Papers Everywhere!!

My colleagues can tell you that if organization were an Olympic sport I would win the gold medal every time. One of my biggest stresses as a teacher is when I can't find papers that have been graded and need to be handed out.  I have spent many sleepless nights trying to remember where I put that stack of papers that I know I graded only to find them days later in a stack that I didn't even know I had.  For years I had used binder clips and folders to hold graded papers, but with six different classes a day that was becoming an issue.  The more years I teach the more "stuff" I end up accumulating.

I was in Wal-Mart one day (that's all we have here) and saw these locker crates in all sorts of colors.  I had no idea what I would do with them, but as a teacher I had to have them.  So I bought four of them thinking I might store things in them.

Sterlite Locker Crate

For a while I used them for different things such as carrying my copies to my classroom from the copier. After about a month I realized that the top of the crate had a lip around the edge that looked like a place for hanging file folders.  I then decided to use the crates as mobile filing cabinets.  I did that for a while and realized I didn't need a place to keep more stuff (all the while I was fighting with all the papers on my desk).

I finally had a light bulb moment!!  I teach three different grades each day so I took a crate for each of my sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes.  I bought these hanging file folders and labeled each one with each of my students' names.

 

I put all of my sixth grade students in one crate, seventh grade in another crate, and you guessed it...eight grade in the final crate.  I have two classes of each grade so I put one class in the front of the crate and the other class at the back of the crate.

I used this method last year for the entire school year and I loved it.  As soon as I graded a set of papers I immediately put the paper in the correct students folder.  I passed all graded papers back on Thursday during class.  That used to take up a lot of class time because I might have 5 papers for each student.  Using this method, I call up the students alphabetically and they come get what's in their folder.  This cut down at least 10 minutes of class time that I was spending handing out papers.  There is also less chaos from the students since they are not waiting for me to hand back 150 pieces of individual paper.  I have already labeled my folders for the start of the new school year and am looking forward to a less cluttered desk.

HESA Space Camp Day 5

It was our final day of camp and while I was very excited I was also a little sad to leave this awesome place where I had made such great friends.  We started our day with a presentation about Space Camp and the opportunities it can give our students.  I would love to one day be able to bring a group of kids back to attend this camp.  We were then treated to an Imax showing of Journey to Space.  I have been to Imax shows before, but this one was beyond any I had ever seen.  The movie was great and the theater was a dome rather than a flat screen so we really felt like we were part of the movie.

We were then taken to our final activity for the week...X-Prize.  In this activity we were to use materials to build a rover and a lander.  We were crunched for time on this activity so we had to move fast and none of us felt very good about the effectiveness of our lander or rover.  Much to our surprise when we dropped our lander our rover was intact.  Then when we rolled our rover off the ramp we had success once again.

 






It was then time to head over to the Davidson Center for graduation.  At this time we learned that we would be hearing from a guest speaker who was also going to sign autographs and take pictures with us.  It was THE Homer Hickam!!!  I was so excited I was almost running to get there.  I got a signed picture of Mr. Hickam along with a photo.  He also signed a copy of his book Rocket Boys for each of us.  It was a great end to a great week!

Homer Hickam and Me

Mr. Hickam reading from Rocket Boys

After the presentation we were ready to graduate from Honeywell Space Camp.  During graduation there were several speakers who talked about the importance of teachers and the impact that we have on our students.  There are two awards given during graduation.  One of them is an award for the team who had the most successful missions.  Our team laughed at this because we knew landing with an open-hatch probably wouldn't get us recognition with this award...Team Columbus did not win.  The winning team was awarded a pin for their flight suits.  The other award that is given is an award for the team that showed the best engineering skills throughout the week.  This award is called the Commander's Cup and the recipients of this award receive a patch for their flight suit.  Going into graduation we had no idea awards would be given so we were very surprised when Team Columbus was awarded the Commander's Cup!!!  Each graduate also received a certificate of completion and a Mars pin for our suits.

Graduation

After graduation, Honeywell treated us to dinner and a party underneath the Saturn V rocket.  We ate together as a team and had a blast dancing the night away with a live band.  We said our goodbyes as people began to head back to the dorms.  The next morning was a travel day and we knew there would be no time for goodbyes in the morning.  

The Astronaut Life

 One of my team members, Jenny, took this picture.  It is a great picture that sums up our week together.  

Jenny also bought the monkey in the picture above.  Our team is going to mail the monkey (we named him Cmmdr. Patches) each month to each team member.  We will take pictures of ourselves with Cmmdr. Patches in our town and send him to the next place.  I could not have picked a better team than the one that was randomly picked for me.  The members of Team Columbus are absolutely one of the reasons my time at camp was so memorable.  Commander Livers to Huntsville...over and out.

HESA Space Camp Day 4

Day 4 was Sunday...Father's Day.  Not only was I spending it away from my husband (the greatest father on this planet), but it was also my first Father's Day without my own father who had passed away just 5 months prior.  I was very thankful that although I was four hours away from my family, I was having the time of my life and staying very busy.

