Soccer Camp/Workshop

The Nunavut Soccer Association (NSA) organized a three-day soccer camp in Arctic Bay at the end of November.  The school's liaisons were Sarah & Ryan.  The camp was mostly geared towards the students but there would be certain times when community members could get involved.  The aims of the soccer camp were to promote: interest in soccer, physical fitness, teamwork, and skills development.

            

Bruce

The NSA sent Bruce, a student from the University of New Brunswick (UNB).  (He has a previous working relationship with the NSA).  He plays goalie on the UNB's soccer team and has a brother who teaches in Nunavut.  He has travelled to other northern communities and held similar workshops, but this would be his first time in Arctic Bay.

            

The gym was decorated with soccer-themed decorations made by students.  One of them was a streamer with the words, "Welcome Bruce".

            

The soccer camp began on Thursday, November 24.  Bruce stayed at Inuujaq School for the entire day, helping teachers with their gym classes, and teaching them soccer drills.  A high school soccer practice was held after school until 5pm.  Bruce introduced the students to a warm up routine that included laps, ladders, and stretches.  The students also learned dribbling and took practice shots at the nets.  The afternoon concluded with a soccer game and group photo.

            

High School group photo.

But the day was not over.  A Coaching Session was held from 6 - 7pm for anyone in the community.  Several high school students stayed and assisted Bruce.  The final event of the day was Community Soccer, which ran from 7 - 9pm. 

            

The schedule for Friday, November 25th was mostly the same.  Bruce worked with all Phys. Ed classes during the school day, and another afterschool soccer session was held.  Except this time, the afterschool session was for Grades 4 - 6.  The young students learned the same warm up routines, how to dribble & pass, and finished with a soccer game & group photo. 

            

Grades 4 - 6 group photo.

Saturday, November 26th was the territory's first "Soccer Day in Nunavut".  The event was promoted by the NSA.  Participating communities were encouraged to upload pictures & videos on the NSA's Facebook page.  They also sent t-shirts and prizes to the communities who held mini-soccer tournaments.  The NSA hopes "Soccer Day in Nunavut" will become an annual event.

            

A full day of activities were planned at Inuujaq School, starting at 9am and concluding in the evening.  Grades 7 - 9 spent the most time in the gym: three hours in the morning & three hours after lunch.  The Hamlet Office assisted in organizing a skills competition and mini-soccer tournament after 6pm.  The skills competition saw players compete in soccer-themed obstacle courses and a juggling contest.  Participants formed teams and competed in the mini-soccer tournament.  A group photo was taken at the end of the night.  Bruce departed on the morning of November 27th.

            

I wish I had the time to observe and/or participate in the festivities, but unfortunately, I had other commitments.  From what I gathered, everyone had fun and learned a lot from Bruce.  Bruce enjoyed his time in Arctic Bay and looked forward to returning in the future.  Sarah & Ryan were pleased that the NSA organized the event because such opportunities rarely come to remote northern communities.

            

Expensive air travel and location are the main reasons why sports camps/workshops/tournaments/events are usually limited to larger communities such as Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay, and Arviat.  They also have enough people to sustain many sports programs.  The more remote communities in Nunavut struggle because they either don't have the necessary facilities or trained personnel.  You could fly participants down to the larger communities, but you end up spending a lot of money.  It's better to bring the programs to the communities because you can do more.  The northern airlines really need to lower their prices. 

            

Photos & information were provided by Sarah. Thank you.         

Remembrance Day & Anti-Bullying

Remembrance Day is one of two important local parades for 3045 Army Cadet Corps.  (The other is the Annual Ceremonial Review in April).  Planning for the ceremony usually starts in mid-October.  There are parade positions to assign, drill movements to review, programs to make, and people to contact.  We always try to recruit people interested in participating in the ceremony.  They can read passages from the Bible, lay wreathes, or say what Remembrance Day means to them.  The cadets also work hard to make their uniforms look spotless and parade boots shiny.

