The Last Days of School

Friday, June 5th was the last day of school for students.  Report cards would be handed out at the end of the day and then students would be free to enjoy the next two months of summer vacation.  However, several school "chores" needed to be completed first.

            

The students & teachers cleaned the area around the school by picking up all the garbage.  Cigarette butts were left on the ground.  The garbage was very easy to spot because there was no snow.  The school does have two large garbage bins but they fill up quickly.  We filled quite a number of garbage bags with litter.  The school grounds looked a lot nicer than before.  Littering & garbage being left on the ground is a problem in all northern communities.  I think the issue is that there aren't enough public trash cans like the ones you see all over Iqaluit.  Communities organize a cleanup day whenever the snow melts in the late spring.  It's better than doing nothing.

            

My classroom at the end of the year.

New textbooks, new resources.

The morning was also spent cleaning classrooms.  To make it easier for the floors to be swept and vacuumed, chairs and desks were stacked up against a wall.  Students were given the choice to collect their class work or throw it out.  My biggest task was getting rid of all the outdated social studies textbooks.  But, being a true teacher, I did keep one set from each grade - (10, 11, & 12) - just in case.  Some of the information was still valuable.  Disposing the obsolete textbooks required some heavy lifting.  I was glad the school has loading carts, otherwise, it would have been a slow, arduous march to the garbage bins.  I would be teaching social studies next year with newly bought textbooks.  The textbooks were written with the Alberta curriculum in mind.  (Nunavut's education curriculum is based on the curriculums of Alberta and the Northwest Territories).    

            

The year-end festivities kicked off with the year-end assembly after lunch.  The entire student-body gathered in the gym to witness the first important event on the program: kindergarten graduation.  The back wall of the gym was decorated with large block letters, spelling, "Kindergarten Graduates 2015".  Purple and blue stars surrounded the large title.  The blue stars contained the names of each individual graduate.  A large wooden stage sat in front of the decorated wall.  The young graduates were dressed in red graduation gowns and sat in the front row.

            

The principal and an Inuit student support assistant opened the assembly by welcoming everyone in English & Inuktitut.  They called upon Abby, the kindergarten teacher, to come up and hand out the certificates to her students.  When all the certificates were given, the entire graduating class posed for pictures.  There were a lot of camera flashes and clapping hands.

            

Aga

Spencer

Michel

Two members from the District Education Authority (DEA) continued the assembly by announcing the teachers who would not be returning in August and to give them a thank you/parting gift.  Four teachers would not be returning: Aga - high school arts; Spencer - Grades 7 & 8; Michel - high school math & science; and Tootalik - Inuit sewing.  Aga & Spencer were moving to Alberta, Michel was returning to Quebec, and Tootalik was retiring after teaching at Inuujaq School for many years.  Each teacher gave a short thank you/farewell speech before accepting a final applause from the audience.    

Tootalik

Winner of the second bicycle.

Winner of the iPad.

The assembly moved on to the attendance awards where names were drawn for the year end prizes.  Only those students who achieved perfect attendance for any month(s) during the year were entered in the draw.  Three names were drawn for three prizes.  A lucky student from Kindergarten - Grade 3 would win a bicycle, a lucky student from Grades 4 - 9 would also win a bicycle, and a lucky high school student would win an iPad.  Community members & parents were called to draw names.  There was much anticipation as the names were drawn and cheers when the names were called.  Each winner came up to the front to receive their prize and to have their pictures taken.

            

The afternoon festivities continued with a round-robin of sports activities & BBQ.  The Year-End BBQ Committee had organized it so that not everyone was being served food at the same time.  We didn't do that last year and it resulted in very long lines.  Students enjoyed the activities with their respective classes.  High school was one large group.  I escorted the high school students to each activity station.

            

Competitive rock throwers.

The first station was Inuit Games, led by Kataisee, Ikey, and Tootalik.  We only had time to play the rock throwing game.  It's a simple game where you build small inukshuks with rocks and then knock them down by throwing rocks.  It's similar to horse shoes but with more destruction.  Whoever knocks down the most inukshuks, wins.  You can alter the game by creating teams.  You just have to make sure that everyone is throwing rocks in the same, safe direction.

            

The second station was touch football, led by Michel.  Michel & I played with the students.  It was quite an intensive game at several moments but in the end my team won. 

            

HS students playing capture the flag.

The third station was Capture the Flag, led by Greg, the Grade 6 teacher.  I took a break this time and snapped pictures of the students running back and forth trying to steal the flags without getting tagged.  The high school students were pretty competitive.

