École Desrochers’ Grade 10 and 11 students are getting ready for the trip of a lifetime in March, when five students and two teachers will set out for Vietnam for an 18-day trip through the country. 

Every two years the students have a chance to take an international trip, and this year the students decided on the southeast Asian country that borders Laos, Cambodia and China. The country must have a francophone connection, and the tour will be led by French speaking guides. 

Each student had to raise $3,700 to go on the trip, and they have been working hard all year on fundraisers. Teacher chaperone Suzanne Villeneuve said many of the students started out with no money, and are now a few hundred dollars away from the goal. 

The students raised money through a bottle drive set up at the VIA rail station. They hosted a table at the Community Dinner, a Thai dinner at the Soft Rock Cafe, held a car wash and helped take down and set up events throughout the community. 

For Valentine’s Day, the students sold tickets around Jasper for a massive gift basket that included items donated from local businesses such as a free massage, cheese and more. Overall they sold 267 tickets, and École Desrochers parent Nancy Addison’s name was drawn on Feb. 14. 

Still to come, École Desrochers will host a teen dance on March 4. The event is usually hosted by the Jasper Jr./Sr. High School, but this year the French school has taken over to support the Vietnam trip. The students will also assist the Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA) at their upcoming Cabane a sucre dinner at the Legion on March 10 at 5:30 p.m. The dinner will include a silent auction and talent show. The students will help out bussing tables and cleaning up. The Legion has donated the space for the event.

“They worked very hard to raise money,” Villeneuve said.

The trip will start off in Hanoi and end in Saigon. The students will spend about five days in each of the country’s regions.

Vietnam may not be the obvious choice of a French country, but École Desrochers principal, and second teacher chaperone for the trip Jocelyn Nadeau, says it will be a learning experience for the students. 

“It’s a way to travel and realize there is francophone community all over the world,” he said. “It’s mostly a discovery trip.”

In the past, the school has done obvious French destinations like France and other European countries, but the students decided they wanted to try something totally different this year. 

“They really wanted to see a different culture,” Nadeau said. 

There will be five students from Grade 10 and 11 going along. The group will leave from Edmonton on March 20, and return to Canada on April 7.

Before they leave, the students will be required to do a presentation for their parents explaining their itinerary and where they will be going. Once they return, the students will do a project on the experience that will be presented to parents and their fellow students. 

Nadeau said the students are starting to buzz about the upcoming trip. 

“It’s something new for them,” he said. “We hope it’s going to change them and open their eyes to the world.”