By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
Space Camp. The name carries an ethereal quality that speaks to new adventures, bold horizons and life-changing experiences.
A trio from the Whitewater Unified School District will learn this summer what all the fuss is about.
Teacher Dianna Callope and students Alisha Parboteeah and Nicole Sedmak are set to go on an out of this world trip when they attend Space Camp for a week in July. Space Camp is located at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.
“When I got the info about that I thought it was a very great idea, and unexpected – something that is really out of my box,” Callope said.
Callope teaches math at Whitewater Middle School, which Parboteeah and Sedmak attend, and is the 2014-15 Wisconsin Middle School Teacher of the Year. She said she decided the opportunity to attend Space Camp is too good for students to miss.
“Because I have received some very generous awards from Herb Kohl Education Foundation through this process, I decided it would be fun to use the money I received through the foundation to get some students to go,” Callope said.
Callope is using funds from the Kohl Foundation to fund a portion of Parboteeah’s Space Camp experience. Space Camp is a choice afforded Callope through the National Teacher of the Year Program.
“There are certain events all of the state Teachers of the Year will be able to participate in,” Callope said. “One of the events is attending Space Camp.”
Callope will attend Space Camp with Parboteeah, Sedmak and 53 other state Teachers of the Year.
“I just think it will be really great to learn something new and have a great experience and do the kinds of things that astronauts in training do,” Parboteeah said. “I know there will be simulators there, and I know it will be so much fun.”
Space Camp started in 1982 “to inspire and motivate young people from around the country to join the ranks of space pioneers who persevere to push the boundaries of human exploration,” according to a statement on its web site at www.spacecamp.com. The facility boasts more than 600,000 trainees since its inception.
Parboteeah said she and Sedmak are close friends. Parboteeah won a drawing from among 12 students in Callope’s classes for the privilege of having a portion of the costs covered by Callope’s honorarium from the Kohl Foundation.
“I was kind of excited,” Callope said. “It wasn’t just high-end match students. It was students from all three levels of math that agreed to participate.”
Callope teaches pre-algebra, algebra and geometry. Parboteeah said Callope is a deserving recipient of the state Teacher of the Year award.
“She has a really good teaching style that’s easy to understand,” Parboteeah said. “If you ever have any questions, if you didn’t get the lesson, she’ll figure out a way to teach it to you so you can understand it.”
Callope has been in the district since 1992. She learned of the Wisconsin Middle School Teacher of the Year honor in October. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education at UW-Whitewater. Callope is married to her husband, Aurelio, with whom she has two adult sons.
