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As per request of a very vocal uncle, I am writing this post from home in Nova Scotia (I was not eaten by a polar bear). I arrived back safely about two weeks ago and have been enjoying the increasing temperatures and the end of my degree. I was surprised to see there was still snow on the ground when we landed, but that is taken care of now, as is my coursework!

When people ask how it was I usually respond "I had a great time in Pond Inlet, and am looking into jobs up North for the upcoming school year." It truly was a wonderful experience, and there are so many opportunities that I am very thankful to have received through this Northern practicum, although it's hard to sum up my four weeks in a neatly packaged sentence.

In closing, the B.Ed grad banquet was this week at Casino Nova Scotia, here are three beautiful up and coming teachers (I may be a bit biased). Convocation - or commencement as they're calling it at the Mount - is next month, where I'll walk across that stage and finally be a licensed teacher!

Myself, Mme. Fraser, and Mme. MacAskill

Elementary skills

Wednesday I had the opportunity to visit the elementary school, Ulaajuk, here in Pond Inlet.  I sat in on a grade 4/5 class for morning routine where we played a game to guess not only the temperature but also the wind-chill; a grade 3 ELA class where they were learning English through the Olympics – the particular class I was in chose to make a movie for animal Olympics; a grade 6 class that was doing a novel study; and a grade 2 class in Inuktitut. The little girl sitting beside me in the grade 2 class was amused by my attempt to follow along with the Inuktitut syllabics. I could repeat words but could not remember them after the fact. She would turn to me and smile as I tried the motions with my mouth. For my professional development next week I want to get a handle on the syllabarium - an elementary skill, like learning the alphabet. Rebekah's mom, a seasoned teacher, says every teacher should try to learn something new to experience what our students go through on a daily basis. This will be my project.  

While here I have also learned the elementary skill of how to cook bannock without twisting it around a stick and eating it half raw. Although it was a bit burnt it tasted great! It's basically deep fried delicious dough. I added sugar, cinnamon, and raisins to mine. Rebekah added salt and currents to hers.

Pat teaching Rebekah the technique 

Sizzle sizzle little bannock 

Just a little black

Bittersweet

Today was my last time in a classroom as a student teacher. This brings about sentiments of both joy and sadness - I’m that much closer to my teaching certificate but I will no longer be a student teacher. Having such a small student and staff population for the last lag of my practicum is exactly what I needed. The tight-knittedness and sense of community in this school is what I am looking for in a future career. I had a grade 11 student that was both in my science and math class come find me after school today to tell me not to forget him. He didn't have the best attendance but he sure tried his hardest when he was there. Today was also the students’ last day of classes before their spring break next week.

This week was March Madness for the Junior High students which means they got to participate in either a basketball, ping pong, or just dance tournament for the afternoon yesterday and today. The basketball skills were up there! Most of the junior high showed up for a nail biting final game. An award and medals were given tot he winning team, who were very proud of their feat. It's great to have these types of activities to show students there are fun things that happen at schools, get them active and interactive with peers, and build their self-esteem. We also started off the day with a school wide bacon, egg, and pancake breakfast put on by the student council. Elders were invited to the breakfast and a prayer was said in Inuktitut before anyone got their food. 

On the topic of Elders I sat in on a presentation given in a grade 9 science class by an Elder about why animals live where they live. I was able to get a few words here and there but was mostly intrigued by the contentness of the students. I had never seen them so quiet and attentive. I'm not sure if this would happen for every class if an Elder came in, but for this class is was definitely a positive experience.

For staff tomorrow and next week is given for professional development. Some are heading south for this and others are sticking around to learn how to sew parkas and crochet a so-called Pangnirtung hat. These hats used to be called an Inuit hunting hat but have now been recognized as Pang hats as they are  currently the biggest distributor of them. I had asked a student where I could buy one but she said the best is town are made by a lady who is swamped with orders.

Also my grade 7 students made a pretty amazing antismoking ad to submit to a contest… AND they made through to the voting round!!! All you readers should check out the video here and vote for “Inuk Cowboay” here. It was filmed in the dark season (before I got here) but kudos to them for making the most of the light they had! Also if you're bored, you should vote multiple times - I told students I would get people in the land of no monthly internet restrictions to help them win.

Annnddd some unrelated pictures… the little things. 

Lichen Life

Dainty adapted plants

Iceburg, drifting pack ice, and land-fast ice

A busy weekend

Today my Tariuq 11 (science) class was scheduled to go on a trip to floe edge for an educational seal hunt. Unfortunately one of our guides fell sick and the other's snowmobile has broken down. Ajurnngnangmat. Another example of having to adapt to the circumstances, and fluidity of life in the North.

We did get to go on a little trip yesterday to a cave on Beloeil Island. Anne strapped a kamotik onto her skidoo for Rebekah and I to ride it, and away we went with some other teachers from school (and two riffles for safety). The weather network was reading -34 before windchill which changed our original plan to see the hoodoos on Bylot Island. The Parks outfitted Rebekah and I to prepare us for the weather.

