RANKIN INLET - About 350 parents, students and elders showed up for a community breakfast to kick-start Snow Day at Maani Ulujuk High School in Rankin Inlet this past week.

Leo Subgut heads off with a tasty breakfast after student servers filled up his plate at the Snow Day community breakfast at Maani Ulujuk high school in Rankin Inlet this past week. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The annual event is a way for students to have some fun and relieve the pressure of their recent exams before the Easter holidays begin.

The day's outdoor activities included the egg toss, two-by-four race, tug of war and Inuit baseball, which pitted junior-high students against their senior counterparts.

Inside the school, the bat spin and hoop shoot, don't kill the piggy and blindfold ball search were the most popular events among students.

A scavenger hunt was also held which saw Pun Kusugak and Joe Patterk each win $100 gift certificates. Principal Jesse Payne said Snow Day is eagerly anticipated each year by the student body.

He said Snow Day and the Elders Feast held just before the Christmas break are looked upon as significant dates on the school calendar.

"After the breakfast, the events we held throughout the day were aimed more at our student body than people in the community in general," said Payne.

"We had a strong turnout of students for this year's event, and a good number of parents and elders attended the breakfast.

"We also had a number of parents come to the student awards which closed out the day's activities."

Payne said it's important for events to be held during the year that let students relax, have some fun and, most importantly, build school spirit.

He said the students did an excellent job helping with the breakfast and a fun time was had by all during the events.

"Steve Campbell (teacher) put in a lot of hard work to schedule and organize the events, and our students and staff all chipped in to make the day a success," he said.

"The students have a lot of fun competing against each other just for the fun of it, which is different than the atmosphere that surrounds organized, competitive sports.

"It's good to see them just relaxing and enjoying themselves at the school."