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Sale benefits Warrenton Middle School Space Academy trip
Garage sale season is now upon us, and a group of Warrenton Middle School eighth graders are promoting real deals at a sale they have planned for this Saturday, March 28. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., about 25 students will hold a flea market on the front lawn of the school to benefit an upcoming trip to Space Academy.
These students have raided their basements, garages, and closets for items to sell as a fund-raiser for the trip to the Space Academy in Huntsville, Al. Not only do students have to submit an essay and maintain a “B” average, they have to pay all of their expenses.
Like most Space Academy participants across the country, the students sent out a lot of letters for donations. But according to Principal Barbara Bannister, the efforts were affected by poor economic times. One way to help with the costs are fund-raisers, and the students have already held a couple.
In preparation for this Saturday's event, student Matthew Eggers said he was donating a couple of bikes he found in his family's “dangerously messy garage.” For Eggers, the journey into such trecherous territory will be worth the payoff when he gets to go to camp. Excited about the experience, he said, “My sister went and had a great time. I think it will be fun.”
According to Bannister, most of these young people have been looking forward to participating in this program since sixth grade. It is becoming a tradition; WMS students have gone to the Space Academy for at least 14 years. Teacher Kay White has taken her students for nine of those years.
White said students learn to work as a team and apply leadership skills during the five-day experience, which will be held this year from April 26 to May 1. From the moment the students disembark from the plane, Space Academy staff take over, keeping them busy each day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
White sees her role as the “Mother Bear,” but she does not observe the students participating in many of the activities. “I get to see [the students] only at certain times. It is a tightly secured campus,” she said.
The WMS teacher doesn't discuss many of the academy's planned events prior to the trip so that the experience will be more exciting. She did reveal that students will undergo two simulations of being in space, while being faced with various emergency challenges to overcome. Students will take on such roles as shuttle pilot, flight director and mission scientist. They will also experience G-force and weightlessness.
Student Audrey Vancheri is looking forward to the experience. Learning about some of the plans, she said, “The simulations sound cool. I can't wait for the whole experience.”
The 13 year old said she wanted to “get to know what NASA astronauts do. I think it will be something I will never forget.”
Eggers, agrees, but said his sister “didn't want to say much [about the Space Academy]. She didn't want to ruin the experience.”
Plans for the Saturday flea market won't be ruined either. In case of rain, the sale will be moved inside the school.
E-mail the reporter: afelts@timespapers.com.
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