High School Graduation (2018)

June 1, 2018.  High School Graduation.

            

Congratulations Graduates!

Grades 7 – 12 students & teachers descended on the community hall with loads of decorations and banquet supplies to turn the building into a place of celebration.  Inuujaq School was graduating six senior students this year.  It took the morning & afternoon of June 1 to get the entire place ready.  I was able to borrow Frank’s truck for the day, making it easier to transport everything from the school to the community hall.  Balloons were blown up, tied, & hung, tables & chairs were arranged for the 6pm banquet, congratulatory posters were taped to the walls, and the stage & walls were adorned with purple & silver curtains.  The only thing left to do was get the food ready.

            

I went home at the end of the school day, showered, changed into a suit, and brought the three bowls of salad I prepared to the community hall.  The salad dressing bottles were in my backpack.  I wore black, my favourite colour, but I had a purple tie to match decorations.  The grad banquet was reserved for the graduates, their families, teaching staff, District Education Authority (DEA) members, elders, and special guests.  Everyone was wearing formal attire.  The food & beverages were laid out on four large tables.  An elder blessed the food and banquet got under way.

            

Banquet line.

My meal.

There was a lot of food to choose & consume.  I had wanted to fast the entire day but my stomach growled at me all morning that I was forced to silence it with a light lunch.  Regardless, I did enjoy a good meal that satisfied my appetite.  The dinner lasted an hour.  At 7pm, everyone helped to clear the tables, collapse the tables, and rearrange the chairs so they faced the stage.  Just before the hall began to fill with members of the public, a student convinced me & and four other teachers to pose for a group photo. 

            

Ceremony program.

The ceremony began at 8pm.  The audience stood and cheered as the six graduates, dressed in purple gowns, were led into the hall by an RCMP officer.  The procession walked along a red carpet covered in stars.  The graduates took their seats on the stage, front & centre.  Geela, the emcee, welcomed everyone to the ceremony and called on Sam Willie to say the opening prayer.  The lighting of the ceremonial qulliq (lamp) was done by Qaapik Attagutsiak, Arctic Bay’s most prominent elder. 

             

The principal of Inuujaq School continued the ceremony with his student address, congratulating the graduates for completing high school and encouraging them to give teachers college a try.  He then called each grad to receive their diploma.  They were all smiles.

            

David Akeeagok

Martha Qaunaq

The Honourable David Akeeagok, recently elected as the MLA for the Quttiktuq region, added his personal congratulations to the graduates and spoke about the importance of education in the territory.  DEA representative Martha Qaunaq spoke after Akeeagok, continuing the theme of encouraging Inuit youth to finish school and go on to better things like college & university.

            

Robyn Q. being awarded the GG Award.

Owen W. being awarded the Math &
Science Award.

The ceremony moved on to the Presentation of Awards.  There were five awards to be handed out:  Governor General’s (GG) Award, Hamlet Award, Math & Science, Fine Art, and Baffinland Iron Ore Corporation.  The principal of Inuujaq School presented the GG Award to Robyn Q.  She also won the Hamlet Award.  JF presented the Math & Science Award to Owen W. and Paulette awarded the Fine Art honour to Donathan K.  All six graduates would receive laptops from Baffinland.

            

Donathan K. speaks to the audience
about how he feels about finishing
high school.

The graduates were given the opportunity to share their thoughts on completing high school and maybe hint at what they wanted to do next.  Then their parents & relatives were invited to the stage to say a few words.

            

High School teacher & Grad Coordinator Paulette finished the ceremony by thanking the sponsors, Grad committee members, and the people of Arctic Bay for coming to the ceremony.  The graduates were led out of the hall by the RCMP officer while popular music played.  A rope was pulled and bunch of balloons slowly fell down towards the floor as the grads walked by.

            

The last part of the ceremony was the graduates standing around the cake for photographs.  The cake was made by JF.  Once all the photographs were taken, the cake was cut into equal pieces and devoured by the grads & everyone else.

            

The graduates did get one more chance to “walk down Victory Lane”.  On June 4, near the end of the school day, the entire student body lined the main hallway of the school and cheered as the graduates were led down the hall by a student playing an Inuit drum.  The grads walked from one end to the other and then back.    You could tell they enjoyed the attention.  The act also showed the younger students what to expect when they finish high school.