August 2017

The first day of school for students was Monday, August 14, 2017.  The staff arrived in the early hours of the morning to prepare the breakfast for the students, parents, and community members.  The staff worked in two groups: one group prepared the food and the other prepared the gym.  I helped in the gym, placing chairs along the walls, setting up tables, and organizing the juice boxes.  When the food was brought to the gym, the teachers put an assorted amount on paper plates.  This year, the school was serving: grilled cheese, bananas, grapes, oranges, carrots, and yogurt. 

            

Breakfast Plates.

Ryan says a few words after receiving
his gift.

The opening ceremony began with the usual staff introductions, where the entire staff comes up to the front, introduces themselves to the audience, and say what they will be teaching.  After the introductions, the principal asked Ryan to stay behind so that he could receive a thank you gift from the school.  Ryan gave a short speech about how he enjoyed his time in Arctic Bay and hoped to see everyone in the future.  An elder said a prayer and then the staff handed out the many plates of food to everyone in attendance.

            

My former students greeted me on my way to my classroom.  I introduced myself to the new Grade 10 students who would be taking my English class this semester.  I went over the course outline, the rules of the class, and played several ice breaker games.  I didn’t want to be that teacher who gave homework on the first day.  My English students also happened to be my Social Studies students.  We would be spending both morning periods together.  I did the same as I did in the previous period. 

My drum class was during the last period of the day.  The course outline is several pages longer because I include specific & detailed instructions on how to behave around the instruments and handle them with care.  I also make it perfectly clear on the first day that the students are required to perform at least twice in front of a live audience.  Halloween & Christmas are guaranteed.  We also played several ice breaker games to finish the period. 

I began teaching the curriculum the next day.  In English, the topic of study was grammar.  I introduced the topic by playing the song “Word Crimes” by Weird Al.  I wasn’t allowed to spend the entire semester on grammar, so I focused on the areas where students would struggle, such as, syntax, synonyms, and homophones.  I injected humour into the lessons with Mad Libs, a fun word game where you create funny stories.

For Social Studies we began our study of the four Inuit Land Claims Agreements.  My new drummers began the semester learning simple stretch exercises, the two main stick grips (match & traditional), basic rudiments, basic notation theory, and practicing as a group. 

The first few weeks were slow, but the pace picked up as everyone became used to the established routines.

Sadly, the semester began on a sombre note.  A well-respected elder and former teacher at Inuujaq School passed away on August 11.  Ikey Kigutikarjuk had just retired as the school’s shop teacher in June 2016.  Time was given to let family members and friends fly in from other communities to attend the funeral.  The funeral occurred on August 24 at the community hall.  The place was packed with mourners.  The teaching staff sang “Amazing Grace” with me providing piano accompaniment. 

  

I joined a group of southeners wanting to hike up King George V Mountain on Sunday, August 20.  The plan was to reach the summit and take photographs before the start of winter.  There were 11 of us, consisting of teachers, nurses, a professional singer, and a licenced masseuse.  One of the nurses prepared a large breakfast for everyone at her place.  I arrived near the end of the breakfast, but there was still plenty of food left to eat.  I filled up on bacon, pancakes, fruit, and a few strips of cheese.

            

Victory Bay in the distance.

We left in a convoy of three vehicles.  I and another teacher were packing lethal protection.  Ryan brought his shotgun and I was carrying my .22 rifle.  I let one of the nurses carry my machete.  I doubted we would meet any polar bears up the mountain, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.  We were dropped off just past the local landfill, humourously dubbed, “Canadian Tire”.  (You can find everything there).  We began our hike by walking off the road and following a small stream up the side of KGVM.  The land here is a mix of green, brown, and yellow colours.  The skies were clear, and the temperature was in the plus single digits.

            

Baffin.

Kaitlynd brought along her dog Baffin for the hike.  He ran all over the place: from person to person, and plant to plant.  He is a big dog and full of energy.  We all remember when he was a small pup.  He grew in size very fast.

            

Hoodoo.

We took our time walking up the mountain.  The ground around the stream was soft and sponge like, making it feel like we were walking on a mattress.  The water in the stream was clear and fresh.  We took frequent breaks to rest our legs and to take pictures.  The colours of the ground slowly changed to brown & red with every step.  The red rocks made me think of the planet Mars.   The top of KGVM is a large plateau, littered with beige rocks of various sizes.  When I reached the plateau, I paused to take pictures of Arctic Bay & Victor Bay.  I also photographed two hoodoos.  I got really close to one of the hoodoos and photographed it in detail.  The last time I did this was in 2013.  The top of the hoodoo is red & white.  One of its sides has been eroded by water, leaving behind a very interesting rock design.

            

Ryan enjoys the view.

Arctic Bay - August 20, 2017

We walked across the plateau to where a large circular inukshuk sits.  It still looks the same since the last time I saw it.  Several us walked down to the large inukshuk that sits on a cliff.  It was here where I did my first extreme ironing stunt in April 2014.  Several of us laid on our stomachs and looked over the edge of the cliff.  We spent quite some time taking photographs of the surrounding area and eating snacks.  It took us about three hours to get to the summit on foot.  We celebrated by taking a group picture.

            

Our celebratory photo.  We do the Dab because that's what the kids are into these days.

Walking on KGVM.

We headed back the way we came and slowly descended the side of KGVM.  I stopped several times and photographed our descent.  Greg, the Grade 6 teacher, posed on an old toy sled he found.  He would have kept it if the seat wasn’t missing.  It took us about 90 minutes to reach the gravel road where we began.  The local RCMP drove us down to the landfill where we parked the two other vehicles.  We posed for one last group photo before heading home.  (No polar bears were spotted on our hike).

            

The large ice chunks from Greenland were gone by the time the annual sealift arrived in town.  I was worried they would stay in the bay for several weeks, but no, the warm temperatures caused them to melt away.  The first vessel to arrive was the Avataq.  The town was going to be busy for the next several days.