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| Source: 123RF.com |
Happy
New Year everyone! I can’t believe it’s
2019! The decade is almost over! Time certainly flies when you’re not
looking. Sorry about the long wait but a
lot of things were happening that prevented me from publishing a new post until
now.
My Christmas vacation was brief but
I did get to see family & friends. I
also shopped at various stores, buying supplies for the next six months. I always look like I’m travelling heavy on
the way down because I bring large suitcases.
However, I pack light when flying south for Christmas, but heavy when
flying north. I save money on cargo &
postage fees.
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| Iqaluit. |
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| Iqaluit. |
My frequent travels in and out of
Nunavut has led me to notice that Iqaluit is becoming more structurally
colourful. The buildings are painted in
a variety of bright colours, most likely so that you can see them during a
blizzard. From the sky, the large town
looks like it’s being built with large Lego blocks, or someone sprinkled
Skittles on white snow.
I followed through with my promise
to my Grade 10 English students and uploaded our short film, “Mr. Putugu’s
Classroom” to the school’s Facebook page.
It didn’t take long for the video to gain an audience. The reception was positive and the film was
shared several times by the viewers. I
was glad that all our hard work had paid off.
When I came back to Arctic Bay after the break, several of my students
told me about the local popularity of the video. I also wondered if the video would become
known to CBC News North in the near future?
If so, maybe they will want to do a news story about our efforts? Only time will tell.
A new year means a new semester,
classes, and roster of students to teach.
I will be teaching four classes this semester: Grades 10 – 12 Social
Studies, and Grade 10 English.
Unfortunately, I won’t be teaching beginner guitar. Maybe my English students this semester will
also want to make a short film? I’ll ask
them when we are close to starting the media literacy unit.
It’s
been several years since I taught Grade 12 Social Studies but I’m not too
concerned. I am familiar with the
required history topics and can always use the internet for research. The only area of concern is the final
project. The final project replaces the
final exam and demands a lot of effort from the students. I’ll be introducing the project early in the
semester so that the students can start thinking about what topic they want to
investigate.
A
career fair was held at Inuujaq School on January 21. Several organizations took over the gym for
the day to talk to students and members of the public about job opportunities
in Nunavut. It’s been quite a long time
since a career fair was held in Arctic Bay.
When I asked my students about it, the only one they could remember was in
2007! I bet the ridiculously expensive
airfare prevents companies from travelling to the remote communities. The organizations at this year’s fair were:
Baffinland, Fisheries & Oceans Canada, Parks Canada, Government of Nunavut,
Service Canada, Skills Canada, Polar Knowledge Canada, Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and the Inuit Mentorship Program.
That’s not as many as there were in 2007 but it’s better than one.
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| Free stuff giveaway. |
Tables, chairs, and banners lined the gym
walls. Information documents, pamphlets,
and giveaway items sat organized on the tables. There were also two tables with snacks and bottled
water. In the middle of the gym laid a
very large circumpolar map of the north.
The map belongs to Polar Knowledge Canada. The organization also had smaller circumpolar
maps of the north & south poles to hand out to people. To maintain student interest, the organizers of
the career fair created a scavenger hunt.
Students would receive a pamphlet containing questions. Finding the correct answers required visiting
all the tables and talking to the presenters.
Students who collected all the correct answers would get a prize of some
sort.
The high school students went down to the gym
in the afternoon. The presenters were there
waiting for them. The students received
their question pamphlets & pencils at the door. They fanned out, searching for answers. I casually walked around the gym, taking
pictures of the displays. I was mostly
drawn to the large map on the floor. I
always had an interest in maps & geography.
Quite a few students were also drawn to the large map. At least eight of them spent a good 20 minutes
looking it over, especially the areas around Arctic Bay. I think they were discussing their past,
present, and future hunting/camping trips.
I
did stop and listen to some of the presenters.
There was a lot of information to take in. I did ask the Polar Knowledge people if there’s
been an update on the opening of the new research facility in Cambridge Bay? The official opening ceremony has been
delayed numerous times. They said even
they don’t know when the ceremony will happen because of the upcoming federal
election in October. They are hoping it
will happen soon. For the amount of
money the government has spent on constructing that research facility, the
opening ceremony better happen soon. Otherwise,
the state-of-the-art building will become a white elephant.
I
briefly returned to the gym after school to take a few more pictures and video
clips. From what I observed, the fair was
quite popular. I’m glad such an event
occurred because living in an isolated community subtly tells its residents
that they’re not many career choices available.
That is not true.
I
was also glad the organizers prepared a scavenger hunt for students. Without that incentive, the students would have
been in and out in minutes. The only
things I brought back to my classroom were the two circumpolar
maps. They will be displayed in my
classroom.