            

The fourth station was soccer.  We played for a little bit but, by this time, the high school students were hungry.  And thankfully, the BBQ lines were very short.

            

Year end BBQ.

The BBQ station was set up behind the school.  The station contained: four propane-fueled barbecues, tables with condiments, buns, juice boxes, paper plates, & napkins, and several garbage cans.  The hot dogs and hamburgers were prepared by teachers, several high school students, and a few community members.  The food was delicious.

            

I spent most of the weekend packing my suitcase, cleaning my residence, and emptying my fridge.  I was going to be out of town for two months so I had to make sure there was nothing perishable left inside.  I'm pretty sure most of the southern teachers did the same.  The packing must have been more challenging for Aga, Spencer, and Michel because they were moving out.  They made the task a little easier by selling & giving away the possessions they would no longer need.  I had my skidoo safely locked away in a wooden shed at the Gas Station.  The shed belonged to Frank May, Arctic Bay's former mayor, and commanding officer of 3045 Army Cadet Corps.                   

            

The last day of school for teachers was Monday, June 8th.  The principal gave out a checklist that listed everything we needed to get done before we were dismissed for the summer.  We were already ahead of schedule because we had recruited our students to help us clean out our classrooms the week before.  Some the tasks that needed to be completed were: black & white boards must be wiped cleaned, all posters in the hallways need to be removed, and any borrowed equipment must be returned to the storage & resource rooms.  The last item on the list was handing in the keys to your classroom for safe keeping.

            

A final staff meeting was called after lunch.  The principal thanked everyone for making the 2014-15 academic year a success and personally thanked the outgoing teachers for their contributions.  We also celebrated two staff birthdays with cake and snacks.  At the end of the day, I handed in my keys to the principal and wished him a good summer.  I spent the rest of the day packing.

            

All the southern teachers flew out on the morning of Tuesday, June 9th.  I got a ride to the airport from Frank May.  He also wished me a great summer.  As the First Air turboprop lifted off the gravel runway and flew south towards Iqaluit, I quietly thought about my planned adventures for the summer.

            

Another year living in Arctic Bay and teaching at Inuujaq School has come to a close.  As you can tell, I will be returning for another year of teaching.  With the summer now upon me, I will be taking a break from my blogging duties.  I can't wait to tackle all the wonderful activities I've got planned in the coming days.  You'll have to wait until August to understand by what I mean.

            

Have a great summer and I'll see you all in August!

Spring Camp for Staff

The first week of June revolved around the annual spring camp and the last day of school.  There was still plenty of snow & ice out in the bay.  It wouldn't be until early July when all of that would melt into liquid water.  Only the snow in town and on the land was melting at a rapid pace.  Unfortunately, this turned much of the town's gravel roads and walkways into large mud puddles.  Everyone had to frequently look down at the ground so as not to get their footwear dirty.  Wearing my new sealskin kamiks were out of the question.

            

Inuujaq School organizes a spring camp every year as a field/cultural trip for all students.  Staff & students are taken to a designated camping location and learn about traditional Inuit hunting, sewing, and arctic survival.  If there is enough snow & ice, the elders in charge may also teach how to build igloos.  The spring camp is only for four days, but still an expensive endeavour.  The school pays for drivers, elders, gas, oil, tents, qamutiks (sleds), equipment, and food.  The final bill easily runs into the thousands of dollars.  Regardless, I think the spring camp is an important component of Inuit education and a great way to finish off the school year.

           

I sat on the Spring Camp Committee this year and was tasked with setting aside the right amount of food for each day.  Two other teachers would assist me.  I quickly found out how much food was needed to feed 250 people over four days.  I forgot to take pictures but let's just say the entire seating area in the school's home economics room was full.  We created four separate piles for each day & group.  The four groups were: high school & grades 9 - 8, grades 7 - 4, grades 3 - kindergarten, and school staff.  The menu consisted of healthy food & drinks, and country food.  Country food means traditional Inuit food, such as, seal, arctic char, caribou, walrus, narwhal, etc.  The assigned rations were collected every morning and carried out to the frozen bay in large cardboard boxes.  The food would then be loaded onto waiting qamutiks.  Overall, being in charge of ration distribution was a piece of cake.

             

Thursday, June 4th was the last day of spring camp and an the entire day was reserved for Inuujaq School staff.  Naturally, regular classes were cancelled.  I didn't wear my heavy Canada Goose clothing because the weather was hot and sunny.  The temperature hovered around the single digits above zero degrees Celsius.  I left my shotgun at home because only hired elders and hunters are allowed to bring firearms for spring camp.  The only defensive weapon I brought was my machete.        

