Mississauga Junior High Students Write and Design Their Ultimate Class Field Trip

--St.Pio of Pietrelcina School Wins National History Contest--

WINNIPEG, May 11, 2012 /CNW/ - Canada's History Society today revealed the six lucky Canadian classrooms who have won the "Ultimate Class Field Trip" for Canadian history and social studies students.

Throughout 2011 teachers were invited to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Parks Canada by entering their classrooms in a nation-wide contest to write about Canada's national historic sites. Canada's History received hundreds of illustrated stories interpreting the people and events associated with these national historic destinations.

"We wanted to provide students with an opportunity to discover and explore these sites for themselves through the research they undertook to create their stories; as well as by offering an opportunity for them to get out of the classroom and visit these places," said Deborah Morrison, president and CEO of Canada's History Society.

"We know a lot of schools no longer have the budgets to offer these kinds of authentic learning experiences for kids that can have a profound impact on their attitudes about history and heritage especially.  We are very grateful to our project partners Parks Canada and EF Educational Tours who have so generously contributed to the travel and admissions costs to make these trips possible."

"We've seen how students change through trips that help make their textbooks come to life," said Greg Owen, Vice President of Public Affairs and Event Tours at EF Educational Tours.  "They become more engaged in the world around them.  EF is thrilled to be able to partner on this program that enables these students to 'learn it by living it'."

"Our national historic sites inspire Canadians to learn about, appreciate and explore fascinating stories related to the history of Canada," said Larry Ostola, Vice President, Heritage Conservation and Commemoration Directorate, Parks Canada.  "We're delighted that these students will have the opportunity to visit some of the 167 national historic sites that Parks Canada manages and to make their own connections with these special places."

The Grand Prize winners are the Grade 7 and 8 students of St.Pio of Pietrelcina School in Mississuaga, Ontario. "Ty's Cross Country Adventure" traces the travels and reflections of a young metis student to 23 national historic sites. The project stood out for the judging panel because of the extra time and attention they paid to weaving their stories together into one narrative with each student using the same central figure in their illustrations.

"My students and I are eagerly awaiting our trip to Ottawa in May," beamed St. Pio teacher Kelly Campbell.  "When I told the students that we won the Ultimate Class Field Trip contest, they were extremely excited - there were even a few tears. I am very proud of all of their entries. We anticipate experiencing some of them first hand when we visit Kingston and Ottawa. "

For their efforts Ms. Campbell and her students have won an all-expenses paid 4-day trip to the nation's capital between May 14-17^th

Five regional prizes of a day-trip were also awarded to the following schools:

High Road Academy, Chilliwack BC
Teacher Julie Lade and her Grade 11 students travelled to Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site on April 28.

Westminster Secondary School, London, ON
Teacher Tim Evenden will be taking his Grade 10 students to Fort George National Historic Site on May 29

Eston Composite School, Eston, SK
Teacher Marea Olafson will be taking her Grade 8 students to visit Batoche National Historic Site on June 6

Ecole-Ste-Therese-de-l'Enfant-Jesus, St-Jerome, QC
Teacher Manon St-Hilaire and her Grade 6 students will be travelling to Fort Chambly National Historic Site and the Lachine Canal National Historic Site on June 6

Halifax Independent School, Halifax, NS
Teacher Rebecca Baker will be escorting her students to Port-Royal National Historic Site on June 11th.

The second annual Ultimate Class Field Trip contest for 2012 is already underway.  Schools have until December 31, 2012 to complete their stories for this year's contest. The Grand Prize class will be traveling to the Niagara Region to explore Canada's War of 1812 historic sites in Spring, 2013.  Teachers can visit CanadasHistory.ca/UltimateClassFieldTrip for full contest details.

Joanna Dawson
Education and Outreach Coordinator
Canada's History Society
[email protected]
204-988-9300  ext 225

Kelly Campbell
St. Pio of Pietrelcina Elementary School
4765 Huron Heights Dr., Mississauga
[email protected]
[phone]