End of School Year 2025

June 4 was a very special day for the kindergarten students of Inuujaq School.  Graduation had finally arrived!  The students as well as their parents & guardians had been looking forward to the day for a long time.  Preparations for the ceremony had begun months in advance.

The ceremony took place in the school gym.  The kindergarten teacher borrowed the arch & red carpets from the high school graduation committee.  She also prepared a large colourful background for photographs.  The red kindergarten chairs were arranged in front of the background.  Staff, students, parents, guardians, and relatives filled the gym.  The nervous & excited graduates waited outside in the gym lobby, wearing blue grad gowns.

The principal welcomed everyone to the year end assembly and thanked them for being present for kindergarten graduation.  The kindergarten teacher called out each of her students individually.  The students walked along the red carpet, under the red arch, received their graduation certificate from the teacher, and sat on a red chair.  The audience applauded each student.  Once the students were seated, parents & guardians came up to take pictures with their mobile phones.  I joined as the school’s photographer.  The kindergarten teacher posed with the class.  The chair of the local District Education Authority (DEA) also congratulated the kindergarteners for successfully completing the school year.

The assembly continued with student perfect attendance.  Students from each grade were called to the front to receive a certificate for achieving perfect attendance for the month of May.

The assembly concluded with the DEA holding a draw for large bags of food.

The last day of school for students was June 5.  The morning was dedicated to cleaning classrooms & removing garbage from the playground & around the school.  Desks, chairs, and tables were stacked in the corners of classrooms so the custodians could mop & clean the floors over the summer.  Teachers & students were given garbage bags & gloves for the outdoor cleanup.

Students & teachers enjoyed a round robin of outdoor activities & games in the afternoon.  The school’s events committee organized the event.  There were 7 stations: food, soccer, beanbag toss, nakataq, obstacle course, skipping rope, and Inuit games.  The food station was more of a barbecue and nakataq is a rock throwing game where you try to hit a small rock with another small rock.

Groups spent 15 minutes at each station.  Parents & guardians were invited to the barbecue.  There was plenty of food to go around.  High school students were divided amongst the groups and food station.  Several high school students are good BBQ cooks. 

I walked around taking photographs and making sure everything was ran smoothly.  I also enjoyed a hamburger, hot dog, and cup of chicken soup.  The games & barbecue concluded at 3:30pm.  Sports equipment was brought inside, and the food station was cleaned up.  Garbage bags were placed in large bins.  Students were dismissed for summer break.  They were “free” until mid-August.

The last day of school for staff was June 6.  An afternoon potluck was held for everyone in the Home Ec Room.  There were various food items to choose.  The principal congratulated everyone for making the school year a success and wished everyone a safe & happy summer.  The food was blessed and everyone lined up.  I joined last.  The food was delicious.

Staff going down south for the summer or not returning in August returned their keys to the main office.  Everyone was dismissed in the early afternoon.

The principal & I had to stay an extra two working days to finish administrative duties.  I flew down south two days later.

As always, I’ll be taking a break from my blogging duties for the summer months.  See you all in August!

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