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Governor General visits Cold Lake

Students at the Art Smith Aviation Academy in Cold Lake had a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience last week when Governor General David Johnston stopped by, toured the school and spoke to their entire student body.

Students at the Art Smith Aviation Academy in Cold Lake had a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience last week when Governor General David Johnston stopped by, toured the school and spoke to their entire student body.

"This is absolutely the most amazing thing that has ever happened in the history of the school and in my life," said Principal Ron Young. "To have the Governor General escorted around our school and to have him speak to our kids and have a discussion with him was just the most amazing thing I have ever experienced."

Johnston was in Cold Lake for a scheduled tour of 4 Wing and was quickly shuffled around the base in a short period of time. With a lengthy background in education, which includes being the Dean of Law at the University of Western and the President of the University of Waterloo, Johnston jumped at the opportunity to tour the school and talk to students.

"I loved it. I love being with young people. I am a teacher," said Johnston. "In my installation address which is called, 'A Smart and Caring Nation: A Call to Service', I said 'if you can remember three words of what I say today they are, cherish our teachers', so I was delighted to be with teachers and delighted to be with those young people."

Young explained how the day all came together.

"The Governor General had a tour of the 4 Wing scheduled and luckily for us we had some moms and dads who work on the base suggest to the Wing Commander that maybe they should show him the school," said Young. "Colonel Laroche is one of our biggest supporters and thought it was a good idea. I think when you go through (the Governor General's) itinerary; he likely spent as much time in the school today as anywhere else on 4 Wing. We had him for just over 30 minutes."

Johnston came into the school at 10:20 a.m. on Friday morning and addressed the entire student body of roughly 250 kids from kindergarten to Grade 8. He told them stories about his 11 grandchildren, about the dinosaurs in the National Capital Commission greenhouses located on the grounds of Rideau Hall and about the last time he had lunch with the Queen.

"It was an amazing experience because you are meeting someone who is loyal to the Queen of England. It was just amazing," said eight-year-old, Grade 3 student Connor Vass. "The entire conversation was very cool. The part about the dinosaurs was hilarious"

Students recognized what a great opportunity it was to meet the Governor General.

"I think that it was amazing. The Governor General really did a good job explaining everything and I just loved it," said 13-year-old, Grade 7 student Stacy Kovalev. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not a lot of schools get to do this. Everything was just amazing. I had so much fun."

The teachers at the school took time with the students in the week leading up to the event to brainstorm and prepare questions. A select group of students then went up and asked Johnston the chosen questions in both English and French.

They asked him about his family, about the best and worst advice he has given his children and about what it was like to meet the Queen of England along with a few other questions.

"The smaller kids thought that he has always been Governor General and will always be Governor General," said Young. "So the questions 'what did you do before you were Governor General' and 'what will you do after you have been Governor General' are the kinds of questions that everybody learned from."

After the question period students and staff at the school quietly went up and posed for a school picture with Johnston, something that impressed the Governor General.

"I have got to tell you, their questions in English and French were superb," said Johnston. "The precision march they exercised when they assembled for a photo without a word. Probably 250 students gathering in formation, was like the very best of our men and women in uniform on a ceremony of parade."

Johnston was also impressed with the students' ability to speak to him on both English and French and took the time to respond to the students in both languages. This was a moment that stuck with Young.

"I really loved the emphasis he made on learning a second language. We are the only school in Cold Lake that I know of that has a core French program and a French immersion program. So the emphasis he put on the French language and answering questions in French was I think really good for the kids to hear," said Young.

"I would guess that this has made his day and that he will remember this fondly for some time, just because of how he is able to see kids and relate to them in a positive way."

"Very often my most memorable moments are the most recent ones because there are so many, but I will remember Cold Lake," said Johnston. I'll remember the technology at 4 Wing and I'll remember the visit with the kids at the school."

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