will take a ferry across the English Channel from Dover to Calais. In the Vimy Region, they will visit the Vis-en-Artois British Cemetery and Wellington Quarry, an underground museum that explores the tunnel network used by the Allies in the First World War. While in Amsterdam, students will visit the Jewish Historical Museum and Anne Frank House.
-30-
Media Contact:
Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-674-3171, ext. 7217.