THE next generation of teachers are not only inspiring young people at an outstanding Bolton primary school to reach for the sky but also to reach great depths to achieve their goals with a little help from explorer Richard Garriot — who is on the mission to journey to the bottom of the ocean.
Trainee teachers at Sacred Heart RC Primary School's Teaching School Alliance (TSA) caught-up with the US astronaut as he prepares for Challenger Deep on Zoom.
(Richard Garriot)
And they are now in a WhatsApp group with him as they follow and work with him on his quest.
Richard is preparing to set a record as the first human to visit the deepest ocean depths after having orbited Earth in the space station and venturing to both poles.
He will ride in a submarine made of titanium to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in a long, dark dive to the deepest known point on Earth, Challenger Deep, located nearly seven miles below the ocean surface.
And as part of his mission, he is now inspiring a generation of teachers that will go on to inspire the next generation of explorers.
Director of Teaching School, Bernie Furey, arranged the Zoom session.
Rachel Ponka said: "He gave us info about his background and then what the mission is about. There have only been four other descents with people aboard
"The pressure down there is 1000 times more than in space! The pressure is about 18,000lbs per square inch. It'll be -5c in the sub so he has to be ready for that!
"On the WhatsApp group he is going to keep us updated with what's going on. He sent us a video showing us what he's packed which included summery stuff for on land and then thermals for down in the sub! "He's going to keep us updated including throughout the mission! So exciting to be part of it."
Other sessions the Heart TSA trainee teachers have taken part in include teaching creative thinking with Bill Lucas, learning thought-leader and co-creator of Expansive Education Network, poetry with poet playright Louise Wallwein MBE, a session with the Octagon Theatre, human rights with Sughra Ahmed from the RFK Human Rights Foundation and much more.
The trainee teachers said that the Zoom sessions were helping them to be "the best teachers we can be" by learning from experts in the field.
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