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INUVIK
The halls are starting to fill with noise and life at the new mega school in Inuvik.

From left, Davonna Kasook, Grade 12, and Charissa Froste, Grade 10, said they're both excited for the school year because of how new the school is. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

Replacing two older schools is the brand new $110-million building that provides a central location for the kids and youth of Inuvik to learn.

While the first day of school is scheduled for Sept. 10, the doors opened to teachers and staff Aug. 27.

Since then, classrooms have been filled with supplies and chairs waiting to be scraped back from desks and tables for the first time.

This is the beginning of Cathi Ross's 43rd year as a teacher.

She was spending Tuesday afternoon surrounded by books and supplies waiting for shelf space in her Grade 1 classroom.

"It's really exciting," she said.

The school is a brand new start not only for the students, but for many of the parents as well, she said.

"I truly loved SAMS but it evoked a lot of painful memories for parents," said Ross, who spent 22 years teaching at the old school.

"So many of them wouldn't step foot in there. Here there's no past and it's an opportunity to create new memories."

Ross almost retired at the end of last year but decided she wanted an opportunity to teach in the new school.

The opportunity to take part in something brand new has another teacher, Danny Gellema, hoping it inspires youth to attend class and maybe come back to school if it's been a few years.

"We're going to have a big boom of kids from outlying communities," she said.

"People like new things and this is really new."

This will be Gellema's fifth year teaching in Inuvik and she praises the open architecture of the new building.

"You can see into all the rooms, it's completely opposite to the educational model in the past."

Gellema said the openness should foster a sense of community.

There are smart boards in every room, including a smaller one hung at a lower level in the kindergarten class.

Katie Raska supervised the hanging of one such high-tech board in her kindergarten room.

"I was here last year subbing and I'm just thrilled to be here at the new school. The smart board is low enough that the kids can use it," she said.

"The library is amazing and so is the gym."

There's even a separate playground meant for younger kids.

"There's a rubber base so if they fall off there's a bit of shock absorption," said Raska.

"At the old school they didn't have their own sized playground so this is just a huge welcome on their first day."

While the fences are still in place around the parking lot and landscaped grounds, Davonna Kasook and her friend Charissa Froste were examing the building from the edge of the road.

"I'm really pumped to see inside," said Kasook, who will soon be starting Grade 12.

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