Anti-Bullying Week

Inuujaq School's Safe School Committee organized an Anti-Bullying Week from September 21 - 25.  The committee distributed a list of activities they prepared to teachers that focused on how to identify, stop, and prevent bullying in & outside of school.  Teachers were encouraged to complete the activities that applied to their respective classes.

            

Some of the activities included: Pink t-shirt Anti-Bullying Pledge, Elder & RCMP Visits to classrooms, and the "Caught you Caring" Campaign.  The school's main hallway became filled with coloured pink t-shirt posters with statements, such as, "I will take turns sharing toys," "I will stand nicely in line," and "I will tell a teacher is I see bullying happening."  Elders spoke to all students about the negative effects of bullying and how to stop &  prevent it.  The "Caught You Caring" Campaign saw teachers handing out "I Caught You Caring" cards to students who behaved in a thoughtful & caring manner towards teachers & peers.   

            

The main event was the Safe School Artistic Challenge.  Classes could prepare an anti-bullying short film, song, poster(s), or skit and present it at the assembly on the 25th.  The winning classes would receive $80.

            

My high school classes watched the 2011 documentary Bully.  The last time I played the movie was two years ago.  The film was controversial upon its release due to its shocking content.  We were all shocked by the types of bullying that were recorded on camera.  The film generated classroom discussions on what kind of bullying happens in the community. 

            

Bullying is a problem in Arctic Bay, like anywhere else in the world, and it occurs in & around the school.  Cyber bullying is a particular concern, especially with social networking sites like Facebook.  We talked about how to confront bullish behaviour using non-violent means, such as talking to a teacher, parent, elder, principal, and/or the RCMP.           

            

I also displayed an "Incident Reports by Province" pie chart from the Stop A Bully website.  Stop A Bully is "a registered national charity and Canada-wide anti-bullying program developed in 2009, [that] allows any student to safely report [incidences of bullying] to school officials."  Unfortunately, the pie chart did not provide statistics from the three territories.  This absence of information prompted many students to guess how many bullying incidences are reported in the north.  What was also emphasized to students was that there are many bullying situations that go unreported. 

            

My students were surprised to learn that I had six bullies in high school: 3 in Grade 9, 2 in Grade 10, and 1 in Grade 11.  I didn't go into details as to how I survived those three years in high school.  All I added was that I didn't use physical force of any kind.

            

Greg & Geela

Friday's assembly began at 1:30pm after lunch.  The gym was packed with teachers, students, elders, parents, and community members.  The chair of Safe School Committee, Greg, addressed the audience, welcoming them to the first anti-bullying assembly of the year.  The Inuktitut translations were done by Geela, a student support assistant.  The community's two RCMP officers were the first presenters, giving a talk about various types of bullying and how the RCMP can help victims of harassment.  What I liked was that the officers explained to everyone that bullying in Canada can lead to criminal charges if they fall into the following categories: threats, criminal harassment, distribution of images without consent, and assaults.

            

Safe School Committee.

The Safe School Committee was called up to the front of the gym to be thanked everyone for making Anti-Bullying Week possible and for organizing the assembly.

            

The best was saved for last: the Artistic Challenge.  Everyone was eager & excited to see what each class came up with. 

            

Kindergarten

Grade 3

Grade 4

The Kindergarten class made a music video about wanting a safe school.  The video was shown on one of the gym walls using a projector.  The Grade 1 & 2 classes made posters and had them pasted all around the gym.  The Grade 3 class did a live performance, singing an Inuktitut song.  The Grade 4 students did a mix of a live performance with the use of Inuktitut posters.  The posters explained the three types of bullying: emotional, verbal, and physical.  The Grade 5 students did live skits of situations where bullying may occur - such as the recess playground - how to cease the unwanted behaviours, and how to be more inclusive with peers.         

            

Grade 5

Greg's Grade 6 class took the artistic challenge to the "next level" when they debuted their video that showed how bullied kids feel isolated and excluded.  However, the video ends with the positive message that help is never too far away.  The video uses the song "True Colors," covered by Artists Against Bullying, as the soundtrack.  The Grade 6s spent many days planning, prepping, filming, and editing all the footage.  Greg and his students received an enthusiastic "two thumbs up" response from the audience at the end of the video. 

            

John talking about what his Grade 7 & 8
students did for the artistic challenge.