This day of camp started with the launching of our rockets.  We were taken to a field on campus to conduct our launch.  When we got there I was so excited to see that the field was called Homer H. Hickam, Jr. Launch Pad.  Homer Hickam's story is one of my favorite stories about dedication and determination.

Team Columbus prior to launch

Once we launched our rockets we only got to retrieve them if they landed in the field and not in the trees.  As I made my way up to the launch pad I was hoping my rocket was built to withstand the wind and land in an area where I would be able to keep it as a souvenir.

3...2...1...LAUNCH!

My rocket launch went perfectly and I was able to bring my rocket home with me.  It will have a place in my classroom this fall.

After our launch we had a little free time.  Our team decided to ride some of the public simulators that had been too crowded during the week.  We took lots of pictures and ran around the US Space and Rocket Center like a bunch of kids who had just been dropped off at an amusement park.

The Moon...Bacon and Luke

Team Columbus with Endeavour

The Moon...The Girls

Our next activity was our Bravo Mission, we had trained for this the previous day.  In this mission we were launching into space to trade places with the mission specialists at ISS.  My job was to trade places with another mission specialist and begin my time at ISS.  Once there, Kristen and I had to repair damages from a storm.  We had to replace a broken window and change out electrical pieces.  We got to complete an EVA (Extravehicular Activity) which means we put on full space gear and conducted our work as though we were in space.

Ready for Liftoff!!

On Our Way!!

Walking in Space

Aboard ISS

Repairing the window 

Mission Complete

After lunch we were taken to two simulators that are only open to space camp attendees.  The Multi-Axis Trainer and the 1/6th Gravity Chair.  I had already been on the MAT before and it had made me nauseous so I decided to not try it again.  The gravity chair was a lot of fun and a lot of work.  Without gravity you have to put forth so much energy and muscle to move the slightest bit.  It was a very strange feeling.


















Our final activity for the day was Ablative Shields.  We were given the task to build an ablative shield for our astronaut (an egg) that would protect our egg for five minutes under extreme heat.  We made our shield using Spackle, cork board, a noodle, and aluminum foil.  Our temperature increased and burned through the foil, but the moist from the Spackle was able to keep our temperature down and our egg survived.

Our uncooked egg

Our shield at the beginning

Our shield toward the end

We had a blast with all of the activities on Day 4.  We were all once again pretty exhausted by the time we got back to our dorms.  As tired as we were, we decided to go out as a team that night since it was our last night before graduation.  We took a cab to a restaurant called Below the Radar.  We had appetizers while we watched the NBA finals game against the Warriors and the Cavaliers.  LeBron James and his Cavaliers won against Steph Curry and his Warriors.  It was definitely a fun night!!

HESA Space Camp Day 3

Day 3 of Space Camp was probably one of my favorite days.  We had free time in the morning to do whatever we wanted before our training started.  I took this time to visit the gift shop and purchase some goodies for my family.

Our first activity this day was our Alpha Mission (there is more information on this here).  We all took our places in the shuttle, the International Space Station, and mission control.  My job as CAPCOM was pretty stressful because I had to constantly switch channels to speak to mission control or the astronauts in the shuttle.  Once we had a successful lift-off we began to have problems that we had to address.  We had a binder of solutions that we had to look through to find the correct "fix" for each problem.  Team Columbus did very well and we were able to solve each of our problems in a pretty timely manner.  The most hilarious part for our team was when a voice came over our speakers reminding our commander to fly the shuttle.  By the end of the flight we had landed with only two minor problems. First, we had landed with our hatch open. Secondly, we broke off our front wheel.  It was a story that we will continue to tell and laugh about for years to come.

Team Columbus Landing

SUCCESS!!

My view from Mission Control

CAPCOM

After our mission we attended a presentation from one of the HESA Ambassadors.  These presentations were AWESOME!!!  We got lots of great ideas from two teachers who had attended Space Camp previously and were back to share how they had incorporated what they learned into their classroom.  We were also so excited to see how Space Camp had influenced their teaching.  It was a great learning experience.

We then back to the International Space Station to train for our next mission...Bravo.  Once again we were given our job duties, instructions on how to do our job, and a little practice time.  My job this time was Mission Specialist.  I was going to be in the space craft for lift-off and then trade places with other mission specialists who had been living at the International Space Station.  We got to complete our mission on Day 4.

Another favorite activity of mine was the Aviation Water Challenge.  We were taken to the Aviation portion of the campus and got to complete three training simulations.  First, we zip lined backward into the lake. This was to simulate parachuting out of a plane into water.

 

The second simulation was a plane crashing into water.  We were in the "air-craft" and had to escape out of the windows after it had crashed.  This one was funny because our Chinese friends wouldn't evacuate because they wanted to take pictures inside the plane.  So we were hanging out inside for a little bit :-).  

