End of the School Year (2018)

"I made this."

A high school student found a clever way to recycle used & broken hockey sticks.  In shop class, he made a wooden frame for a small coffee table and then cut the hockey sticks into smooth equal pieces.  He placed the sticks in the centre square opening and nailed them to the frame.  He added a glass sheet on top for added protection.  He called me down to take pictures of his completed project.  I was quite impressed by his efforts and suggested that he look into making other furniture pieces that feature recycled hockey sticks.  He said he would think about it.

            

The staff of Inuujaq School held a year end potluck on the afternoon of June 6, the second last day of school.  Everyone found it hard to believe that the 2017-18 school year was done.  We all managed to get through our curriculums and complete our report cards on time.  A short afternoon break was warranted.

           

The potluck was held in the staff room.  We all brought a variety of foods to consume.  There was bread, muffins, cupcakes, crackers, nachos, cheese, candy, cooked seal meat, and raw narwhal.  A few announcements were made before we started eating.  The biggest announcement was that there would be a change in administration in August.  The current Principal Salam would be stepping aside but staying on as the new media teacher.  The new principal would be Morty, an Inuk elder with many years of teaching experience.  The Grade 6 teacher, Greg, would become the vice-principal in August.

           

DEA Chair Kataisee & Principal Salam.

Cooked seal & raw narwhal.

The head of the local District Education Authority (DEA), Kataisee, thanked Principal Salam for his many years of service and wished him the best in his new teaching position next year.  She also gave him a gift as a token of appreciation.

            

An elder blessed the food and wished everyone a safe & happy summer.  We ate well that afternoon and talked about our summer plans.

            

June 7 was the last day of school for students.  The students spent the morning cleaning out their desks, lockers, and binders.  The tables and chairs were piled up on one side so that the cleaning staff would have an easy time sweeping & mopping the floors.  Posters were taken down in the classroom & hallways, making the school appear empty.

                                   

The year end assembly was held in the gym in the afternoon.  The first part of the assembly was the Kindergarten graduation.  The graduates wore blue gowns to the occasion and sat at the front of the gym.  Their parents & guardians were in the audience, happy to see their children finish their first year of school, and excited to see them moving on to Grade 1. 

The principal and head of the DEA welcomed everyone to the assembly and congratulating the kindergarteners for successfully completing the school year.  The kindergarten teacher then called out each student’s name to receive their certificate.  The students were all smiles when they posed for photographs. 

Calbert receives a gift from DEA Chair Kataisee.

Principal Salam tells everyone all the great
work Kaitlynd (left) has done.

The assembly moved on to thanking the teachers who served the school well but, unfortunately, would not be returning in August.  The five teachers were Calbert, Kaitlynd, JF, Louise, and John.  They each received a parting gift and gave a short thank you speech to the audience.

Winner of the bicycle.

5-9 Winner of the tablet.

The last part of the assembly was the Best Attendance draw.  Students who achieved perfect attendance for a month had their names put into a draw for a year-end prize.  The draw was split into three categories: K-4, 5-9, and High School.  The names were drawn by parents in the audience.  The winner in the first group won a bicycle, and the middle & high school students won Samsung Galaxy tablet computers.

The year-end festivities continued with a round-robin of activities around the school yard that included a barbecue.  The four activities were soccer, tug of war, capture the flag, and Inuit games.  I supervised the high school group and took photographs at the same time.

High school tug-of-war.

The high school students enjoyed the tug of war and Inuit games the most.  Although, somewhere in between, someone introduced a jump rope into the mix and the students took turns trying to outlast one another.  The students somehow convinced me to try the jump rope.  I didn’t last long.  I haven’t used a jump rope since middle school . . . I think.

            

Kids playing tug-of-war.

Inuksuk target.

The main Inuit game was using rocks to hit a wooden Inuksuk target a few feet away.  I did my best but only got close to the target.  The students on the other hand managed to hit the target a few times.

            

The barbecue menu consisted of hot dogs, burgers, and juice boxes.  Three teachers ran the station with the assistance of a few students.  There was plenty of food for everyone.  I ate enough so that I wouldn’t have to worry about dinner that evening.

            

Everyone was dismissed at 3:00pm.  The students wished me a happy & safe summer.  I said the same thing to them.  The teachers would come back to school the next day to finish the clean up before being dismissed for the summer.  I also cleaned & tidied my place before flying down south.  A series of summer adventures awaited me.

            

As always, I’m going to be taking a break from my blogging duties for the next 2 months.  I’ll be back in action in August.  Until then, feel free to read my previous posts.