Imappivut (Our Ocean) has a Facebook photo contest going on this month.

This photo contest began this Monday; you can submit your photos now from January 21, 2019 to January 27, 2019.

This contest focuses on what the marine (both ice and non-ice) environment means to you as an Inuk.

Photos can be anything from a picture of the land and sea to a picture of having a boil up on shore; any photo that displays the importance of the ocean to you.

Here is how you can enter the contest:

1. Like and share this post on Facebook.
2. Send a message through the Imappivut page with your photos.
3. Give us your name, community, and (if possible) what you were doing when you took your photos.

There will be one winner in each community (Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville, Rigolet, Goose Bay, and North West River).

Winners will get an Imappivut Buff and sticker.

On another note the Imappivut – Our Oceans will be holding a community session tomorrow night, Thursday Jan 24 starting at 6:00 pm.

Come for some snacks and door prizes and to meet other people involved in the project and then head out to see Jordan Tootoo after the community session.

Every year on January 27, Family Literacy Day is recognized all across Canada and this year everyone is celebrating the 20th year.

We spoke with Charlene Lyall the Grade 4 teacher at the JHMS 4-12 School.

Lyall says Family Literacy Day is held on Jan 27 each year but this year it falls on a Sunday so the elementary grades from 4-6 will be holding their FLD on Friday Jan 25.

And the Grades Kindergarten to grade 3 will be holding their family literacy day on Monday January 28.

She says they usually hold this event at separate times just in case there are any parents who would like to attend for both schools.

Lyall adds that the Family Literacy Day was started as an event to promote reading and other literacy based events between children and their families.

This year is a different theme, and every year, but since this is the 20th anniversary this year’s theme is “take 20” encouraging 20 minutes of reading/reading activity everyday with your child.

The event on Friday will consist of roughly 20 minutes of family buddy reading time and 20 minutes of a literacy game with prizes, teachers at JHMS are very much looking forward to this and the students always enjoy time with their parents or guardians.

The elementary grades 4-6 event will be held at 11am at the K-12 library this Friday and the Primary school will be holding their event on Monday Jan 28, time is yet to be determined.

There will be a new Yoga class going on in Nain this evening.

We spoke with Cate Carlson who will be the instructor.

She says this will be the first official Yoga class.

And the class will start this evening from 7:15 to 8pm at the Jeremias Sillitt Community Center.

She says this new yoga class will be held every Tuesday and Thursday night, depending on if there’s much interest.

Carlson says they can fit anyone between 15-20 people.

She says tonight they will be learning some basics, poses and breathing, and will learn to do more flows and more complicated poses in a few classes.

She adds that she had a lot of interest in this class, with 16 confirmed people who want to take part in this Yoga class.

For more information you can contact Cate via Facebook or the group called “Nain Yoga 2019”.

According to the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) website, a lucky 6/49 ticket has not been claimed.

On their website it states that someone in St. Johns has the lucky ticket tag.

And there is another lucky ticket winner who has won in Happy Valley Goose Bay; ticket holder won $10,000 on the guaranteed draw.

Heirloom Portraits Inc. would like to notify everyone that it is not too late to order your children’s school pictures of your family photos.

Parents or guardians can still purchase either their family photos or children’s school pictures online.

For those who would like more information please call their toll free number at 1-800-263-0946.

The Labrador Aboriginal Training Partnership is very busy again with many different upcoming training and programs that they offer.

We spoke with Keith Jacque the Executive Director with the LATP.

Jacque says they have a community information session in Makkovik tomorrow January 23 about the underground mining training; this will take place at the Makkovik Arena from 2-4 pm and again from 7-9 pm.

He adds that another information session will be held in Postville this Thursday Jan 24 at the Postville Community Center starting from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm.

LATP are currently recruiting clients for a 6 week Mining Foundations program that’s being offered in Goose Bay at the College of North Atlantic starting on Feb. 18, deadline to apply for this program is Jan 25, 2019.

Jacque says they are recruiting clients for an 11 day Camp Attendant program in Nain, starting on March 4, 2019 deadline to apply is Feb. 15, 2019 and this is open to any Nunatsiavut Beneficiaries within the Nunatsiavut region.

He says their next 4 week underground common core mining training begins on February 4, that class is currently full. However their next program will be offered again on March 18 and they are recruiting clients for that program.

If anyone has any questions, they can contact the head office in Goose bay toll free: at 1-877-896-5006, or Janelle Barbour in Nain at 922-1800.

The 16th Annual Inuktitut Speak-Off on the North Coast will be held in Makkovik this year.

Christine Nochasak who is the Inuk Program Specialist says there will be nine students participating this year.

Nochasak also says that it will be held at John Christian Erhardt Memorial School gym at 7pm.

To hear more from Nochasak on the Inuktitut Speak-off that will be held in Makkovik, click HERE.

The 2nd Annual Suicide Prevention Conference is starting today in Sheshatshiu.

The Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation is hosting their Annual Suicide Prevention Conference in their community today Jan. 21st to January 25th.

This conference is held for an hour a day for 4 days and is open to anyone who’d like to attend.

Training and workshops at the conference in Sheshatshiu will include a variety of topics ranging from Mental Health First Aid to One-on-One Counselling; from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) to Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).

Former NHL Jordin Tootoo, who is the very first Inuk hockey player who recently retired from playing in the National Hockey League, will also be one of the guest speakers at this Suicide Prevention conference in Sheshatshiu.

The Nunatsiavut Group of Companies are sponsoring a trip for Jordin Tootoo to visit the North Coast Communities.

He will be traveling to Nain this week on Thursday, January 24th, and will hold a Hockey Camp with the Nain Minor Hockey Program at the Nain Husky Centre and will be open for the public at 7:30pm.

Tootoo will also be also holding a minor hockey program in Makkovik at the Makkovik Arena on Friday, January 25th, at 3:30pm.

The upcoming Nain Festival Days at the Moravian Church for this month and February 2019 are as follows.

Friday, January 25th – Young Mens Day

Saturday, February 2nd – Widows Day

Tuesday, February 19th –Moravian Church Anniversary Day

Thursday, February 28th – Married Couples Day.

The Nain Family Resource Center will be holding its first program “Parent night” that starts tonight from 7-9pm.

This program is offered to Mother’s and Caregiver’s who are pregnant and who are expecting little ones.

Frances Harris is the Program Facilitator at the Nain Resource Center.

Transportation is available for drop off’s and pick up’s please call the Center during regular business hours, please give them a couple hours notice in advance.

Hours of operation are from Monday to Fridays from 8:30am to 12pm and 1pm to 4:30pm.

Harris says the tour for new mothers will be around the building to show what they offered to all families with children ages 0-6 years.

Partners can also attend the parent night program, there will be baby boxes available, no certificate is required to get a baby box, they also have books on pregnancy, new mothers and other parenting books to lend out, also for children.

They would like to get feedback from parents who will attend this program, also they want to know what they are looking for so they can get ideas on what they want to see happening at the center.

For those who will need transportation for pick up and drop off’s please call Center before 4:30 today January 21 at 922-2003 or If you have any question or concerns.

For those who don’t know where the Family Resource Center is now, it is located on 5 Commercial Road, in the red building next to the Department of Health and Social Development.