 

The final simulation was being rescued by a helicopter while in the water.  For this simulation, we had to climb into a very large water basket that lifted us out of the water.  The Aviation Water Challenge was one of my favorite experiences of the week.

HESA Space Camp Day 2

After an exhausting first day at camp I assumed I would be dragging the next day.  I woke up super refreshed and ready to see what was in store for Day 2.  After breakfast (they fed us really well the entire time) my team was taken to a room where we were given instructions to make a mission patch for our team. After lots of brainstorming we decided we wanted to give all three of our countries a section and bring them together in the middle to show that we are working towards the mission to Mars.  As teachers we are preparing our students for this space journey that will take place when they are adults.  We wanted to show that in the middle of our patch.

Columbus Mission Patch

After working on our mission patch we were taken to a place on campus called Area 51.  Our team was broken into two groups and assigned a mentor for our time there.  We completed four low elements courses that challenged our communication skills and teamwork.  All of the courses were great team building activities that many of us were anxious to bring back to our own classrooms.

We were taken back to the US Space and Rocket Center for a class that we were able to sign up for the previous day.  I signed up for the math class and it was a great class that I will definitely use in my classroom. This activity used large Lego building blocks, mulch, dirt, a gutter, pieces of wood or books, and three various sized balls.  The goal was to build the tallest and strongest structure you could that would withstand the boulders (3 balls) that would come rolling down the gutter, which was filled with "dirt" from Mars. 

After our classes our team met back up to train for our Alpha Mission.  This mission was one of two that we would complete as a team.  My job for this mission was CAPCOM so I was the only mission control specialist that would be able to communicate with the astronauts on the shuttle.  During training we were given our job duties, instructions on how to do our job, and we got to practice our mission up to liftoff.  Our actual mission took place on Day 3, so more to come on that later.

CAPCOM Work Station

Our final activity for Day 2 was a rocketry workshop.  We were students in a lesson where we built a rocket.  The kit for the rocket was provided.  After building our rockets we got to spray paint them outside. We were scheduled to launch our rockets on Day 4.

Team Columbus Rocketry

HESA Space Camp Day 1

Rise and shine for the first day of Space Camp.  I woke up so excited about what was to come!!  We were picked up and taken to the US Space and Rocket Center for breakfast.  There was so much anticipation because we didn't know anything yet.  To be a large group of teachers who are used to planning for others, we were all a little anxious about the unknown of this day.  At breakfast we met all of the crew trainers that we would be working with for the next few days.  They all seemed very excited to get busy.

We left breakfast to follow our crew trainer and meet the members of our team.  My team was Columbus (each team is named after a module of the International Space Station).  We were the smallest team with only 13 members compared to other teams with 15 or more.  Our team was made up of 8 members from the US, 3 members from China, and 2 members from Turkey.  We had little time to introduce ourselves because it was time to get started.

Our first event was a guest speaker.  We were all seated in the auditorium to listen to a man I was not familiar with, Ed Buckbee.  Mr. Buckbee spoke to us about the first astronauts in space...The Space Cowboys.  We heard many stories from Mr. Buckbee about the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts. Mr. Buckbee's stories were amazing and I found myself hanging on every word.  He is such a great story teller that I could have listened to his stories all day.

Team Columbus with Ed Buckbee

At this point, my excitement for space was growing more and more.  We were then taken to one of the museums at US Space and Rocket Center.  I was surprised to walk in and see Saturn V stretching across the ceiling of the museum.  I had never seen anything so big!  We met our docent, Luke Talley, at the museum and he began to tell us everything one could ever want to know about Saturn V and its journey into space.  We were all amazed at the detail this docent was sharing with us.  At one point, we even had another docent follow our group because he said he wanted to hear what Mr. Talley had to say.  At that point, I thought we must have a special guide.  Walking underneath Saturn V and hearing about everything that went into engineering this rocket was leaving me feeling like a kid who had just heard of space for the first time.

At the end of our tour, Mr. Talley asked us to follow him so he could show us the best part.  We followed along around the back of an exhibit and there was a picture of a young Luke Talley working for IBM on the computer system for Saturn V.  This entire time we had been listening to this man talk about a rocket that he had worked on himself. 

Team Columbus with Luke Talley

Saturn V Engine

Saturn V Fuel Tank

 After lunch we were able to take a tour of the facility.  I went back to the museum to look at some of the exhibits that I had missed before.  It was then time to get ready for another guest speaker.  This speaker was Astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger.  Dottie spoke to us about her resupply mission to the International Space Station.  She shared lots of pictures and stories about her experience.  The most exciting thing about Dottie's story is that she was also a teacher.  She was the first space camp alumna to become an astronaut.  

Team Columbus with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

 We ended our exciting first day with lots of pictures.  Honeywell took lots of great pictures that they were happy to share with us.

Team Columbus with Pathfinder 

HESA 2016 Week 2 Teachers

I was the only teacher from Kentucky that week.