Iqaluit (May 08/06) - School's spanning the territory stepped up learning in the past two weeks for the Nunavut Government designated Education Week.

Although it's officially the week of April 24, many school's took liberties to either participate a week later, or not at all.

Ataguttaaluk school in Iglulik had to bow out of the celebrations, said principal Brian Kenney, because the community was already busy hosting the closing ceremonies of the Nunavut Quest.

"There is so much going on, so we are just going to keep the doors open and the children learning," said Kenney.

Students at Clyde River's Quluaq school had to wait a week, but it was worth it.

On May 2, there were "16 activities on the go," said principal John Thorne.

Primary, elementary, junior and senior school students were split into groups to do anything from the seal bone game to bannock making to the high kick.

"It's a time of bonding and learning to collaborate with different age groups," said Thorne.

At Arctic Bay's Inuujaq school, from May 2 to 5, there were events happening each day, said principal Bill Patykewych.

The first day, each classes from kindergarten to Grade 9 wrote one big book, each expressing "why they feel education is important or how much they appreciate their teachers," explained Patykewych.

On Wednesday, school staff swapped jobs with other people in the community for the day. On Thursday, younger students shadowed their older peers for a half hour in the afternoon. On the final day, Friday, students were asked to invite their parents to school for breakfast and then had the chance to participate in another Education Week activity of their choice.