 More than 40 parents attended Monday's PAC meeting for a presentation on last year's Grade 7 Quebec trip and a discussion about the trip going forward. It was exciting to see so many parents there and from the conversation it's clear that the trip means a lot to the school community.
We want to give a big thank you to Tennyson alum, Rachel, who gave a great presentation and answer lots of questions about her exchange experience. Thank you too to her mum, Karen Davies, who is currently co-chair of the Quebec 2021 team. Karen shared her thoughts on the fundraising for the trip and on hosting an exchange student. Rachel and Karen kindly offered to record their presentation for parents who couldn't make it to the meeting; we'll post it on the website when we get it. In the meantime, here is the Quebec 2021 Parent Presentation which is packed with useful information about the Quebec trip and the Quebec Futures Fund and Quebec Trip Document page which has all you need to know about planning and implementing the exchange. The key take-aways from the discussion that followed are:
Although no conclusions were drawn, it was good to have a conversation about something that is so important for all our children. Please feel free to post comments here to share you opinion. All voices are welcome.
Françoise
3/2/2020 06:54:04 am
I was unfortunately unable to attend the meeting, as I was accompanying the Grade 7s from General Gordon (where I teach Gr 6) on their own Quebec exchange. I agree that the exchange is a great opportunity for our kids. I strongly feel that a “trip” without the home stay experience would not be the same. I understand the huge amount of work that goes into organizing the trip, and I wanted to share one thing that seems to have helped Gordon secure the grant more easily in the past few years. We have found a school in Quebec that wants to partner with us every year, and it seems as though this may make the grant more likely to come through. By writing on their applications that they would happily partner up again, both the Quebec school and Gordon make the job of organizing the trip a little easier for all involved, and since doing so the grant has not been denied. I don’t know if this is an option for Tennyson as well, but I thought it was worth sharing.
Orla
3/2/2020 09:48:02 am
Thank you so much for your comment Francoise. I appreciate you getting the conversation started here and I value your expertise.
Anonymous
3/2/2020 09:49:51 am
I was at the meeting on Monday and some parents brought up that this dialogue is an opportunity for each family to consider the individual goals and needs of their child and family in relation to the goals and needs of the larger school community. In particular, an opportunity for families to address inclusion and safety for all participating and non-participating children. Comments are closed.
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