Thirteen students from Immaculata Catholic High School will travel to Aklavik, N.W.T. in April as part of a unique exchange opportunity with Moose Kerr High School.
Aklavik is a small town of roughly 600 people, located close to Inuvik in one of the most northern areas of the Northwest Territories, near the Yukon border.
The students will be staying for a week with local families whose children are also participating in the exchange.
The transportation costs of the trip are being covered by SEVEC, an organization that uses government funding to provide exchange opportunities for young Canadians between the ages of 12 to 17.
Daria Borland, an Immaculata teacher who is co-organizing the exchange and will be travelling with the students, says this opportunity was made available to all Grade 10 and 11 students at the school.
“One of the great things about this exchange is that it’s really not limiting to any students financially,” she says.
Although Immaculata collected $100 cheques from each participating student as a safeguard, it hopes to fundraise the money it needs and return the cheques.
According to Sarah Murray, an Immaculata student participating in the exchange, the group is holding a bottle drive the week following Super Bowl Sunday.
It’s perfect timing, she says.
The school also plans to approach local businesses for merchandise it can raffle off to the student body.
Murray says she wants to do this exchange to meet new people.
“It allows me to meet people even at my own school that I normally wouldn’t… and it brings students together more as a community.”
Valerie Gleeson, a member of the Immaculata staff, is teaching at Moose Kerr for the year. When she confirmed she would be teaching in the Arctic, she looked into setting up the exchange through SEVEC.
Gleeson says the Immaculata students will participate in an Aklavik feast in which the students will cook local meats, such as caribou, with the community elders.
The students will also get to watch a local drum-dancing group that will be performing at the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver.
“It’s going to be really neat for the students to hang out with one another and examine how many differences they have,” she says.
The 11 participating Aklavik students will be coming to Ottawa for a week at the start of May.
Although they are excited about visiting museums and Parliament Hill, Gleeson says they are also really looking forward to shopping opportunities.
“One girl just got a part-time job in Aklavik because she wants to save money to go to a mall,” Gleeson says.
In addition to exploring Ottawa culture, the Aklavik students are also using the exchange as a chance to view local colleges in both Edmonton and Ottawa. Since Edmonton has the closest colleges to Aklavik, the group will stay in the residences there before arriving in Ottawa.
Gleeson says this will expose them to some of the educational opportunities available.
Immaculata students will also participate in an eco-based project while in Aklavik by comparing ecosystems and discussing human impact.