Former Walkley pupil Rosanne Smith is currently undertaking her PhD at the university of Cambridge and British Antarctic Survey, studying ice around Antarctica.
In a little under a month, Roseanne will be heading to Antarctica for the first time, for 6 weeks, as part of a research cruise onboard the famous RRS Sir David Attenborough (AKA Boaty McBoatface) ship. This will be the first proper science expedition the new ship has ever undertaken, and happens to coincide with a year of unprecedented low sea ice around Antarctica. I’m sure the cruise will be in the news this Nov/Dec, given the significance of both these things.
Roseanne will be coming into school in February, after her expedition, to discuss her role, her findings and the experiences she has had. Roseanne loves the idea of revisiting her own primary school and helping show the children what kind of exciting science they might like to be involved with when they’re older. And, explain how the cold parts of the planet are changing with climate change.
The Antarctic Flags project
Before Roseanne leaves, we are asking that Walkley children design a flag for Antarctica (it does not have a flag of its own). The selected Walkley designs will be merged to create a flag for Antarctica, the overall design will be sent to Roseanne for her to take to Antarctica. There her team will capture a photo of Roseanne with our Walkley Antarctica flag. Roseanne will then share this with the school.
Submission – By Wednesday 15th November
Flag designs should be done at home on white A4 paper and submitted to class teachers. Please write you name on the back of your design. To come up with a design you could research Antarctica; its landscape and native animals and perhaps think how to incorporate a link to where you live into the design.