            

We weren't expecting that many people to attend the ceremony this year because November 11 occurred on a Friday.  Remembrance Day is a public holiday for everyone.  Even the school is closed.  We assumed many people would be going out on the land because of the long weekend.  Any audience is better than none.

            

In the days leading up to Remembrance Day, several teachers tailored their lessons to focus on the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in times of conflict - past & present.  I showed several Heritage Minute commercials about Canadians in the First & Second World Wars, and explained to my students, why we, and people all over the world, annually observe this day.  (Remembering those who died so that we may live in peace).         

            

The Halloween decorations were taken down at Inuujaq School and replaced with poppies, crosses, and other Remembrance Day themed posters made by students.  People also began wearing poppies, some of them made from red dyed sealskin.

            

The dress rehearsal was held at the community hall on November 9.  The program is "set in stone", but who-does-what-and-says-what changes every year.  The drill commands & movements were reviewed & practiced, and the three chosen cadets rehearsed John McCrae's iconic poem, In Flanders Fields.  I made sure we practiced the most challenging part of the ceremony: standing still for the playing of Last Post, Piper's Lament, and Reveille.  The duration is only 5 minutes, but for youth, the length can feel like an eternity.

            

The ceremony began at 10:45am.  The cadets had arrived an hour earlier to set up chairs and put up several posters.  Paulette's WWI mural from last year was taped to the back wall of the hall.  Everyone stood for the arrival of the Colour Party & cadets.  The cadets were led in by the a local RCMP officer.

            

The opening Inuktitut prayer was done by Leah May.  I continued with the welcome address, mostly following the same speech I prepared last year.  (I wasn't being lazy.  My speech was just that good).  Everyone stood for the playing of O Canada.  Our sound technician & Inuktitut translator was Sam Willie.  He provided prerecorded instrumental tracks for when the program called for everyone to sing the hymns, Abide With Me & O God Our Help In Ages Past.

              

The first Bible reading, Micah 4: verse 3-4, was done by Isaac Shooyook & Lt. May.  (Lt. May is the commanding officer of 3045, and Shooyook is the MLA representing the Quttiktuq constituency).  The Last Post, Minute of Silence, Piper's Lament, and Reveille were done without incident.  I applaud the cadets for being able to stand still without having to fall out.

            

The Act of Remembrance was done in English, Inuktitut, and French.  The second Bible reading, Psalm 121, was done by Ryan & Eunice, two Inuujaq School teachers.  Clare Kines shared his thoughts on Remembrance Day, and I explained the meaning behind the poppy.  I also gave a brief history of the life of Lt. Col. John McCrae and how he wrote his best known poem.  I then called up three cadets, B. Ejangiaq, S. Ejangiaq, & S. Pauloosie, to recite In Flanders Fields.  Two other cadets laid a wreath in front of the speaker's podium.

            

The ceremony ended with the playing of God Save the Queen, a closing prayer, closing remarks, and a march off.  Sam Willie did the closing prayer and Lt. May handled the closing remarks.  There was coffee & tea for members of the public.  The cadet corps took a group photo before being dismissed for the rest of the day.

*Remembrance Day photos provided by John, Grade 8 teacher.  Thank you.

            

Inuujaq School held a Safe School & Anti-Bullying Week from November 7 - 15.  The RCMP, Elders, and mental health nurse visited the school and talked to the students about the negative effects of bullying, and why no one should be a bully.  I showed my high school students the 2011 American documentary Bully.  The film follows the trials & tribulations of four teenagers, bullied for a variety of reasons, and how they overcome these roadblocks in life.

            

The school's Student Support Teacher, Kaitlynd, spearheaded two anti-bullying campaigns: Caught You Caring and Pink Shirts.  The first one "is a simple, but very affective idea that recognize[s] young people who are helping make their schools [&] communities safer and more caring."  Adult staff are instructed to "catch students caring" and write their names on a prize voucher.  The vouchers are put into a draw box and  names are randomly drawn for prizes.  The second campaign sees everyone colouring white shirts, (on paper), pink, and writing a pledge to stop bullying.  The staff took it a step further by including photos of their faces.  Kaitlynd pasted the coloured caricatures of the staff near the front entrance.  The students' pink shirts were posted all over the school.

