“Can you carry a big heavy box over slippery rocks and slushy snow whilst dodging penguins?” asked the job advert. Formerly short-listed by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust for the prestigious job himself, Mr Sanderson, was very encouraging of the efforts by Year 5 Stolzembourg to get themselves hired for the position which involves spending 5 months of the year on a tiny island inhabited by penguins to run the post office servicing the mailing needs of the visiting tourists on cruise ships. The children had found out about the post office as part of their book-based learning of Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill and were keen to throw their hats into the ring, carefully crafting letters of application for the job.

Based on these letters, Mr Sanderson selected 4 team members and 2 reserves who he felt would best fulfil the rigorous needs of the job. Maryssa’s assurance of leadership skills secured her spot as postmistress, and Francesco’s multi-lingual abilities got him hired as the shopkeeper. Alexia was chosen for her ability to nurture animals, while Alex, who is known at St George’s for his committed advocacy of the WWF’s endangered species, rounded out the last berth as the museum curator. For such a physically challenging location as the Antarctic, reserve team members are always on standby so Carolina (whose ice-skating prowess made her a natural choice for a Polar location) was chosen, plus Luke whose sincere tone in the application letter touched a chord. The winners were thrilled to receive a certificate and a penguin souvenir. Their teacher, Mrs Collins, would like to thank Mr Sanderson for being so generous with his time and efforts, and the Antarctic Heritage Trust for validating the children’s efforts with beautiful prizes.