Rankin Inlet (Nov 24/04) - A total of 17 Grade 10 and 11 art students at Maani Ulujuk high school used editorial cartoons to put a humorous spin on current events.

Teacher Chris Eccles said a number of the cartoons focused on the rash of blizzards and windstorms to hit the Kivalliq recently, as well as the region's polar bear problems.

"The NHL lockout and the lack of local hockey due to problems with cracks in the ice and the Zamboni were (other) popular topics," said Eccles.

"The students' sense of humour really came through quite well in their efforts."

The students began their project by looking at different examples of cartoons from newspapers in various parts of Canada.

The styles that resulted were varied. Some students produced short strips -- two or three boxes with different panels -- while others went with single images.

There were cartoons with a single caption and others with speech balloons.

"The students stayed away from the political arena and the various personas associated with that.

"They dealt with what really matters in their lives, not what we might think is important."

The group progressed from cartooning to making story books for elementary students. They are now working on animated movies.

"Cartooning is a stepping stone which allows the students to learn how to bring things to life in terms of putting images to ideas.

"The next step is to develop short stories and bring them to life in film through animation."

Eccles said the course also helps to show students there is life after school.

He said numerous professional opportunities await those who develop strong creative skills in school.

"The process has also begun to create a school newspaper here at Maani Ulujuk. And we've been approached to have students produce regular cartoon strips for that publication.

"We have a number of talented young artists at the school who are developing strong skills."