A Strange End To The School Year

Sorry about the three-week absence but not much was happening in the community.  With so many services suspended and activities cancelled because of the ongoing pandemic, there’s little local news for me to share.  I suppose I could still write smaller posts but I fear they would look more like tweets rather than full length posts.  I’ve mentioned before that I prefer the latter.

The annual fishing derby over the Victoria Day weekend last month was a success from what I heard.  The winners were announced over local radio & Facebook.  The winners picked up their prizes at the Hamlet Office.  An awards ceremony couldn’t be held because the community hall was closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.  (It still is). 

There were many skidoos & qamutiks parked on the ice after the derby.  They were a clear indication that many people went out on the land to fish & camp.  I’m certain the event gave people a much-needed break from having to stay inside a house all day.  I took many photographs of the skidoos & qamutiks.  The ice in the bay was still thick but the surface was beginning to turn to slush.

A second batch of learning packages were sent out to students in late May.  Just like the first time, students, parents, and/or guardians picked them up at the school’s main entrance.  These packages were to last until the end of the semester in June.

I stopped driving my skidoo at the end of May.  I parked it in its usual spot next to my residence and placed a tarp over it.  I would not drive it until October.  There was no snow in the community.  Skidoo drivers were now restricted to driving out on the ice.  People keep driving their skidoos until the ice melts in late June.  To me, it appears riskier to drive in June because large puddles of water appear and it’s difficult to determine if they’re bottomless or not.  I only have one skidoo and I don’t want to lose it to a watery grave.  I would be walking from now on.

I was walking to school on the morning of June 1 when I noticed the windows on one side of the old health centre had been adorned with the message, “Stay Safe” in English & Inuktitut.  I believe the staff at the new health centre made the display.  From what I’ve heard, only the living quarters inside the old health centre are being used by nurses.

June 5 was the last day of school for students but nothing special was done because of the shutdown.  No kindergarten graduation, barbecue, or year end activities.  The school instead wished students, parents, & guardians a safe summer vacation over local radio and Facebook.  High school graduation has been postponed to the fall.  The graduates were naturally disappointed but remained in good spirits.    

The last day for teachers was June 8.  We made it to the end, despite not seeing the students in class since mid-March.  My guitar students returned the guitars & guitar books they borrowed.  They were allowed to keep the photocopied music and song fake books I prepared.  The high school teachers & custodians cleaned out the lockers and placed their contents in labelled garbage bags for students to pick up in the afternoon.

A year-end staff “party” was held in the main hallway in the late morning.  The food was catered by a local family.  Everyone lined up a metre apart and helped themselves to the food.  Unfortunately, policy dictated that we all couldn’t eat in the same room.  People could eat in groups of 4 in the classrooms. 

While the food was being consumed, the principal came over the public address (PA) system to make several announcements.  He first congratulated everyone on a job well done.  He continued that he would be stepping down and taking a new position in a different community.  The vice-principal will be the principal next year and the high school art teacher will be the vice-principal.  He finished his address by wishing everyone a safe & happy summer.

Everyone spent the afternoon cleaning their classrooms.  Tables & chairs were moved to the corners so that the floors could easily be cleaned by the custodians.  All my resources went into envelopes and Bankers Boxes.  I erased all the boards and took down the posters.  My classroom was empty and bare by 3pm.  I put everything I was going to take home in my backpack and in plastic bags.  I took one last look at the empty classroom before turning off the lights and locking the door.  See you in August, I said to myself.

I handed over the keys to the principal and wished him well in his future endeavour.  I said my goodbyes to the staff before leaving the school.  Several coworkers asked me if I would be travelling anywhere exotic this summer.  I shrugged and said that I would most likely spend the entire summer in my hometown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  If I was going to travel anywhere, it would be within Canada.  The situation in the United States is out of control.

In the past, I flew down south the very next day, but this time, I decided to stay in town for several more days.  The main reason was because the Elder Qapik Attagutsiak would be celebrating her centennial (100^th birthday) on June 11.  Her eldest daughter has organized large public gatherings to celebrate her mother’s birthday for many years and I suspected this year would be more significant because of the age number.  A celebration of some kind was being planned but I didn’t know the details.     

Unfortunately, Canadian North, - an airline that First Air merged with – decided to alter my plans.  They changed my departure to the morning of June 11 because of scheduling difficulties & passenger restrictions brought on by the ongoing pandemic.  I thought about challenging the change but decided not to risk a further delay.  I only had 8 weeks to enjoy the summer.  Well, six, really.  More on that in a future post.

Speaking of departures, I better go and finish packing.  I leave tomorrow morning!