by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 27/97) - Some schools across the North celebrated Education Week over the past few days -- but others will be holding events at various times over the next month.

"We didn't have enough lead time," said Lorraine MacCormack, co-ordinator of special projects at Nakasuk elementary in Iqaluit.

The staff couldn't pull the event off in time, and will hold it a week late, when they will promote this year's theme -- Community Partnerships.

"The highlight will be on Thursday when we will have an open house to encourage parents to visit the whole school," she said.

A scavenger hunt will send each parent to all the rooms in the school to familiarize them with the facility.

"We're promoting all kinds of community-based organizations to come to the school," she said.

Entertainment, including throat singing and drum dancing, is planned for the students.

Takijualuk high school in Pond Inlet won't be holding its Education Week until Feb. 17-21.

"We're in the middle of exams and changing terms -- there's a lot of things going on," said Liane Prest, program support teacher at the school.

"I feel badly that it's not going ahead during the week they had planned, but things don't always fit into the schedule that way."

The school's 225 students will choose from a mass of activities during the mid-February celebration and there will be displays in nine areas of the community, as well as in the classrooms to promote community partnerships.

Each classroom will have its own sub-theme related to the theme of community involvement in the school. Students will also be partnered with a worker in the community for a day and parents will be invited to attend some classes at the school.

The week will culminate with an open house in the school's gymnasium organized to provide information about careers.

"It will give the community and the students a chance to display their wares together," said Prest.

But in at least one community in the North, the event went off as scheduled last week.

At Chief Julian Yendo school in Wrigley all 39 students from kindergarten Grade 10 had a week of fun and entertainment.

"We had a parenting workshop, an open house for parents and students, and a lot of other events," said principal Gerald May. "It was a great week."