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Sealed and delivered Darrell Greer Northern News Services Published Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Teacher Jennifer Perry said the class was part of the science 25 program she's teaching this semester. She said students from science 25 and social studies 13, who are learning about the traditional era, spent a day out seal hunting. "We had 14 students, four guides and two teachers make the trip in four boats," said Perry. "We didn't see anything in the morning, so we stopped for lunch and that's when we got our first one. "A seal popped its little head up close to where we were eating on the land, and one of the guys was really quick in shooting it. "After that, five of our students got one and, for some of them, it was the first seal they ever caught." Perry said the students took their seals home to eat and were allowed to use the skins for whatever they wanted. She said the seal shot by culture teacher and guide Laimikki Malliki was taken to school to be dissected in class. "The kids were right into the dissection, especially the intestines. "We had elders Ham Qaunak and Sata Kidlapik there to help us. "When they cut the seal open, the kids took out the different organs and we found the Inuktitut and English words for each one. "At the end of the class, we froze all the seal parts for the students to use at the science fair." Perry said the sealskin is being used to make a wallhanging, and the meat was served for lunch at the school this past Friday. She said the students loved the project and are looking forward to more land trips as the year progresses. "This type of project helps bridge the gap between learning traditional and modern science. "You'd dissect a frog or a grasshopper in the south, but that's not relevant here. "The kids see seals cut open every day, but they don't always know what the organs are inside or what their functions are. "Seals have many of the same parts as humans, so when you get into seal anatomy you're actually teaching biology."
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