Winter Carnival

Today our school had Winter Carnival, an event I had been hearing about since I arrived and had been eagerly awaiting. The students were divided into different mixed grade teams (each team had a child from every grade), and each team was named after a community on Baffin Island. The day consisted of different 15-20 minute stations that included indoor and outdoor activities.  The stations were a mixture of traditional (drum and square dancing, inuit games, igloo building and elder story telling) and 'modern' activities (tug of war/ 3-legged race and tag, sledding, hockey, mural creations, and maple syrup taffy making).

The traditional stations were manned by community members with a school staff member to assist.  It was great to watch the different interactions between the students and community members/elders.  The drum dancing, Inuit games and Igloo building seemed to be huge hits among the students.  It was fascinating to watch the elders slowly and meticulously construct the igloo from the snow just outside the school.  The amount of patience and skill was amazing to witness, especially on such a brisk day.  I also had the opportunity to witness some traditional games that I had not yet seen before.

We had two high school students from Iglulik who ran the square dancing station.  I noticed that a number of the students had difficulty understanding some of their instructions and that team leaders or other Inuit staff had to clarify what they were saying for the students.  I was informed by one of the staff that this was because of their 'accent'.   Once this was pointed out to me and I payed closer attention I did noticed a slight difference in their Inuktitut from what I have become accustomed to hearing.

Overall the day was a huge success and it was heartwarming to see, once again, they way that the community really pulled together to make the day so special for the students.  Without the help and hard work of the elders and community volunteers (students from the high school and other individuals) the traditional cultural element would have been lacking.