Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize the dedication of one of Inuvik's finest teachers, Mrs. Rosie Albert. Mrs. Albert began employment as an Inuvialuktun instructor at Sir Alexander Mackenzie School on January 7, 1985. She teaches Inuvialuktun to the grades one to six classes at SAMS. For the Inuvialuktun Program, she made all her own class materials and did her own resource development until 1996, when publication on the Inuqatigiit was finished.
In addition to teaching the Inuvialuktun language to her students, she also teaches them other skills such as how to make muqbarak (which is Inuvialuktun for bannock) and beading. Mrs. Albert's muqbarak is famous in the Delta as everyone loves her delicious bannock. Many of her students have gone home with her bannock and beadwork and to proudly show their parents their own work.
Mrs. Albert and Mrs. Bella Kay also host a feast for their students and parents at Christmas time. When asked, her coworkers had this to say about Mrs. Albert: Rosie is always there for anyone who wants to learn Inuvialuktun. She does not laugh at you when you make a mistake. She loves teaching the students and has a lot of patience. Despite her arthritis, Mrs. Albert walks to and from school every day without complaint.
Mrs. Albert is famous for her many hilarious stories about the delta from long ago. She also has helped some adults in Inuvik to keep current on language because, as one person says, "Rosie refuses to speak to me in English because she knows I understand Inuvialuktun, so when she speaks to me, it is never in English."
Mrs. Albert has shown incredible dedication to her work by not only developing her own materials and resource development but by teaching her students other skills as well. She has shown a strong commitment to the preservation and promotion of the Inuvialuktun language.
Mrs. Albert will be retiring from her position as Inuvialuktun instructor at the school. Her last day will be June 26, 1998. Her funny stories, her famous muqbarak and her ready smiles will be missed by all at the Sir Alexander Mackenzie School, most notably, the students she has taught to take pride in their language and culture. I would like to thank Mrs. Albert for all the hard work she has done for the students, the parents and for the school. I wish her a happy retirement. You deserve it, Mrs. Albert. Quyanini.
--Applause