Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to tell you what's been going on in Aklavik's Moose Kerr school over the past year, and I've got to say, they've been pretty busy. Last year, Moose Kerr's 14 teachers taught 161 children, kindergarten to grade 12 students. The school also hosted a safety-theme week, practising fire drills, lockdown procedures, firearm safety, and water safety in the summer, and later reviewing ice safety rules in the fall.
The spring celebration honoured students for strong attendance records and academic achievements, while the school also organized a traditional trappers' week to celebrate traditional practices and give students a chance to learn and play in a new way.
The Moose Kerr isn't only a school, Mr. Speaker. It's also a vital, valuable, and well-used community space, hosting volleyball games, movie nights, and family board game parties. Staff from the Inuvik Community Greenhouse came to town last June. The executive director gave his gardening workshop, you guessed it, at Moose Kerr. The school also welcomed visitors, the legendary NWT ski team, including a local hero, Sharon Firth.
Back in 2015, the Moose Kerr gym even hosted a TEDx Talks conference to showcase Aboriginal culture. Presentations included a talk on education from Moose Kerr's first Indigenous principal, Ms. Velma Iliasiak.
There's so much going on, Mr. Speaker, and so much depending on the school. It's time to think seriously about planning for building a replacement.
We've heard the Minister say that Moose Kerr has been identified for renovation or replacement in approximately two years, in 2019. In the meantime, I want to make sure that we stay on top of active safety concerns. These include possible asbestos risks, especially since asbestos was found in Inuvik's Samuel Hearne School, and road safety because of lack of parking.