Gateway Elementary Students Blast Off to Space Camp
Students will spend nearly a week in Huntsville, Alabama

(March 29, 2007) –Twenty-six 5th graders from Gateway Elementary will take a trip of a lifetime when they attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama beginning on Sunday, May 20. The five day camp teaches students about Space Shuttle systems and life aboard the Orbiter and Space Station. They will sample space food and even learn how to sleep in space.

Space Camp uses space to excite and educate children ages 9-11 in the fields of math, science and technology. Teamwork, self-confidence and communication will be achieved through state-of-the-art simulations, missions, rocket building, and robotics.

“This is an excellent opportunity for our kids to learn about what it takes to be an astronaut,” said Rick Sirna, principal. “We’ve had students attend the Space Camp for each of the past 11 years, but this year we did not have the funds required to send our students” he added.

When he learned the Gateway students would not be able to attend due to lack of funds, Brian Hutchinson, an employee with the St. Louis Public Schools, stepped in to help. So far he has raised nearly $20,000 to send the students to camp this year. “These types of learning opportunities for our students are too important to let them end due to insufficient money. When I started asking local businesses and area contractors to sponsor a child to attend Space Camp, the responses I received were overwhelming,” Hutchison said.

Additional donations were secured by the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation, a local not-for-profit organization that seeks support for targeted projects and programs that will result in improvements in educational outcomes for students in the St. Louis Public Schools. Individuals and corporations wishing to donate additional funds are encouraged to visit the Foundation online at www.slpsfoundation.org.

Gateway Elementary has an enrollment of approximately 575 students. It is a place where students with similar interests and aptitudes from many different areas are brought together. The intended result is a melting pot of enthusiastic, motivated students who strive to achieve more specialized, shared goals.

Additional information on Space Camp can be found online at www.spacecamp.com.