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| The old hotel. |
With
only two days left in the academic year (June 5 & 6), there were still
plenty of things to do before I could start enjoying the summer. To make it more manageable, I grouped
everything into three categories: cleaning out my classroom, ordering
resources/supplies for next year, and packing for my summer trip down south.
Some
of you are probably wondering why I wrote summer trip instead of summer
move? Well, it's rather an interesting
story. From the beginning, my teaching
contract was for six months and could not be extended. However, I was more than welcome to reapply
for the same job in late April except this time, it would be advertised as an indeterminate
position. Naturally, when the time came,
I submitted my application. I knew I
would not be the only candidate; indeterminate positions are highly sought by
teachers. As for Plan B, I applied to schools
in other northern communities, such as, Kugluktuk, Repulse Bay, and Clyde
River. Moving back to the south was Plan
C. I hoped Plan A or B would work
because I still didn't want to say goodbye to the north.
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| The former Co-op store. |
After
waiting patiently for several weeks, I was interviewed for the position at
Inuujaq School (Plan A) and was offered the job. Naturally, I accepted. I would be teaching high school English, Social Studies,
and Music for the 2013-14 year. It had
taken a few years but I had finally secured a full-time indeterminate teaching
job at a time when the economy is still in recovery, and not many employers are
hiring. Attaining an indeterminate
position is what all aspiring teachers aim for because it brings stability,
benefits, experience, and removes the pressures of having to constantly search
for other jobs. On top of that, as is
the case in the territories, if the job is in the community you're currently
residing, you don't have to move all your belongings to another dwelling. Unless, of course, you decide to move out of
staff housing and get your own place. In
my case, I chose to keep my assigned housing unit.
With
the future of my teaching career secured for the time being, I got right to
work on cleaning out my classroom. The
place wasn't a mess; just unorganized.
The first task was clearing out my desk; the drawers were packed with
documents. After choosing which papers
to discard & keep, I moved on to discarding submitted work that was posted
around the classroom. At first, I was
hesitant about taking everything down and throwing it in the trash because a
lot of effort was put into them. But it
would be unfair to keep them up and not post the work of my future
students. With no one wanting to take
their work home, I took everything down and placed it in the garbage. Due to high transportation & disposal
costs, recycling does not happen in the communities. The last thing I had to do was move all the
furniture off the carpet and into a corner of the classroom. The carpet would be cleaned over the summer.
At
the end of each academic year, teachers are given a sum of money to spend on
ordering resources for next year. These
resources can be office stationery, books, posters, and notebooks. Just look through the catalogues, fill out a
detailed order form, and submit it to the main office. All the orders would arrive by sealift and/or
airmail. I checked mine twice before
submitting it to the office.
Inuujaq
School in Arctic Bay follows the semester system but the timings are different. Instead of starting the year in September
after Labour Day, Semester 1 begins in mid-August and ends in December. Semester 2 runs from January to early June.
When
it came to preparing for my summer trip, I limited myself to packing one
suitcase with just the essentials. The
success of being rehired was a huge weight off my shoulders because I no longer
needed to move all of my belongings. I had done that once in January when I moved to Arctic Bay from Iqaluit and it
was a lot of work.
To
celebrate the end of another successful school year, the staff of Inuujaq
School held a pot luck lunch on June 6. I
assisted in setting up the Home Ec(onomics) Room for the occasion by placing
cutlery on the cloth covered tables. The
food was laid out in the style of a buffet.
When the word was given, everyone lined up - ladies first of course -
and helped themselves to a delicious meal.
Just before dessert, the principal, A. Salam, thanked everyone for their
hard work in making the 2012-13 year a success.
He also led staff in wishing three departing teachers all the best in
their future endeavours. They each
received a card and a parting gift.
On
the morning of Friday, June 7, I woke up, got dressed, and made myself a small
breakfast. Today was the big day; flying
down south for the summer. Several teachers
were also flying out as well. Most of us
were driven to the airport by the Housing Manager. The town's only taxi was not available. It was a sunny but cloudy day. The bay was covered in slush, a sign that the
melting process was in full swing.
The
First Air turboprop arrived from Resolute as we were checking in our luggage. A high school student returning to Pond Inlet
was also taking this flight. Her
boyfriend and his friend came to bid her farewell. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights to
Pond Inlet. From Arctic Bay, you have to
fly down to Iqaluit and then back up to Pond Inlet. The passengers from Resolute had to disembark
from the plane so that the ground crews could refuel, restock, and clean the
aircraft. When everything was ready, the
passengers from Resolute were allowed to board first. Next came the Arctic Bay passengers. I took one last look at the scenery around me
before boarding the plane. Thinking like
Arnold Schwarzenegger, I quietly said the phrase, "I'll be back," to
myself. When the plane lifted off the
gravel runway and began turning towards the south, I caught a glimpse of very
large cracks in the ice below. I
wondered what the landscape would look like in August.
My
summer vacation would begin in Iqaluit.
Rather than just pass through, I decided to stay for the weekend and
revisit the town I called home for a year.
Much needed R & R would follow in Ottawa. After that, summer school in Toronto. With summer school in full swing at the time
of this writing, I will be taking a short break from my blogging duties to
complete my studies. Expect my return in
August. And if a particular Social
Studies student of mine is reading this post, yes, I will be ready and in shape
for Round Two.
