Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Pond Inlet (Dec 06/99) - In an event that clearly illustrates the overwhelming pride and ownership Pond Inlet community members feel for their brand new school, hundreds of people came out last Tuesday night to christen the new facility.

Marked by the traditional lighting of the qulliq and followed by throat singing, drum dancing and Ajaja singing, the baptismal ceremonies of the Nasivvik high school resounded with support and community encouragement.

"I'd like to thank all of the people in Pond Inlet who had input into this school," said David Qamaniq, the chair of the Pond Inlet District Education Authority.

Bringing home the point that the $9.5 million education facility was very much the result of the efforts of many different people, Qamaniq commended his colleagues and friends for the role they all played in seeing the two and a half year project completed.

"We all worked very hard to come up with this building," he said.

His words of praise and gratitude were echoed by school principal Stuart van Oostveen.

"I'm very excited. It's been an awful lot of work, but something people can be very proud of. The students and staff alike put a lot of effort into making it nice," said van Oostveen.

Including 11 regular classrooms, an art room, a science lab, a computer lab and a multi-purpose stage classroom, the Grade 6-12 school also has a CTS (Canadian Technical Studies) suite and a new gymnasium.

van Oostveen said the extra space and the modern technology will allow the staff to deliver a current and exciting curriculum to the some 250 students and he noted the addition of an in-house daycare had also helped in keeping up the number of women students. Both of those factors combined van Oostveen said, have gone so far as to boost the number of students signed up for high school in Pond Inlet.

"We do have a higher enrollment this year. We even attracted some students who dropped out," he said.

Cathy McGregor of the Baffin Divisional Board of Education was also on hand for the festivities -- and the ensuing feast of fish, walrus and caribou -- and expressed her hopes for the students in their new school.

"My wish tonight is that the learning that takes place in this building continues with the characteristics of the kind of learning that took place on the land long before there were school buildings like this," said McGregor.

Adding her dream that the courses blend the tradition with contemporary knowledge, McGregor also called on the staff, students and community members to work together to achieve success.

"Because nothing is too good for Nunavut."

For more information on the grand opening, see next week's issue of News/North.