Yellowknife (Apr 12/06) - Last week was the first time 12 visiting students from Ontario had ever been on a plane, let alone see the North.

Participating in a student exchange, students from a private school on the Tyendinaga Mohawk reserve outside Belleville, Ont., got the chance to see how students from this side of the country live and learn.

The exchange is sponsored by Kids From Kanata -- a group dedicated to educational exchanges with a focus on First Nations cultural experiences -- and the charitable organization Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada (SEVEC).

Range Lake North students fundraised since last year to host the Ontario group, but also plan for their very own exchange to a school in Winnipeg on April 19.

Grade 8 teacher and exchange organizer Karan Spoelder said she is looking forward to the week-long trip to the South East College -- a private aboriginal school.

"The benefits of an exchange are making connections with people you would never meet otherwise," said Spoelder.

She said this was the first year Range Lake North had ever hosted an exchange with so many students.

Range Lake student Joey Poodlat, 14, is looking forward to the exchange.

"It'll be fun. I'll be able to find out more about my heritage," he said.

And what did the Ontario students think about Yellowknife?

"It's cold," said 17-year-old Oak Maracle.

Maracle is part of the Adult Mohawk Immersion course and decided to come to Yellowknife to see what Northern aboriginal culture is all about.

"We went dog sledding and got to go snowshoeing as well, which was my favourite," he said.

Visiting classroom assistant and chaperon Tanya Bardy said the exchange students were having a wonderful time experiencing Yellowknife. "It's good to understand different households," said Bardy.