Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Jun 19/00) - Being a senior student at Inuksuk high school is pretty much a full-time job.

Not only do graduates have to contend with classes, provincial exams and trying to decide what to do next fall, they also have to plan the ceremony to end all ceremonies.

That big hurrah, the much-anticipated graduation ceremony, went off without a hitch, at least to the unknowing spectator, on June 10, 2000.

According to Grade 12, soon-to-be-university student Tina Rose, planning for last weekend's ceremony, dinner and prom began in February -- when all 23 shining faces started meeting once a week for an hour at a time.

"February was a little late to start and as grad got closer and closer, we could really feel that maybe we should have started earlier," said Rose, who was collecting baby photos from grads right up until the Friday before the Saturday rite of passage.

"At the meetings there would always be a lot of talking, arguing and discussing about decorations, songs, gifts, speakers."

Apparently controversy reigned when it came to music selection for marching in and out of the decorated gymnasium and during the "thank you to parents" portion of the evening.

"There was a lot of controversy over song choices and even in the end there were quite a few people who weren't too happy with the final choices," said Rose.

"Choosing special speakers, however, was something that came together very quickly without any problems."

Mr. Cooke, math and philosophy teacher extraordinaire, was an immediate choice for the grad class, who was looking for a teacher who had been with them right from the start of their high school careers six years ago.

After the three-hour afternoon ceremony, a dinner was held at a local restaurant, followed by a prom that was attended by all grads and their dates, Grade 11 students and grads of last year.

Midnight marked the end of the party-filled weekend, leaving Sunday for cleaning and studying. Monday was set aside for the horror of final exams.