Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today marks the last day of Education Week in the NWT and earlier this month, I accepted an invitation from the NWT Teacher's Association to job shadow. I had the good fortune to spend the day with the principal of Mildred Hall School, here in Yellowknife, Adrien Amirault. Working that day with Mr. Amirault and his vice-principal DiAnn Blesse, a Dene teacher with a Master in Education, I found that they lead a very strong team of teachers and classroom assistants and administrators in a school of about 300.
I certainly found that the school environment has changed a lot since I went to school, here in Yellowknife in the 60's and 70's, Mr. Speaker.
One of the things that's really changing, especially in Yellowknife schools, is the turnover. This school, even though it has a relatively small population compared to other schools, has a very high turnover. There is a turnover of 100 percent in the school population. This does not mean that all the kids are changing every year, but there is a small number of students who are turning over many times within the year. This is driven by people who have to come to Yellowknife and are perhaps taking courses at Aurora College or they are here for medical reasons and need to bring their families along.
So this is one of the things that's making conditions in that school very dynamic and quite complex for the teachers and the students who are there.
I found, too, Mr. Speaker, that these schools are assuming a far greater role in the daily lives of the students and the families, doing things that range from serving breakfast to a much, much broader curriculum and sports program and also trying to make the best of the policy of inclusion that this government is adopting which I believe is the right one. It certainly does make for a lot of changes in dynamics in the classroom.
The school is an old one, Mr. Speaker, and is one that I am very thankful is up for renovation over the next couple of years. This is something that means a lot.
I wanted to acknowledge the good work of the people of Mildred Hall School, of the invitation I got to job shadow and wish them all the luck in the coming school year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause