A Flurry Of Activity

Quite a few interesting things happened in late February and early March.

The first was my appointment to Acting Vice-Principal by the superintendent.  Circumstances called for a shuffling of administrative staff and the superintendent asked me if I was willing to take on the vice-principal’s job.  I accepted the offer after much thought.  I just hoped the rest of the staff would be onboard.  The current vice-principal is now the Acting Principal.

My acting position is until the end of June, and I still must teach my assigned high school classes.  I’ll be moving between my classroom & the main office.  I think I’m prepared for this new opportunity & experience, considering I’ve been teaching at Inuujaq School since 2013.  If things go well and I enjoy working in administration, I may apply for the position of Vice-Principal next school year.  I now work 3 jobs: teacher, acting vice-principal, and commanding officer of an army cadet corps. 

“Pink Shirt Day [PSD] is an annual event against bullying held in Canada and New Zealand.  Participants wear pink shirts and attend or host informative events to raise awareness about bullying, particularly in schools.  Pink Shirt Day was started in 2007 in Canada, where it is held on the last Wednesday of February[.]”

Unfortunately, Inuujaq School is not immune to bullying.  Bullying doesn’t discriminate; it happens everywhere, and it needs to be eradicated.  In the week leading up to PSD, teachers did anti-bullying activities & lessons.  PSD was observed on February 28 this year.  Students & staff were encouraged to wear pink shirts and practice positive behaviours.  I wore a pink tie.  The day culminated in a school photo in the gym.  I was impressed we were able to photograph the entire student body.  The photo shoot reminded me of A Great Day Harlem.  Unfortunately, I can’t post the photo on this blog because I don’t have permission from parents & guardians.  Sorry.

Two instructors from the Canadian Red Cross came to Arctic Bay to run a Nipivut Workshop for high school students on March 6^th.  Nipivut means “our voices” in Inuktitut.  The purpose of the workshop was to assist students in:

§  Finding their inner voice and self-expression

§  Celebrating heritage and culture through art

§  Supporting physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental wellbeing

§  Appreciate and action the importance of community leadership

The workshop was held in my classroom and lasted the entire day.  Snacks were provided by the Canadian Red Cross.  I wanted to participate but my recent appointment to Acting Vice-Principal kept me in the main office.  I did “pop my head in” to check how things were going and from what I observed, the students learned a lot. 

Several Canadian military personnel and one soldier from the US Army came to town in early March, to complete an Arctic Survival course that is jointly run with the local Canadian Rangers.  The Rangers would instruct the military soldiers how to operate skidoos, pack & pull qamutiks (sleds), and how to survive in Canada’s harsh Arctic climate.  They would also do an Arctic patrol.

The officer in charge contacted the school ahead of time, asking about preparing breakfast for students & staff.  We accepted the offer.  The only catch was that I had to let them inside the school at 6am.  The day was set for March 8.

True to my word, I arrived at school just before 6am and waited for the military & Rangers to arrive.  They drove up to the school in their skidoos.  I let them inside and they immediately went to work in the Home Ec Room kitchen.  The menu was pancakes, muffins, scrambled eggs, and bacon.  The school provided juice boxes.  The military & Rangers worked efficiently for the next two & half hours and the food was ready to be distributed when the first school bell of the day rang. 

Classes were called down to the Home Ec room to receive their meals.  The students & staff thanked the military & Rangers and then ate their breakfast in their respective classes.  I followed the military rule and waited until entire student body got their breakfast before I got my plate.  Officers eat last.  I too thanked the military & Rangers for preparing breakfast and invited them to return the following year to do it again.  They let us keep the unopened bottles of maple syrup and bags of bacon.  Turns out they ordered too much.