Procès simulé: Palais de justice de Montréal

IMG_2554Lundi 1 décembre 2014, la classe de droit de 10 année est allée au Palais de justice de Montréal afin de faire un procès criminel simulé. Nous avons eu la chance d’être accueillis par le Juge André Perreault et son adjointe, madame Masson.

Nous remercions aussi Me. Marin Cojocaru (au centre de la photo) qui a travaillé avec les élèves lors de la préparation du procès en leur offrant de précieux conseils.

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Aujourd’hui était très intéressant. J’ai vraiment aimé l’expérience, particulièrement quand on m’a donné l’occasion de parler et d’être mis en doute, c’était tout à fait stressant, mais cela m’a enseigné beaucoup et je suis heureux de l’avoir fait. J’ai aussi aimé la visite à la Cour d’appel, car l’édifice était spectaculairement beau. J’aimerais certainement travailler là-bas dans le futur. – Ryan Hawa ’16

Pendant la classe de droit nous avons pratiqué un procès simulé. J’ai beaucoup aimé mon expérience aujourd’hui à la Cour d’appel et aussi au Palais de justice. J’ai appris qu’après et pendant le témoignage, le juge a le droit de poser quelques questions. C’était une très bonne expérience et je pense que ma partie préférée était la visite de la Cour d’appel. – Rebecca Ross ’16

J’ai aimé plusieurs éléments de cette expérience comme le procès simulé et la visite de la Cour d’appel. J’ai appris que le juge a le droit de demander des questions à l’avocat et au témoin. Le procès de LuKa Magnotta se déroulait en face de la salle où nous étions. Je remercie toutes les personnes qui on aidé à réaliser cette journée possible et mon professeur M. Maurice. C’était une expérience dont je me souviendrai.– Joshua Mindel ’16

Au cours de ce procès, j’ai appris plusieurs choses. J’ai appris à écouter l’information qui m’est offerte. J’ai aussi beaucoup appris sur le déroulement d’un procès et sur la Cour d’appel grâce à notre visite. Le fait que le procès de Luka Magnotta était juste en face de notre salle m’a fait prendre conscience de la réalité dans laquelle nous étions. – Matthew Tabet ’16

La classe de droit de M. Maurice a passé la journée au Palais de Justice et à la Cour d’appel. Cette journée unique était magnifique comme expérience pour nous. Nous nous sommes préparés pendant le mois de novembre pour le procès simulé au Palais de Justice. Ma partie préférée était les remarques faites par le juge Perreault à la fin de notre procès. Aussi, le procès de Luka Magnotta se déroulait juste en face de notre procès! Quelle bonne journée! – Christina Papageorgakopoulos ’16

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Student Exchange: Discovering the Golden Age of Colombia

Gold_Museum_1This weekend, we went to a Halloween party (one week after Halloween) hosted by the school seniors. It was a huge party. Even though I had no idea what the songs were saying (because they were in Spanish) they were still awesome. I had tons of fun, and some of the costumes were hilarious.

After that, on Saturday, we went to the Gold Museum. There, I learned just how much gold Colombia once had. Before the Spaniards came, the natives would make everything out of gold. They would do this not because gold was expensive and rare for them but because it was the easiest metal to find. All of the kings had gold decorations, jewelry and armour, etc. They would make instruments out of gold, weapons, helmets, anything you could think of, they made out of gold.

At the museum, you could really see how skilled the natives were at crafting the gold. They made tiny items with so much detail! It was incredible! I cannot believe that I had no idea that Colombia had so much gold and could make such wonderful things.

Gold is so important to Colombians that half of their flag, which is yellow, represents the gold that they had before the Spaniards came.

I am having so much fun in Colombia and I can’t believe that it’s almost over! –
Paul Virally ’17, Exchange Student @ Colegia Anglo Colombiano

Student Exchange Australia: Thrilling Water-Sports!

Over the weekend, I went to the country town of Yarrawonga. It’s right on Lake Mulwala, which is a man-made lake. It’s kind of like going up to the Laurentians for us. Every family has a boat, you know just about everyone on the lake, and almost everyone knows how to waterski. Since  the summer months have just started, the water was nice and refreshing. I was the only one who did not complain about the cold temperature of the water. I think it has something to do with being Canadian…

I relished the opportunity to get back on a wakeboard, since I only get to do that at summer camp. I also went tubing with Connor and his younger siblings, and drove the boat a few times. To cap it all off, I went on a jet-ski ride with a neighbour, during which Connor was thrown off and I somehow managed to stay on! The most exciting part was when we first took off. That jetski can go from idle to 100 km/h in four seconds!

