Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 9
School Staff: 4.5
Student Population: 32
School Year: August – May
Sachs Harbour, NT
Sachs Harbour is the most northerly community in the Northwest Territories. The population is about 130 people. It is a very picturesque community situated on the banks of the Beaufort Sea overlooking the harbour.
Inualthuyak School derives its name from an elder who froze to death in a snow house while out trapping with his young grandson. Inualthuyak means “a guy that is not very big”. The elder got this name because when he was born he was so small that he would fit inside a mitten. Although he grew to be a very big, tall man he was always called Inualthuyak (the guy that is not very big).
The school was built in 1968 due to the efforts and perseverance of the parents in the community. They realized that their children must have an education to keep them abreast of the rapidly developing north and yet wanted them to derive the benefits offered by their own culture which could only be obtained in the home. Prior to 1968, students lived in the hostel and attended school in Inuvik.
Inualthuyak School started out as a two classroom school. Today it is a three classroom school (K to 3; 4 to 6; and 7 to 9) with student computers and internet access. Students in high school are enrolled in a home boarding program in Inuvik, as grades 10 to 12 are not presently offered at Inualthuyak School at this time.
INUALTHUYAK SCHOOL
General Delivery
Sachs Harbour, NT XOE OZO
PH: (867) 690-4241
FAX: (867) 690-3500
