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IQALUIT
Graduates from Inuksuk High School's class of 2012 will be taking home a rare memento; they are the first in almost a decade to have the chance to buy a yearbook.

Yearbook committee member Jennifer Tulugak and graduate Oolamie Joamie browse the Inuksuk High School yearbook, which was published this year for the first time in almost a decade. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"(We) really wanted a yearbook before we graduated," said committee member and graduate Jennifer Tulugak. "We've been trying to do this for a few years now, and we actually got it."

Tulugak said the last one the school produced was in 2004, the only one that decade, but committee chair and teacher Tanya Bjornson couldn't find a copy.

"The last one we have at the high school was from 1993," Bjornson said. "It wasn't consistent every year, but (before then) it was much more regular."

Tulugak suggested the inconsistency is probably due to the amount of work it takes to produce the book.

"It's such a hard process and you have to take so much time and effort to make a yearbook and I don't think anyone wanted to take time off to do it," until this year, she said, noting she was motivated to get involved to have a memory of her high school years.

"It feels good," to be in the yearbook, said graduate Oolamie Joamie, who plans to attend college for carpentry. The book has lots of photos of him, perhaps because "I smile all the time," he said.

The book is graduate-heavy, saving space for memories of their last year at school by foregoing individual photos of each student in the other grades.

"For the individual, it was going to focus on graduation as a motivation to get your picture in there one day as well," she said. "A lot of students weren't too sure if they were on the grad list or not. When I was going around trying to find grads for the yearbook, they were saying they're going to do everything they can to get their picture in there. It was a bit of motivation I'm sure."

There are photos from the Grade 12 trip to Australia and New Zealand, the World Wars tour in Europe, and photos from sports events across the country. Group photos dominate the pages.

The committee had one day to do most of the group photos, and used submissions from a company that took the class photos. The committee created the book using web-based software from publisher Herff Jones, which Bjornson thought would be difficult due to download speeds, but was easier than expected.

For next year, she would like to raise more money through pre-sales and sponsorships to increase the size, and to buy cameras for the committee so it doesn't have to lean so hard on others for photo submissions.

"People are really impressed," with the finished product, she said. "A lot of them weren't too sure what to expect, and we've got a lot of positive responses so far. A lot of students have come up to me and said they want to get another one next year. Grade 11 students want one for their grad year, so that will be a motivation."

If Tulugak could do it again, there are only a few things she would change.

"If we had more time, it would have been improved more," Tulugak said, noting the committee met each Tuesday for 45 minutes. She also wishes the book could have been bigger. "You take so many pictures, but there's so little space."

The 60-page, English-language book sells for $40, and a few of the 80 printed copies were available for sale at the high school office as of press time.

The committee behind the yearbook is made up of Jennifer Tulugak, Eelai Uniuqsaraq, Christine Tootoo, Anika Bychok, Jack Hanson, and Shannon Barkley. Tanya Bjornson and Jeremy Debicki were the teacher advisors.

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