A painted poster prepared by students at the Dollard-des-Ormeaux School in Courcelette. (Catou Mackinnon/CBC)Canadian soldiers from Quebec's Valcartier military base were honoured in a special tribute from the community's schoolchildren on Tuesday.

Students at the Dollard-des-Ormeaux School in the nearby town of Courcelette have spent months organizing the tribute, which includes cheery, painted posters with messages of support for soldiers and handmade wood plaques.

About 85 per cent of students at the school have at least one parent in the military. (Catou Mackinnon/CBC) About 85 per cent of students at the school have at least one parent in the military.

On Tuesday, students handed out plaques, sang and played music for a small group of soldiers at the base, about 25 kilometres north of Quebec City. The ceremony was held at the school.

"I thought it was ... important they express their feelings, because we often say they keep everything inside, but they're also very affected by what's going on," said the school's principal, Emily Lagloire.

The show of support is deeply appreciated, said Master Corporal Pascal Lavoie, whose friend was killed in Afghanistan.

"It's always going to be in the back of my mind, just like the death of my friend," he said. "This is going to be part of it now, you know, a nice message from my community."

Fourteen soldiers from Valcartier have been killed in Afghanistan this year.