School, Wind, & A Donation

I returned to Arctic Bay on August 9 and spent the weekend rearranging & cleaning my residence.  I also dropped into school to prepare my classroom.  Computer technicians had been in over the summer and installed new Dell desktop computers in all the classrooms.  The computers are for the teachers.  This resulted in my desk being moved to the front of the class.  I prefer the desk to be at the back because I see it as less authoritative & threatening to the students.  The teacher’s desk being at the front is a very old top-down approach that should be avoided in today’s collaborative environment.  I was going to be stuck with this new arrangement for the next foreseeable future because the wires are not long enough to reach the back corner.  Thankfully, I was able to retain the hollow square arrangement. 

The 2019-2020 school year officially began on Wednesday, August 14.  (Teachers were given Monday & Tuesday to prepare their classrooms & learning materials).  I would be teaching three classes this semester: Grade 11 Social Studies, Grade 10 English, and Grade 10 Drums.  I spent the first day going over course outlines, assigning binders & music folders, and playing icebreaker games with the students.  I don’t teach on the first day and I don’t think teachers should.  The first day should be relaxed, about orientation, and breaking-the-ice.  I still had my lessons prepared just in case.

School was cancelled for the morning of Friday, August 23 due to high southernly winds.  It’s really rare for school to be cancelled in late August but anything is possible when it comes to weather.  I didn’t think it was that windy when I was walking to school until I stopped by the Hamlet Office.  I filmed small waves crashing onto the shoreline.  They weren’t tsunami size, but just tall enough for someone to attempt to surf them.  I didn’t know school was cancelled until I got there.  I stayed in my classroom and prepared more learning materials.

Baffinland came to town on August 27 to make a big announcement.  The mining company booked the community hall for the afternoon and sent several representatives, including the CEO.  A community feast, featuring country food, would follow the presentation.  Baffinland runs a large iron-ore mining operation at Mary River, between Arctic Bay & Pond Inlet.  Inuit from both communities work there.

I have previously mentioned the need for a daycare in Arctic Bay.  In fact, many, if not all, the northern communities need daycare centres to look after young infants & children.  Many Inuit youth can’t go to school because they have to babysit while the parents work.  In other cases, teenage parents can’t find babysitters, thus preventing them from completing high school.  The two main challenges to overcome are financial and finding a building. 

The Hamlet Office has been working on addressing the community’s need for a daycare.  They have found a building that can be repurposed, but need to secure the finances to make it happen.  Baffinland has graciously stepped in to help and announced they would donate $50,000 to the initiative.  The presentation was organized to make everything official. 

The community hall was decorated with Baffinland banners.  Two of these banners stood in front of the stage.  In between them was something sitting on a tripod covered with a large black cloth.  I assumed it was a large cheque.  Several lines of chairs were set up at the front and behind those were three tables covered with blue tarps.  On the tarps sat many pieces of raw narwhal meat.  Baffinland representatives handed out free door prize tickets to the people coming inside.  The raffle would occur during the feast.  I took a seat at the back of the hall.

CEO Brian Penney (right).

Mayor Frank May (centre).

The presentation began at 3:30pm.  An Inuk Baffinland Representative welcomed everyone to the event and introduced CEO Brian Penney.  Both men gave brief speeches about the importance of daycare & Baffinland in Arctic Bay.  They called up the locals leading the daycare initiative to help them remove the black cloth.  My assumption was correct.  Removing the cloth revealed a large, oversized, red & white Baffinland cheque with $50,000 written in large black ink.  The reveal garnered an enthusiastic applause from the audience.

MLA David Akeeagok (right).

Mayor Frank May spoke next.  He thanked Baffinland for the large donation and explained how the money would be used.  He also informed everyone that the Hamlet Office would soon start looking for people interested in working at the future daycare.  The last person to speak was MLA David Akeeagok.  He was speaking on behalf of the Government of Nunavut.  He thanked Baffinland for their donation and said the government was also looking into making a financial contribution in the near future.  Unfortunately, he didn’t give a dollar amount.  The ceremony concluded with various people involved in the project standing around the large cheque while people took photographs.

The feast began after the last photograph was taken.  Two lines formed for raw narwhal meat, and coffee, tea, and snacks.  I wasn’t feeling hungry, so I just took pictures.  I asked Frank when the daycare would open, and he said the goal is for some time in 2020.  The door prize raffle began just as I was leaving the community hall.

And finally, cadets started again on August 21.  The first two weeks of the training year are spent checking/fixing/replacing uniforms, reviewing drill, and attracting recruits.  I’m hoping there will be many new recruits because our numbers dipped in May & June.