March 13, 2023 by Olivia Clemmensen (‘26)
From Thursday, March 9 through Saturday, March 11, Saratoga Springs High School (SSHS) freshmen and sophomores went on a trip to Québec City for their French classes to practice their conversational French, enjoy the views of Québec, and have a fun time with friends exploring French culture.
Students who chose to participate in the trop drove to Canada and back by bus and crossed the border, going through customs in a large group. This trip was put on by Jumpstreet tours, an organization that provides tours for students including trips to Canada, Latin America, the United States, and Europe. Jumpstreet tours says that, “our school trips are as enriching as they are entertaining”, and that “for over 30 years Jumpstreet tours crafted thoughtful and immersive class trips to the delight of teachers and student groups worldwide from language immersion to hands-on workshops, and social studies to stem, our educational tours are designed to be extension of your classroom, not a detour from it.”
Jumpstreet tours’ student trip to Québec City is meant to give students a taste of real French-Canadian experiences, see French language in action, and give students a trip to remember. Freshman at SSHS Lucia Ammon said her group’s Jumpstreet “tour guide Gabe was absolutely amazing. He was a lot of fun and a great guide and helper.” The organizer of the trip and Maple Ave. middle school French teacher, Madame Murray said that she loves Jumpstreet Tours and that she, “would never consider traveling with another company. They are very helpful, responsive and open to requests and suggestions. The tour guides are enthusiastic and engaging.”
Madame Murray has worked extremely hard to give the French students a wonderful experience that is well organized, safe, and exciting. She said, “I started planning the trip last spring. That mostly involves selecting dates for the trip and activities for the itinerary.” In addition to this, she needed to get formal approval from the Board of Education (BOE), put together meetings, and collect forms and passports from every student going on the trip. “It’s all worth it when I see the smiles on all your faces,” she added.
Teacher chaperones from both the middle school and SSHS accompanied the trip to supervise the students traveling. Teachers including M. Newman, Sr. Colella, Mrs. McGuinness, M. McDermott, M. Canavan, Sra. Ford-Winslow, and of course, Mme. Murray herself all helped keep the students organized and safe.
The trip to Québec was full of exciting activities and experiences. From tubing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, to walking around Old Québec, looking around a food market and eating delicious poutine and traditional Québecois meals the trip was a hit. “There were so many fun parts of the trip, and exploring the city and its history was so cool,” said 9th grader Caroline Travis. Students explored the Hôtel de Glace where there were rooms full of beautiful snow and ice carvings and sculptures. Ammon said she loved “how each room was so detailed and completely different from the rest.”
A favorite among many of the travelers was visiting a traditional Sugar Shack. Students listened in to a presentation on the making of maple syrup with the owner of the shack, whipped their own maple butter, rolled maple taffy, danced to traditional Canadian songs, took a wagon ride through the property, and enjoyed a delicious meal inside the log house with their tasty maple syrup as the star of the dishes! As Ella Nacheman, a traveler on the trip, said, “my favorite part was probably the sugar shack, getting to make maple butter and having maple syrup taffy was super fun!”
Québec City is dripping with history and beautiful structures. Students got free time to walk around the Old city, practice speaking French, take in the sites, and enjoy each other’s company. Although many students wished more time was given to see the sites, everyone made the most of it. SSHS Freshman Daneil Hancock said, “I felt like I was able to understand a lot of the writing and signs, without needing the English. However, most people there spoke English, and English was written pretty much everywhere, so French wasn’t a necessity.” Many store owners and restaurant waiters knew a bit of English even though French was their first language.
Students spoke some French, but speaking in English was easier for the students and locals to understand conversations. There were many streets that were first established in that area, many statues of famous people, and original buildings built many years ago. Jack Barnouin, a 9th grader on the trip said that he “could tell that the building and streets and architecture looked a lot like France does.” Intricate carvings and beautiful stonework lined the city. Students learned many interesting things about Old Québec, including that Québec’s founder, Samuel de Champlain was found to be a criminal, and that a war was fought in the area with the British and French and the British won the war in 7 minutes since the French were vastly outnumbered.
The Québec Trip of 2023 was action-packed and filled with fun and memories. Nacheman said, “I would have to say my favorite part of the trip was getting to spend it with my friends and having these experiences together and trying to use our French that we learned in the classroom and applying it in a real French speaking environment.” Memories of the trip will last a lifetime and the experience was unforgettable.