February Parents Night & Saying Farewell

3045 Army Cadet Corps held its first Parents Night in the new year on February 24th.  We had badges and prizes to give out, so we felt it would be better & more significant if the parents were in attendance.  The food for the reception was prepared by JF and his after school baking club.            

The guest reviewing officer (GRO) for the parade was Captain T. Nicol.  This would be Nicol's last parade as one of the Northwestern's Area Cadet Officers (ACO).  If any corps in the eastern region (Iqaluit, Arctic Bay, Igloolik, Rankin Inlet, and Naujaat) needed help with anything (ie. dealing with staff, travel arrangements, general questions), he was the officer to call.  A different officer would be carrying on in his place in the next several weeks, and Nicol would be pursuing other career ventures.             

            

The cadets prepared the school's gym by setting up chairs, flags, and the Dias table.  Several cadets also helped JF set up the reception table.  The parade started a little later than planned.

            

Cadet Sergeant E. Natanine in command.

The parade was commanded by cadet Sergeant E. Natanine.  She formed up the cadets and marched them to the centre of the parade square.  The GRO entered the gym and marched to the Dias.  Lt. May, 3045's Commanding Officer, and I followed closely behind.  We were wearing our formal green dress uniforms.  Cpt. Nicol inspected and spoke to the cadets on parade.  (I don't know what they talked about because I was taking pictures from a far).

            

March Past.

Sgt. Natanine led the corps in a March Past.  Cpt. Nicol then addressed the cadets & audience with a short speech.  He thanked the corps for inviting him to Arctic Bay and praised the cadets for their dress, drill, and deportment.  He also encouraged community members to continue supporting the corps & the cadet movement, and to think about joining up as a civilian instructor or cadet instructor cadre (CIC) officer.   

            

Me announcing several award recipients.  Picture taken by Clare Kines.

Marksmanship.

Cpt. Nicol assisted the adult staff of 3045 in presenting the badges and prizes to certain cadets.  We started with marksmanship; three cadets had achieved a higher shooting level at the last shooting practice.  Next came physical training (PT); several cadets had earned a higher level at the PT test that took place at the beginning of the month.    

            

Fall Biathlon Winners.  Picture taken by Clare Kines.

Stage II Postal Shooters.

The three cadets who won the biathlon competition last October were called up to the Dias to receive their prizes.  One cadet received an army baseball cap and the other two received t-shirts.  The cadets who participated in the Stage II Postal Shoot were also called up to the front to be recognized.  We still didn't know if they had been chosen to advance but they still deserved recognition for their effort.

            

Cpt. Nicol (left) & Lt. May (right).

Lt. May presented a thank you gift to Cpt. Nicol.  The gift was book, titled, Light Unbound: The Exquisite Beauty of Arctic Bay.  The book is a collection of photographs taken by Arctic Bay resident Clare Kines.  The parade ended with closing remarks by Lt. May and a General Salute.  The cadets were dismissed and everyone headed over to the reception area.

            

I would now like to address the unexpected event that occurred last week.  

            

The staff of Inuujaq School received devastating news on February 18.  We had lost one of our own.  Iga Muckpa, a long time educator at Inuujaq School, and resident of Arctic Bay, had passed away after a lengthy battle with a serious illness.  Teachers were given permission to stay at home that day.  Several teachers prepared and delivered trays of sandwiches and snacks to the surviving family.  The food would also feed visiting mourners.  The atmosphere in the house was somber.

            

Iga (with bullhorn) running the Easter
Egg hunt. March 28, 2013.

I met and worked with Iga since I arrived in the community in 2013.  She was the high school Inuit language/culture teacher.  She was deeply active in organizing the spirit team activities during the year, and promoted the teaching of Inuit language & culture in school.  She had to stop teaching at the school in June 2014 to begin medical treatments.        

            

Funeral program.

As funeral arrangements were being made, Greg & I were asked if we could perform two songs as part of the program.  We readily agreed and practiced "Hallelujah" and "Amazing Grace" for several days.  Greg would sing the lyrics & I would play the piano.  The staff would sing along with Greg during the chorus sections.

            

The funeral took place at the community hall on the afternoon of February 25th.  I had made arrangements to get the piano and music stands transported to the hall.  Pictures of Iga decorated the walls around the hall.  The casket, draped in a white cloth, was placed in front of the stage.  Two students handed out programs to mourners.  The ceremony began at 1:30pm.

