New high school means more learning space for Sanikiluaq

Paatsaali high school’s new gymnasium, pictured here, is full by day with students and booked most weekday evenings and weekends by different community groups, said the school’s principal Tim Hoyt. The recent opening of the new secondary school in Sanikliluaq will benefit everyone in the community, he said. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NUNAVUT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION)

It’s been more than 10 years in the making, but high school students in Sanikiluaq are finally getting settled into their new digs.

The community’s Paatsaali High School opened its doors to 179 students this past September, although school officials plan to hold a grand opening Dec. 1.

The new school is already being well used, offering both students and community members a new place to learn, share and socialize, said principal Tim Hoyt.

“In the old school we were so cramped, it was difficult to offer speciality programs,” Hoyt said. “The great thing about our school is that there’s very little lost space. There are no detours to get to where you’re going, the transition space is very efficient.”

One wing of the school is dedicated to classrooms, while the other offers cultural and specialty classrooms, such as a small engine repair shop, a brand new sewing room and a skin room/cold storage area.

The school’s spacious new gymnasium is full of students by day and booked most evenings during the week and weekends for community events.

“The whole community will really benefit from this,” Hoyt said. “Especially given the poor state of the local community hall, which is inadequate for sporting events.”

For many years, Nuiyak school — now Sanikiluaq’s elementary school — held all the community’s students from kindergarten to Grade 12.

It was shortly after Hoyt began as principal at Nuiyak in 2000 that the Government of Nunavut committed to building a separate secondary school in Sanikiluaq — a process that he says involved local residents from day one.

The Department of Education held several community consultations as well as contests to come up with a name and a logo design for the new school.

In the end, the name “paatsaali” was selected, which means a two-person kayak in Inuktitut.

The two-person kayak is unique to Nunavut’s Belcher Islands, and features two passenger holes instead of the traditional one.

The school’s design is also new and meant to become a model for all new schools being built across Nunavut, said Hoyt, who arrived back in Sanikiluaq after a stint in Arctic Bay, in time to secure the position of principal at the new high school.

Another principal has been hired to replace him at Nuiyak, but other than a few new support staff positions, the opening of Paatsaali hasn’t required many new hires, he said.

The opening of the new high school only hit a glitch earlier this year when a delayed sealift delivery left some of the school’s classrooms without equipment.

“We needed some time to settle in,” Hoyt said. “Most of the equipment we needed came in on the sealift last year, but some equipment was delayed and didn’t arrive until the end of October.”

But in the meantime, Paatsaali staff and students borrowed equipment from Nuiyak School, he said.

“Because the school was built right next to Nuiyak, we’re able to share staff and resources,” he added.

The high school is now fully furnished and ready to welcome the community for its Dec. 1 grand opening celebrations.

That’s when staff and students will welcome Premier Eva Aariak, local MLA Allan Rumbolt and the rest of the community for a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by entertainment and a community feast.

The crowd will be treated to local square dancing demonstrations, throat-singing and a performance of the school choir’s new and original Paatsaali school song.

The event will then be followed by a graduation ceremony, where Sanikiluaq’s five graduates from 2011 will receive their diplomas.