Mr. Speaker, this week is Education Week and Aurora College Week in the Northwest Territories. It is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate education in our communities.
I would like to kick off the week by providing great news. The graduation numbers for 2007 in the Northwest Territories have recently become available, and they continue to increase. In 2007, 370 students graduated high school. We are now graduating over a hundred more students each year than we did five years ago. I would like to congratulate all of these graduates.
Our students are required to successfully complete diploma exams that meet graduation requirements that are comparable to most provinces. Students who graduate in the N.W.T. with the required course work have achieved a meaningful and important accomplishment that we can all be proud of.
Students are most successful when they have many supports. Education Week is a time to encourage and thank the people who provide those supports.
This week is a time to thank educators for continuing to support our students and families by ensuring that our young Northerners are able to meet the requirements for graduation and can move on to further studies or employment of choice.
The NWT . Teachers’ Association is continuing in their 11th year of the “Thank You for Making a Difference” campaign, and they continue to receive many nominations from across the North by students who want to recognize their teachers for making a difference in their lives.
Northern educators give a great deal of their time, both in and out of the classroom. They are some of our greatest front-line workers in our government’s goal of ensuring that our people are healthy and educated, and they often volunteer in our communities as coaches, for example.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank all the Northerners who sit on the Education Councils, authorities, the Commission scolaire and the Aurora College Board of Governors. The time and commitment they give to our system of education and to Northern students is so important. Their willingness to step forward and fill the important role of governance is important for ensuring our schools and colleges reflect the wishes of the people in our communities.
This week is also a time to encourage families and communities to keep working with their children to ensure they get to school on time, are healthy, proud of themselves and their communities, ready to learn, and develop excitement about learning and education. Helping children succeed is important for our future.
The theme of Education Week this year is “Our Community, Our School.” It is about another important component in student success: our schools themselves. We know it is easier to learn in a space that is cared for and well maintained, and our Education Councils, authorities and the Commission scolaire expend a great deal of time and effort in ensuring that that is the case.
This year’s theme recognizes that our schools are an important part of our communities and also recognizes the important role that all community members play in ensuring that our schools are respected as spaces for learning, for cultural events, for recreation and other positive community activities. When schools are successful, they are a centre of the community’s activity and the pride of the people in that community.
During this week Aurora College is celebrating their accomplishments with a number of events, including team-building activities and on-campus seminars. Aurora College continues to be important to the development of the Northern workforce, and I would also like to recognize their contributions during this special week.
In closing, I would like to thank all Members for their support of education, and I encourage everyone — parents, elders and municipal and aboriginal government leaders at all levels — to take time during Education Week and Aurora College Week to celebrate education and learning across the North. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Applause.
