The group from Thunderchild outside Jurassic Park before the Toronto Raptors' Game 6. (submitted photo/Lydia Sunchild)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

Unforgettable Moments

Students from Thunderchild F.N. ‘experience history’ in Toronto

May 31, 2019 | 2:04 PM

A group of students from Thunderchild First Nations had an unforgettable experience while on a trip to Toronto.

“[We] experienced history there,” Mark Lewis said.

The Grade 12 student’s favourite memory from the trip was being in Jurassic Park for the Toronto Raptors Game 6 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

“We took extra precaution walking home from that Raptors’ game because those streets were filled,” instructor Lydia Sunchild said. “It was a struggle to keep the kids together but we managed to do it and keep everyone safe.”

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Twenty-one students and five adults from Thunderchild First Nation flew to Toronto for eight days as part of a YMCA youth exchange.

It was a trip with many new experiences as most of the students had never visited a city as big as Toronto or had ever been on a plane before this trip.

“The liftoff, going up in a plane, it was a scary and funny feeling at the same time,” Lewis said.

Earlier in May, students from James Cardinal McGuigan School in Toronto visited Thunderchild as part of the program. Janeisha Stanley, a Grade 11 student from Piyesiw Awasis School, said they were able to make strong bonds while their visitors were in Thunderchild.

“We went straight for hugs. It was amazing,” Stanley said.

The students from Thunderchild First Nation flew to Toronto as part of the YMCA Youth Exchange program. (submitted photo/Lydia Sunchild)

To welcome their Thunderchild visitors, students from James Cardinal McGuigan School held a multi-cultural festival.

“People danced their own styles of their own cultures and it was a really good show,” Stanley said.

The group also explored the city and visited the Royal Ontario Museum and the CN Tower. They were also able to get their flag on the Jumbotron during a Blue Jays game.

Stanley said she was grateful and would like to thank the chief, council and group leaders from Thunderchild.

“It was amazing because we wouldn’t have been in Toronto or had this group YMCA exchange without them,” she said.

Wanda Smallchild was one of the students who went on the trip and hopes more small communities take part in the YMCA program.

“It really builds the youth’s mindset and goals in life,” she said.

The trip sparked an adventurous spirit within the students as they say they want to travel to Vancouver, the U.S. and New Zealand in the future.

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nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Nikitaganov