For a number of years now a special international exchange program between students from OCDSB secondary schools and schools in the Provence area of France have provided intercultural learning opportunities for students.
In the 2022-23 school year, following the pandemic restrictions, 40 local students in Grades 10-12 from thirteen OCDSB high schools participated.
During the months of October and November in the fall of 2022, students from five schools in Marseilles, Nice, and Aix-en-Provence in southern France were paired with local students and arrived in Ottawa to live with their host family for five weeks, where the French students learned about everyday life in Canada and also attended school. While here, the French students also participated in outdoor education experiences, as well as going bowling and attending a hockey game.
In March and April 2023 it was time for the OCDSB students to reconnect with their French counterparts and to meet and stay with the family of the student they hosted in Ottawa.
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Students on the Provence international exchange with OCENET International Education
Coordinator Sean Oussoren
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Living with a French family offers a unique cultural experience for OCDSB students
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Exchange students from OCDSB schools enjoy Aix-en-Provence
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For five weeks the Ottawa students communicated in a French speaking environment, studied at a French school, and experienced a new culture over an extended period of time. These types of opportunities can forge lifelong friendships and shape futures.
This type of “immersive” approach is a much richer and deeper learning experience than a tour where students stay in hotels and have little opportunity to get to know a family and insights into day-to-day life in another country.
And looking forward to the next school year, 39 OCDSB students from seventeen local schools have been selected to participate in a similar learning exchange opportunity in France.