Each school year begins with a guided Odyssey Trip, a canoe camping trip that takes the class of Grades 7 and 8 away from the school and out onto the land for about nine days. For example, on the Northern Lights’ Odyssey Trip, students leave within the first week of school and travel by bus, train and canoe to The Cree Indigenous Community of Moosonee/Moose Factory on James Bay.

Each year there is a different Odyssey trip so that the experience is new for returning as well as new students. Each adventure sets the tone for what is to come in the classroom, and is a key learning and bonding experience that students cherish for a lifetime. 

Odyssey trips allow students to physically and mentally challenge themselves, in a safe way, as they bond together as a community.

Through concrete experience the trips introduce students to the physical geography that forms our land, the experiences of those who lived, explored and developed our country, and the reality of life for Canadians in different communities than their own. 

When the students return to the classroom, the Odyssey trip informs and animates the academics throughout the year.