We all assembled out on the ice where a convoy of skidoos and qamutiks were waiting for us.  It was the early morning and everyone was excited.  The convoy left after all the food was loaded and attendance was taken.  I hopped on my skidoo and caught up with the convoy.  We passed over some large cracks in the ice by driving fast. 

            

The convoy arrived at the camp site twenty minutes after departure.  The camp site is located 12 kilometres to the southeast of Arctic Bay, past the airport and the First Bridge.  The school has camped here for many years.  Before us were a long row of eight tents and several people waiting for our arrival.  Boxes of raw seal & char, and plastic plates & utensils lay stacked next to one elder tent.  The camp had been set up by the high school students on the first day.  Several of them had chosen to remain for the entire camp to assist the elders.  This wasn't a problem because final exams & report cards were finished.  Once everyone got off their skidoos and qamutiks, a snack break was held.  Hot chocolate, tea, juice, bannock, and soup were served.

            

Raw seal meat.

Once everyone's appetites were satisfied, the time had come to go seal hunting.  Several teachers chose to stay behind to learn sewing and to hike the surrounding hills.  The hunters hopped on their skidoos with their rifles slung across their backs.  The teachers piled into the many qamutiks set aside for the hunt.  I think every qamutik carried a niksik, a large sharp metal hook attached to long wooden stick.  Several high school students also joined us on this excursion.  One of my English students wanted to act as my guide.  I accepted the offer and Andy hopped on the back of my skidoo.  (Not to be confused with Ranger Andy).

            

Niksik

Stopping to check out the seal traps.

Seal trap.

We drove out into the bay, turned left, and circled around Holy Cross Point.  We continued driving deeper into the southeastern waterway looking for seals.  The convoy first stopped at an area where traps had been placed over several seal holes.  The traps are simple in design: a hook is attached to a fishing line and lowered deep into the seal hole.  The fishing line is attached to a wooden board that lies across the hole.  The hope is that when a seal comes up to breathe, they'll get stuck by the hook.  Unfortunately, no seal was caught.  After waiting several minutes, everyone climbed back onto the skidoos and qamutiks. 

            

Distant hunting party.

Grade 6 teacher Greg takes a photo.

The convoy broke off into small groups so that we could cover more ground.  We began crisscrossing the ice, going from seal hole to seal hole, hoping to catch something.  I felt we were like birds circling our prey, just waiting to pounce the moment they appeared.  Andy pointed me towards the seal holes.  Sometimes we followed an elder.  We spotted several seals in the distance but they escaped whenever we raced towards them.  It was a time consuming game of cat-and-mouse.  I could only imagine how much more difficult it was for Inuit hunters many decades ago before the arrival of the snow machine.

            

We stopped next to a group of elders who were watching two Inuit teachers standing still over a seal hole waiting for a seal to surface.  They had been instructed to stay far back so that the sounds of the skidoo engines would not scare away the seals.  While we watched from a distance, I took the time to photograph the my surroundings.  In the end, the teachers called out saying that no seals were coming and that it would be best to head back for lunch.  We all felt disappointed driving back to camp with nothing to show for our time out on the ice.  Andy explained that coming back with nothing happens a lot.  Thankfully, there was food at the camp site.  Coming back with no catch during traditional times, (before 1950), could spell disaster for an Inuit family.

            

Lunch time

My lunch.

The lunch menu consisted of country food, bannock, soup, caribou stew, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and any food people brought themselves.  I decided to be more acculturated by eating only country foods.  I walked over to where elders were cutting pieces of raw arctic char and caribou.  Holding my own ulu (knife) in one hand and a cutting board in the other, I cut off large pieces of the raw meats and placed them on my cutting board.  I then walked over to where an elder was preparing bannock bread and took some freshly baked pieces that were just finished.  I was offered a bowl of soup but I declined.   

            

"So you're just going to eat country food?" an Inuit teacher asked me.

"Yes," I replied.  "It's pretty good.  I could get used to this stuff."

            

Me enjoying my lunch. Seriously, I am
enjoying it.  The picture was taken right
when I was chewing.

I sat down on some rocks and began to enjoy my lunch.  Everyone else did the same after receiving their meals.  The sun was out and the temperature was warm.  While I was eating, I got this strange feeling that I was being watched by everyone.  I guess it's not every day you see a qallunaq (non-Inuit) eating so much country food.

            

"Do you want some soup with that, Adrian?" asked a southern teacher, referring to the many Ramen Noodles that were brought on this trip.