It was easy to see that the Grade 7 class was shy in presenting their anti-bullying posters because they had to follow the popular Grade 6 video.  Despite this unintentional feeling of intimidation, they went ahead with their presentation and received a warm reception.  The Grade 8s also made a video showing where bullying may occur at school, such as the washroom and at recess.

            

High school video

The last two videos to be shown at the assembly were from the Grade 9 and high school media classes.  Sarah teaches the Grade 9s and Ryan teaches high school media.  The Grade 9 video centered on name calling & labelling in Inuktitut and English.  The main message is to only use positive comments & labels, and to get along with everyone.  The high school video focused on cyber bullying through Facebook & bullying in the high school section.  The video encourages students who have been bullied to speak to a teacher and/or principal.    

            

Anti-bullying posters

The winners of the Artistic Challenge were the Grade 6 & 9 classes.  The announcement was made the following week.  Both classes decided to spend their $80 prizes on pizza parties.  Greg & Sarah were encouraged by everyone to post the videos on YouTube and send links to various media outlets.  The last I heard, both teachers were talking with CBC North, Nunatsiaq News, and APTN.  Greg also sent his video to Global National, Kids Help Phone Line, and even to Jacob Hoggard, the lead singer of Hedley.  Hoggard is one of the artists featured in the song "True Colors".  Overall, Anti-Bullying Week was a success.  The student body created many useful resources using various mediums.  I'm sure they will be used for future anti-bullying campaigns. 

            

Update: Greg's Grade 6 class was featured in a CBC North article on October 2, 2015.  The article contains a link to the video on YouTube.  Greg's students are enjoying their time as local celebrities.          

Snow, Sealift the Third, and Fire

First snowfall.

Construction of the new health centre.

Wednesday, September 16 was Arctic Bay’s first snow day.  (Snow fell on the surrounding mountains a week before).  It was a strange, though exciting sight to wake up to.  Snow was sprinkled all over the community while low grey overcast clouds hung above.  Despite this sudden change of weather, construction on the new health centre continued.  Unfortunately, the snow would melt by the end of the day, leaving behind mud puddles in the gravel roads.  What followed was three days of rain.  This forced me, and many others in the community, to walk around in rubber boots.

            

Umiavut (top) & Kiviuq I (bottom).

Umiavut with KGVM in the background.

The third sealift vessel, the Umiavut, arrived on September 19.  (I’ve been told that a third sealift boat is rare for Arctic Bay).  A third freighter was required to deliver the remaining orders because the construction materials for the new health centre occupied most of the assigned cargo space on the second boat.  The Kiviuq I also dropped anchor in Arctic Bay that day.  I think they came back for supplies.  (You can reread my visit to the ship here).      

            

Kiviuq I

The remaining school supplies were on the Umiavut.  Some of the items were big, like a SMART Board on wheels, filing cabinets, and a new playground slide.  The mobile board was assembled by Greg, the Grade 6 teacher.  If the mobile board is frequently used by all teachers this year, the principal may order another one for next year. 

And this is just the weekend line up.
The school day line ups were three times
as long.

The new playground slide became an immediate hit with the students after it was installed in the school yard.  For the next week, teachers on recess duty had to manage the very long and continuous line of children wanting to try out the new playground attraction.  The same thing happened two years ago when the school installed a new swing set.     

Following a familiar script from last year, my Grade 10 Social Studies students continued their examination of the history behind the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.  They read about the issues discussed at the 1970 Coppermine Conference, the Inuit organizations that were formed in the 1970s, and made information posters about the key Inuit negotiators.

In Grade 11 Social Studies, my students were studying European imperialism but this time I added more case studies from the new textbooks I ordered.  They looked at imperialist practices in Canada (ie. Canadian Pacific Railway), and Africa (ie. Zulu Kingdom, Belgian Congo).  They were particularly interested in the 1990 Oka Crisis.  I had to split the imperialism test into two parts because we covered a lot of material. 

My drummers no longer complain about having to carry all the instruments & equipment down to the Home Ec room for practice.  This tells me that they are half prepared for the Halloween & Christmas concerts.  The other half is learning and perfecting the required repertoire.  So far, we're focusing on Halloween next month.  Once October arrives, the days are going to go by much faster.  My drummers received some new music, such as, an intermediate rudiments handout, and a third performance piece.  They also did some theory revolving around counting 16th notes.  Before the month was over, my drummers completed two performance tests.

It's my duty to promote education as a teacher.

