The Magnificent Nine

The high school graduation ceremony on Friday, June 3 was the second ceremony Inuujaq School held this year.  The nine graduates didn’t want to wait until October, and several of them would be attending college down south in September.  The head of the Graduation Committee was Paulette, the high school Art & English teacher.  Planning & preparation for the event began several months in advance.  Money was raised to pay for the gowns, food, and professional photographs.  JF was in charge of food and preparing the graduation cake.  As for decorating the community hall, we used the decorations that were ordered for the ceremony in October of last year, but had arrived late.

            

The community hall was decorated on June 2 after the year-end activities.  I arrived at the community hall at around 5:30pm, wanting to see if my help was needed.  Music was playing on loud speakers to keep morale up and the floor was littered with colourful balloons.  Balloons are really popular in this community.  A red carpet, with stars pasted on it, ran down the middle of the hall.  A tall white & purple arch stood in the centre.  I was put to work on tying balloons with string.  I was glad I brought ear plugs because some balloons randomly exploded.  (This happens every year).  When the balloons were tied, high school students & teachers went around and hung the balloons around the hall.  They used ladders & tape.

            

The front of the stage was decorated with flowers, purple lights, and a big 2016 sign.  Chairs, a podium, and a table for a qulliq occupied the stage itself.  And the back of the stage was covered with black silhouette cut outs of each graduate.  Both sides of the stage were adorned with words of inspiration in English & Inuktitut.  Everything was ready to go by the evening.

            

June 3 was also the last day of school for students.  Report cards were handed out and school was dismissed for the summer at 3pm.  The early dismissal was also done to let the graduates and everyone else attending the ceremony to go home and get ready.  Unfortunately, one of the graduates would not be attending.   

            

The food for the graduation dinner was prepared by the Inuujaq School staff and a few parents.  You probably already guessed it, but yes, I prepared the salads again.  I carefully walked down to the community hall with all the greens in my hands and added the salad dressings there.  I wore an apron over my black suit while I was mixing.  The menu was quite diverse.  I’ll just let the attached pictures speak for themselves rather than list everything that was served.  I think we had all four food groups covered. 

            

The dinner began at 6pm.  Everyone was formally dressed.  An elder blessed the food and the graduates began the buffet line.  There was more than enough food to feed everyone . . . twice.  I think I ate two servings.  I was glad I had a very small lunch.  At the end of the dinner, one of the graduates sang a song she wrote specifically for the occasion.  Everyone liked it.

            

Grad Cake.

The 9 - 1 Graduates.

Everyone cleaned up the eating area.  Leftovers, cutlery, dirty dishes, and table decorations were placed in the kitchen.  The tables were folded up and put away.  The chairs were rearranged to the face the stage.  The graduates put on their red gowns, sealskin sashes, & mortarboards.  Their families & friends were already snapping photos of them.  The large graduation cake, in the shape of an open book, was carefully brought out and the graduates stood behind it.  More photos were taken.  The cake was then cut into many pieces and fed to the arriving guests.  JF did a very good job preparing the cake. 

            

Emcees Kataisee & Eunice.

The emcees were Kataisee & Eunice.  The sisters were wearing traditional Inuit amautis.  Kataisee taught high school last year and Eunice teaches Grades 7 & 8.  The principal and high school teachers sat on the backrow of chairs on stage.  When everyone was seated, the ceremony began at 8pm.  The grads were led to the stage by the RCMP.  They took their seats while the audience clapped and cheered.  Qapik Attagutsiak, a well-respected elder in the community, proceeded to light the qulliq.  Rev. Sam Willie did the opening prayer.

            

In his address, the principal congratulated the graduates for completing high school, and thanked the parents for their support.  He encouraged the nine students to continue their studies in Arctic College and/or abroad.  He then presented each graduate with their high school diploma.        

The Valedictorian was unable to present her speech because she was out of town.  However, a thank you note she wrote before leaving, was read instead.  She thanked her parents & teachers for helping her finish high school.  The grads in attendance were then given the opportunity to say a thank you speech.

            

There were nine various awards to give out to the graduates.  The awards acknowledged exceptional efforts in areas such as, Inuktitut, fine arts, math & science, student support, and most improved academics.  I had the honour of presenting the Citizenship & Leadership Award.  Each lucky recipient received a certificate and a gift.

            

Parents who wanted to say a few words were invited to come up to the front.  The short speeches were spoken in Inuktitut. 

            

Paulette had the honour of closing the ceremony by thanking all the individuals and organizations who helped her with the fundraising, planning, and preparations. 

            

The graduates threw their mortarboards up into the air.  They were truly happy that they finished high school.  They then quickly picked them up and were escorted off stage by the RCMP.  Another batch of young adults, ready to face the world. 

            

The teachers stayed after the ceremony to clean dishes and to load everything that needed to be returned to the school in pickup trucks.  It took several trips to bring everything back.  Leftover food was given away to anyone who wanted it.  A celebratory dance was held at the community hall later that evening.