Posts by Vanessa Faulkner
2025 Photo & Video Contest Grand Prize Winners!
Date: July 11, 2025 You all captured the moment, but these four captured the Grand Prize! We want to thank everyone who submitted their entries—we have serious FOMO seeing all the fun you had this year! All our monthly winners have already been notified, so now it’s time to share who’s taking home the four…
Read More19 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint While Travelling
Building a greener future is easier than you might think. It’s just about making simple, everyday choices that help out the planet, and you don’t have to do it alone. When we all adopt Earth-friendly habits, that’s when we start creating the sustainable world we want to see. Ready to make a difference? Read on…
Read MoreCelebrate Francophone Culture with Classroom Posters
International Francophonie Day is celebrated around the world on March 20th each year. It’s a special occasion that brings together French-speaking communities from across the globe. It’s a day to honour the French language, its cultural heritage, and the vibrant communities that keep it alive. Here in Canada, it’s a great opportunity to celebrate our…
Read MoreEssential Tips for Teachers Planning Their First Student Trip
Planning your first educational tour is an exciting adventure, though it can feel a bit overwhelming. As a Program Leader, you’re the visionary who brings the dream to life—and with WorldStrides Canada, you’re never alone on this journey. Our expert team of Tour Consultants will be by your side every step of the way. They’ve…
Read MoreFolklore to Frighten and Fascinate
Halloween is more than just costumes and candy—it’s a time when spooky legends and fascinating folklore from across the world come alive. In every culture, folklore has been used to explain life’s mysteries and the supernatural. This season, why not bring these stirring tales into your classroom? Let students explore stories of monsters, mythical figures,…
Read MoreThe Recipe for Global Learning: A Teacher’s Fundraising Journey
Date: May 1, 2024 Meet Keith Hoare, a WorldStrides Canada Program Leader and the mastermind behind Thistletown High School’s international trips. As head of the school’s culinary department, Keith helps students learn about hospitality management, culinary arts, and culture through cooking. In 2011, he initiated fundraising opportunities with the school’s 10th grade students to be…
Read MoreBlack History and Hip Hop Culture
Date: January 29, 2024 As hip hop evolves, it remains a dynamic force, responding to contemporary challenges and contributing to the ongoing fight for equality and justice. Incorporating hip hop into education around Black History Month provides an opportunity to explore the cultural richness, resilience, and artistic expressions within the Black community, fostering a deeper…
Read MoreKeeping Current: Using the News to Engage Your Students
Date: December 12, 2023 In my tenth-grade history class, I was required to memorize the front page of the local Monday newspaper for a quiz on Friday of that week. This was my (otherwise very engaging) history teacher’s attempt to meet the current events educational standard set by our province. At the time, this quiz…
Read MoreCelebrating Pride, Being an Ally, and Creating Inclusive Classrooms All Year Round
Date: May 31, 2023 June 1st is the official kickoff to Pride Month—a global celebration of 2SLGBTQI+ people and the powerful strides that have been made for their visibility, recognition and equality. Much like 2SLGBTQI+, the word ‘pride’ began as an acronym that stood for Personal Rights in Defense and Education—the name of an organization…
Read MoreAnnouncing our 2023 Student Photo Contest
Date: February 27, 2023 Ready to give us your best shot? Your best travel shot, that is! We’re kicking off our annual WorldStrides Canada Student Photo Contest, and entering is as easy as 1, 2, 3: Just shoot, upload, and win. Follow our social media to see if your submission gets featured as a grand…
Read More#EmbraceEquity this International Women’s Day [Classroom Resources]
Date: February 24, 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day of unity. Occurring on March 8 each year, the holiday is a celebration of women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements, as well as a call for advocacy and action to accelerate women’s equality. IWD has been around for over a century, with the…
Read MoreHarnessing the Power of Theatre to Inspire Your Students
Date: February 9, 2023 The word is out! Hamilton is coming to Toronto. Since its premiere on Broadway in 2015, the smash-hit biographical musical has taken the world by storm. Now is your chance to be in the room where it happens. History comes to life in Hamilton, a staged retelling of the American Revolution…
Read MoreA rugger abroad: pasta, pallovale, and Pisa
Date: November 8, 2022 “Getting to go on this tour through Italy turned us from teammates into brothers.” In 2019, superstar WorldStrides intern Andrew Chong and his teammates took part in a multi-city rugby tour that took them across Italy. Now, Andrew has written all about his game-changing experience abroad. In the spring of 2019,…
Read MoreChoose Earth: An Interview with Carbonzero CEO Dan Fraleigh
Date: April 22, 2022 At WorldStrides, we recognize that sustainability starts with us—that’s why we’ve partnered with Carbonzero, a Canadian-based supplier of greenhouse gas measurement and carbon offsetting solutions, to provide our participants with carbon neutral travel experiences. To celebrate the launch of our new Choose Earth initiative, we sat down with Dan Fraleigh, Chief…
Read MoreWhat Music and Travel Have in Common – And How They Both Change Students’ Lives
Date: March 9, 2022 Teaching music is, of course, about inspiring a love of music and an appreciation for a diverse art form. But it is also about helping students to look at things from different perspectives, to think about ideas as they have been constructed through someone else’s ear or someone else’s language. It…
Read MoreIncorporating Pop Culture in Your Classroom
Date: February 23, 2022 We all have different interests, habits, and passions. We all come from different areas, we were born in different decades, and we have drastically different backgrounds. Teachers are educated, hard-working, critical observers, critical thinkers, and yet sometimes we don’t feel confident with popular culture. But in reality, you see and experience…
Read MoreFrom Marching Bands to Big Glam: The Super Bowl Halftime Show
Date: February 9, 2022 Are you looking forward to the Super Bowl LVI halftime show more than the game itself? If so, you’re not alone! Over the decades, this famous (and sometimes infamous) feature of the big game has become a cultural icon of its own. While the halftime show is now known for its…
Read MoreAre you ready for a unique online learning experience?
Date: January 10, 2022 As a student of the world, it is important to better understand your role in it. How do your actions impact travel? Why is it important to be an engaged citizen? When you take part in a travel program, you can start answering those questions. Your lifelong learning journey takes place…
Read More12 Holiday Dishes from Around the World
Date: December 7, 2021 Crispy latkes laden with sour cream, sweet-smelling fruit pies spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, roasted turkey paired with creamy mashed potatoes and tangy cranberry sauce, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken… The holidays are almost upon us, which means plenty of specialty dishes we can’t wait to sink our teeth into.…
Read MoreHow Hockey Became Canada’s Sport
Date: December 6, 2021 Canada is known around the world as the birthplace of hockey—it’s practically ingrained in our culture, and it’s considered the number one sport in the Great White North today. In fact, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation, there were a total of 607,951 registered ice hockey players in Canada during…
Read MoreStrategies for Minimizing Gender Biases in Your Classroom and on Tour
Date: November 5, 2021 Gender inequality in education that favours male students is well-researched and documented. Studies show that male students tend to garner more attention from educators. This can appear in the form of male students being called on with greater frequency, being recognized more often (for good and bad behaviour) despite female students…
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