Christy Garvin

Last Minute Reminders for U.S. Space and Rocket Center Field Trip

Just a reminder that our U.S. Space and Rocket Center field trip will be on Friday, April 11th.  We will meet at the front flagpole at 5:30 a.m. for a 5:45 a.m. departure.  Please make sure to arrive on time as we will not be able to wait for late arrivals.  We have a very tightly packed schedule and a late departure would result in cadets missing some of their activities.  Students must also wear their GSRA uniforms on this training exercise; that means they should be wearing khaki pants and the GSRA t-shirt.  If the weather is going to be cool, it might be a great idea to wear a long sleeved shirt under the GSRA t-shirt. 

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack are all included in the trip, so students do not need to bring any food.  They are allowed to have plain water on the bus as well as a pillow, blanket, book, or notebook.  Several students have asked about cameras, and it is fine to bring a camera as long as the student's name is clearly visible on the camera.  However,  phone cameras are not permitted.  Students should not bring electronic devices such as cell phones, games, i-pods, or i-pads, nor should they bring gum or food.  Students may bring up to $20 of spending money for the gift shop, but this is completely optional.  And finally, students should bring a sharpened pencil so they will be able to complete the museum scavenger hunt.  The movies we will be watching on the bus are:  October Skies, Apollo 13, Space Camp, and The Astronaut Farmer

 

We will return to the front flagpole at 11:30 p.m. on Friday night.  Please let your child know the best phone number where you can be reached just in case we happen to be running a little early or a little late.  If your child will be riding home with another parent, please place a note in your child's backpack so that it can be given to me when we return to Vaughan on Friday night.  It would also be a good idea to provide that parent's number in case we need to make contact.

 

If your child takes medication, please pack it in its original container in your child’s backpack.  Please include detailed directions and a note authorizing others to give the medicine. Your child's chaperone is in charge of his or her medication and will make sure that all doses are given throughout the day.  On Friday morning there will be time to tell your child's chaperone that there is medicine to be administered on the trip.  Please do not bring medications or notes to me on the morning of the trip; with all of the details to be handled as we leave, it is very easy for me to misplace or forget something. 

Chaperones:

Red Squad- Brian Baker, John Capuano, Kellie Shell, Daniel Smith, Michael Sweazey, Jason Walling

Yellow Squad- Brian Gnagey, Keith Hendershot, Mary Harmon, David Newton

Green Squad- Lori Pearce , Michelle McGlamery, Karen Parker, Malcolm Roberts, Jeff Stallings

Blue Squad- Kurt Ackerman, Matt Anthony, Allison Freedman, Kelly Wells

Challenger Center

The time has arrived to begin making plans for our final training exercise of the year.  Your mission, should you accept, is to travel to Mars to collect planetary samples.  In order to accomplish this task, we will be traveling to the Challenger Center, which is housed at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on Friday, May 2nd.  We will leave from the front flagpole at Vaughan at 5:30 a.m. (arrive at 5:15 a.m.) and will return at 4:15 p.m.

   

 

The ChallengerCenter is an interactive learning environment that immerses students in a unique space mission simulation.  Throughout the mission, students are presented with tasks and realistic dilemmas that build problem solving, critical thinking and communication skills.  The mission is called “Voyage to Mars” and is based on the following scenario.  In Earth years, it is 2076. A now routine voyage to Mars has brought the latest human crew into Martian orbit.  Control of the incoming flight has been transferred from Houston's Mission Control to Mars Control at Chryse Station. The crew arriving from Earth on the Mars Transport Vehicle has been specially trained to replace the existing crew of astronauts, which has manned Mars Control for the past two years. After arriving on the Martian surface, the team will collect and analyze a number of planetary samples and data. This information is vital to scientists and explorers for a better understanding of the Red Planet. 

In addition to the mission, students will also have the opportunity to construct and program Mars rovers, and then to control them as they attempt basic tasks.

 

The cost of this trip is $75, and it includes transportation, lunch, snacks, the Challenger Center mission, and the Mars Rover Encounter.  Please return permission form and payment no later than Friday, April 18th. I will need just a few parent squad leaders to chaperone our astronaut training; if you would like to help in this way, please fill out the chaperone sheet and return to me no later than Thursday, April 10th at 8:00 a.m.; I will not be able to accept late chaperone forms.  Since space is extremely limited at the Challenger Center, I will need to draw names for chaperone positions, and will do so on Thursday, April 10th; please do not send in chaperone money until you have been notified of who will be attending.  If you have submitted your name to be a chaperone, please hold both your payment and your child’s payment until chaperone names have been drawn on the 10th; then, you will be able to write one check and use one payment envelope.   The chaperone fee for this field trip is also $ 75.

Math Quiz

We will be having a math quiz the week of March 24th.  This quiz will cover the information in the "How Fast Does It Go?" packet.  Students have worked two sheets of practice problems which can be used for review- Velocity Practice Problems 1 and Velocity Practice 2.  The concepts covered are: average velocity, acceleration, and instantaneous velocity.  There will be two math help sessions before the quiz to help anyone who may have questions; the first will be Tuesday, March 18^th at 7:25 a.m. and the second will be Monday, March 24^th at 7:25 a.m.  Students should arrive on time for the help sessions and bring the math homework sheets, a pencil, and notebook paper.

Extra Practice Problems for Quiz: Download Math Quiz Practice Problems for Acceleration and Velocity