UPLUKKUT IQALUKTUUTIAMIT. INUIN NAAMMAINNAQTUT. AUDLATTIVAKTUT. AUDLAAQPAKTUT QANITTUNUAMI UPINGAMI MAHALIKMAN NUNAKPUT. IPAKHANI MIKIJUT NUTAQQANNUIT QUVIAHUKTUT INIKTIKMATA OMINGMAK ILIHAKVIANIT. QUANA ILUNGNUTAKPIAQTUT INIKTIKMATA. ALIAHURALITTUT. QUANA ILIHAIJIIT IKAJUKTUT. KULLIKMILU KIILINIKMITLU INIKNAHUAT JUNI 18MI. APUTAIJAQTUTLU APQUTIN HIAMAKPIAQHUNI APIVALAAQMAN. QUANA APUTAIJAQTUT. MAKLUINAQ PIHUGIAMI. UULAPAKNAKHIJUQ ILLA. NAAMMAGPAKLUHI. ATUQPAKLURIT IVARUTITIT. UAQATTAQLURIT ALGATIT.
Greetings from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, land of the Inuinnait. The spring and warmer weather has once again making the roads and land hard to walk, drive and travel on. There is still lots of snow and with melting snow and ice around town comes icy conditions and hundreds of potholes around the community. Please be careful.
It was a very special week for the community of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Our little wee ones who attended preschool held their graduation ceremonies at Omingmak Preschool Program. Over 30 toddlers graduated their first year and second years. The second year students are now moving up to kindergarten and are now going to attend their first-ever grade school at Kullik Ilihakvik in Cambridge Bay. The first year wee ones are now ready to attend their second year at preschool.
This was very special to happen as these beautiful children got to celebrate in their own home with their own families and community. This graduation was so special as it happened when our country found kids 215 little souls who never got to graduate. It was a celebration that we all want to see forever. The tiny graduates are so lucky and happy and proud and safe from harm; we are so happy for these little ones. Congratulations to each of you and may you enjoy the rest of your life educating yourselves with your own families, mom and dads, grandparents and Elders and community with you.
Seeing the beautiful smiles, hearing kids laughing, being excited and running around celebrating with joy makes our hearts at peace and joy and knowing they are safe.
It was very emotional for me to see the photographs of the preschool kids, as I was their age when I was sent away to residential school. I am so happy to see this happening, it gave me peace, forgivenesss and healing to see this. Many of the wee graduates are related to me and I am very grateful to see this happening as an Elder.
It seemed to be at the right time that our community celebrated, not so much with this pandemic still happening, though the little ones continued their education. Without the dedication and commitment of the educators including Madeline Poodlat, preschool co-ordinator and Tia Adams plus teachers Angela Siksik, Ali Gutierrez and Shan Lacap. No matter what was happening around the world, these kids and their instructors kept on, sending homework packages home during health restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, they still carried on.
We want to send our special thank-yous to each of the preschool teachers and co-ordinators and program sponsors - Wellness Centre for believing and supporting our wee ones to get their lifetime experience of first entering into the world of learning and how to be in a safe environment and learning how to prepare them for school.
Many of us who are now Grandparents never had that chance as we were taken away on an airplane and sent to a hostel and school many, many miles away, without seeing our parents and grandparents for 10 months of each year. We came home in the summer for 2 months, coming home end of June and once again back on that plane long weekend in September.
Today our little ones can have school at home. Keep your children safe and do not let the governments or authorities send them away ever again. God bless our children. Let us be grateful no one will force our little ones to be taken away.
God Be With You Son.