Three students at Princess Alexandra School received a special surprise last week.
At an assembly on Sept. 15, the three SA国际影视传媒� Teddy LaFleur and brothers Logan McIntyre and Liam McIntyre SA国际影视传媒� heard that they had been selected for a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood.
Before the announcement, principal Carolyn Carroll told the assembled students that three of them were about to be chosen for the trip of a lifetime.
"Something special, some magical is about to happen," said Carroll.
The trip is the third time that students from the school have gone to a theme park in California under an initiative called Dreams Take Flight, which is a charity created by employees of Air Canada to take children aged nine to 12 years on adventures.
Teddy LaFleur, a Grade 6 student, had a clue something was up at the assembly and that he might be chosen for the trip.
"My mom was here," he said.
Now, the 10-year-old is looking forward to seeing "exciting things" at Universal Studios Hollywood and going on the movie-themed rides.
Logan McIntyre, who is in Grade 7, said it will be exciting to travel to California and he hopes to see some movie actors at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The 12-year-old will be joined by his 11-year-old brother Liam McIntyre, who is in Grade 6.
Selina McIntyre, the brothers' grandmother, was at the assembly when they were told of the surprise trip.
"They had a rough past couple of years," she said, noting they lost a grandmother and their mother. "These are the best kids. They went through the hardest time."
Teacher Jennifer Tweedie, who brought the Dreams Take Flight program to Princess Alexandra School two years ago, explained students are chosen for the trips for a number of reasons, including the fact they would not normally go on such an adventure.
"They're very deserving and are good ambassadors for our school," she said. "They're good attenders and try their best. And they've been through some hardships."
The students were scheduled to leave on Sept. 19 for California SA国际影视传媒� along with a group of 150 students from Northern Alberta SA国际影视传媒� and were to spend Sept. 20 at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Their trip was to begin with a special donated charter flight to Yellowknife on Buffalo Airways. They will be returning to Hay River on Sept. 22.
In the past two years, students from Princess Alexandra School have travelled to Disneyland with Dreams Take Flight.
Tweedie said she has seen those students benefit from the adventure through increased confidence and improved self-esteem.
For the first time this year, Tweedie will also be making the trip to California to help Dreams Take Flight look after the group of students.
