KANGIQTUGAAPIK/CLYDE RIVER - Construction of the hugely anticipated Piqqusilirivvik cultural school in Clyde River is underway.

Having laid the piles – posts driven into the ground to support a structure – two weeks ago, contractor Kudlik Construction will begin foundation and other structural work this week.

The idea is to get one wing of the building up and closed off, so the crew can work on the building during the winter, said Stephane Gelinas, Kudlik superintendent.

Crew numbers will vary up to about 35 as construction continues but Gelinas stressed the company is ensuring part of the crew is Clyde River residents.

"Clyde is good for workers," he said.

Meanwhile, Hugh Lloyd, Piqqusilirivvik project co-ordinator, and his crew are hard at work hashing out programming for the one-of-a-kind school.

From the beginning, the idea was to have as much programming on the land as possible, said Lloyd.

The dilemma, however, is trying to describe non-conventional programming in conventional school terms and lesson plan structures.

Lloyd uses iglu-building as an example: "(We will cover) iglu building, yes. But it's not an iglu building course. You learn iglu building in the course of going hunting. I'm not doing iglu building 101.

"This is the dilemma in trying to describe it ... It's not quite the same as studying Shakespeare," he added.

Lloyd expects the curriculum will "firm up"after a director is hired for the school.

"That person will obviously have a major role in all of this," he said.

The director position is currently out for competition and is expected to be filled over the course of the winter.

The student admissions process for the school's first year is not expected to start until much closer to the building's completion date, in 2011.

"We're not flooded with phone calls yet, but when we talk about it in the communities people say, 'Gee that sounds really interesting,'" said Lloyd.

And while he has to tell them to "hang on," there are several pilot programs running in Clyde River, Iglulik and Baker Lake to develop programs for the future curriculum.

Piqqusilirivvik plans to admit 26 students, 18 years of age and older, in its first full school year.