A gaggle of adventurers outfitted for a cold journey out on the ice

Anne taking off with Rebekah and I in the kamotik

Jaclyn and I inside the cave 

Ice crystals inside the cave

Back up another day to Saturday which was a very busy day in town! We headed to the flea market to witness lots of jello and pudding parfaits, arctic char soup, and homemade boston cream donuts which didn't last long. There were also two tables selling prints and a table of FREE clothes. After the market we stopped by the local pond which is now skating ice where the Health Centre was putting on a BBQ and skating event to promote physical activity. From there we headed down to the elementary school where the Canadian Junior Rangers (middle school aged students) were hosting a fun fair. It was neat to see my of my students in leadership roles. Even in a remote community like Pond Inlet you can always find something to do! It's about putting yourself out there which I have also discovered in my job search.

The skating pond

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit

As I start to analyze the materials teachers use to compliment their walls, I have been noticing the eight guiding principles of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit written somewhere in every classroom. I think it's inspiring to have an educational system that is built on the fundamentals of Inuit knowledge. These eight principles can be used to guide life whether it be in the North or the South.

The eight principles include: 

1. Inuuqatigiitsiarniq: respecting others, relationships and caring for people
2. Tunnganaraniq: fostering good spirit by being open, welcoming and inclusive
3. Pijitsirniq: serving and providing for family and/or community
4. Anjiiqatigiinniq: decision making though discussion and consensus 
5. Pilimmaksarniq/Pijariuqsarniq: development of skills through practice, effort and action
6. Piliriqatigiinniq/Ikajuqtigiinniq: working together for a common cause
7. Qaauqtuurniq: being innovative and resourceful in seeking solutions 
8. Avatittissik Kamattiarniq: Respect and care for the land, animals and the environment

Don's Classroom Poster

Tess' IQ Display

Learning Something New

Today I was fortunate enough to engage in a new learning opportunity – braiding a traditional belt of an amauti (a parka worn by women with a large hood to carry the baby).

I’m not sure if I would call it braiding or weaving, but I do know I would call it difficult. I’d like to think of myself as a crafty person (I knit an entire sock last weekend!), but I sure don’t catch on quick. It was a great experience being in an Inuit community being taught a traditional Inuit craft by an Innu woman. Traditionally Inuit children learned by watching, which was the technique used today. I watched as  Geela started hers and I tried to mimic. Geela also gave me a lot of support as she watched over and corrected my mishaps.

 My tie, it’s not perfect but it’s a work in progress!

 Rebekah’s tie, after a couple tries, looks amazing

On the walk home a very friendly husky pup greeted us. If I moved to the North for a while I may have to get me one. 

Thanks for the picture Rebekah

Regular Irregular

It seems my blogging has become irregular. As I settle into the community and the school I don't feel like I have as much to say… it's becoming familiar.

Through observing many different classrooms and teachers, I have witnessed many activities that have been able to engage an audience of differing levels. This includes, but is not limited to, writing scripts and producing TV shows in literature class using technology, budgeting assignments in math, Just Dance and Wii Sports in gym, and a jeopardy review game in science. There is still the occasional student who responds with "boring" but you can tell some students see the work as meaningful. For me, this is the most important part of teaching in a remote community, having students understand the importance of learning and their importance in the greater world.

Rebekah and I decided, with the beautiful weather, to walk home form school today (a 15-20 minute journey as we are on the opposite side of town as the school). It was great to take in the town at a leisurely pace and I found myself picturing myself doing this on a daily basis - taking in the serenity, the quietness, the harsh environment, the clean air, and those picturesque mountains.

I'm still learning Inuktitut from students and my host family. Below is a sign in Inuktitut that translates to small river (the river run right through town). I was telling my host family that students don't understand when I explain my name like little river, they suggested I take on kuukuluk as a nickname. I like it.

"small river" running through town

Change

Saturday we were planning on heading to the flea market at the community hall but upon arriving the hall looked empty. Apparently a water pipe had burst cancelling the market. We headed over to the co-op as Dave needed to pick up some groceries and were greeted in the entrance by a "mini-market"- a few tables set up selling bannock, jell-o, and tickets on gift baskets. Some of our students were standing behind the tables and met us with big smiles. 

Reflecting on this, I thought about the adaptability of the North. I have seen it true for the teachers, the students, and the school community. Lessons can go for more or less time than planned, visitors can come in to speak to students with ten minutes notice, or the five students in your classroom are different than the five that were there yesterday. Change seems to be readily accepted here - you have to be able to adapt. There is an Inuit phrase, Ayurnamat, that sums this feeling up. It means there is no use fretting over things that can not be changed, coming from a long history of living on the land and respecting it rather than conquering it. 

