Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Oct 09/02) - Elementary schools across the region are celebrating Thanksgiving in their own unique and fun-loving ways.

The Grade 3 teachers at Levi Angmak elementary school in Arviat are planning all kinds of fun Thanksgiving activities for the kids.

Agnes Mamgark said the children will be split into four groups and then rotated through a series of activities. The four centres will be face painting, arts and crafts, cartoon viewing and colouring.

"They're going to make little turkeys, pins, pom-poms, anything. I'm sure they're going to have lots of ideas," said Mamgark.

The teachers are hoping to find cartoons bearing some relevance to Thanksgiving celebrations.

"I'm looking into that. There should be one Charlie Brown Thanksgiving cartoon," said Mamgark.

She said the kids are excited and inquiring every day if they can start their Thanksgiving activities.

The Grade 6 students will be taking a spiritual approach in celebrating the holiday.

"We're going to make gifts for their parents using Bible verses to thank them," said teacher Nancy Gibbons.

The students will write out Bible verses on construction paper and decorate them with pictures.

Gibbons said thanking parents and the Lord for Blessing the children with life is a big part of the spirit of Thanksgiving.

"The kids really enjoy it and thanking God is very important," she said.

At Rachel Arngnammaktiq elementary school in Baker Lake, principal Jody Janzen said the school will host a special language fair for the kids and their parents.

"We're going to do the theme around Thanksgiving and its history," she said.

Janzen said the entire community will be invited to attend the event on Oct. 11 to view student presentations and art work related to Thanksgiving.

"They do all kinds of Thanksgiving art work and it's up all over the walls already," she said.