Several important news items occurred in the north this month and I would like to take the time to address them.  Unfortunately, only one of them is positive - I think.  On September 5^th, a fire broke out at the new airport terminal being constructed in Iqaluit.  Thankfully, the fire was contained to the roof and extinguished by the fire department.  However, the fire caused $1 million in damage.  The roof is being constructed using a material that is a petroleum product.  When the product is heated, it becomes a liquid, and the liquid is combustible.  The Nunavut’s Office of the Fire Marshal conducted an investigation and determined that the fire was accidental and not deliberately set.  Hopefully, this incident will not cause a great delay in the terminal’s construction.  The new terminal is part of a massive airport renovation project expected to be completed in late 2017.  Despite the controversy surrounding this $400 million project, I still believe the new airport will greatly benefit the people of Iqaluit and Nunavut.

            

The very next day, on the morning of September 6^th, a fire demolished Peter Pitseolak High School in Cape Dorset.  The fire had actually started the night before, but burned throughout the night.  Firefighters were unable to stop the blaze from consuming the entire building and the contents inside.  Many newspapers have quoted witnesses saying that there is literally nothing left of the building except scrap metal.  The tragedy struck just two and half weeks into the new school year and after the school underwent a $17 million renovation.  The school also doubled as a community centre.  Three youths have been arrested and charged with arson with damage to property, and arson with disregard to human life. 

High school classes resumed several days later at Sam Pudlat Elementary School but only in the afternoon.  The education department flew in additional supplies, textbooks, and workbooks.  An  Ontario teacher has set up an online fundraiser to send educational supplies to Cape Dorset.  The Nunavut Education Minister, Paul Quassa, stated that rebuilding the high school would take three years and delay other construction projects.  The delay will affect the new power plant and health centre currently being planned for the hamlet of 1,400 people.  

The news of the fire spread quickly throughout the territory and the rest of Canada.  Naturally, everyone here at Inuujaq School was shocked by the news.  It made us ponder on what would happen here should our school ever suffer a similar fate.  We came to the conclusion that we too would be scrambling to find places to hold classes for the rest of the school year.  

The community of Arctic Bay suffered its own tragedy on September 20, when Michael Levi, 51, died at the Mary River mine site in what has been called a “workplace accident.”  The mine is operated by Baffinland.  The company sent grief counsellors to the mine site and to visit Levi’s family in Arctic Bay.  Levi’s body was returned to the community a week after the accident and was laid to rest following a community-held funeral.

The federal election has been in full swing for the last month and there are 4 candidates vying for the Nunavut riding.  Hunter Tootoo is running as a Liberal candidate, Jack Anawak as an NDP candidate, Leona Aglukkaq as a Conservative candidate, and Spencer Rocchi is running for the Green Party.  Spencer is a former teacher from Inuujaq School, having taught here just last year.  All candidates have made many expensive promises to the people of the north, from expanding the Nutrition North program to spending more on infrastructure.  At the moment the race is looking pretty close.  We shall see what the final outcome will be on October 19th.  

What makes campaigning in the north unique, and frustrating for voters, is that expensive air travel prevents candidates from visiting most of the northern communities.  Campaign stops are usually restricted to Iqaluit and/or Rankin Inlet.  The federal political parties would score more "political points" if they spent more money sending their candidates all over the territory.    

                 

Community Beach Cleanup '15

Breakfast / Briefing

Saturday, September 12 felt like the previous Saturday with overcast clouds, but there were no strong winds.  The staff & cadets of 3045 Army Cadet Corps would be able to complete its community service requirement by cleaning up the shoreline behind the airport.  (The event was originally scheduled for September 5^th, but had to be postponed due to bad weather).  Performing community service in cadets fits into citizenship training. 

The corps took on this project two years ago and it’s very likely that we will be revisiting that area for many years to come.  The shoreline I speak of is located about 8km south of Arctic Bay and it becomes littered with garbage of all sorts during the summer.  When the ice in the bay melts, any garbage or loose items that have been left there are carried by the current to that southern shoreline.  It makes the area unattractive and dangerous for arctic wildlife.  That area is a bird sanctuary.

The staff and cadets assembled at the Uquutaq Centre (Anglican church) in the early morning for breakfast and a briefing.  I arrived wearing my cadpat combat attire – I was representing the Canadian Armed Forces.  Everyone was fed delicious egg muffins with ham & juice boxes.  The briefing was short & to the point – “We’re going!”  The cadets piled into the back of a pickup truck and were driven to the airport.  Another pickup truck was used to bring garbage bags, a tent, and lunch meals.  Two atvs with attached trailers were also brought along to assist in collecting all the filled garbage bags and any large items (wood, bicycles, rubber tires, etc).

