Quebec students visit Luseland

By Joan Janzen

Twenty-one students and three teachers from St. Hubert School in a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, arrived in Luseland, Saskatchewan, on September 14, 2023. The Grade 10 to Grade 12 exchange students were paired up with Grade 10 and 11 students from Luseland School. As soon as the exchange students arrived, they were whisked off to the Holman Farming Group, where they were given a crash course on harvest. They had a great time touring the Holman elevator, climbing on a combine, checking out grain in the field and exploring grain bins - all new experiences for the newcomers. They also toured the Luseland & District Museum, where Arden Body, Jean Halliday and Victor Delhommeau shared their knowledge of local history.

Photo: Twenty-one students and three teachers from St. Hubert School in a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, got to experience harvest operations while on an exchange trip to Luseland School. 

Throughout the week, the students went hay bale jumping at the Teri and Morris Scheidt farm and enjoyed venturing on a YMCA trip. A mix of 42 students and six chaperones travelling by school bus to all the destinations proved entertaining. It was also an excellent opportunity to become better acquainted.

During the excursion, they visited an old one-room country school in Major and toured St. Catherine’s Church near Major, with Jaclyn Patton providing information during their visit. They got to experience harvest operations at the Jason Patton and Clay Patton farms and visited the stone wall and sod house near Smiley - two rural tourist attractions. The Smiley Hutterite Colony gave the students a tour of their property, and later, they were given a tour of an Enbridge pipeline.

At North Battleford, the group toured the Western Development Museum and learned about the history of Saskatchewan. The Allen Sapp Museum was also on their list of destinations. They checked out a bison company in Denzil, stopped at the world’s largest tomahawk in Cut Knife, and visited the Holy Rosary Church and Shrine in Reward.

The visitors experienced a whole spectrum of events, including learning all about farming and touring the Provost Auction Market. They had fun playing their very first game of bones in Macklin.

Raymond and Blanche Wack and Arden Body took them out into the pasture, where they learned about the First Nations peoples of the area. At Moreland Acres Cattle Company, they learned about cattle and goat farming, and got some horse riding lessons from Ben and Brittany Cairns.

Sunday was a free day for everyone. Some families visited the Great Sandhills by Leader, while others spent the day at the lake. Another group went to Drumheller, but some chose to stay home and spend the day harvesting.

The Luseland School’s exchange students spent their last day in Saskatchewan on Monday, September 18. A potluck meal was served in the Luseland school gym for all the exchange families. Everyone was very well fed and ended the night with some fun games, turning the Quebec students into honorary Saskatchewanians.

The week-long visit was packed with authentic and fun Saskatchewan experiences everyone enjoyed. Claire Patton, a Grade 11 student at Luseland, said the highlight of the exchange was the combining experience when all the students and adults experienced firsthand what her family does for a living. Claire said her partner Megan Bernier from Quebec was a super good match, and they had a lot of the same hobbies.

Emma Greter, a Luseland Grade 10 student, said her favourite part of the exchange trip was the free day when she went to the Sandhills, but she also enjoyed the combining experience. She had a lot of fun with her partner, Amelia St.-Laurent from Quebec, and thought they made a great pair.

The students said their goodbyes before flying back to Montreal. Both students and chaperones had a blast exploring all of Western Saskatchewan and learning many new things. And Luseland students are looking forward to going to Quebec in October!

Thanks to Grade 9 Luseland student Katerina Feser, for providing much of the information for this article.