            

Kindergarten

Grade 1

The Safe School & Anti-Bullying Week culminated in an assembly on November 15.  Classes had prepared posters, songs, and videos to share with the student body, parents, elders, and community members.  Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 3, and High School cultural classes sang songs.  Grade 4 did a presentation & video about being a friend, not a bully.  But I think the biggest draws were the videos made by Grades 4, 8, 9, & high school.  Unfortunately, I don't think Blogger will let me upload the videos because the files are quite large.  And I don't have permission from the students & staff in the videos to upload their faces to the Internet.  Hopefully, one day, their hard work will be shared on the Internet.  For now, I'll give you a quick summary of each video.

            

High School

Grade 4 - The theme of the video is "Be a Friend, Not a Bully."

            

Grade 8 - The video looks at where bullying happens in & around school and what we should do to stop it.

            

Grade 9 - The video is set to the song "Mad World" by Gary Jules and states that it's hard growing up in an isolated community like Arctic Bay, especially if you feel alone.  These challenges can be overcome if everyone is "welcoming [&] inclusive".

            

High School - The video is called, "Closing the Door on Cyber Bullying."  Cyber Bullying is explained and examples are shown.  What follows is a comedic chase of the cyber bully and kicking him out of Inuujaq School.  I have a cameo in the video.  The cyber bully runs into my classroom while I'm practicing drums and scares me.  I stand my ground and tell him to get out.  My cameo was well received by everyone. 

*Photos provided by Ryan, media teacher.  Thank you.      

         

Halloween 2016

Grade 9 Classroom Door.

An elementary school door.

The spirit of Halloween was in full swing during the remaining days of October.  High school students & teachers were asking me what costume I would be wearing this year and my answer every time was, "Wait until the assembly.  I don't want to spoil it for you."  Indeed, I spent quite a few days researching a lot of costumes on the Spirit of Halloween website.  The only clue I gave everyone was that the costume would be scary.  (My costumes have been getting progressively scarier every year).  

    

An elementary school door.

K-9 classes finished decorating their classroom doors on Halloween Day (October 31).  I photographed all the creative, scary, and crazy designs.  I wasn't sure which class would win the award for best decorated door.  The decorations were all good.

            

My drummers were ready for their first public performance.  We practiced several times in the gym, getting used to the sounds of the drums in the a wide & tall open space. 

            

Media Room door.

All Halloween activities in Arctic Bay were postponed until November 1 due to a tragic & traumatic event that occurred last week.  A former student of Inuujaq School tragically took his own life.  (The reasons for this tragedy won't be disclosed on this blog out of respect for the individual and his family).  The funeral was held at the community hall on October 31.  Many teachers, including myself, attended the service.  The building was packed with family members and people who came to say one last goodbye.  He was laid to rest at the cemetery on the west side of town.  This is now the third student I have lost to suicide.     

            

An elementary school door.

The Halloween festivities at Inuujaq School began on the afternoon of November 1.  Lunch was extended by 30 minutes to give everyone enough time to change into their costumes and come back.  I borrowed a coworker's SUV to quickly drive home and get my costume.  I thought about wearing my costume on the way back to school but my mind quickly reminded me that the mask obscured my field of vision.  I changed into my costume when I arrived at the school.

            

The drummers & I moved all the drums, music stands, hardware, sticks, and our repertoire down to the gym.  Teachers, students, and parents slowly trickled into the school while we were moving everything.  They looked at me in amazement as a I walked by.  I knew my costume was a hit.  The only issue I discovered was that the rubber mask was causing me to sweat.

