A local teacher wants to share her dream trip to France with students.
Drumheller Valley Secondary School teacher Lynn Hemming is planning a school trip to France’s Vimy Ridge for 2017. April 2017 marks the 100th anniversary Canadian forces won the battle of Vimy Ridge against German forces during World War I, also known as “The Great War”, losing an estimated 3,600 soldiers securing the ridge for Allied forces.
“I think Vimy Ridge marks a turning point in our identity where Canada really became recognized as an independent nation. And I think it’s really important to educate kids about the significance of Vimy Ridge, and how it impacted our perceptions of ourselves and our country,” said Hemming.
She said Vimy Ridge will be a busy destination in 2017, so planning for the trip is beginning early. The trip ties in with school curriculum, including starting out in Amsterdam visiting Anne Franks’ house. “The Diary of Anne Frank” is part of school curriculum, the diary was written by a teenager in hiding with her family for two years from the Nazis during World War II. From there the group travels to the 100th anniversary ceremony at Vimy Ridge.
“I think this trip is going to be very emotional. Just being there and recognizing the importance, and seeing the graveyards is going to have a powerful impact,” Hemming said. “And I think it will be something none of us will ever forget.”
Hemming thinks the impact on the students will be tremendous in realizing that many of the lives lost were close in age to their own.
A pre-trip research project will have students given a soldier’s name and them finding out all the information they can, and locating the soldier’s grave site in Europe. The group will also visit the trenches soldiers fought in. Hemming said the trip will continue to Dieppe, including a visit to Juno Beach, and the trip winds up with sight seeing in Paris. “It’s an opportunity for kids to walk in the place where history was made, and for history to really come alive,” said Hemming. Fellow teachers Dawn Sullivan and Brad Teske will be making the trip to Europe with Lynn Hemming and the school group.
A trip information for students who will be in grade 9 through 12 in 2017 and their parents is scheduled for October 30 in Kaleidescoope Theatre at 7 p.m.
