Come, See, Do and… Moo? (yes there was even a calf on-site)
The Trades, literally, came alive in Chateauguay in early April as the the third edition of Trades in Motion took place under a giant tent in the parking lot of St.Willibrord school.
This unprecedented event continues to grow, as this year four school boards took part in the collaborative project: Commission Scolaires des Grandes-Seigneuries, Des-Trois-Lacs, Vallée-des-Tisserands and the New Frontiers School Board worked together to provide 26 interactive kiosks to over 4100 students (grades 5, 6, 7, 8 and Adult Ed) during three days.
Each student pre-selected two kiosks to try “hands-on” during the day of their visit, they then spent 20 minutes in each kiosk and were able to walk around to see the other available trades in the area. Many new kiosks were added this year for the students such as: Roofing, Industrial Mechanics, Water Treatment and Agriculture (who even brought a special guest, a 2 days old calf).
An Open House to the public ran from 6:00-8:30 pm and many members of the public, future students, mature students and those who were simply curious come and try their hand at mastering a skill from each of the kiosk. New to the Open House was special guest Mr. Enock Turcotte, spokesperson and Interior Designer, host of Canal Vie, “Bye, Bye Maison”. Mr. Turcotte addressed the special guests, toured the kiosks and visited with the public during the Open House.
“The Goal is to offer as much awareness to all of our students about the possibilities that exist for them within our own territory”, explained Chantal W. Bergevin, G.O.A.L representative for NFSB, who, along with her colleague, Tom Muirhead and the organizing committee expressed much satisfaction over the number of people who passed through the tents during the event.
Trades in Motion organizing committee, wanted to thank their major financial supporters: the Conférence Régionale des Élus de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent (CRÉ) and the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS). A big thank you to St. Willibrord School, I.G.A. Bergeron, Leahy Orchards, Subway (Danik Lavoie) and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (OLPH) for their donations of food and parking space for the many volunteers and teachers that were on site during the 3 days.