THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604030149
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Equipped with pens and paper folded length-wise to resemble reporters' notebooks - the five student journalists at Douglass Park Elementary School quietly rehearsed their questions.
The mock press conference with the school's two astronaut trainees would begin in minutes, and the cub reporters were allowed only two questions each.
There would be no time for follow-up interviews. The student astronauts were leaving on a seven-day mission to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. the next morning.
As the two cadets entered the school library Friday, waving and smiling to the applause of reporters and on-lookers, third-grader Jenae Williams introduced the girls.
``I present to you our astronaut trainees: Emily Frank and Taniea Bunch,'' said Jenae, 8, acting as press secretary and moderator of the news conference. ``We will now entertain questions from the press.''
All five jumped to ask the first question.
``Ladies and gentlemen, please, we can only have one question at a time,'' Jenae reminded the rookie reporters.
With Principal Gordon Ellsworth on one side and fourth-grade teacher Vanessa Hinton on the other, the astronaut trainees took turns answering questions.
``What will you be doing at Space Camp?'' asked one student journalist.
``We will study the history and principles of propulsion and guidance,'' replied fourth-grader Taniea, 9, with the help of a prepared script. ``We will build and launch our own model rockets.''
Her fifth-grade colleague, 10-year-old Emily, added: ``We will tour the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.''
The schoolmates also will participate in water survival training, sample ``space food'' and experience control simulators that allow them to feel like they're in space.
Emily was selected to attend the program after winning an essay contest, ``Why I Should Go to Space Camp,'' held last year.
Taniea was chosen when her name was picked from a pool of the top fourth-grade students in the school. The random drawing was held after a second essay winner transferred from the school earlier this year.
``I couldn't even go to church tonight, I was just that excited,'' Annie Dillard, Taniea's grandmother, said the night before her granddaughter's departure for Alabama last Saturday.
Taniea is also the granddaughter of Willie Block and the daughter of Tangela Bunch.
``The family is just really excited because this is the first time that any of our kids have had the opportunity to go away like this,'' Dillard said.
How did Emily's mother, Sandra Frank, feel about her daughter attending the camp? That question was from 8-year-old student reporter Russell Nelson.
``First of all, I'm very, very proud of Emily. And I feel it is a great opportunity to further her education.
``But most of all, I want her to have fun,'' Frank said. Work prevented Emily's father, William Frank, from attending Friday's school program.
Douglass Park faculty, students and staff raised about $2,000 in a one-week candy sale last year to send the two students to Space Camp. Tuition, which included all meals and accommodations, cost $650 per student, and air fare ran about $400 each. This is the first year the school has sent any students to the program.
``I think it's interesting that we have two females going because a lot of literature tells us that as girls get older, they lose their interest in math and science,'' said Ellsworth, the principal.
According to a brochure provided by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Space Camp helps ``motivate young people toward greater achievements in math and science studies.''
Of 9,950 alumni who attended the program between 1987 and 1992, 91 percent enrolled in more math - specifically algebra and calculus - and 93 percent took more science courses - primarily physics and chemistry.
Taniea, who would like to be a ``space doctor,'' said she was looking forward to learning more math. Emily, an aspiring astronaut, wants to learn more about science.
No teachers or parents accompanied the two girls, who traveled under the supervision of a flight attendant. Neither was flying for the first time, though. Taniea's longest trip was to Alaska, Emily's to Florida.
When they return to Douglass Park on Monday, they plan to share their pictures and journals with the other students. The duo will also be guest speakers in the school's upcoming Career Day program. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Taniea Bunch and Emily Frank, students at Douglass Park Elementary
School, have been attending the NASA space camp in Huntsville, Ala.
this week.
by CNB