In September the students in grades five and six from Ecole West Park School took a step back into history as part of a social studies curriculum expedition. The students had two destinations for the day, Emerson Fort Dufferin and the St Joseph Museum.

Fort Dufferin was constructed in 1872 on a site approximately three kilometers north of the Canada-U.S. border, along the west bank of the Red River in the RM of Emerson-Franklin. It was originally used as a base for the Canadian-British contingent of the North American Boundary Commission. The fort was also used by the North-West Mounted Police as an assembly point prior to their March West in 1874. Members of the force arrived at Fort Dufferin, coming from the east through the United States, marking the only time the entire force was ever assembled at one place.

The students that visited the site were given detailed tours of the land, and interpretive buildings by the Emerson Post Road Heritage Group. The Post Road Heritage Group Inc is a group of like minded volunteers who have been brought together for the purpose of promoting and preserving the history of Fort Dufferin for visitors "like students" to learn and experience. Fort Dufferin was never a walled fort, but served a significant role in the development of Western Canada. The group also had stations set up for the students allowing them to see and feel what life must have been like living at Fort Dufferin over two hundred and fifty years ago. Students made rope, bannock, and butter, and drilled holes with tools that would have been used to build at that time. "History is near and a part of us, reminding us of things that happened in the past are still relevant to our lives today" said grade five and six teacher Jason Driedger.

" In St Joseph we will have a museum tour, and a black smith demonstration providing a variety of other perspectives including a lot of the French heritage which is also part of our curriculum" said Driedger. The students spent half their day at the St. Jospeh museum and the other half at Emerson Fort Dufferin. " The site is historically connected to our Social studies curriculum which begins with confederation, and it's a short bus ride to Fort Dufferin and the St Joseph Museum" said Driedger.