Terry Kruger
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 25/00) - Life for kids in Yellowknife is no different than their southern counterparts.

They enjoy hockey and ringette, computer games and bowling, cross-country skiing and gymnastics. They do not live in iglus.

And the students of Ecole Allain St-Cyr love their new home.

It's that and more than will be shared with listeners of Radio-Canada's French-language radio program for children on Monday.

From 5 to 6 p.m., St-Cyr and life in Yellowknife will be the topic of discussion on 275-Allo.

According to school principal Julie Bouchard, the program is special because the new St-Cyr fills a void in the Northwest Territories.

"We're the last (territory or province) to have a specialized francophone school," she said.

Students have long participated in the radio show, a national call-in program for children. The program producers thought a one-hour focus on St-Cyr and life in Yellowknife would be fitting, especially with Sunday's grand opening of the new school building.

"People are still fascinated by life in Yellowknife," said Bouchard.

In addition to talking over the phone with the show's host, the students will be fielding questions from young listeners around the country.

Grade 7 student Elie Forget-Manson, 12, admits to being nervous about taking part in a national radio show.

"I'm afraid of people asking dumb questions," he said.

Emily King, 13, hopes to dispel misconceptions about life in the North, "that we don't life in iglus and aren't so uncivilized."

That's a sentiment shared by Sebastien LeTourneau, 11 and in Grade 6. He moved here a year and two months ago, and said life here for him is the same as in the south.

"They want to know what kind of stuff we do here," LeTourneau said."

The radio show will also allow the young participants to reach out to relatives across Canada.

Pascale-Laure Savage, 11, has many relatives in Quebec and hopes they will be listening.

She doesn't want that same attention at home during the radio show, however, fearing her nerves might get the best of her when she's being interviewed over the telephone.

"I hope my family's not there," she laughed.