Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Resolute (Nov 26/01) - The halls of Resolute's school are lined with shelves of books.

They aren't there because teachers want them there. Rather, the school is suffering from a severe space crunch.

"The high school has got all these little classes and it's always crowded," said Grade 10 student Matthew Pudluk.

At least high school classes can meet in the school building. Kindergarten classes cannot -- they are held nearby in the hamlet's old recreation centre. Most of the school's storage needs are also met at sites removed from the immediate campus.

To alleviate the crunch, the school has planned to build an addition to its existing structure, which should double the school's floor space.

Eighty students attend the five-classroom school, which has a staff of a dozen.

Representatives from the school met with architects Nov. 9 to select one of seven floor plan possibilities.

"It's good for us to get a new building," said Pudluk. "It's going to feel different and be a good change."

Although Pudluk won't be there for the new building -- plans call for the first classes to walk fresh halls no sooner than September 2003 -- Terri Lyn Hall will be.

"We will have a nice science lab completely set up," said the principal of Resolute Bay school.

"It's going to be a really large room so it's going to have room for a lab plus homeroom class plus at one end a kitchen area where home ec and cooking courses can be taught."

The new facility will also have a wood and metalwork shop room and space for tanning and curing hides and skins. "It's very exciting for us that it's actually happening," she said.