Progress On The Battlefields

The war in Ukraine is still ongoing and it’s impossible to look away.  I thought I could keep the events surrounding the war separate from my teaching job, but they have seeped into my Social Studies lessons as examples on certain topics.  I’ve gotten better at not letting my emotions take over because that would be unprofessional.  A lot has happened since late February, too much to include in one post, so I will focus on the most important developments and tragedies.

Russian forces fully withdrew from Kyiv on March 29.  The Ukrainian capital is saved!  The brave Ukrainian warriors fought with everything they had and prevailed.  They stalled, halted, harassed, scattered, damaged, and fractured the very long convoy of Russian armour, trucks, and soldiers that were sent to take the city.  The withdrawal also forced the invaders to retreat from the entire northern front, including places like Chernobyl (March 31).  The occupiers had to abandon the decommissioned nuclear plant because they were complaining of radiation poisoning/sickness.  The Russian high command forgot and/or didn’t bother to supply its soldiers with hazmat suits.  I’m glad they didn’t watch the Chernobyl tv mini-series.  Unfortunately, the invaders looted everything they could during their rout and left behind immense devastation and booby traps.

But that’s not all they left behind.  Mass graves of civilians have been uncovered in Bucha and other towns - war crimes & genocide.  Investigators have been collecting evidence and witness testimonies of what happened during the occupation.  Russia can deny all they want, but the truth always wins.  They thought they could bury everything and forget about it, but that’s not happening.  Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to bring the war criminals to justice, especially when they possess nuclear weapons.

Russia’s flagship of the Black Sea, the cruiser Moskva, was sunk on April 14.  Awesome!  News outlets reported that Ukrainian forces struck the ship with anti-ship missiles and the resulting fire caused munitions to explode.  The Russian navy was towing their damaged vessel, but thankfully, couldn’t rescue it in time.  Unfortunately, there’re plenty of ships left in Russia’s Black Sea fleet.  Hopefully more of them will be sunk.

The Siege of Mariupol is still ongoing and it looks like Ukraine will lose.  The city is completely surrounded and destroyed.  Remaining Ukrainian forces are holding out at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works industrial complex.  I don’t know how long they can hold out, but as long as they can continue draining Russian personnel and equipment, the better.  Their heroic actions & sacrifices are buying more precious time for Ukraine.  Pootin – I’m not spelling the dictator’s name correctly – declared victory on April 21, but Ukrainian forces are still holding out.

Airstrikes, missile strikes, and tough talking rhetoric are still occurring on all sides.  The word “liberate” is being used, um, liberally.  Russia claims to be “liberating” Ukrainians from a Nazi government – a complete lie – while Ukraine is fighting to liberate its people from tyranny, oppression, and subjugation.  I hope for a speedy Ukrainian victory.

A message to all NATO countries: keep supplying Ukraine with the best weapons, equipment, and training you have.  Ukraine is fighting for everyone’s freedom!  And that includes the world.  If Ukraine falls, more countries will be on Russia’s hitlist.  And a Russian victory will encourage China to invade Taiwan. 

Ukraine has proved everyone wrong.  The world thought they would surrender in 3 days, but we fought back with everything we had, and then some, and now we’re beating the Russian bear all the way back to his cage.

Biathlon Presentation & Nunavut Quest

The cadets of 3045 Army Cadet Corps were treated to a short biathlon presentation on April 13.  The presentation was done by a civilian volunteer who acts as the corps’ biathlon coach.  He’s been working towards starting a biathlon training program in the community to get potential candidates ready for future Arctic Winter Games and Canada Winter Games.  The main feature of the presentation was the two new Anschutz 22LR rifles he acquired. 

The rifles came inside bright blue new soft-shell rifle bags.  The rifles themselves looked professional, sophisticated, and expensive.  The rifles are made of wood, metal, & plastic, and cost up to $6,000 each!  The biathlon coach went over the basics of how to hold the rifle and how its used in competitions.  Unfortunately, the cadets are not allowed to fire 22LR rifles inside the school gym.  They at least were allowed to hold them, aim down the sights, and pose for pictures.

The presentation lasted 30 minutes.

Nunavut Quest, the annual dog sled race, returned to Arctic Bay on April 16.  The race was cancelled the previous two years due to COVID-19.  (Nunavut Quest began in 1999).  The community was the Starting Line and Igloolik was the Finish Line.  Everyone was excited about the return of the competition.

The festivities began with fun afternoon dog races in the frozen bay.  They didn’t count as actual races; more like putting on a show for the kids and parents.

The opening ceremony was held at the community hall.  A large Nunavut Quest banner was taped to the back wall on stage.  A row of chairs, presumably for the competitors, were placed in front of the stage.  Several rows of chairs were placed around the C-Hall for the audience.  The ceremony began at 6:30pm.

