Welcome to Netsilik School and the community of Taloyoak!
Netsilik School is the main educational institution in Taloyoak, however we also have an adult Community Learning Centre administered by Nunavut Arctic College and a preschool AHS Natsiaq Preschool which is funded by Health Canada. The Taloyoak District Education Authority (DEA) is the local governing body, while the school is overseas by the Kitikmeot School Operation (KSO).
Netsilik School students are smart, capable and full of energy! We have students ranging from pre-school to high school aged students. A vast majority of our students are Inuit.
Our school complies with the language of instruction directives set out by the Department of Education. Our preschool is 100 percent Inuktitut immersion and our kindergarten to grade three classes are also Inuktitut immersion, with the exception of one class of English per day. When students reach the junior grades Inuktitut is the language of instruction for 60 per cent of the time and English for the other 40 per cent. In the junior and senior high school years, Inuktitut is one period a day.
A variety of extracurricular activities are offered at the school. It will vary from year to year depending on the students' interest and the availability of the staff and space at the school. Here is a list of sample of activities at our school:
Between Natsiaq Preschool and Netsilik Ilihakvik, we have a staff of over 30 members, an excellent balance of local residents and southerners who work together to share their personal knowledge and expertise. This range in backgrounds allows us to incorporate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangiit across the curriculum and better support our qulliq language of instruction model. Most importantly, our staff are long-term and consistent. It is unusual for us to have an opening.
Our kindergarten to grade six teachers are generalists and responsible for teaching all subjects to their students, with the exception of physical education and computer sciences. We have specialist staff members who deliver these subject from kindergarten to grade 12 .All junior and senior high school teachers are specialists in their subject areas.
All students in kindergarten to grade six must study these core subjects:
• Inuit language arts
• English language arts
• math
• science
• social studies
• health
• home economics
• art
• music
• physical education
Students in grades 6-12 study some of the core subjects above as well as:
• aulajaaqtut
• career program planning
• computer sciences (junior high school)
• media arts (junior high school)
• fine art
• instrumental music
• career and technology studies
In addition, we offer 10 strands of career and technology studies for students to choose from including:
• construction
• word processing
• Web-page design
• greenhouse
• audio/video production
• food studies
• recreational leadership
• wildlife studies/survival skills
• legal studies
Here is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) from teachers (in general) that you may want to discuss further with your principal or colleagues, some of this information may be readily available on this website, while for...
We do our utmost to support new hires to our school. When an educator is hired, we ask him or her to first contact the incumbent to get a good sense of the teaching assignment. As well, we pair the new hire with a couple of staff members (in addition to the school principal). The new hire can communicate with these colleagues before arriving in Taloyoak. These partnerships help give our new hires a good sense of our school and community.
Our Kitikmeot Regional School Operations (KitSO) also helps our new hires complete all the necessary paperwork and relocation/travel arrangements. New hires are also given assistance finding suitable accommodations for living in Taloyoak. Taloyoak recently acquired a new fiveplex for government employees and there is also newly renovated, privately owned housing. These housing options mean all new staff will move into very nice accommodations, whatever option they choose.
New hires are also given copies of all curriculum, timetables, class lists etc. to review before they arrive. We also encourage our new staff to find and like us on Facebook so they can learn more about our school and all the wonderful activities we hold throughout the school year!
Our Facebook page is Netsilik School and AHS Natsiaq Preschool.
The first three days of the school year are for staff only. We find this allows staff to familiarize themselves with the layout of the school, get their classrooms in order, and start preparing and planning to receive their students.
In 2014, school started on July 30th. The first morning was the administrative portion of the orientation, where we covered topics such as introductions, school policy and administration, supervision of staff in-service,a review of approved curriculum and resources, timetables and schedules, distribution of keys, establishing committees, extracurriculars, resource room responsibilities, school governance.
We always aim to include a strong professional development component in the orientation period, as well as a staff excursion where staff can get to know each other outside the school environment.
The Department of Education and the Nunavut Teachers' Association are currently developing a formal mentor program that will be available to new teachers at a later date. If you are interested in a mentorship, please check with your principal to see if informal mentoring is a possibility.
