DSRR PTA Newsletter for Aug. 11, 2010

Alex's Turkey Experience by Donna Abernathy

"I'm going to Turkey!" Alex excitedly announced when he climbed in the car after the first day of school a year ago July. "Yeah, right," I responded. There was no way I was sending my child halfway around the world, I thought. That thinking changed, however, after I learned more about this educational travel opportunity from Mrs. Burt, who attended Space Camp Turkey in summer 2009, Murfreesboro City Schools' Mel Prater, who had attended with other local children through the years and from representatives of the camp, who traveled to Murfreesboro to help nervous parents like me better understand their program. Sure, family and friends questioned my decision, but I remained steadfast as we began saving money, getting travel documents and clearing the schedule for Alex to make the trip. Alex departed with the group on July 2, his 13th birthday, for what will probably be remembered as his trip of a lifetime. Sure, he could have gone to space camp in Huntsville, but the camp is really only a part of the experience. He not only learned how to be an astronaut but, more importantly, how to work with a mission team made up of youths from around the world. What I wanted my child to get from this trip - and I believe he did - was to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of other people and other cultures of the world. He learned that kids share the same interests and dreams no matter where they live. As a matter of fact, Alex loved his international experience so much that he is already making plans to apply to return to camp as an intern and ultimately as a counselor.

Discovery Students Take on the World and Space too!

Eleven Discovery students (1/5 of the sixth grade!) represented the USA at Space Camp in Izmir, Turkey this summer. They were led by Kristy Mall, sixth grade teacher, and Michelle McVicker, assistant principal, who attended as a guest of the program. The trip was sponsored by Global Friendship Through Space Education and was a continuation of a correspondence and NASA videoconferencing program that the sixth grade participated in throughout the year. Only three schools in the US were present, with students from New York, New York and Long Beach, California attending alongside students from Greece, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Poland, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

Students spent a week learning how to be astronauts, working simulators, and creating team projects ranging from rocket construction to designing a base on Mars. They worked in teams that were comprised of Greek and Turkish students as well, and were treated to instruction by U.S. Astronaut Charlie Walker, who taught them how he went from being an engineer on the Space Shuttle projects to being the first corporate engineer to become an astronaut on the Space Shuttle! He served on the Discovery with local astronaut, Dr. Rhea Seddon!

We are also very proud to announce that Mason Bray was named the "Right Stuff Award" recipient as the top camper out of 498 campers, and was presented a medal by Astronaut Walker. We also had students whose teams were honored for outstanding aerospace design as well as for outstanding Mars base designs! We are so proud of their outstanding accomplishments!

library Ephasus

To finish the 11 day trip, students got to tour two of the seven ancient wonders of the world (Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis), visit the House of the Virgin Mary, take an afternoon swim in the Aegean Sea, and even work in some shopping time, where they were impressed with the beautiful hand made goods and food that the Turks had to offer. Asked what her favorite part was, Julia Beasley said that the experience "...changed her life! Meeting new friends from other countries was awesome! I learned so much about space that I never knew, loved the country and the people there, and the sites we visited were indescribable. I want to go back again next year and am already saving my money and working on getting Red Cross certified as a babysitter to make money."

"I am so proud of the students and how well they performed!" said Kristy Mall. "We had such a wonderful experience, and the kids were amazing ambassadors not only for our school, but for our country. The teachers from other countries were so impressed with their friendliness and willingness to help others. This will be an experience that will stay with all of us for the rest of our lives!" Mrs. Mall and Mrs. Burt are already working on setting up videoconferences and joint projects with the incoming sixth graders and their Turkish partner schools to continue the outstanding program this year.