Jens Haven Memorial is a K-12 school occupying two buildings, with a
combined student and staff population of approximately 400. Our
challenge is to provide a quality education to a population of
students with diverse needs whose present focus is often on a
very difficult past rather than a promising tomorrow.
Balancing the need to prepare students for their future while honouring
their past traditions is a challenge for our school. While adhering to
the provincial curriculum, Jens Haven has simultaneously incorporated
two elements of Inuit cultural programming. One of these elements,
Illusivut, is designed to instruct students in the skills of harvesting
and producing traditional Inuit goods and artwork. Instruction in
Inuktitut, which aims to preserve the Inuit language, is the other
element in the cultural programming.
In September of 2003, after 27 years as an educator in Newfoundland and
Labrador, I became principal of Jens Haven Memorial. I have enjoyed a
challenging and an exciting year. A year in which I have learned a
great deal while working with a young, energetic and very supportive
staff. A year in which I have learned much about the challenges of
teaching in Nain. A year of unequalled experiences in a very unique
climate and culture.
As we prepare for the end of this school year and the beginning of the
next, the staff, working as a group of seven committees, is instituting
a series of initiatives that we hope will serve us well in the coming
year and beyond. In September we plan to have new teachers paired with
a community mentor, who will welcome and introduce them to Nain, and a
staff mentor, who will support them through their first year at Jens
Haven. Other initiatives include addressing the ongoing challenge of
attendance and tardiness; creating a structure which will allow
teachers to work together to improve instruction; putting in place a
support system for students which will provide them with tutorial
support on a daily basis; developing a comprehensive outcomes document
which will track student progress through school; working to
computerize student record-keeping in order to help track student
attendance and deliver monthly reports to parents. Finally, as
evidenced by this message, a small committee has dedicated itself to
updating the school website.
I encourage everyone visiting our website to consider a role in
assisting our school as it grows into a learning community for all.
Thank you, Nain, for a wonderful year that has provided me with the
opportunity to continue to grow, to increase my circle of friends and
acquire memories that will stay with me for the balance of my life. I,
with Nain, look forward to an exciting and challenging future.
Last updated on December 7, 2005.
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