            

Two senior cadets transported most of the cadets, meals, and necessary equipment to the shoreline using the atvs and trailers.  I was with the group that chose to walk around the airport towards the shoreline.  Upon arrival, the cadets unloaded all the supplies and set up the white McPherson tent.  When the tent was pitched, a cadet was placed in charge of boiling water on a Coleman stove so that everyone could mix it with hot chocolate powder in a mug. 

            

The cadets were divided into two groups.  One group was given the shoreline heading towards Arctic Bay, and the other group was assigned the southern shoreline.  Garbage bags, as well as gloves, were handed out.  I led the first group.  The commanding officer of the cadet corps would roam between the groups and the camp site, making sure everyone was working. 

            

I watched where I stepped because I didn’t want to dirty my uniform.  There is a lot of seaweed along the shoreline and it does smell in certain places.  It always amazes me to see how much garbage is found in this area, from small pop cans to large rubber tires.  Even wood from sealift crates wash up on shore.  We picked up so many different things that day.  Toys, tricycles, shirts, shoes, chip bags, Rubbermaid containers, plastic bags, plastic food containers, motor oil bottles, soccer balls, the list goes on.  It was really helpful when the sun came out from behind the clouds because the sunlight reflected off all the plastic wrappers on the ground.  We collected enough pieces of wood for a very large bonfire. 

            

Loading the ATV.

The shoreline began to look cleaner and “greener” after several hours of hard work.  The atv drivers were kept busy, driving between groups, picking up garbage bags and wood, and driving them back to the staging area.  The discarded wood pieces were piled up in one spot while the garbage bags were loaded onto the pickup trucks.      

            

Staging Area

Lunch time!

We gave the cadets a hot chocolate break and a lunch break.  The lunch meals were American-made Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs).  The meals come packaged in aluminum pouches inside cardboard boxes.  The main courses need to be removed from the boxes and cooked in hot water.  MREs aren’t as good as the Canadian-made Individual Meal Packages (IMPs) but they’ll satisfy your hunger for some time. 

            

A cleaner shoreline.

(Photo taken by Clare Kines).

We finished cleaning up the area at around 3pm.  Unfortunately, there was still plenty of garbage along the shoreline towards Arctic Bay but we were all tired.  That area would have to be cleaned on another day.  We posed for photographs in front of the large wood pile we created.  Everyone agreed that there would be plenty of wood to burn during the weekend Field Training Exercise (more on this in a future post).  The commanding officer debriefed the cadets on a job well done and spoke about the reasoning behind their community service. 

Debriefing

I can't believe we found an abandoned qamutik.

The tent was taken down and was packed into a trailer, along with other materials.  Several cadets hopped on the back of trailer and were driven back to the pickup trucks, while others walked back.  Those walking back had to navigate around large mud puddles.  Everyone was home by 4pm.

Staff & volunteers. (Photo taken by Clare Kines).

The beach cleanup was a success and the shoreline was clean for another year.  It would be nice if that area didn’t become littered with garbage every year, but as long as the community suffers from a lack of will to keep garbage off the ground, this will always be the outcome.  (Littering, as we all know, is a problem everywhere in the world.  Turning a blind eye won’t make the problem go away).           

     

Arctic Bay. September 12, 2015

Mining Matters Workshop

Arctic Bay welcomed two visitors to its community on September 8^th.  Barb is an instructor from the charity organization Mining Matters and Rob is employed by the Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation.  They had come to perform educational workshops for Grade 9, high school, teaching staff, and community members.  The workshops revolved around the mining industry in Nunavut, particularly the Mary River iron-ore project.  The Grade 9 & teaching staff workshops were scheduled for September 9^th and the high school & community workshops occurred on September 10^th.  Barb had staged a similar workshop last year around the same time except there would be many more activities this time.

            

On a side note, September 8^th was also the day when the fuel tanker Travestern arrived to replenish the tanks at the gas station.  The tanks contain gas, diesel, and aviation fuel.  The Travestern is owned & operated by the Woodward Group.  The fuel was transferred to the tanks via an underwater hose.  The tanker left the following day.

            

The teacher workshop was after school and it focused on the minerals found in the territory.  We got to look and identify various rock specimens using magnifying glasses.  I had to leave early because I had cadets in the evening. 

