Vice-principal wants student on ice

PENTICTON — A student might get a chance to work aboard a boat that has its likeness on the back of the $50 bill.

Vice-principal Jennifer Wingham of KVR Middle School said CCGS Amundsen is an Arctic icebreaker and science ship. Its education program, Schools on Board, allows a handful of students and teachers to work alongside scientists and technicians. The boat, named after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, is the one on the $50 bill.

The Okanagan-Skaha School Board learned at Monday night's meeting one student from their district can work alongside the world's best scientific minds. Wingham said the student program is a valuable one. Not only do the students perform experiments and haul equipment, their minds are picked at by the scientists.

Wingham explained the questions students ask have changed how Arctic research is conducted.

Students will also get to travel the entirety of the Northwest Passage, a route connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic. Because of warming temperatures the route is completely free of ice for a portion of the year.

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