Jean Augustine Girls’ Leadership Academy 35 Glendower Circuit Scarbourough, ON. M1T 2Z3 February 23, 2015 Dear Ms.Augustine, VIA Rail Canada, and the Breakfast Clubs of Canada,

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Ottawa. We are very grateful that we were one of the schools chosen to participate in this trip. Not only were the things we saw very breathtaking, it also gave us an opportunity to learn more about our government and the RCMP. The things we learned on this trip can’t be taught anywhere else with the same amount of effort, it gives us a way to value the things we learned better, because experiencing it is better than reading about it or watching a video about it. All in all the learning experience was valuable to me. I personally am very thankful that we got the opportunity for going on this trip, I’m pretty sure the students from the other schools feel the same way too.

The tour of Parliament was the most interesting History and Social Studies lesson ever! We learnt that everything in the Parliament building was burned down except for the library, that was very interesting because if the building was never burned then maybe the beautiful structures would have still been saved and the rest of the building would have been as beautiful as the library. There is a special room where the soldiers who fought for Canada are recognized, this is very interesting because the people who make Canada free can be cherished by everyone who sees the books. Another thing I learned was that the Queen wasn’t allowed to go into the House of Commons because the Members of Parliament speak for the people, not for the Queen. Royals aren't allowed to go in because of an incident that happened hundreds of years ago ­ it’s fascinating that a tradition as old as or even older than the buildings lives on like this.

Visiting the RCMP stables gave us a sense of pride in being Canadian. I already knew that the RCMP has been a part of Canadian history for hundreds of years, but I didn’t know about the Musical Ride and what an important symbol of Canadian heritage it is. It was interesting to see the actual horses that perform in The Musical Ride and to learn about the process of breeding and training them. The horses were very powerful well­groomed, well­tamed and beautiful creatures. They are part of something that Canadians have, that any other countries don't have.

The presentation to launch Black History month was a very important detail in this trip because when we celebrate the black people who served Canada it shows another part of the Canadian identity ­ that Canada is a mosaic of diverse peoples and cultures. It is very empowering to me to learn that in 1995 Ms. Augustine asked Prime Minister Chretien to

establish Black History month in Canada and he did! And now, 20 years later, she was back on Parliament Hill helping to launch a poster that will help build respect for and pride in being black. It is empowering to me as I am a member of a minority group myself; it gives me a sense that I too am Canadian.

We are very glad that the trip was free for all the students who came because if the trip

wasn’t free then it might have cost us around, I don’t know $100, so thank you very much. Another benefit of this trip was that we got the chance to learn more about our classmates and developed stronger relationships during the fairly long train ride. Finally, I wanted to thank Ms.Augustine for joining us on the train and bus to and from Ottawa, I’m pretty sure she has a lot of things to do, so her taking the time to be with us is special.

Again, thank you so much for the trip to Ottawa, it was a memorable experience for all of us.

Yours truly, Maham Saleem Grade 8 student