"No," I answered with a shake.  "This is all I want."

            

Cooked caribou liver.

When I was done, I was called over by an Inuit teacher to try cooked caribou liver.  The meat tasted alright but I should have plugged my nose because the gamey odor was unpleasant.  I was just glad that my stomach kept everything down.

            

During lunchtime, an elder gave all the southern teachers a short lecture on fish parts and what the Inuit would use the bones for.  The elder spoke in Inuktitut and Kataisee, the high school Inuit culture teacher, translated into English.  It was quite an informative lesson; we all learned some new things about traditional Inuit food culture.  (Detailed explanations forthcoming).       

            

Rations divided for elders.

We began taking down the camp site after lunch.  Some of the tents were left standing because a few elders would be staying behind.  The Spring Camp Committee members divided the remaining rations for the elders as a way of saying thank you for successfully running the spring camp.  The qamutiks were then packed with tents, garbage bags, paper cups, plastic utensils, Coleman stoves, ground sheets, sleeping bags, and other camping supplies.  Once the all-clear sign was given, everyone hopped onto a skidoo or jumped into a qamutik for the ride back to town.  I drove back on my personal skidoo with one extra passenger.  We were given the rest of the day off but I chose to go back to school to begin cleaning up my classroom. 

           

Qamutik being packed.

The spring camp day for Inuujaq School staff was a lot of fun.  I got to experience a modern seal hunt and enjoy eating various country foods out on the land.       

Operation Spring Fix 15 - Part 2

A toy soldier greets me in the morning.

Naphtha tank for Coleman stove.

Reveille was at 8am but I woke up thirty minutes early to get dressed and ready.  When you're a leader in the military, you need to be awake, alert, and ready at least 30 minutes before your subordinates wake up.  It was Saturday, May 30th, and the weather was still cloudy.  Once all the cadets were up & about, we immediately went to work on preparing breakfast. 

            

Camp site.

The breakfast MREs were brought outside in several boxes and placed in a line.  (The cadets had separated everything several weeks before the FTX).  Everyone was allowed: a warm meal, side dish or dessert, bread, crackers, powdered juice, and a spoon.  The warm meal packages were placed in pots with boiling water.  The male & female cadet tents received their own Coleman stoves, enabling them to cook their own meals.  My meals would be cooked in the male cadet tent.  The breakfast menu varied from person-to-person.  We brought a variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals.  All I remember is that my breakfast consisted of hash browns and bacon.

            

Seals in the distance.

Ranger Andy.

Two seals were spotted out on the ice directly across from the camp.  Unfortunately, they were out of shooting range.  A hunting team was quickly assembled.  The team consisted of Ranger Andy, myself, and several cadets.  We tied one of the qamutiks to the back of a skidoo and set off towards the unsuspecting seals.  I gave a senior cadet staying behind a walkie-talkie so that we could communicate.  I rode in the qamutik with the cadets, filming the experience with my camera.  One of the cadets held a long stick with a seal hook attached to the end.  In Inuktitut, the hunting tool is called a niksik.  When Ranger Andy was in range, he stopped the skidoo, turned off the engine, and aimed his rifle.  You can't drive too close or else the skidoo's engine will scare off the seals.  A brief moment of silence followed.

            

The ranger fired.  Both seals disappeared into a seal hole.

            

Seal hole.

Ranger Andy quickly started the skidoo and drove up to the seal hole.  We all thought he missed but he actually hit a seal.  There was some blood on the ice, leading us to believe that the bullet had grazed one of the seals.  The unfortunate news was relayed to the cadets at the camp site.  Thinking that the injured seal would surface again, three cadets volunteered to the stay behind.  I didn't really mind because they were experienced seal hunters and they were not far from the camp site.  I gave them my walkie-talkie in case of emergencies.

            

We returned to the camp site and prepared for the first morning activity.  All the cadets wanted to go seal hunting.  I didn't object.  I would be staying behind to guard the camp from any visiting polar bears.  (I hold a valid Canadian non-restricted & restricted firearms license).  Ranger Andy gave me a brief review lesson on how to operate the .22 rifle.  While that was happening, the senior cadets prepared my skidoo for the hunt.  They duct taped pieces of cardboard over the headlights so that the seals could not see them from a distance.  They also removed one side panel and placed it in a qamutik they would be pulling.  Inuit hunters regularly do this to prevent skidoo engines from overheating.

            

My skidoo after the first seal hunt.
The engine needed to be cooled.

