1. What was it that surprised you the most about the people and places in NL?

2. What is the most important memory you will take back from NL?

3. Why do you think the Grade 8 out of province trip is an important aspect of your education?

Woody Island - Our Final Frontier

I think on every journey, serendipity ( for us, luck plus timing) plays a huge part in the overall experience. Woody Island was a combination of both luck and timing. This place was a wonderland of sights, tastes and experiences, and saving it for last was the icing on our Newfoundland adventure.
We climbed, hiked, danced, sang, explored, and ate and ate and ate - home baked bread, Newfoundland pea soup, freshly caught and pan fried cod, toutons, tea biscuits, bacon and eggs in the morning, date squares and molasses cookies. (Personally I believe the boat sat several inches lower in the water on the trip back from Woody). Our kids learned several traditional Newfoundland songs, how to dance the Virginia Reel, enjoyed a "boil up" (homemade soup, sandwiches and biscuits on a beach, accompanied by a singing accordion player), toasted marshmallows under a setting sun, searched for and found sand dollars on the water's edge, climbed hills (and scraped knees), fished (for fish and fish hooks), played horseshoes and enjoyed the companionship of new and forever friends.
We have just checked in to the Super 8. The kids are all at the pool and water slide enjoying their final night of this adventure. They will be coming home tired, but full of memories and home baked bread.
Thank you for all the hard work and support that made this trip a dream come true for the Grade 8 class. Each one of us is returning with a little bit of Newfoundland in our hearts.
See you tomorrow at 6:00pm at the Air Canada arrival gates.

Where Wind, Water, Land and Sea Meet

One of the kids described today as a drive to the end of the earth...and immediately we all knew exactly what he was trying to say. This morning we piled into the school bus for a 2.5 hour drive to Cape St. Mary Ecological Reserve. We drove through fog into sunshine, from the hills of St. John's through the flatland of southern Newfoundland to arrive at a cliff, overlooking the ocean.
This cliff is where thousands of birds, mostly gannets, come each year to nest and now is nesting time.
A guide walked us across this cliff which has remained relatively unchanged over hundreds of years. At Cape St. Mary's there are no boardwalk pathways, no restaurants or gift shops. This is a nature preserve and we are only tolerated if we respect the importance of this tiny piece of land.
Tony, our guide, made it clear to the students that there are secret places in the world and only real travelers will take the time and work to discover them.
Today we saw thousands of gannets during their nesting phase on a rock that jutted out into the ocean only metres away from us. When we looked up we saw countless birds in the sky diving into the ocean to catch their supper in the fish laden water along the beach. When we looked down we saw caribou lichen, coyote droppings, moss, alpine irises and prairie grasses.
A picture says a thousand words and so I will let our pictures say what remains to be said about this day.
Tomorrow we will be up and on the road by 7:00am (4:30am Winnipeg time). We are going to Woody Island and for 48 hours our cellphones/internet will not work. As soon as we regain service, our kids will get in touch with you.
For all the mothers reading this blog - Happy Mother's Day!!!

Puffins and Foghorns

Today began and ended, for the most part, in a true Newfoundland “pea soup” fog. Ron drove us out to Cape Spear and for about an hour we explored North America’s most easterly point of land. We climbed the trail to the original lighthouse, all the time accompanied by the eerie sound of the foghorn, warning sailors of the dangerous coast. It was a quiet day at the Cape with few visitors besides ourselves. In fact the only people we met were also from Winnipeg - a young doctor from the Health Science Centre beginning a run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

From there we went to Petty Cove, a small, working fishing village. We met a local crab and lobster fisherman who explained the details of lobster licenses and the costs of catching crab. You can see in the pictures our first encounter with a cranky crustacean (I mean the crab, not Mrs. Caron)!

Our day ended with a 1.5 hour boat tour on the Atlantic to see puffins, whales and icebergs. We saw no whales or icebergs but a sky filled with puffins and a close encounter with 2 soaring bald eagles. Again, the people we met on the boat were from Winnipeg –who knew so many ‘tobans were out and about in NL! I assure you there is a difference between our dry cold and the damp cold of the east coast. By the end of the trip we were all shivering to the bone. We also learned that in some cases, prairie landlubbers can never grow sea legs, as several of our boys got their first bad taste of sea-sickness. But the day’s adventure ended with a great supper at the Captain’s Table in Witless and all of us recovered to enjoy a hot meal with good friends.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve. I think tonight we’ll all fall asleep early, happy to be in a warm bed and dreaming about puffins and lighthouses and the sound of the foghorn.

Cathy H.

Rocking on the Rock

Oh the places we went today! Under a sky that threatened rain and a wind with a bit of bite we travelled up and down and across St. John's. We climbed the steep hills of Signal Hill, saw the Titanic display at the Johnson Geocentre, walked the halls of the art gallery and museum, visited the shops on Water Street, dined on the east coast's finest fish and chips lunch (Chess') and topped it all off with a visit to the Avalon Mall.
Along the way we posed for countless pictures, met lots of new friends, talked and walked and climbed and laughed.We caught our first real sight of the Atlantic Ocean and enjoyed it as only a prairie person can. Envy us. We were blessed with a beautiful and wonder filled day.
Our bus driver, Ron, is our new best friend. He has been there to save us whenever we've miscalculated a distance or time. Ron is our self-appointed guardian angel and we are all enjoying his company, advice and sense of humour.
Tomorrow we head out to see puffins and whales(unlikely) and icebergs(hopefully). However, it doesn't matter if we see all three or none. For one hour we will be riding the waves on the Atlntic Ocean and enjoying an adventure shared with the best of friends.
Please keep reading our blog - we miss you all and want to share this time with you.

The Adventure Begins

Day 1 - We've arrived!!! Safe...sound and together.
The planes were all on time, the flights smooth as silk and the kids behaved as seasoned, experienced professionals. After each flight the crew came to comment on how polite and respectful the students were. We got to the Ramada around 8:00pm, checked into our rooms and then immediately checked out for supper at Swiss Chalet.Right now it's 10:30pm Newfoundland time and the kids all know that in half an hour, the rooms are taped and it's time to settle in.
Tomorrow we're off to St. John's and all the sights the city has to offer. If your children don't call...please be assurd they're safe and simply too excited to remember to tell you how much they love you!

Airport

Everyone needs to be at the airport at 8:20 a.m. Our trip to the "rock" begins!