Staff Xmas Potluck & Christmas Concert

Inuujaq School’s Events Committee organized an evening staff Christmas potluck dinner for Friday, December 9.  The event was held in the gym and staff were encouraged to bring whatever they wanted to the dinner . . . with a few exceptions.  District Education Authority (DEA) members and Elders were also invited.  A list was posted in the main office for people to write what they were bringing.  It’s a good way to cover all parts of a full course meal and avoid bringing the same dishes.  Although, I suppose there are some cases where that’s acceptable.

Staff transformed the gym into a dining hall using tables, chairs, table cloths, coffee machine, cups, and cutlery.  A Christmas tree was set up to add more to the décor.  People placed the food they brought on a long row of tables lined up against a wall.  My contribution this year was milk chocolate finger biscuits and wafers in various flavours.  (These were store bought).  There was more than enough food for seconds.

The dinner began with the principal welcoming everyone to the event.  An Elder blessed the food and then everyone was invited to the buffet tables.  I waited until the line got smaller before loading my plate with food.  People had the option of using paper plates & cutlery provided by the school or their own.  I brought my own.  There was a variety of foods to choose from.

Christmas themed music played in the background as everyone enjoyed their meals.  The teachers I sat with talked about what their plans for the holidays were.  Quite a number of people including me went back for seconds. 

The event continued with Secret Santa.  Participants picked names out of a hat a few weeks in advance and spent the week before the dinner secretly giving gifts to the people they picked.  Participants revealed who’s names they picked at the potluck dinner, but not immediately.  The way the final game works is a participant has three chances to guess who their Secret Santa is.  If they guess correctly, they receive their final gift from that person.  If they don’t guess correctly, their Secret Santa still announces who they are and give them their final gift.  The process continues until all participants receive their final gifts.  Most participants show what they received to the audience.

The principal gifted each staff member a writing case made by The Bugatti Group.  They’re not affiliated with Bugatti Automobiles.

The last activity the staff played was a cup flipping game.  You had to flip a cup once and make it land perfectly to stay in the game.  If the cup landed on its side, you’re out.  The prize was a secret present.  The circle quickly dwindled and eventually a winner was declared.

Staff & invited guests were allowed to take any leftovers home.  Once the leftover food was out of the way, everyone cleaned the gym and put everything away. 

Pre-School.

Inuujaq School held a Christmas Concert at the community hall on the evening of December 13.  It was the first concert since 2019.  We had to cancel in 2020 & 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  I think a lot of people in the community were excited and glad to see the return of the concert because the community hall was packed on the night of the performance.  Staff & students prepared for the concert in advance. 

Grade 2.

Grade 3.

The concert consisted of 12 performing acts.  The school staff decided to open the concert with a skit about Santa coming to visit the school.  The pre-school class sang the song “Mary’s Boy Child”.  Kindergarten did a two-part performance, a dance dressed as butterflies and singing a Christmas song.  Grade 1 did a skit on the meaning of Christmas.  Grade 2 sang traditional Inuit songs and played the Inuit drum.  Grade 3 sang, “Silent Night” in Inuktitut and English.  Grade 4 students demonstrated their skills in drum dancing, square dancing, and throat singing.  Grade 5 also did a dance number, but to the song, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”  Grade 6 did a skit involving emojis while Grade 7 danced to the song, “I Got A Feeling.”  It was at this time I gathered my drummers in the main hallway to assemble our drums.  The Grade 8 class performed a Christmas skit revolving around the recent popularity of TikTok, a video-sharing website.

Grade 6.

I was told that when the curtains closed after Grade 8 finished their performance, all the kids in the hall crowded around the front of the stage, eager to see my drummers perform.  I didn’t notice because I was too focused on the upcoming performance.  My drummers & I had the honour of being the final act.  We were going to finish the concert with a bang.  I led my drummers onto the stage, carrying our instruments.  Some people helped us by bringing the music stands and sticks.  The emcees kept the audience occupied as my drummers & I hastily got ready.  I instructed my drummers to take a deep breath, relax, and to let go of all future mistakes.  If you keep going and/or act like you were supposed to play it that way, then no one will notice.  I also added the performance would be over fast.  I stood behind my drum and signaled the stage crew to draw the curtains.  Our performance began.

