Twenty-four grade 9 Crowsnest Consolidated High School (CCHS) students will say goodbye to their families as they take off to Lévis, Quebec on Jan. 29. Several months later at the end of May, 23 students in grades 7 and 8 will travel to in the exchange in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

The weeklong trips are part of the high school’s Student Youth Exchange Program. Being an exchange, students from Lévis will reciprocally visit Crowsnest Pass for one week at the end of April, and the Yorktown students at the end of February.

The exchange program for grade 9 is provided through the Canadian Sports Friendship Exchange Program (CSFEP), while Experiences Canada facilitates the grade 7 and 8 trip. Both exchanges are funded by the Department of National Heritage.

“Schools from all over Canada apply to the organization to participate, and they match the schools together. Then they book and pay for the travel portion.”

All travel expenses are covered by the grade’s respective exchange program, Vice President of CCHS Deanna Fidelak notes that because it’s funded, the school did not discriminate based on any financials, ensuring accessibility for all students who showed a willingness to participate.

“We had students self-nominate themselves and express an interest,” says vice principal of CCHS Deanna Fidelak. “We also had staff nominate students. We took kids that showed an interested in participating in the exchange program, that had solid standing at school and that we thought would be good representatives of our community.”

Both exchange programs are meant to break down barriers in distance, language and customs in order to enlighten youth on Canadian history, heritage and culture.

“We want them to learn about the history and culture in our country that make us proud to be Canadian,” she says. “We want them to learn more about the geography in our country and to really help Albertans be good neighbors. We want them to consider what it means to be a good citizen and I think we really do that through team building and through experiences in different situations and different comfort zones.”

Students visiting Quebec will have the opportunity to visit the Ice Hotel, get a sugar high at a cabane à sucre (aka sugar shack), play outdoors at the Quebec Winter Carnival, and get lost among the charming cobblestone streets of Old Quebec.

“[The students] are so excited,” says Fidelak. “It’s like a weeklong sleepover. We’re going to keep them super busy there in the day and they’re going to be exhausted in the evening.”

When the out-of-province students visit Crowsnest Pass, CCHS will organize activities to showcase the heritage, history and culture of Southern Alberta.

“When they come here, we’re going to Bellevue Mines, we’re going to do Frank Slide, we are taking them to Head Smashed-In Buffalo jump, we’re going to take them snowshoeing around Alison Lake, skiing in Fernie, and probably check out Waterton National Park.”

Fidelak stressed that this is not just a vacation for the students, but rather a tool to increase pride in Canada.

“We really have the emphasis on ‘exchange’,” she says. “It’s important to participate in the exchanges so that the kids can have that reciprocal experience where they can learn more about our country from a local perspective rather than a tourism perspective.”

Fidelak has been applying to the exchange program for nine years throughout her career in the education system.