Reach for the Star Reading Challenge

 
February is “I Love to Read” month at HCS.  This year our celebration of reading has been space themed.  On the library bulletin board, class rocket ships blasted off from planet Earth and have been making their way across the solar system.  As students read and log hours, their rocket ships have been traveling from planet to planet. At the time of this writing, Mrs. Norton’s class rocket has been leading the race and is fast approaching Neptune.  This means her students have read nearly 150 hours!  Mr. Pirotta’s class has been keeping a strong lead ahead of the other third grade classes.  Other races shifted daily.
 
As their class rockets have winged across the solar system, students have enjoyed learning more about planets and space travel. Books on these subjects have been flying out of the library.
 
To enhance our Reach for the Stars reading celebration, we scheduled a virtual visit with a NASA scientist at Langley Space Center in Virginia. The program was called “Our Solar Neighborhood.”  On February 22nd, Dr. Caryn Long from the NASA Research Center, spoke to all our students assembled in the multi-purpose room.  With a fiery, burning sun on the screen behind her and visuals of other planets, Dr. Long guided us through a tour of the solar system.  A highlight for students was the opportunity to have some questions answered.  They came up with some very interesting questions including, “How do black holes form?”