2018 Community Read to focus on STEAM

By Tina Hanneken, PR-B Community Asset Developer Today at 8:00 a.m.

In February our school is celebrating, I Love to Read Month, with STEAM themed books and welcoming NASA Astronaut Duane "Digger" Carey to our school. Metro Creative Graphics, Inc.

This year marks the 10th year of celebrating the Community Read. Our Community Read idea started this fall with Mrs. Robbi Gregory, PR-B 2nd grade teacher, applying for a NASA Downlink. She and a team of PR-B staff created a successful NASA experience for our school and community. One portion of the application asked what our school would be doing to continue with the NASA experience throughout the school year. This generated the idea for our 2018 Community Read's focus to be on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).

In February our school is celebrating, I Love to Read Month, with STEAM themed books and welcoming NASA Astronaut Duane "Digger" Carey to our school. Digger is a St. Paul native and graduate of the University of Minnesota. He went on the join the Air Force and then NASA. In 2002 he served as a pilot on the STS-109. These astronauts performed a total of five spacewalks in five consecutive days to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacewalkers received assistance from their crewmates inside Columbia.

Students in grades 7-12 chose from a variety of STEAM-themed books. The remaining grades will each be given a STEAM- or astronaut-themed book. These are the books our students will be enjoying during the January/February STEAM focus (They also get to keep their book!):

• "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race" by Margot Shetterly

• "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba (author),‎ Bryan Mealer (author) and‎ Anna Hymas (illustrator)

• "The Revealers" by Doug Wilhelm

"Click'd" by Tamara Ireland Stone

• "Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" by Ashlee Vance

"See You in the Cosmos" by Jack Cheng

"Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

"Top Secret: A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers, and Secret Writing" by Paul B. Janeczko (editor) and Jenna LaReau (illustrator)

• "Kingfisher Readers: Space (Level 5: Reading Fluently)" by James Harrison

• "Mae Jemison (You Should Meet)" by Laurie Calkhoven (author) and Monique Dong (illustrator)

• "Astronaut: Living in Space" by Kate Hayden

Join the Community Read fun! Look for a copy of one of our themed books "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race" by Margot Shetterly. When you see it at one of our local businesses, feel free to read it, keep it or pass it on.

If you have any questions, please contact Tina Hanneken 218-587-8325 or thanneken@prbschools.org.