Mr. Speaker, on Saturday it was a very special day for a graduating class of Samuel Hearne Secondary School. Every year we have graduation ceremonies all across the Northwest Territories, but what makes this one extra special is it is the final graduation class of Samuel Hearne Secondary School, which is slated for demolition later on this summer.
Of the two schools we have in Inuvik, SAMS, was built, I believe, around 1959, and Samuel Hearne was about 1967. They are a significant part of the history of Inuvik. As a kid going to SAM School, which only went up to Grade 6, you couldn’t wait to get to Grade 6 so you can move over to the big school in Grade 7.
We had a lot of history in this school, as I said, and many friends that we met in the schools that we still call friends today. We were fortunate, we had people from all over the Beaufort-Delta, from the Sahtu, we had a number of people from Nunavut that went through the schools there, and a lot of them we still know quite well today. Five Members of this Assembly, I think, have gone to Samuel Hearne: Mr. Blake, Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Moses, Mr. Jacobson and myself. Our two Pages are both from Samuel Hearne.
There’s a lot of history that will be gone there. That part of that is over and starting next year we’ll start a new era in the educational history of the children of Inuvik. We’re looking forward to seeing all these children go through our education system and someday they can be in this Assembly talking about the number of classmates and friends that they’ve had in the new school.
I want to take this opportunity to wish all the graduating class, the historical graduating class of 2012, Amy and the rest of her classmates, congratulations and nothing but the best as you go forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Mr. Nadli.
