NEW SCHOOL, HONORABLE NAME ASTRONAUT WELCOMES COLUMBIA.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer LANCASTER -- The $16.5 million campus of Columbia Elementary School elementary school: see school. was dedicated Thursday amid music, a plane flyover and keynote remarks by astronaut and space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. Columbia pilot Gordon Fullerton. Fullerton, 70, associate director of flight operations at NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. , recalled two famous ships called Columbia: the space shuttle that he piloted on its third mission in 1982 and the sailing ship Columbia The Sailing Ship Columbia is a full-scale replica of the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, located at the Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. Its passengers embark on a scenic, 12-minute journey around the Rivers of America. , the first American ship to circumnavigate cir·cum·nav·i·gate tr.v. cir·cum·nav·i·gat·ed, cir·cum·nav·i·gat·ing, cir·cum·nav·i·gates 1. To proceed completely around: circumnavigating the earth. 2. the globe in 1790 and the one that discovered the Columbia River two years later. ``You should look at the name Columbia Elementary and be really proud of that name. It was the first name our country was known by. It was the name of two great ships,'' Fullerton said. ``They were special ships flown by special Americans in the same way you are special Americans as you attend this school. When you come to school, just remember you are the crew of Columbia Elementary.'' The 12.7-acre school opened Aug.14 and has 796 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school was given American flags that were flown over the U.S. Capitol and the state capitol building The term State Capitol Building can refer to the State Capitol building in a number of different US states, national or subnational entities. US States
The school held the dedication on the actual Columbus Day with Eastside Union School District officials and representatives of elected officials in attendance. ``It is with great joy that we can finally say, `Welcome to Columbia,''' Principal Dorothea Thompson said from an outdoor stage bedecked with balloons and bunting in red, white and blue, the school's colors. Board president Janette Crawford said the school could not have been built without support from the community. ``Because the community dared to dream by passing a bond, our district was able to make a dream a reality. Now, we have a beautiful new school,'' Crawford said. ``When I look around, I see faces of bright, young students, but I also see future doctors, pilots, artists, engineers and teachers. I see our future,'' Crawford said. Fullerton, an inductee into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame is located in Titusville, Florida. It features the world's largest collection of personal astronaut memorabilia, particularly focusing on those astronauts who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, as well as spacecraft. at Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral) U.S. launch site for manned space missions. [U.S. Hist.: WB, So:562] See : Astronautics , showed a space shuttle model to the students, eliciting from them appreciative ``oohs'' and ``aahs.'' He told them that the shuttles were built about three miles away at Plant 42 in Palmdale. ``I had a chance to fly that wonderful ship back in 1982. We went around (the world) 127 times, and it took us only eight days,'' Fullerton said. ``It was a really wonderful trip, the most thrilling time of my life. Columbia, I'm happy to report, performed perfectly.'' Columbia went on to fly 28 more missions before breaking apart in a deadly 2003 accident over Texas. Fullerton also commanded space shuttle Challenger in 1985. Thompson got the loudest applause and cheers from the children when she ended the ceremony with the announcement: ``Today, we get to use the grass! I knew you'd love it.'' Columbia Elementary, located on the 2600 block of East Avenue J-4, is Eastside's first new school in more than four years and is named after the shuttle. The campus is home to staffers and pupils from Tierra Bonita Bonita (Spanish and Portuguese for "beautiful") is the name of:
The two schools had started out in 1991 as one, created to accommodate youths living in the housing tracts that sprang up in east Lancaster in the late 1980s. The school split in two to keep the size manageable. Tierra Bonita South will stay on the old campus. Columbia's construction was financed from a $15.5million bond measure Eastside voters passed in 1997, along with state funds. karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Students wave flags at the end of Thursday's dedication ceremony for their new school, Columbia Elementary. (2 -- 3 -- color) Gordon Fullerton, astronaut and space shuttle Columbia pilot who is now associate director of flight operations at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, speaks at the dedication ceremony for Columbia Elementary School on Thursday. The Lancaster High School Lancaster High School may refer to:
Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion