The Final Days of School

Food prices in Nunavut are expensive; really expensive.  This has been the norm for many years but it seems the issue only came to national attention in 2014, when APTN did a story titled, “Wasting Away”.  The episode looked at food insecurity in Nunavut, but focused primarily on Rankin Inlet.  The network did a follow up episode the next year, called, “Food For Thought”.  The latter covers the high food prices in Arctic Bay.  This year, Arctic Bay experienced a pop (aka soda, soft drink) shortage, beginning in late April.  The community managed to drink its year supply of pop earlier than expected, forcing the Northern & Co-op stores to airlift more soft drinks to fill in the gap.  This has led to higher prices.

            

My receipt from the Co-op.

Cases & cases of popular soft drinks are brought up on sealift during the summer shipping season.  For most the next 7 – 8 months, prices are stable at around $2.50 per can.  Yes, per can.  When the sealift stock dwindles, the price goes up to $6 per can.  The price stays that way until the next sealift.  I decided to experience the shock of these high pop prices by buying a case of 12 from the Co-op on May 25.  The case was airlifted into the community and cost me $69.48.  I don’t think I’ll be doing that again next year.

            

CBC North did a story about the pop shortage on May 30.  The article also talked about the online auctions being held on Facebook.  One of my students was featured in the article, making him a celebrity for the next several days.  I guess the lesson here is to keep a stock of pop hidden somewhere in your house until the spring shortage hits.  (There always is a spring shortage in the community, but I think it was the online auctions that got the media interested).

            

As I mentioned in a previous post, the last full week of May was final exams.  I was able to get in some new topics at the beginning of the month before moving on to review.  My English & Social Studies classes had final exams.  My guitar class had a final performance test.  The key to preparing final exams is answer keys.  They make marking so much easier.  Answer keys are also handy when you prepare review packages.  I was glad that I was able to administer and mark all the exams before I left for Operation Spring Fix 16.

            

The year-end assembly was held on Thursday, June 2.  On the agenda was the kindergarten graduation, acknowledging & saying farewell to staff that were not returning, and the best attendance awards year-end draw.

            

A large & colourful “Congratulation Kindergarten” sign, complete with stars & pictures of the graduates occupied the far end of the gym.  The young Class of 2016 sat at the front, wearing blue graduation gowns with matching mortarboards.  The ceremony began with the kindergarten teacher calling up each graduate to receive their certificate & a handshake.  Then the entire graduating class posed for a group photo with their teacher and school principal.

           

DEA Member Darlene presents a gift to Mary.

Marlene says a few words.

Greg speaks to everyone after receiving
his gift.

Four staff members would not be returning the following year.  Mary, our school counselor, had accepted a job in Iqaluit and was moving with her husband at the end of month.  She received a gift and said a short thank you speech.  Marlene, the Grade 4 teacher, was next to receive a parting gift and given a chance to speak.  Greg, the Grade 6 teacher, was also not returning and would be moving down south.  He was presented with a gift from an elder.  In his thank you speech, he thanked everyone for supporting him for the last two years, and promised his students to be at their high school graduation ceremony in six years.  Ikey, a unilingual Inuit elder, was retiring after teaching shop class for many years.  For his efforts, he was rewarded with a gift and a very long niksik.

            

Ikey thanks everyone for their support.

Horizon was the K-4 winner.

Throughout the year, students who achieved best attendance for a month had their names placed in a draw for a big year-end prize.  For K-4, it was a bicycle, for 5-9, it was also a bicycle, and for high school, the prize was an iPad.  Community members were called to the front to draw a name from a can.  The lucky winners were announced and called to the front to receive their prizes.         

           

Capture the Flag.

Soccer.

Year End BBQ.

The festivities continued outside with a round-robin of games.  Some of the games were: Capture the Flag, Soccer, High Kick, and Inuit Games.  The tastiest station was the BBQ station behind the school.  The menu consisted of hot dogs, hamburgers, and juice boxes.  I alternated between the front & back of the school, snapping pictures of kids playing and eating.  The year-end activities ended at 3pm.  High school students and several teachers walked over to the community hall to help decorate the place for the high school graduation ceremony on June 3 (more on this in a future post).

            

Year End BBQ.

Students eating & drinking.

Soup.

JF & his shrimp cocktail.

Several teachers & I treated JF to a fancy dinner at the Tangmaarvik Inn later that evening.  It was his birthday and the event needed to be celebrated.  The full-course meal cost $60 per plate.  We had to wait a little bit for the eating area to be cleared.  The previous diners were tourists & their chaperones/guides from Arctic Kingdom.  The appetizers were a shrimp cocktail and a rice soup.  The main course was a chicken stir-fry on rice with asparagus.  And I think the dessert was a pie of some kind but I can’t remember.  JF received a birthday card and a few gifts from everyone.  The birthday dinner outing was a nice way to finish the day. 

Main course dinner.