Grade 10s Immerse themselves in French in St-Donat

As the bus ride nears the end of its eight-hour journey, one notices the mountains rising up on both sides of the highway and the heavier blanket of snow covering the pines. At each rest stop, the temperature feels a little colder and the offerings at the usual highway restos take on that familiar French twist –oeuf McMuffin, poulet McCroquettes, les frites, and the ever popular la poutine. The stage is set for our adventure.

Upon our arrival this year, we were immediately greeted by a moniteur who addressed the students in French, which of course remained the language of preference for the next four days. All of the students’ interactions with the facilitators on site, the waiters in the dining hall, the ski/snowboard instructors on Mont Garceau, as well as merchants in the town were in the target language. The entire community was on board with helping the students to express themselves in French. All members were equipped with billets to hand out to the students who made an effort in this regard. Students wrote their names on these tickets and entered them in a draw each evening. Two of our students, Gwyneth MacFarlane and Jose Torrealbas, won prizes for their efforts – a box of delicious cookies from the Boulangerie du village and an iTunes gift certificate!

Each day our students enjoyed skiing or snowboarding on Mont Garceau. This half-day activity included a 1 ½ hour lesson – in French, of course. Some of our more advanced skiers then took to the hills while our beginners worked hard to hone their new-found skills. All eventually rode the chairlift to the top where they were blown away by the spectacular views. The other half day was taken up with music lessons, recording a song about our own legend (Les chutes Darwin), a treasure hunt in town and cross-country skiing. During the frosty evenings, we played co-operative outdoor games, snow-shoed through a ravine, and skated along a magical path which meandered through 1 ½ km of forest. This latter activity took place during a magical snowfall, making for superb photo ops!

After our outdoor evening activities, all 106 participants came in for an evening performance. Thursday night was the Spectacle du talent, at which CDS shone with piano, banjo and singing acts by Sam Cantor, Julia Garbe, Megan Davies, Olivia Railton and Trinity de Simone. Those not wishing to attend the dance, which capped off each night, had the opportunity to learn Cirque du Soleil type skills, from juggling to balancing acts to plate twirling under the guidance of the outrageously talented moniteurs.

As always, the vive l’hiver! spirit of the Quebecois was remarkable. Their enthusiastic embrace of this season and all it has to offer was evident in the warm smiles and high energy of all whom we met - from tiny skiers at their Saturday lessons through the millennials on up to the octogenarians, our instructors and guides, who embrace this time of year with an infectious energy that was not missed on the CDS participants. Their example helped us to brace ourselves against -30 degree temperatures which could not defeat our group – they only served to fire us up, with a little chocolat chaud and poutine to help keep us going!

The 2015 St-Donat experience was once again a tremendous success. As in years past, it has inspired our students and enhanced their appreciation of our cousins to the east!