All in all, it was a great weekend. I had an amazing time experiencing Australian water-sports, and I can’t wait until this weekend, as I get to go to Sydney. – Sam Freder ‘17, ExchangeStudent @ Carey Grammar, Australia

Student Exchange: Cheese and Hot Chocolate!

Even though I have been here for a little more than three weeks now, I still cannot believe that you can buy a subway sandwich for $7,000! (2,000 Pesos ≈ 1 USD). It’s always funny walking around the streets and thinking “Honestly, who would buy a burger for $7,000?” and then remembering the exchange rate.

Last weekend, I went to a beautiful town called Villa de Leyva. Villa de Leyva is full of Spanish architecture that dates back to the Spanish invasion. This makes it a very historically interesting place. I learned quite a few things on Colombian history in that city.

Not only did we have the chance to visit the wonderful streets and beautiful little shops that inhabit them, but we also had the opportunity to go see an ostrich farm. Those big ridiculous birds are actually very scary up front.

In the city, on the night of our first day, there was a very nice firework celebrating la Señora del Rosario who is the saint of Villa de Leyva. Also, I had the opportunity to try a very local soup called “ajiaco” that is made from a whole bunch of things: multiple potato varieties, different flowers, corn, and some beef. It’s very good!

Speaking of food, Colombians LOVE cheese. They put cheese in absolutely everything! Over at Villa de Leyva, I learned that they don’t put marshmallows in their hot chocolate. Oh no, that’s too sweet. Instead, they put cheese! I would have never thought of doing that… This may sound crazy, but it is actually pretty good. I might start replacing my marshmallows with cheese now.

I had a wonderful time at Villa de Leyva, and I can’t wait for the Halloween party this weekend and everything else that Colombia has to offer. – Paul Virally ’17, Exchange Student @ Colegia Anglo Colombiano

 

 

Student Exchange: Discovering Bogotá

Arriving in the city of Bogotá was amazing. The whole city is surrounded by mountains making it nice and cozy. All of the buildings were inside this little box made by the mountains. It vas very weird to see all of that green land, and right next to it, a series of buildings. That got me really excited to visit this interesting city.

Also, since Bogotá is 2600m high, it became a little difficult to do normal tasks like walking or going up stairs. So, when my host family picked me up, I was already out of breath just from walking around the airport. But thankfully, they were very kind and helped me with everything that I needed.

On the way to my new home for the next month and a half, I was able to see what happens when you squeeze 8 million people in a relatively small city. It took about two hours to get to the house (which was not very far away) because of all of the traffic. It wasn’t even a busy day! Apparently, from what my exchange, Camilo, said, the traffic is one of the worst in the world.

Once we got home, I was shown the love of soccer that Colombian’s (yes, Colombia, not Columbia. It’s practically a crime to call a Colombian, a Columbian…) have. Even a family like the family that I am staying with who are not very big fans of soccer love that sport. The night I was home, I was watching a soccer game. It was Colombia vs. El Salvador. Colombia, as one of the best teams in the world, won 3-1. The whole family screamed and we had a very good time that night.

On Tuesday, my first day of school, I was shown eight huge buildings. Apparently all of those belong to the school. It was very easy to get lost, but thankfully all of the wonderful new friends that I made helped me navigate my way around the school. Only three courses are in Spanish so I can actually understand what the teachers are saying most of the time. But during the Spanish classes, I try to understand as much as I can to build up a vocabulary to be able to talk with my exchange family only in Spanish.

On the weekend, we visited the older part of Bogotá, where you could see all of the ancient Spanish architecture. It was beautiful and we had lunch at a very typical Colombian restaurant. So far, I have tried at least a dozen new foods, especially fruits. They have many exotic fruits in Colombia.

I also had the opportunity to go to a Colombian party. We danced to some very different music (they call it reggaeton), and I had lots of fun there.

The following Tuesday, there was another exciting soccer game. Although, this time, it was Colombia vs. Canada! I was very excited to see how it would turn out, and I was happy to see that we only lost 1-0 to one of the best teams in the world.

I am now getting ready to go to Villa de Leyva which is a very old and small town. It dates back to the Spanish invasion. I know that it will be awesome. I know that Colombia has a lot more to show me and I hope to be able to tell you all about it in my future blogs.

Espero que todos ustedes tengan la oportunidad de visitar Bogotá un día, ya que es uno de los lugares más interesantes que he visitado. Chao! – Paul Virally ’17 – Exchange Student @ Colegia Anglo Colombiano