École Our Lady of the Rosary School in Sylvan Lake recently held a French Carnival.
The carnival on Feb. 27 is an annual event put on by the school which represents and honours French Canadian culture, and is inspired by the 'Carnaval de Québec.'
The students in the French immersion program at Our Lady of the Rosary put in a ton of hard work and the carnival is a chance for them to celebrate their learning with a fun experience, Grade 2 teacher Kaela Masikewich said.
"The reason we open the carnival up to our entire school and not just the French immersion students is because it builds a really good community experience for the kids, and it shows that our school celebrates the culture and traditions of Canada."
There was also a significant amount of planning involved in such a large event.
"We do start thinking and organizing things in September, then the month leading up to the carnival. We get together to plan things further and order all the materials we need," Masikewich said.
"So it is a lot of meeting, planning, and adjusting activities that worked and didn't work the year prior."
One of the most popular activities at the event featured making maple taffy out of maple syrup, or 'tire sur la neige' which means maple syrup on snow in French.
This activity was able to happen thanks to the assistance of Kevin Madsen from Canadian Maple Shack.
"We had a food truck guy come and set up a booth for it and he did it all in front of the kids and they got to roll their own," Masikewich said.
"In the past, the teachers had to make it all, and it took hours ahead of time, so having him was such a blessing."
Some other activities at the event were sled races, ski races, throwing activities, limbo, a snowball fight, and jig dancing.
Students also were allowed to put on and touch a Métis sash.
For the carnival, the school partners with École Mother Teresa to organize the festival with different stations and activities throughout the day.
"The middle school kids are able to come over to partake in the activities and help out the activities," Masikewich said.
For the students that get involved, the event helps to create core memories for them, she added.
"When we see the Mother Teresa kids come to our school for the day it is so nostalgic for them because they experienced it when they were at our school and now they are helping out with it."
