Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Apr 21/99) - They come with zany names like crazy hair day, crazy sock day and backwards clothes day, but they are anything but crazy in the results they produce.

Many Keewatin schools hold special events aimed at boosting school pride and spirit amongst students, encouraging positive community involvement and making school a more fun place to be.

Repulse Bay's Tusarvik school principal Leonie Aissaoui says on every Friday for most of the school year, events are held such as no socks day, bringing your favourite toy to school, wearing traditional clothes, or backwards and inside-out clothes day.

She says younger students, up to about Grade 7, get very involved with the events.

"With some of the events, the older kids didn't really think it was that cool, but it was very popular with the younger grades. I do think it helps boost the students' spirits and adds some excitement while making school a little bit more of a fun place to be."

Cheryl Forbes, principal of Leo Ussak elementary school in Rankin Inlet, says her teachers are encouraged to send students to the office when they do good things, instead of bad, to boost school spirit.

"If they're sent to the office for good stuff they get a pencil and a note to take home," says Forbes. "We're also trying to get a program going called Caught You Doing Something Good, where anyone in the community who sees a child doing something good can let us know and we'll put their name on a fish on the wall.

"We also have square dances where every teacher and student has to have a square dance.

"Events like this are very important for school spirit. It's also important for staff to be involved in these things. It helps build their morale too."

Marvin Mckay-Keenan, principal of the Levi Angmak elementary school in Arviat, says Class 13 in his school starts each day with its own special chant to build class spirit and his staff always encourages community involvement.

"Every month we have a Student of the Month assembly when we invite parents and children to come to school together. Each teacher picks three students from their class who receive a special prize for their good effort and behaviour. Their names are posted in the hallway and go into a monthly newsletter.

"These events create a lot of community feeling for the school. The majority of our staff is local and these events give people the opportunity to come and talk to these people, who they know on a social level, on a school level. The events help to both acknowledge the kids and get the community involved with the school -- both positive things."