TEACHERS are regularly required to hike, kayak and camp as part of end-of-year excursions.
Chris Day, from Cleveland District State High School, is preparing for such a trip at the end of the year, with one important difference: he'll be doing all these activities more than 8700km from home in a place where -25C is considered a warm summer's day.
The 27-year-old English and drama teacher will swap board shorts for ski masks when he accompanies eight indigenous students to Antarctica as part of the inaugural Outback to Icecaps program in December.
The four men and four women, aged between 18 and 20, all come from remote, rural and regional Australia and received a Yalari indigenous scholarship to attend the country's leading boarding schools.
The contingent will venture to the Antarctic Peninsula and climb a mountain peak, snowshoe, ice climb and camp overnight during their 16-day adventure.
They will be guided by polar explorer Peter Bland, the first Australian to walk to the North and South Magnetic Poles.
Mr Day was handpicked to join the 38 other mentors due to his teaching background and pursuit of better indigenous education outcomes.
"I've always been interested in real leadership and tutoring," he said.
"The outdoors is a wonderful place to put us out of our comfort zones and show real leadership."
Mr Day will use his teaching skills to come up with creative activities on the ice.
He is also enlisting the help of his year 10 students, who will write motivational letters for each of the students taking part in the trip.
"I know that at some point we'll all struggle on the trip itself so I'll pull these letters out to provide these youth with a bit more stamina to continue on and know that people back home are thinking of them," he said.
"It's daunting thinking what we're going to experience physically and emotionally and cognitively as well."
The posting is not set in stone, however, until Mr Day raises the necessary $15,000 for the trip to and from Antarctica, via Argentina.
A fundraiser will be held at RPAC on August 14 featuring speeches by Mr Day and Mr Bland, and performances by past and present Cleveland District State High School students.
Tickets cost $25 and are available by calling 3829 8131 or visting www.rpac.com.au.
