School Picnic & Community Service

Inuujaq School held a picnic for students, staff, parents, guardians, and community members on the afternoon of September 5.  The event gave people the opportunity to meet & greet the teachers, new & returning, and enjoy delicious barbecue food.  The event also allowed the school to test the 2 new BBQ machines it bought on sealift.  I must commend the local Northern Store for successfully delivering two large food orders for the first day of school and picnic since these events occurred close to each other.

The school’s Events Committee handled the planning & staging of the picnic.  The original plan was for the event to be at Uluskan Point, like we did in 2023, but circumstances beyond our control made this impossible.  Thankfully, the committee had a Plan B: the school.  (The school is heated, has washrooms, and provides shelter against bad weather).

Several high school teachers & students set up the BBQ/food station just behind the school after lunch.  The weather was sunny.  Staff found alternate parking spots for their vehicles.  Tables, chairs, barbecues, garbage cans, utensils, cleaning supplies, juice boxes, frozen hamburgers, hamburger & hot dog buns, and condiments were all brought outside and set up.  The hot dogs would be prepared inside on an electric powered hot dog rolling machine the school bought last year.  The BBQ staff immediately got to work cooking food so there would be some to serve right from the start.  You don’t want a long line up.

The picnic began at 1:30pm and there were 2 food lines.  The wait time was manageable & tolerable.  The two new Coleman barbecues worked well, leading me to conclude that another two need to be purchased.  The volunteer cooks did a great job preparing hotdogs & hamburgers.  Running 4 barbecues & 1 hot dog rolling machine proved effective because everyone in attendance went through the food line in a shorter period than I thought.  Seconds were offered to everyone.  Everyone had fun.

The barbecue ended early.  High school students assisted the BBQ staff with cleanup.  Students & teachers returned to class and then were dismissed early for the weekend.

The army cadets of 3045 Corps performed community service on September 6, cleaning a section of shoreline between the gas station & airport.  Performing community service is part of the Canadian Cadet Program, and taking care of the land follows the Inuit IQ Principle of Avatimik Kamattiarniq.

The cadets & I arrived at school in the morning for breakfast, consisting of prepackaged meals shipped by the regional cadet support unit.  I held a quick briefing after breakfast, going over the plan for the day.  The cadets then gathered the equipment we would need and placed it in a waiting pickup truck.  The cadets found safe spots in the back of the truck, and I drove them to the staging area.

We reached the staging area after a 15-minute drive.  We unloaded the equipment from the truck and placed it in a designated spot.  We equipped ourselves with disposable gloves, garbage bags, and walkie-talkies.  We split into two groups and began ridding the shoreline of garbage.  The amount of garbage is less than behind the airport, but still noticeable & unwanted.  Most of the items we picked up were pop cans, chip bags, discarded toys, plastic bags, and clothes.  Very large items like wooden boards, logs, and rubber tires, were organized into large piles. 

An RCMP officer stopped to greet us.  After I explained what we were doing, the officer offered to take several filled garbage bags and drop them off at the local landfill.  We agreed to the offer.  Thank you!

A curious dog crossed the road and followed us around.  I think they are a part of a team of sled dogs just down the road.  The dog didn’t cause trouble and stayed with us until after lunch.

The cadets prepared their lunches at noon, firing up a Coleman stove, and cooking Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs).  Lunch lasted an hour.

We moved closer to town and continued picking up garbage along the shoreline.  We were surprised to find a discarded fridge & wooden ladder.  The cadets removed the door and placed large objects inside the old beat-up fridge.  Smaller items were placed in black garbage bags.   

The shoreline cleanup finished at 3:00pm.  I took a group photo of the cadets standing behind the garbage bags they filled.  We packed everything up and drove to the landfill to drop off the garbage bags.  We put away all the corps equipment at Frank’s Shop.  I thanked the cadets for participating in the activity and doing their part to keep the land clean.  I drove them home.