            

The community hall was packed with people.  Some had flown in from other communities to say their final goodbyes.  The order of service consisted of prayers, hymns, Bible readings, special songs, and words of remembrance. 

            

When the Order of Service reached the Special Songs section, the school staff were called up first to perform "Hallelujah" and "Amazing Grace".  We were all wearing black & white clothing.  I sat on the right side of the casket and the staff stood on the left side.  Colourful wreaths and flowers adorned the casket.  From where I was sitting & playing, both songs sounded great.  And judging from the looks of the audience, they were glad to hear the tunes.

            

We were followed by several people who sang Inuktitut songs.

            

During the Words of Remembrance, many people came forward to share their stories of Iga.  They were family, extended family, friends, coworkers, and former students.  Even though my understanding of Inuktitut is limited (but growing), the tone and emotions conveyed in the stories made me understand that Iga had a tremendous positive impact on the people around her.

            

The casket was slowly carried out of the community hall after the Final Farewell.  Many people came up to the surviving family to offer their condolences.  Several people thanked Greg & I for the songs we performed.  The surviving family and other community members drove out to the cemetery to lay Iga to rest.  She will be missed by everyone.

                

PI Week & Postal Shoot

PD Cake. Made by JF.

February 15 - 19 was Professional Improvement (PI) Week for all teachers in Nunavut.  We are students for the duration of the week, learning new skills & acquiring knowledge that will benefit us and our younger students.  Regular classes are not held during this week.  The majority of teachers in the Qikiqtani Region - (where I teach) - would be completing their PI in their home communities.  (We had our regional conference in Iqaluit last year - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).  Of course, several teachers would be completing their PI outside their communities and even down south.  I would be staying in Arctic Bay. 

            

Greg & Greg.

For the first two days, I participated in a SMART Board Training workshop, led by Greg, the Grade 6 teacher.  (Teachers are allowed to organize workshops as part of their PI, as long as it falls under certain criteria).  I have worked with SMART Boards in the past, but that was several years ago, so a review/upgrade of my abilities was necessary.  Many teachers at Inuujaq School were taking the workshop because the school is in the process of acquiring more SMART Boards. 

            

Greg began his workshop by welcoming everyone to his classroom and briefly explaining that a SMART Board is an interactive white board that encourages experiential learning and collaboration.  He added that the board has been a "big hit" with his students and that it would also be well received by students from all classes.

            

John's digital B-Day card.

John cuts the PD cake.

Our first lesson was to learn/review how to write & erase on the board using the specially designed pens & eraser.  We concluded the quick lesson by signing a digital birthday card that Greg had prepared for John, the Grade 8 teacher.  As the day progressed, we learned many things, such as, how to draw, insert/import pictures, save, duplicate objects, and create lessons.  We also learned how to properly transport the mobile SMART Board between classrooms.  Greg made sure to give the teachers plenty of time to work with the board.

            

SMART Board training.

During the second day of the workshop, we learned more about the SMART Board software and SMART Exchange, a website where one can find a vast amount of content made by the company, teachers, business people, and enthusiasts.  We concluded the workshop by brainstorming ideas for lesson plans and some teachers began working on lesson plans that incorporate the interactive white board.  Overall, we learned a lot from the two-day workshop.  Thanks Greg!

           

Me & JF try to move a balloon between
our heads without using our hands.

Several teachers & I got quite a workout on the third day of PI Week.  We signed up for Cooperative Games, a workshop organized by Jean-Francois (JF), the high school math & science teacher.  The workshop would give participants a list of team building games to use for their PE classes.  (I don't teach PE but I wanted to try something new and see if I could use the games for cadets).  The workshop is geared towards K-9 classes but I thought maybe the high school students would enjoy playing the games.  The core feature of the games is that no one gets eliminated; everyone participates from beginning to end.  This would be quite an adjustment for me because I grew up playing games with elimination (ie. dodge ball, capture the flag, paintball, video games).  I think the other teachers shared similar views.

            

JF on a gym scooter and me moving
him around.

We had the whole gym to ourselves for the day.  We emptied out the equipment room to see what we had at our disposal.  There was a lot of resources we could use.  We learned and played a variety of games, some of which were quite funny.  Some of the games we played were: using our heads to move a balloon around, passing balloons through hula-hoops, and moving people using gym scooters.  We also learned a plethora of parachute games because they are always a hit with the younger grades. 

            

Parachute Feet. Picture taken by JF.

Abbie (kindergarten) and I inside the
parachute. Picture taken by JF.

