Students from Aupaluk and Kangiqsujuaq become published authors

During the 2008/2009 school year two talented secondary English groups, one from Aupaluk and one from Kangiqsujuaq, were selected to participate in educational programs provided by Blue Metropolis, a non-profit organization “dedicated to bringing people from different cultures together to share the pleasures of reading and writing”. With the help of professional writers, photographers and sound engineers, the two groups worked tirelessly throughout the year to attain their goal of sharing their rich Inuit culture through media. Keep reading in order to discover the details of their projects and where you can find their published work.

Kangiqsujuaq
A group of secondary English students in Kangiqsujuaq participated in a pilot project offered by Blue Metropolis entitled 'Voices from Quebec'. This project provided students with an opportunity to create a radio-documentary about their community which was then posted online in the form of a podcast. In order to prepare for the task and ensure their success, the students worked with a professional author (Joseph Graham) and sound engineer (John Sellekaers) who travelled to Kangiqsujaq in February. After the visit, students began collecting images, sound bites and stories in order to assemble their documentary. The result: a beautiful, culturally relevant and descriptive piece that displays not only the students’ level of dedication but also their attachment to their culture and community. The podcast can be accessed at: www.bluemetropolis.org/podcasts

Aupaluk
Secondary students from Aupaluk were involved in a project called 'Quebec Roots'. The purpose of the project was for students to explore, express and share thoughts about their community. In addition to their talented and dedicated teacher, the students in Aupaluk were fortunate enough to benefit from the aid of an accomplished author (Carolyn Marie Souaid) and photographer (Monique Dykstra). In February, the author worked with the students to help them organize their ideas and writing on the topic of “Activities and pastimes in Aupaluk: the things we like, the things we do”, while the photographer provided them with a workshop on how to snap extraordinary photos to accompany their writing. After several months of hard work, the students’ photo essays were published in a book entitled “Quebec Roots: The Place Where I Live 2009”. Three students were chosen from the group to travel to Montreal with their teacher to represent their class at the book launch in Montreal. While in Montreal, students met the participants from other schools across Quebec, authors, photographers, and representatives from the Blue Metropolis Foundation. Below is an excerpt from the book written by Aupaluk’s young authors:

Taqsakallaq School
We are from snow and small brown rocks
We are from raw beluga
We are from hockey sticks at the arena
We are from Pepsi and
pink and blue lollipops hidden in our desks
We are from “Brush your teeth!” and “Go to school! “
We are from poker on the Internet
We are from summer,
a time of swimming and riding scooters
We are from fall,
when there are no mosquitoes
We are from winter

For more information on Blue Metropolis, visit www.metropolisbleu.org