Rebekah and I are a change in the community but we feel welcomed by the people in the streets, or at the two stores, who are interested in why we are in Pond. Adults will shoot smiles, and children ask for our names. Students who may or may not see us in the classroom have figured out our names and excitedly shout them out when they see us. 

A shot off the front steps at the Northern Grocery Store

Panorama

I've figured out how to use the Panorama setting on Nicole's camera! Yay! 

 View from the top of Pond Inlet, onto the old/original part of town. 

 On the other side of the community, looking out again to Bylot Island. The sound is about 20 km wide, hard to believe! It looks so close!

The mountain dead centre was named after the Inuktitut syllabic ᐃ (pronounced "i")

Pond Inlet has provided me with beautiful landscapes to admire daily. It has also provided evidence to back Disney's statement, "it's a small world after all":

• Meggie, my coworker and friend from Dalhousie, is/(was?) designing a waster water treatment program for Pond Inlet for her Engineering Design project. How ironic that that is where I was placed?
• We had a visit tonight from a childhood friend of Rebekah. He is a pilot stationed in Yellowknife but was contracted out to survey parts of Nunavut. The two of them hadn't seen each other for eight years and just happened to both be in Pond Inlet, of all places, at the same time. 
• The scientist on the surveying job had actually spent some time at my host family's place over the years and housesat for them for one summer
• When I mentioned I was from Windsor, and my host family had actually lived there before they moved up to Nunavut. 
• I also mentioned a visit with my uncle's neice over christmas break who used to teach in Pond Inlet and the photo albums came out. My host family found Debbie in multiple pictures!

It's a small world: In the centre back row is my host, Dave, 

standing to the right of my uncle's niece  Debbie.  

(Bet you can pass this photo on to Debbie!)

Pat was also looking through old books, when she found what she remembers is apparently the best bannock recipe. I.T.S. for Girls! camping trip may need to test this out!

A walk through history

I've been here five days and I haven't mentioned the temperature! Wednesday was -25°C and the teachers were commenting on the warmth. Today was about -35°C when we left school. It's easy to forget the frigid temperatures outside while in the school (until a student opens the door in gym class and they become a steaming being).

On another note, I've been noticing that the government/public buildings in town are very well taken care of. Pat and Dave have been great at giving us a bit of history about buildings every time we jump in the Jeep - from the improved health centre to the moved church, and their pervious two houses in the community. The high school, seen in earlier posts, was built in 1999-2000. Below are some pictures of the public library in town which we got to take a peek around. Included in the library is a little history/museum exhibit about Inuit culture.

English and Inuktitut syllabics 

Outside the library

Narwhal greeting in the entrance 

The leading lines, the composition, the framing - Nance, this ones for you

Packing parks (Amauti) - the babies are carried in the hoods

I've seen a couple of these around town. Very cool

Caribou hunting

Cool story: a biologist Pat and Dave know from years back is in town surveying Baffin Island for caribou. He had lots of information on the migration patterns of the caribou. It was neat to hear his perspective from the air!

Rock face representative of Bylot Island across the sound 

Bylot Island is home to Sirmilik National Park ("The place of glaciers") 

There was an elementary aged girl wandering around who told me this was her favourite part of the exhibit

Drying fish (pitsik). I got to try a taste of this in Labrador last summer.

A hiding hunter

Little seal pup (probably the only I'll see while here, they're all hiding under the ice)

Recognition and reflection

Today I taught Anne's reading and writing classes as she is in Iqaluit for PI (aka PD). Every junior high teacher teaches a reading group daily, and a writing group three times a week. I’ve encountered the same teaching struggle for myself as in the South – I am a teacher not a teller (In Anne’s words). It is easier in the South for students to whip out their smart phone and Google the answers to their questions whereas up here the teacher is “Google” so to say. Students are much happier to fill out a worksheet that you have provided answers for rather than gather the information from a provided reading. Anne's reading class has been using the "Reading A to Z" program which was very helpful to me as there are activities geared towards students with lower reading levels. My experience thus far has showed me I really don't know how to teach reading in English which is crucial in communities such as Pond Inlet where they complete most of elementary school in Inuktitut. *Potential PI for my future self and a suggestion for other teachers considering teaching in the North). 

While browsing through resources in the Resource Room I was advised by Dave and Pat to look for a set of white binders published by the Canadian Legion - written by the one and only Nick Newberry. Low and behold I found the set published 10 years ago. Looking through the documents there were great civic studies worksheets and suggestions for junior high teachers. 

Foreword written by Nick Newberry

I love the sentence at the bottom, "Young Nunavummiut need to know who they are, where they come from and their place in the world." I feel this is true of all people and should be fostered in all schools.  I am still in the first week of my Northern placement, but I find myself reflecting on who I am, where I come from, and my place in the world. 

We finished off our night with an Inuktitut lesson from Dave and Pat and a magnificent sunset.

Pond Inlet sunset, Mar 12 7:00 PM