To finish off the workshop, JF instructed us to come up with our own cooperative game using the materials in the equipment room.  (He reminded us that no one was to be eliminated).  We were able to come up with a "game" after much thought and trial-and-error.  The "game" involved passing a volleyball around and running to touch the nearest walls.  There's more tweaking to be done.  In the end, we all had fun and learned some pretty cool cooperative games.  Thanks JF!

            

During the last two days of PI Week, I devoted my time to professional reading.  I had received funding to purchase books on the following topics: differentiated learning, preventing/solving disciplinary problems, and creating a trauma-sensitive classroom.  I also purchased course materials from ASCD on how to teach children with learning disabilities.  The latter resource requires more than two days to review.  My plan is to become proficient in the course over the following months and teach it to the staff in the fall.

            

I particularly liked the books on preventing/solving disciplinary problems and creating a trauma-sensitive classroom.  Both books are easy to read and give many ideas & suggestions that teachers and administrative staff can use.  I'm still working my way through the differentiated learning book.

            

Other activities that teachers completed during PI Week were: sewing, classroom management, Inuktitut typing, translating resources, and learning Inuktitut.  Overall, PI Week was mostly a success.  There was only one serious incident that unexpectedly occurred.  (More on that in a future post). 

            

Stage II Postal Shoot.

On Sunday, February 21, 3045 Army Cadet Corps held an afternoon Stage II Postal Shoot to determine if we were eligible to send our marksmanship team down to Gimli, Manitoba, for a Stage III shooting competition.  Each team member had to shoot three sets of targets: two prone & one standing.  The adult staff would score the targets and then mail them to Winnipeg for verification.  If the overall score is the highest, or one of the highest, from the total number of corps participating in the Postal Shoot, then our team would be allowed to attend the competition down south.

            

There are four shooting competition stages in the cadet program.  Stage I is for local corps only.  Stage II is a postal shoot that determines who can go to Stage III.  Stage III is a provincial/territorial/regional shooting competition, and Stage IV is a national competition.  Only the best from Stage III compete at the national level.    

            

There was a lot of excitement and anticipation from the marksmanship team that afternoon while they set up the firing range in the school gym.  The cadets would be shooting targets at 10 metres with the Daisy Air Rifle.  For standing relays, the cadets had fifteen minutes to shoot ten rounds.  For prone relays, the cadets had thirty minutes to fire twenty rounds.  The only sounds you could hear during the relays were lead pellets hitting the targets and the cadets pumping the air rifles.

            

I think our marksmanship team has a really good chance of being selected for the Stage III competition in April.  We'll find out which corps have been selected next month.

                     

Return of the Sun & Valentine's Day

February 7, 2016

Dog Pen. February 7, 2016,

The sun returned to Arctic Bay during the first weekend of February.  Dark season was officially over.  I made sure to get out of the house and take pictures of the event.  The sun would only be visible for a small amount of time.  I drove out onto the ice and photographed the sun peeking over the mountains.  I also took pictures of the community and the iceberg bathing in the arctic sunlight.       

John - Emcee. Picture taken by Ryan.

Inuujaq School held its annual Return of the Sun celebration on Monday, February 8th.  My guitarists & I brought all the instruments, music stands, and sheet music to the gym after afternoon recess.  By the time we were set up, the entire student body was assembled in the gym.  I knew my guitarists were nervous about their first public performance; the expressions on their faces were clearly communicating that feeling.  I privately confessed to them that I was nervous too.  One student asked how I "deal with it".  I replied that I ignore and carry on like there's nothing wrong. 

            

Elder lighting qudlik. Picture taken by
Ryan.

The ceremony began with the gym lights being turned off.  (I believe this was to represent the darkness that enveloped the community since last November).  An elder at the front of the gym lit a qudlik, and slowly, the light emanating from the fire grew brighter.  The gym lights were then turned on to signify the return of the sun.

            

Grade 1 Class.  Picture taken by Ryan.

Grade 2 class.  Picture taken by Ryan.

The Grade 1 & 2 classes sang several Inuktitut songs to welcome back the sun.  They were all wearing white coloured Inuit-sewn shirts, and sun hats made out of construction paper.  The Grade 2 class wore sunglasses and two of the students played on Inuit drums.

            

Me addressing the student body. Picture taken by Ryan.

Two of my guitar students performing
"Amazing Grace".  Picture taken by Ryan.