The large and excited seal hunting party left the camp with two skidoos and two qamutiks.  They picked up the three cadets who were still out on the ice because the wounded seal had not surfaced.  I passed the time patrolling the camp, taking pictures of the surrounding landscape, and listening for any radio calls.  In the distance I heard gunshots.  The hunting party came back 90 minutes later without any seals.  Several seals were spotted but they had evaded capture.

            

Ranger Andy sighted his rifle by taking several practice shots at an empty naptha can.  (He was pointing the rifle in a safe direction).  He was convinced that the scope needed adjustment.  I wore my own earplugs while the unlucky ones covered their ears with their hands.  It was lunch time when Ranger Andy was finished.

            

Cadets choosing their lunches.

Lunch followed the same routine as breakfast.  The cadets lined up to grab their rations and then returned to their respective tents to cook the warm meals.  Clear white snow was collected and melted into fresh water.  We always had one pot for clean drinking water.

            

Small arctic char.

After lunch I split the cadets into two groups.  One group would continue seal hunting while the other group would go ice fishing behind the camping area.  Then the groups would switch activities after an hour.  This arrangement worked out quite well except no seals were caught again.  Luck was not with us this weekend.  However, the cadets did have better luck catching small arctic char in the frozen lake.

            

3045 Army group photo.

The highlight of the day was the bonfire.  Wood is very scarce on Baffin Island because there are no trees.  The wood that you do find in Nunavut mostly comes from leftover sealift boxes & crates.  Of course, timber is regularly imported (by air & sea) into Nunavut for housing, building qamutiks, and infrastructure.  Our firewood came from leftover sealift boxes & crates.  Lt. May had brought the firewood to the camping site a few days earlier.

            

Breaking pieces of firewood.

We assembled at the fire pit at 8pm.  We brought roasting sticks, marshmallows, hotdogs, bread, condiments, and juice boxes.  We got the fire going by using fire-starter sticks I bought at the local Co-op, and spare naphtha fuel.  It was a challenge to break the large pieces of wood because we neglected to bring axes on the FTX.  Thankfully, I had my machete to make the task a little easier.

            

Roasting Marshmallows Salute.

The marshmallows & hot dogs were brought out once the fire reached a good size.  Everyone surrounded the bonfire and pointed their roasting sticks into the hot flames.  Personally, I like my marshmallows & hot dogs lightly roasted but there were some cadets who liked them fully cooked.  I passed my camera around the fire, prompting the cadets to take plenty of pictures of the event.  Parents are always asking what their kids do on cadet FTXs and photos are an excellent way of answering those questions.  As the fire continued to burn, I knew there would be plenty of pictures to edit and post on the cadet corps's Facebook page.  

            

Back at camp.

The bonfire was extinguished with piles of white snow at 9pm.  We headed back to the camp site after sweeping the area of garbage.  Lights out was at 11pm.

              

Morning reveille was once again at 8am but I woke up much earlier.  I immediately rolled up my sleeping bag & air mattress, and packed all my belongings.  The activities planned for Sunday, May 31 were: breakfast, camp teardown, and driving back to Arctic Bay.

            

Camp teardown.

Tearing down the camp began almost immediately after breakfast.  All cadets were instructed to clean out their tents by: collecting all the garbage, rolling up their sleeping bags & air mattresses, packing all their kit bags, and moving everything outside, including the cardboard floors & ground sheets.  The tents could then be disassembled and packed onto the qamutiks.  Everything was carefully packed into the qamutiks so that nothing would get broken.  The cadets did one last garbage sweep of the entire bivouac site before I deemed the area to be clean.  All that was left were the many heavy rocks we used to hold down the tent ropes.  The last and most difficult job was cleaning out the washrooms.  I won't go into details; I'll just say that the task was successfully completed.

            

It was just after 11am when I had the cadets assemble for a quick debriefing.  I congratulated them for making the FTX a success, for tearing down the camp in an orderly fashion, and for keeping their heads held high even though they didn't catch any seals.   

            

Me sitting on my skidoo.

Since we only had three skidoos, one of them had to pull two qamutiks while the other two only pulled one each.  We met up with Lt. May halfway to Arctic Bay and had him pull one of the extra qamutiks.  We arrived in town after 1pm.  The cadets were dismissed for the remainder of the day but were instructed to wash their sleeping bag liners.  All the issued kit would be collected and placed back in storage on Wednesday, June 3rd.

            

Overall, Operation Spring Fix 15 was a success.  I didn't have any disciplinary problems and came back alive.  I had survived my first FTX as the only officer out-in-the-field.  "See, it wasn't that hard," commented Lt. May.

End of Operation Spring Fix 15 mini-series.