'It was probably the best trip of my life'
Encounters With Canada program organized trip to Ottawa
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Thursday, April 23, 2015
INUVIK
A group of seven high school students has returned from a week-long trip to Ottawa with a fresh perspective on their region and a lifetime of memories.
Seven students from East Three Secondary School spent a week in Ottawa recently as part of the Encounters With Canada program including, front row, left, Chantal Grey, Kyla Hvatum and Nina Verbonac, second row, left, Colin Pybus, the physical education teacher at East Three, Jackson Christie and Johnny Charlie and, back row, Davey Inglangasuk. Absent is Deklen Crocker. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
|
The students, led by East Three Secondary School physical education teacher Colin Pybus, were participating in the Encounters With Canada program.
"The encounters program has been in operation for 30 years, and the week before we got there, they had run through their 100,000th participant. They bring up to 150 students from across Canada to Ottawa for a week to participate in cultural and citizenship components. They augment that with various theme weeks," Pybus said. "We went for the sports, fitness and leadership week, which is pertinent to my job.
"The students were chosen from the high school body, and had all shown excellence in physical education and were high academic performers and had good attendance," he said. "Those were some of the precursors for selection."
The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs supplied a $4,000 grant to the students, Pybus said, and they also did fundraising.
As well, they were asked to pay a small part of the expenses of the trip.
The group attended a minor hockey game, had a tour of Parliament, and attended various workshops and forums relating to sport, recreation and leadership.
"There was a wide, wide variety of opportunities for them," he said. "They also took a citizenship module, and former Olympian Francois Ouellette was a guest speaker."
Jackson Christie was one of the students on the trip. He said several things left a major impression on him.
"It was probably the best trip of my life," Christie said. "We all became a family, and it was pretty hard to leave at the end."
"All of it was pretty much cool. The sports, the education modules, and we got to tour museums and Parliament."
Nina Verbonac said she was amazed at the chance to "meet all of the people from all around Canada."
"I had heard other students (who had done the trip) say that they had a lot of fun and had met a lot of people," she said.
"They learned a lot of new sports, so I wanted to try it out for myself."
Chantal Grey said "I loved the book camp that we did. And I liked the talent show at the end."
She first heard about the Encounters program while she was in Grade 9, and made plans from there to try to attend.
"I loved the chance to just go down to Ottawa and enjoy the experience," said Davey Inglangasuk. "It was great meeting a lot of people from all over Canada. I'd recommend it to anyone."
Pybus himself took part in the program as a high school student in the late-1990s, and the experience left an indelible mark on him.
"It was a program that I hold very close to my heart for the experiences I had," he said.
"I made friends that benefitted me going forward, and it probably was one of the first steps in me becoming a phys-ed teacher. I see a huge value in it for our students. One, just to travel to Ottawa and see the sights and sounds of the nation's capital, for such an inexpensive cost, is fantastic. I think it's beyond beneficial for them to experience just the youth of Canada and the regional cultures."