My guitarists were the final act of the ceremony.  I was called up to the front to introduce our two songs.  We played "Ode to Joy" and "You Are My Sunshine".  (I'm getting better at speaking into a microphone).  Two of my students then played "Amazing Grace" as a way to remember a community member that recently passed away.  Our performances were well received.

            

Picture taken by Ryan.

Picture taken by Ryan.

An Attendance Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, February 12, to congratulate those students who achieved perfect attendance for the month of January.  It also gave everyone a chance to show off the red & pink colours they were wearing for Valentine's Day.  Valentine's Day would actually be happening on a Sunday this year, so the Friday was the closest school day we had to acknowledge the day.  The elementary school students made their own valentine hats out of red & pink construction paper.  I just wore a red dress shirt with a matching tie.  A Valentine's Day Dance was held at the community hall later that evening but I didn't attend.

            

KGVM Crown

On Sunday, February 14, I decided to spend Valentine's Day by driving up King George V Mountain (KGVM) on my skidoo.  I have done this before, but this time I would film the entire experience with my two GoPro cameras.  The resulting short film would show viewers the exciting journey one makes to get to the summit.  I also wanted to take pictures of the sun shining on the snowy arctic landscape.

            

Selfie Time on top of KGVM!

I wore several layers of clothing and heavy outerwear to keep myself warm.  My outerwear consisted of: Canada Goose Resolute parka, Tundra snow pants, and gloves; Baffin Impact Boots; a face mask, and a skidoo helmet.

            

Uluksan Point. February 14, 2016.

My backpack contained: a machete, spare sparkplugs, snacks, first aid kit, camera, binoculars, some snacks, and a bottle of engine oil.  On me I was carrying a Garmin GPS and SPOT Device.  One GoPro camera was attached to my helmet while the other was attached to the skidoo's windshield.  Even though my skidoo was fully fueled, I attached a three-gallon gas can to the back of the vehicle.  You never know.  When my skidoo was ready, I pressed record, hopped on, and began my excursion.

      

      

The weather was clear and sunny.  I drove across the frozen bay, past the Gas Station, and got off the ice near the garbage dump.  I continued past the dump and followed the road to Sewage Lagoon for some time.  I drove off the road and followed the skidoo trail to the left of KGVM.  I drove up one rocky hill, then down, around, and then climbed up the first steep hill.  I stopped at the top to admire the view behind me.  I continued driving into a long ravine behind KGVM that led to the second & final steep hill.  The bright arctic sun appeared when I reached the top.  As I have mentioned many times before, the summit of KGVM is a large & wide rocky plateau.  I followed a previously made skidoo trail to the side of the mountain where one can see the community of Arctic Bay.  I stopped my skidoo several metres before the edge and walked over to film some landscape footage.  By the time I hit the stop button, both cameras had recorded 17 minutes of raw footage.  I would have to devote an entire day to reviewing all the footage and editing a final cut.

            

Tom & Sarah looking at Arctic Bay.

I  was surprised to see Sarah & Tom taking pictures from the summit.  Sarah is the Grade 9 teacher and Tom is her boyfriend.  They had arrived several minutes earlier.  We chatted about the upcoming professional development week and took pictures of the surrounding landscape.  I stayed longer and took pictures of the airport, victor bay, the iceberg, the sun, and Arctic Bay.

            

Sewage Lagoon Sign.

KGVM from Sewage Lagoon.

On my way down, I took a detour and drove to Sewage Lagoon.  This was my first time visiting the place where all of the town's sewage is disposed.  I was glad the smell wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  From the lagoon, I took a very good picture of KGVM with the moon in the middle of the sky.

           

I took a second detour and drove out to the iceberg near the airport.  This was my first time visiting the iceberg during the day.  In the past, my visits were only at night.  (It was always eerie seeing the iceberg slowly appear in the darkness.  The experience made me think of the horror game Slender).  On this particular day, the sun was shining brightly and the sunlight was reflecting off the iceberg.  I took many pictures of the natural frozen wonder from many different angles.

            

Igloo

Someone had built an igloo next to the iceberg.  I walked up to the entrance and peaked inside.  I wanted to crawl into the igloo but I felt I was wearing too many layers to fit through the entrance.  Plus, I didn't want to be "that guy" who accidentally caused the igloo to collapse.  I stood back and took pictures of the igloo on its own and with the iceberg in the background.

            

I drove back to my place and immediately began editing all the pictures I took.

(Update: My skidoo video is on YouTube.  You can view it here.  Enjoy!) 

Arctic Bay. February 14, 2016.