            

Everyone assembled in the gym at 1:30pm for the start of the assembly.  I walked into the gym, dressed as the Grim Reaper.  My costume consisted of a large hooded robe, a rubber skeleton mask with a wide smile, skeleton gloves, and black boots.  I also carried two plastic machetes that bled fake blood.  I was going "all-out" this year.

            

The Grim Reaper.

The assembly began with the costume contest.  Each class walked around the centre of the gym, showing off their costumes.  A chosen panel of judges watched from the front of the gym.  I led the brave high school students around the gym.  The kids really liked the bleeding machetes.  I'm sure many pictures of the Grim Reaper were taken.

            

Snare line

The assembly continued with the drum line concert.  I performed with my drummers, playing the snare drum in the middle of the line.  I could tell my drummers were nervous, but so was I.  I just reminded them how concerts usually go: play (music), switch (music), wait (until audience stops clapping), & repeat.  My drummers & I played four pieces for the audience.  They were: Rock You We Will, Earthquake, BioJam, and Texan.  All were composed by Cassidy Byars.  I found his website on the Internet when I first started the drum program in 2013.  The pieces had plenty of variety in them, ranging from catchy beats to simple stick tricks.  The audience loved them all. 

            

The concert continued with two of my drummers performing solos on the quad drums & snare drum.  Just as I was about to say that we were done, the principal instructed me to do a solo.  I hadn't prepared one, but with the audience demanding one more performance, I decided to make one up on the spot.  I counted myself in and played whatever came to mind.  If anything went wrong, I could just say that it wasn't me but the Grim Reaper that made so many mistakes.  My solo was just a minute long, but I finished it with one of my favourite stick playing visuals and a loud, accented end stroke.  (An end stroke is just one note).  The audience applauded and I took a bow.

            

I helped the drum line pack up all the drums & equipment while the winners of the costume contest were announced.  We waited until everyone left the gym before moving everything back to my classroom.  I took off my mask and wiped all the sweat that had formed inside.  I personally thanked each drummer for a great performance. 

            

Activities for K-9 classes were held after the assembly.  The high school students hung out in my classroom eating candy and watching scary videos until everyone was dismissed at 3pm.  Many people told me they liked my Grim Reaper costume.

            

Trick-or-Treating occurred from 5 to 7pm.  I got out all the boxes I purchased in September and filled two large metal bowls with candy.  I unlocked my front door, sat in my costume, and waited.  A steady stream of people came to my door for the next two hours.  My mask scared several little kids.  Sorry.  Everyone came for candy; even teenagers & adults.  I gave out 4 - 5 pieces to each person, but I still had plenty left over when trick-or-treating came to an end.  I changed out of my costume and walked down to the community hall for the annual ugliest costume contest.

            

Ugliest costume contestants.

The contest is divided into two groups: 12 & under, and 13 & over.  The aim of the contest is to create the best ugliest costume the audience and judges have ever seen.  Contestants show up to the community hall in costume because you have to keep your identity secret until the very end.  I sat at the back of the hall and photographed the contestant.  Their costumes were . . . unique.  Contestants just find whatever they have in their houses and put them on.  I could spend an entire blog post describing what the costumes looked like, so I'll just let the attached pictures "do the talking."

            

Skull TV.

The contest began with the 12 & under contestants.  They stood up and paraded/danced around the community hall.  A local resident used his newly purchased drone camera to capture the parade from above.  He did a good job controlling the device.  I filmed the two-minute parade.  The 13 & over group was next.  They did the same as the previous group and I caught it all on digital film.  I had no idea who was wearing what costume. 

            

D. Shooyook wearing the black robe &
sunglasses costume.

The winners for the 12 & under group were: D. Shooyook (third place), K. Oyukuluk (second place), and S. Attagutaluk (first place).  The winners for the 13 & over group were: H. Qavavauq (third place), S. Taqtu (second place), and E. Natanine (first place).  The winners received cash prizes.

K. Oyukuluk.

S. Attagutaluk

H. Qavavauq

S. Taqtu

E. Natanine