A sweet day in Quebec City

After a good night’s sleep, our students started the day off right with a scrumptious breakfast at our hotel. We boarded the bus with our driver Stephen, and guide Harold at 8:30 am, ready and excited to see what our first full day in Quebec City would bring.

A memorable and pivotal period of Canadian history came to life during our visit to Battlefields Park and the Plains of Abraham this morning. Students took part in an interactive presentation, depicting the battle between the British and the French, and gained a better understanding of the events that helped build and shape this nation.

Students learned about the raids and strategies during the battles of 1759 and 1760. They were divided into teams and worked together to complete a variety of challenges which offered further insight into wartime conditions. Battlefield surgery was a particularly squeamish topic, and Grace played a convincing role as a wounded soldier.

After leaving the 1700s, and returning to the present, a walk-through of Old Quebec gave students an opportunity to visit such popular destinations as le Chateau Fontenac and la rue Saint-Jean, and also to step back in time again at Place Royale, the site of the first permanent French settlement established in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain.

At lunchtime, our students were hungry and excited to sit off on their own in small groups to get lunch, and to enjoy some free time in old Quebec as they explored the city within the ramparts. Fully recharged after their meal, they returned with a wide array of souvenirs to show their friends and teachers.

After lunch our group made their way to the Morrin center, a former jail house built 200 years ago. Here they learned about the life of its prisoners and the conditions of their imprisonment.

All the walking today gave our students a good appetite this evening for our meal at the Fabliau Do Sugar Shack. The owner, John Paul gave us a clear explanation of how sap is tapped from the trees, and made into various maple products. In the dining room, we enjoyed a traditional meal of pea soup, tourtière, bread, omelets, crêpes, potatoes, pork rinds, and of course, maple syrup.

The highlight of the evening was without a doubt when the musicians invited our students to play the wooden spoons and then try some group dancing. Nearly every student took to the floor and danced to traditional favourites and jigs. Our students smiles, laughter, and energetic performance on the dance floor said it all: they loved every second of it!

We finished our visit at the sugar shack this evening by sampling maple syrup, poured over crushed ice. The taffy was a sweet treat, indeed, and many of our Grade 8 students made sure they stopped off at the gift shop to get some tasty souvenirs of tonight‘s experience.

It has been a wonderful day in Quebec city and our students returned to the hotel at 9:00 pm for a well earned rest.

Ms. Vanessa Wade
Assistant Head of School, School Life