            

The high school workshop lasted the entire day; regular classes were postponed.  Everyone filed into the high school science room for the workshop.  Barb and Rob were there to greet the students and introduce themselves.  The students made nametags to make it easier for the visiting instructors to remember names.

            

Barb began the workshop by talking about how old the Earth is (4.3 billion years) and what kind of rocks/minerals can be found all over the planet.  She then focused on the mineral iron because that is the primary resource being extracted at the Mary River mine, located 280km southeast of Arctic Bay.  Most Inuit workers employed at Mary River come from Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet.  When the students were done inspecting iron rock specimens, they went outside to complete a giant map activity.  The huge laminated map of Canada was 3m x 2m and in pieces.  The students were tasked with putting the map together like a puzzle.  The activity was designed to show the location of the Canadian Shield.  The students successfully completed the activity but came inside with muddy shoes.  The floor was quickly mopped by the principal and the workshop continued. 

            

The next set of maps were smaller and of Baffin Island.  The students used the maps to familiarize themselves with contour lines, elevation, glaciers, highest mountains, and the location of Mary River. 

            

Rob took over for Barb by showing a PowerPoint presentation on the Mary River Mine.  He showed pictures of the camp, mine site, loaders, large trucks, the port, and the road network the company built.  He also explained what life is like at the mine, the work schedules, and the jobs available.  The work schedule sees workers working 12 hour shifts for 14 days and then they are given 14 days off.  Each worker is assigned their own room that has a phone line, washroom, and internet access.  The workers are flown out for their time off.  Rob stressed to the students that if they wanted to work at the mine, they needed to finish high school.  Once hired, they would receive specific training.  Rob concluded his presentation by introducing Meena, Arctic Bay’s Baffinland Liaison Officer.  She deals specifically with Mary River and helps applicants with their paperwork & organizes schedules.  She said a few words in Inuktitut about helping interested students with their applications and dealing with any situations in the future.

            

The students played a modified version of the popular game Bingo! just before lunch.  Barb explained a mining job of some sort and if the students had the job title on their card, they marked it with a pencil.  When a student completed a specific pattern on their card they shouted, “I’m hired!”

            

Everyone received free red Baffinland t-shirts after lunch.  The classroom became a sea of red.  Barb continued the workshop with what to do when your GPS device “dies”.  Students were given compasses and shown how to take bearings.  The students took a few bearings in the classroom before being given a Garmin GPS device.  Barb taught the basics of operating the devices before taking the students outside for a waypoint tracking activity.  Pink flags were placed outside the school and students had to find them and record the coordinates.

            

The last activity of the workshop was finding iron deposits at Mary River using detailed maps.  The high school students thanked Barb & Rob for their informative workshop.

           

The community workshop that evening ran from 6 – 8pm.  Everyone was welcomed to attend.  It was originally scheduled for the day before but was postponed due to community events.  About fifteen people showed up the hands-on workshop. 

            

The content of the workshop was much different and was split into four parts.  The first part was a matching game where participants matched metals with their melting points.  The second part was a reclamation/matching puzzle.  Each person was given two sets of pictures.  One set displayed mine sites and the other set showed reclamation sites (what mines look like after they’re cleaned up).  The people had to match the pictures that resembled each other.  From this, they could determine which mineral was extracted and for what product it was used for.

            

The third activity focused on making jewelry using polished rocks of many colours.  Each participant had to encase their rock in a copper wire mesh and then attach it to a length of rope to form a necklace. 

            

The fourth activity proved to be the most popular because it was soapstone carving.  Everyone chose a precut square stone in the shape of mammals, insects, fish, and lizards.  Each participant was given a carving kit.  Their task was to turn the rough cut into a finished product.  This was to be done in three steps:

·         Step 1: Rough filing with a mesh cloth. 

·         Step 2: Sandpaper filing

·         Step 3: Fine sandpaper filing in a bucket of water. 

You let the carving dry for some time and then apply a specific kind of oil that was included in the carving kit.  There was only thirty minutes left in the workshop to complete the carving activity.  Those who weren’t finished were allowed to complete their work at home

Barb and Rob left for their next destination the following day on September 11^th.  Overall the workshops were a success.  The participants learned a lot about the mining industry, the rocks & minerals found in Nunavut, and the various mining job available to Inuit. 

This post was jointly written with Jean-Francois (JF), the high school math & science teacher.  All photos were taken by Ryan, the media & ESL teacher.