NEWS RELEASE
DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD ONTARIO NORTH EAST
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Last week, a select group of students from Roland Michener Secondary School travelled to Stratford to witness the thrill of live dramatic productions.
Students were asked to dress in semi-formal attire for the productions, and were able to have a full day of the “theatre experience”, with an afternoon viewing of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, along with an evening production of the musical Guys and Dolls.
Between shows, the students were treated to fine dining at the Revival House restaurant in downtown Stratford.
“Roland Michener had not run a trip to Stratford for a couple of years now, and I felt that it was an important cultural experience for our students,” said John Toby, the lead teacher and organizer of the trip.
“Stratford puts on world-class dramatic productions, and it’s important that rural community students have the opportunity to appreciate the execution of live theatre. It’s a great thing that our school board supports these types of trips.”
In order to help its students with the costs associated with this type of trip, District School Board Ontario North East generously provided full funding for transportation. Students were conveyed to, from, and around Stratford using Roland Michener’s school van, which was chauffeured by teacher Serge Rioux.
“This was an extremely fun experience,” said student participant Oliva Blakey. “It was great to have some classroom learning come alive with Romeo and Juliet, and the production of Guys and Dolls was amazing. The audience was clapping along and dancing to the songs and dance numbers.”
Based on the success of this year’s tour, the hope and intent is that the Stratford trip will become an annual event. Initial preparations have already begun for 2018.
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