Outdoor classroom
Naujaat students learn importance of historical site
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
NAUJAAT
A group of students paid a visit to one of the largest classrooms in the world when they toured a Thule site on the land near Naujaat this past month.
Tusarvik School students Darian Siusangnark, left, and Ryan Haqpi balance a soccer ball between their backs as they race around the boot marker and back to their team in a team building relay race while out on the land at the Thule site near Naujaat. - photo courtesy of Matt Thompson |
The Grade 5 class from Tusarvik School headed out on a hike to explore the Thule site and have a picnic on the land on Tuesday, Aug. 30.
It took the 19 young students about 30 minutes to hike out to the site.
They were accompanied by Grade 5 teacher Matt Thompson, Tusarvik literacy and technology teacher John Bungay and student support teacher Cindy Kim.
The group was guided by Naujaat Mayor Solomon Malliki, who is also an elementary school community counsellor at Tusarvik.
Thompson said the group saw an Arctic hare while on the hike, as well as a weasel and a few siksiks.
He said for some of the students, it was their first field trip as part of a class.
"While we were at the Thule site, which is just southeast of Naujaat, the students learned about the importance of the historical site and how to preserve it," said Thompson.
"The kids played with a Nerf whistling football, a soccer ball and a Frisbee.
"They enjoyed taking pictures of the Thule site, and animals they saw, using cameras they brought along.
"We had sandwiches for lunch that were premade by some of the students the day prior to the hike, along with juice boxes and snack bars."
Thompson said after lunch the Tusarvik students learned the importance of not littering, and of leaving the land in the same condition they found it upon their arrival.
He said teambuilding games, such as overunder and relay races, were played to teach the students early in the school year to work together, and to help each-other inside, and outside, of the classroom.
"We headed out to the Thule site around 10 a.m. and we headed back around 1:30 p.m.
"Our original plan had been to go the previous Thursday, Aug. 25, but it rained.
"So then we rescheduled it for Monday, but our guide was sick that day and we had to postpone it yet again.
"It worked out well when our Grade 5 students were finally able to go on Aug. 30, as they enjoyed a warm day with a light wind."
