OTTAWA: GRADE NINES VISIT THE CAPITAL

From visits to the MINT Museum, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s home, a tour of the capital, and a glimpse into Ottawa’s oldest prison cell, our annual French trip was a success.

 Annual French Department’s Overnight Trip to Ottawa

Ms. Kimberly Blain, Kells Teacher

On a rainy November day, the grade nine students, Ms. Sikias, Ms. Blain, and Ms. Rubenovitch filed into a big yellow bus for the Annual French department’s overnight trip to Ottawa. The first stop was the MINT museum, always an interesting place to visit, where students got to learn about collector coins and saw first handedly how such coins are made. It was interesting to see all the international currency made at our own MINT museum as well as the unique Olympic medals they have created.

After a quick lunch, we headed back to the bus for a guided tour of Ottawa. The tour guide was very informative and taught us all about the different districts of Ottawa; he even showed us where our newly elected Prime Minister, Hon. Justin Trudeau, is living. As our cool winter days were quickly approaching, I think everyone was delighted to have this tour inside the comfort and warmth of the bus!

Our next stop was Ottawa’s oldest prison for the Ghost and Gallows tour (a prison that has now been turned into a Hostel). The grey and rainy weather made for perfect ambiance as we were guided through this eerie and ancient establishment. We were told about the many spooky and inexplicable occurrences that happened in this old building, as we made our way through the old prison cells. I think we all agreed that, although it was no longer a prison and was currently being used as a hostel, we were all very content to be staying at the Travel Lodge instead.

Finally, we were off to the Lonestar Café where the students enjoyed a feast of fajitas. After dinner, we returned to the hotel and the students took advantage of the indoor water park and enjoyed some down time before bed.

Our last stop the next day, before making our way back home, was The Canadian Museum of History. Here the students had an opportunity to explore the many exhibitions on ancient civilizations and watched an IMAX production entitled Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure. The movie told the amazing story of an explorer who set off to discover Antarctica and did everything in his power and beyond to survive the cold and to lead his team back to safety. With his courageous expedition fresh in our minds, we were finally ready to head back to our own land of Montreal!