Everyone was required to wear facemasks.  The Nunavut Quest Committee (NQC) welcomed everyone and asked all registered competitors to sit in front of the stage.  A few short speeches were made by several people.  The ceremony moved on to four musical performances.  The first performance was a vocal duet.  The second was a local family that sang a few songs.  The third & fourth performances were done by two competitors who played the guitar and sang songs they wrote.  All performances were done in Inuktitut and the audience appreciated them all.

The NQC drew the names of the competitors to find out which numbered bibs they would wear during the competition.  The number on your bib determines your starting position.  There were 13 competitors this year, so, 13 bibs were drawn and given out by lottery. 

From where I was standing, I don’t think the majority of competitors were hoping to get a specific number drawn . . . unless it was their lucky number . . . or they really wanted to start first . . . or last.  I’ve never competed in a dog sled race before, so I don’t have insider knowledge on this part.  I suppose if you suffer from triskaidekaphobia, you wouldn’t want your name drawn for the number 13.  Either way, the competitors appeared happy with the numbers they were assigned.

The race began in the afternoon on April 18.  Everyone was instructed to assemble out in the frozen bay at 2pm.  I walked down an hour early to get a good view.  It was a sunny, though, partly cloudy day.  I had to walk some distance because the competing dog teams were spread out deep in the bay.  I was armed with a GoPro and my cellphone camera.  Dogs were barking loudly. 

Slowly, more people appeared in the frozen bay, many driving snowmobiles, atvs, and trucks.  The ice is still very thick in mid-April.  You can probably land an airplane on it.  By 2pm, the bay was buzzing with activity.  The competitors were getting their dogs ready, the supply teams were checking all their, um, supplies, and the spectators like me walked around taking pictures and videos.  The last time I saw something like this was in 2017.

At around 2:25pm, all the supply teams assembled at a point in front of the competitors.  Together, they looked like a very long convoy of skidoos & qamutiks.  The leader of the convoy appeared to have a large flag attached to his skidoo.  At 2:30pm, the signal was given for the supply teams convoy to leave.  Everyone waved and yelled “Goodbye!” and “Good luck!”.  How I really wanted to join them on their journey to Igloolik, but unfortunately, I have a teaching job to attend to. 

The supply teams travel ahead of the dog teams, stop at designated points along the route and set up the checkpoints/rest stops.  I’m not sure where there’ll be, but I know they’re more than one.  Nunavut Quest is a timed relay race, similar to rally car racing.

The race officially began at 3:00pm.  From competitors #1 to #13, they each left at one-minute intervals.  The race officials loudly counted down the last remaining seconds and then waved at them to get their dogs moving.  Everyone clapped and cheered as they waved goodbye to Arctic Bay.  Most of the dog teams ran in the proper direction.  People started making their way back to town when the last dog team was out of sight.  I wish the competitors, supply teams, and officials the best of luck.  I hope they safely make it to Igloolik.

I’ll have to figure out some way of documenting a Nunavut Quest race from start to finish in the future.  It’ll make a great series for this blog.

 

Exams, A Parade, & Guitars

My apologies for not posting another entry last month (March).  Not enough happened in the community to warrant a full post before the end of the month.  I blog; not micro-blog.  I guess situations like these are bound to happen.  Regardless, I have enough material now to catch you all up to speed.

High school midterm exams occurred in the middle of March.  Nine exams were administered over three days; two of them were mine.  Both of my exams were for Social Studies.  The Grade 10 exam focused on economic globalization and the Grade 11 exam focused on nationalism.  My Grade 10 guitarists had a performance test before midterms. 

I added the exam marks & performance tests to the students’ report cards and calculated a percentage grade.  I then wrote comments for each student; about a paragraph each.  I was glad everything was submitted before the deadline.

March 31 was a special day for long time resident nurse Gail.  She decided to retire from the profession after practicing for 34 years in the community.  The community organized an afternoon parade of vehicles in her honour.

The school was notified in advance of the planned parade.  Students & teachers made Thank You posters.  When the day arrived, everyone lined up along the street behind the school and waited.  I had a GoPro camera at the ready to take pictures and video.

A firetruck and RCMP truck led the parade.  Both vehicles blared their sirens to let everyone know the procession was in motion.  Nurse Gail was in the third vehicle, a red pickup truck decorated with balloons and a large Happy Retirement sign on the front bumper.  She and her co-workers tossed candy to the kids.  Several people shouted, “Thank you Gail!” as she passed by.  The drivers of the vehicles that followed honked their horns and waved at the children.  I’m not sure how many vehicles participated, but it had to be around 20.  There were even some skidoos and atvs. 

It took about 7 minutes for the parade to pass the school.  I got it all on video. 

Thank you, Gail, for your hard work, dedication, and service to the community of Arctic Bay.

I received a shipment of new guitars and music stands from Long & McQuade in early April.  Four of the guitars were ¾ size.  They would be used by middle school students who are smaller in size.  The school provided the funding.  If the opportunity presents itself, I may buy four more.