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Information Item
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 2019
TO: School Board Members
FROM: Jeff Eakins, Superintendent
SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS
Recognition of the Tampa Bay Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Network Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) and the Mission Patch Competition Mission 13 (Office of Teaching and Learning)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The SSEP provides an opportunity for students in Grades 5-8 to have their science experiment flown to the International Space Station (ISS). In Hillsborough County, SSEP proposals by students were judged by a committee of local science leaders. The top three projects were then submitted to SSEP team in Washington, D.C., where a team of practicing scientists evaluated the proposals and selected the top experiment to fly. This is the district's sixth year to launch a project to the ISS.

In the Mission Patch competition, students in Grades K-8 created a mission patch representing the space experiments program that will also fly into space as part of the payload containing the experiment. The patch is then returned to the students with an embossed certificate stating that the patch flew into space.  The SSEP is supported by generous partners of the Tampa Bay STEM Network. The experiment and mission patches are currently scheduled to fly to the ISS on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on July 8, 2019.

SSEP Mission 13 Team - Randall Middle School
Riana Basista, 6th grade                 
Payton Hardy, 7th grade
Sydney Jacobson, 6th grade
Alexander Januario, 6th grade

Mission 13 Patch Winners
Luciana, Guaman, 4th grade, Chiles Elementary School
Janvi Pate, 6th grade, Randall Middle School
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
• Provide a student-centered learning environment that engages every child
FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted:  No)
This item has no financial impact to the district.
EVALUATION
N/A
SUBMITTED BY: 
Larry R. Plank, Ed.S.   Deborah Cook
Director, K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
(813) 272-4622
  Chief Academic Officer
(813) 272-4221
    A 06
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20190416_922 (Board Recognition Meeting) * Section A Item# 06