Page 7 - Sanger Herald 2-15-18 E-edition

SANGER HERALD 7A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018
Sanger Unified is part of America’s space program!
A Mission 12 press release
Jared Savage/Charlene Griesner
Fairmont Elementary School and Sanger High School have pioneered Fresno County’s first Student Spaceflight Experiments Pro- gram (SSEP).
This large scale vertical articulation between schools provided an amazing oppor- tunity for our students with an authentic space program experience. SSEP, a national model STEM education pro- gram, has engaged hundreds of our students 5-12th grade in real microgravity experi- ment design and proposal writing. (STEM is a cur- riculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — sci- ence, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.)
Experiments are submit- ted nationwide as well as in Canada and Brazil for SSEP Mission 12. One of our stu- dent-proposed experiments has been selected to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth orbit and be operated by the astronauts. The experiment will be part of a payload for Student Spaceflight Experi- ments Program Mission 12
to ISS, and will launch on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, adjoining NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in late Spring 2018.
The SSEP allowed stu- dents to compete within an innovative real-world setting that stretched the limits of 21st century skills.
Students were challenged to research, as well as read and write at the highest level while creating experimental proposals under numerous constraints.
We were amazed with
the level of production and efficiency in which the teams operated and collaborated. We are extremely proud of the vertical collaboration between schools and students (5th-12th grade) as well as the necessary leadership of our coordinators and teach- ers to facilitate this amazing opportunity.
– Jared Savage, Fair- mont principal.
Scientists and Engineers around the world compete
to get their experiments up to the International Space Station by participating in the exact same formal pro- posal review and selection process as our students. We congratulate the Sanger Uni- fied winning student team; the Effect Microgravity has on the Developmental Stages of Brine Shrimp experiment. This proposal was submit- ted by Sean Viau and Austin Griesner from Fairmont Elementary, Elisa Rocha and Jackie Ramirez were project managers from Sanger
High School. The winning team will be representing our Sanger community by traveling to the Smithsonian to attend their own research conference, reporting on ex- periment design and analysis of ground truth data, and
the flight team reporting on flight results.
“In this experiment, we will be investigating how microgravity affects the developmental stages of brine shrimp. This can be useful to the world because aquaponics is a topic being explored in space currently as a means of a possible food source. Learning to produce food sources will allow hu- mans to survive for extended periods of time in space or even another planet like Mars. Aquatic animals would be a good source of food.”
-Austin Griesner and Sean Viau
Two student-designed mission patches will travel to the International Space Station with the experiment. Sixth-grader Heidi Kimzey from Fairmont Elementary and Yosselin Fernandez from Sanger High School created the artwork for the patches. The patches will be certified as having flown in space and returned for display in their respective schools.
“The Sanger Unified vision is about giving all students the options to demonstrate what they learn and the opportunities to be successful and achieve their dreams. The partnership be- tween Fairmont and Sanger High School through the SSEP exemplified the vision of our district.
This has been one of the single most powerful pro- gram partnerships designed to expand students critical
Photo contributed
SSEP Flight Team: Austin Griesner and Sean Viau from Fairmont Elementary and Elisa Rocha and Jackie Ramirez from Sanger High School.
thinking, creativity, com- munication and collaboration amongst students. Sanger Unified couldn't be more proud of the SSEP, Fairmont Elementary teacher Charlene Griesner and Sanger High School teacher, Carmen Gar- vis for their leadership and dedication to this program.” -Sanger Unified Superinten- dent Matt Navo
Eighty-one teams made
up of 2-4 students consisting of fifth through 12 graders began a collaborative process in September of the 2017-18 school year.
Sanger High School students were bused to Fairmont once a week for 10 weeks to serve as mentors.
Under real-world condi- tions teams focused on de- velopment of the experiment proposal within the engineer- ing constraints and official timelines.
SSEP has provided stu- dents in Sanger Unified an exciting global view, result- ing in inspiration and empow- erment driven by relevant, meaningful learning. This has allowed us to enhance students educational experi- ence while developing their 21st century skills: communi- cation, collaboration, creativ- ity, and critical thinking. The SSEP naturally fosters the use and development of the 21st century skills which are anchored within the Sanger Unified vision.
"The Sanger High School students who participated
in the SSEP were inspired
by the level of rigor and com- plexity of the experiments they worked on and eventu- ally submitted to the Space Station experiment competi- tion. Overall, win or lose, the experience challenged the students and required them to stretch their minds to find new ideas and solutions for authentic scientific experi- ments that went well beyond the regular classroom. As a result, they are inspired to deepen their learning and pursue a career in the field of science." - Sanger High School Principal Daniel Chacon
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program [or SSEP] is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Educa- tion (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partner- ship with DreamUp PBC and NanoRacks LLC, which are working with NASA
under a Space Act Agree- ment as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Labora- tory.
We thank Sanger Walmart and the Califormia Space Grant as partial sponsors on this endevor.
Two student-designed mission patches will travel to the International Space Station with the experiment. Sixth-grader Heidi Kimzey from Fairmont Elementary and Yosselin Fernandez from Sanger High School created the artwork for the patches. The patches will be certified as having flown in space and returned for display in their respective schools.
The mission patch art competition at Fairmont Elementary had 100 designs submitted. Heidi's patch above won as Fair- mont's mission 12 patch. Sanger High School had 500 student submit a design for the mission patch. Yosselin's patch won for Sanger High School. You can see it on the front page of today's Herald.
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