NYC Fashion Class Trip

The Fashion Program at Queen Elizabeth District High School (QEDHS) is expanding and looking for your support! Not only will QEDHS continue to offer the Gr. 11: Understanding Fashion (college-level) course, they are also introducing Gr. 12: The World of Fashion (college/university-level) course!

QEDHS is an older high school in the isolated northern community of Sioux Lookout, Ontario with a diverse population of approximately 490 students (or Warriors, as our mascot suggests). About half of the student population is of aboriginal decent, with a large amount of students traveling from remote northern reserves to attend school while living with boarding families. Although Sioux Lookout provides numerous opportunities for youth to learn and progress as part of a positive community, I believe that traveling the world and experiencing different cultures and new opportunities outside of their comfort zone can teach these same students priceless lessons; to open their minds, think about and value their futures, learn more about themselves, be inspired to personally travel in the future to expand their lives, learn more about other people than they could have ever imagined possible, and become Warriors of knowledge. I would like to bring my classroom into the world and give my students the opportunity to learn beyond their own backyards. I have proposed a trip in 2016 that would give the fashion students the opportunity to connect the course and Ontario curriculum with a visit to the fashion capital of the world, New York City! For many students, this opportunity seems like a far reach because of low socio-economic status and/or the inability to see the bigger picture outside of their community. I want my students to see that anything is possible, especially with the support of others and that it is okay to ask for help when you need it. My fashion students deserve the best possible learning experience that I can offer and this trip would be it. This trip will allow students to visit the famous and well-known parts of New York they all see constantly in the media in addition to the museum at FIT, the fashion district, The Met and behind the scenes tours to see the latest design technology and textiles of the fashion industry. Costs will include ground travel to and from a major airport (Sioux Lookout is at least 400km away from a major city) for approx. $5000, flights per student + hotel stay per student + guided tours/events at approx. $2800 per student. Students will be responsible for costs including meals and personal spending. Students are working hard to do fundraising within the community to cover the cost of the ground transportation and this cost has not been factored in to our fundraising goal. You can help by giving the gift of travel to a young person who is the future of the community of Sioux Lookout and change their lives forever!