How cold is it? - Current Resolute Weather

What a Fantastic Welcome! - Sun 23rd April

It’s a chilly morning with poor visibility but that isn’t going to interfere with our morning cross country ski. Everyone’s flying now, either gliding elegantly across the snow (Harry and Kizzie) or flying face or bum first (Lucy, James, Andrew - Davis that is! and even Ady) or flying through the air Liane!! (See photos)

Our telemarking jumping styles are coming along nicely, but we’re going to have to start landing on our feet though!!!
Ady’s not a bad teacher. (See photo) I think he may make a cross country team out of us yet, or maybe he’s just trying to relive his youth through us, either way it’s pretty cool!!

We attended a very traditional church service (See photo) which was really interesting although it was all in Inuktitut - the Inuit language, so there was a lot of humming through the hymns!! The local people are very welcoming and appreciate our visit almost as much as we appreciate being here, it’s fantastic!! Matt gave the reverend a taste of jazz on the key board, brilliant!!

The cultural element of our expedition started this afternoon as the Principal - Brian and the Deputy - Tracey welcomed us in to the Quarmartalik School of Resolute. There are a total of 72 pupils ranging from kindergarten to sixth form and they surprisingly have a similar array of resources and educational opportunities to us even though this place is so remote. From the start there was a warm and friendly atmosphere, the team were welcomed with a lot of gifts from pens to books. (See photo). These gestures reflect how kind and thoughtful the people are.

There are eight guiding principles that the people Nunavut follow, these underpin the curriculum and are engrained in the Inuit culture. These principles include collaboration, resourcefulness, environmental stewardship and consensus.
The school have mainly adopted the student centred approach to education and the teachers are extremely proud of their students, the relationship the school has with the people of the community and also the partnerships they have with other schools. (See photo)
The pupils learn all the usual curriculum subjects as well as the Inuktitut language and the traditions of the Inuk. These cultural traditions are highly valued within the school and the community; it’s quite amazing how strong the traditional Inuk is and has to be in order to survive in these remote and harsh conditions with nothing.

We’ll also be learning some of these cultural traditions starting with the language. James also got to wear the local Inuk clothing and looked pretty good actually! (See photos)). We’re all very excited about the plans the school has for us. We are very fortunate that Kick koo lee mad pit tee ack tut (People are very friendly here) and want to let you know pear you marreg (Every thing is good), Oo new koot (Goodnight!).

Liane

Previous Logs

First Day fun in Resolute - Sat 22nd April After our late arrival in Resolute last night we made the decision to make the most of every single moment up here in the High Arctic. Therefore it was an early rise at 7am for breakfast which consisted of a hearty fry up to provide plenty of calories for the days full program of activities. The wind was whistling past the window which was a sure sign that it would feel pretty cold - indeed our measurements of wind speed and still air temperatures showed it to be -32C.
Arrival in Resolute Fri 21st April Have made it to Resolute Bay after a bit of a horror 6 hour flight on a small plane that felt like it was never going to end - it even stopped for fuel on the way!!! Very tired and weary!
Out & About in Ottawa! Thurs 20th April Have safely arrived in Ottawa and are now settled into Adam's Airport Inn all ready for the flight North tomorrow. Temperature in Ottawa is an abnormally high +23C So the students went out in shirt sleeves tonight for tea - some even had shorts and flip flops on.They will experience a huge temperature change tomorrow as in Resolute it is currently -22C.  No more flipflops I suspect!

Thanks!

Now would seem like an appropriate time to thanks all those that have supported this expedition. Even though only 8 students are going to the North Pole, 10 students have made up the team and the two reserves have played their part in supporting the team with both dignity and enthusiasm – thanks to Katrina and Alistair we will be thinking of you when we get to the Pole. Thanks to the students and teachers at Exmouth Community College for taking part in fundraising events that has helped us achieve more than £26 000 towards the expedition. In particular, to Paul Jeffery who has been a massive help and to Pete, Sue, Angela and Paul who served on the PQ Management Group. Sarah Rogers and her ICT team have also been invaluable in helping to build the PQ website and advice and training on the laptops and cameras we have brought with us, as well as keeping the Ice Log up to date. Thanks also to The Pain trust and Adventure Trust for Girls for their financial assistance which has been crucial. Exmouth Town Council have also been very generous along with, ROK Construction, Faber Maunsell, Citizen Project, Ashfords, Fulfords and Bradleys Estate Agents and the Rotary Clubs of Exmouth who have all made donations which are allowing the students this once in a lifetime experience. Our sincere thanks goes to all those individuals and organisations who got involved.

Once we reach Resolute Bay we will be sending daily e-mails to report on the activities that we have been getting involved in so please keep logging on to this space to find out what we are doing. If you want to get in touch with us please e-mail the team - polar.watch