PS News presents reports on recent College activities and a selection of announcements, events and initiatives in the wider education community that may be of interest to our members.
French Ontario
Tribute to French Ontario
An 8,000-strong history class of Grade 5–8 students packed into Ottawa’s Civic Centre Arena in Lansdowne Park September 24, the eve of the first Franco-Ontarian day. The day marks the first raising of the Franco-Ontarian flag in Sudbury on September 25, 1975.
The students watched L’esprit du lys et du trille (The Spirit of the Lily and the Trillium), a theatrical tribute to Franco-Ontarian history layered with music, singing and dancing, created in collaboration with three francophone school boards.
More than 400 actors, singers, musicians and dancers, local students among them, told the stories of Étienne Brûlé, Dollard des Ormeaux, Philemon Wright, the voyageurs, and canal and railway workers.
The program included portrayals of the struggle in Windsor against assimilation and the more recent successful bid in eastern Ontario to save Montfort Hospital.
Students in Hamilton, Ignace, London, Penetanguishene, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Windsor were among those who also celebrated the day.
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Some 8,000 students attended The Spirit of the Lily and the Trillium. |
