Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
In a celebration of French culture, staff at 脡cole Desrochers organized the Carnaval d鈥檋iver on March 11.
Students and staff enjoyed a variety of games based in French tradition, in celebration of Francophone month, held internationally in March each year, said Diane Lamarre, administrative assistant at the K-12 school.
Lamarre said it was the first time since 2019 the carnival had been held.
In 2020, it was cancelled due to COVID, and in 2021, just a few hours before the celebration was about to begin, it was cancelled because of the weather.
鈥淎s a Francophone school, we have a double mission,鈥� said Marie-Andr猫e Arcand, Grades 3-4 teacher, in an email.
鈥淔irst, to ensure the academic success of our students in French. Secondly, to promote the development of their Francophone identity. Because of this double mission, we have the responsibility to organize cultural activities, to the delight of our students!鈥�
During the carnival, students moved from stations to stations to participate in many activities, such as Ukrainian skis, tug of war, hockey with boots, tire d鈥櫭﹔able (maple taffy) and hot chocolate.
Arcand said the games were a success鈥攁ll of the leaders in the activities were high school students.
鈥淭hey did a terrific job at organizing the details of the activities and to be in charge of them,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e finished the event by organizing an ultimate tug of war game between all the students of elementary school and then another one between the teachers and the high school students!鈥�
