Cutting Class for Learning

Middle School students embrace education through experience

WITH 50 SHOVELS, 200 trench bags, wood, saws, hammers, nails and some real artifacts from the First World War, HSC’s Grade 7 and 8 classes arrived at parent-of-alum Steve Fenton's farm in early November 2022 to spend a day in the trenches. And not in the metaphorical sense. “You can tell a lot about students when you put a shovel instead of a computer in their hands,” says trenchbuilding chaperone and history teacher Bob McGall of the experiential learning trip for a unit on Remembrance Day.

British military historian, author and educator Andrew Robertshaw specializes in the history of the First World War and joined students at the farm to teach them firsthand what life was like for soldiers during the conflict. Whether filling trench bags, extending the lines or building the protective trench wall, each student played their part to get the job done. Reflecting on the trip, McGall was encouraged by the students’ engagement and further investigations, and notes how their natural curiosity and active participation shaped positive outcomes. “You can’t work and talk all day without learning even a little something about what you are doing,” he says.

That idea of learning through doing permeates a number of HSC’s Middle School trips, including the annual Grade 5 trip to Saint-Donat, Québec, and the Grade 8 exchange to France. Both the brainchild of Middle School French teacher Laur-Ann Camus, these trips aim to embed students in the culture, community and language of each location not only to cultivate students’ French skills, but to foster their sense of self beyond the comforts of home. “My passion is to offer students out-of-the-book experiences,” Camus says in describing how unique the France exchange is. Nearly every year since 1993, students have been billeted with families from partner schools in Burgundy or, more recently, Nantes, to immerse themselves in the life of their French peers. The relationship blossoms over the year, through letter writing and Zoom chats, and culminates with the students spending two weeks deep in the culture of their exchange partner.

Camus talks about the engaging activities included in both the France exchange and the four-day Saint-Donat trip, which incorporates elements of live-action role-play as active learning. “The magic of Saint-Donat begins the moment the students get off the bus. Through dramatic and musical historical storytelling, they are transported to another world where they learn to embrace winter fun and experience the joie de vivre of the Québecois. When we are there, we are no longer HSC; rather, we assimilate into different historical legend groups to absorb the area’s culture, language and traditions.”

It’s with that same spirit that McGall led the Middle School’s annual pilgrimage to Sainte-Marie among the Hurons until 2019. Rebuilt in the 1960s, this French mission and trading post sits on the original archeological site of Ontario’s first European community. McGall acknowledges the sensitive nature of the setting, as the site represents the origin for Canada’s conversion efforts. As he explains, “the First Nations’ traditions and cultural practices are explored equally, and, when compared with the Europeans, in a positive way.” This, McGall believes, is because the staff (many of whom are Indigenous, French Canadian, and Métis) are top-notch historians and experts on both cultures. During the three-day trip, students are exposed to life on the site as it was in the 1600s, joining re-enactors in making fires, cooking bannock, building wood longhouses, creating beadwork, playing Indigenous games and more.

While sharing details on other experiential learning events including HSC’s E-Week trips, Martin Birthelmer, Vice-Principal of Middle School Academics, recounts the lasting impression that all of these excursions have made on so many students. “In my 23 years of teaching, I have had countless conversations with alumni where their fondest memories from HSC include visits to the Royal Botanical Gardens or a class trip to Ottawa—these are the moments that serve as formative experiences in shaping our graduates.”