A sea of people watched me raise my sticks into the air and click them 4 times.  My drummers & I immediately launched into our first piece.  The snare drummers played with snares off because snares on are too loud inside the hall.  The audience applauded after we finished playing the first piece.  We switched sheet music, waited for the audience to stop clapping, and then I clicked my sticks 4 times again.  This process was repeated one more time.  The drumline played 3 group pieces. 

I took centre stage and played a snare drum solo to the delight of everyone.  I took a quick bow to the audience after striking the snare drum for the last time.  I stepped back and the curtains were drawn.  The high school drumline breathed huge sighs of relief.  We survived.  Hopefully we inspired the younger students to take up drumming and/or music later in life.

The emcees thanked everyone for attending and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  The drummers & I packed up the drums while people left the community hall.  The drummers also helped me transport the instruments & equipment to the school.  Frank let me borrow one of his trucks.  Thanks!  Another successful concert for the history books.     

Parents Night Parade & Last Cadet Day Of 2022

I held a Parents Night Parade (PNP) on Wednesday, December 7 for the army cadets of 3045 Cadet Corps.  They accomplished quite a bit since the October parade, so it was only fairly to publicly acknowledge and reward their efforts.  The cadets were given advance warning, and worked hard on their drill & uniforms.  I recruited the Grade 6 teacher to be the Guest Reviewing Officer (GRO). 

The hour before the parade followed the same routines from the previous PNP.  The cadets and I turned the gym into a parade square by assembling chairs, tables, flags, banners, sound system, and a reception table.  I placed the badges and awards on the main table last.  The cadets changed into their dress uniforms and anxiously awaited the arrival of their families & friends.  The senior cadet formed up the cadets and took attendance.  While this was happening, I spoke to the GRO about parade duties.  They were: inspect the cadets, observe the March Past, give a brief speech, and assist me in handing out badges and awards.

The parade began at 6:30pm.  I marched into the gym with the GRO following behind.  We received the General Salute and the GRO inspected the cadets on parade.  I did a brief welcome speech to the audience while this happened.  The cadets then did a March Past to showcase their platoon drill.  The GRO then gave a brief speech, commending the cadets for their dress, drill, and deportment.

Level 1 Marksmanship.

Level 3 Marksmanship.

The GRO & I continued the parade by handing out awards.  We started with the usual two: marksmanship and physical training (PT).  Three cadets achieved Level 1 Marksmanship and one cadet achieved Level 3 Marksmanship.  (Level 1 is the lowest & Level 4 is the highest).  Three cadets achieved Bronze PT, two cadets achieved Silver PT, and one cadet achieved Excellence PT.

Next, I announced the three winners of the Fall Biathlon competition in late October.  To ensure fairness, I divided the competing cadets into three groups: First Years, Second Years, and Seniors.  The winners received military-themed t-shirts and bragging rights.

Two senior cadets attended a Year 5 leadership workshop in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in November.  I called them to the front to be publicly recognized for successfully completing the course. 

Cadet being promoted to Lance-Corporal.

The last presentation the GRO & I did was promoting a cadet to the rank of Lance-Corporal.  The rank badge is one chevron. 

The parade concluded with an Advance-In-Review-Order and a General Salute.  The GRO & I exited the gym.  The cadets were dismissed and the parade officially came to an end.  I thanked the Grade 6 teacher for volunteering his time to be the GRO. 

The cadets & I posed for a group photograph and then attended the reception.  The reception lasted about 20 minutes.  The cadets & I needed another 15 minutes to clean the gym.  I congratulated the cadets for another successful PNP and dismissed for the night.

Saturday, December 10, was the last day for cadets before the Christmas Break.  The cadets played sports & games in the gym, and I finished the day with a candy toss.  I started doing candy tosses in 2017 when I had leftover Halloween candy and wanted to get rid of it.  It’s more of a candy dump than a toss.

Prior to the event, I have the cadets assemble the gym mattresses to form a large square.  They take their shoes off and receive a large Ziploc bag.  They stand along the perimeter of the square while I go up to the second level and fill a large cardboard box with candy.  Once I receive an all-ready from the cadets below, I pour all the candy onto the gym mats.  The cadets rush into the centre and try to grab as much candy as they can.  It’s gone in a matter of seconds.  The cadets help me put all the mattresses away after the candy has been claimed.

The cadets formed up so that I could wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  They wished me the same.  I let the senior cadet in charge dismiss the cadets for the final time in the year 2022.  We would reform in early January 2023.