Astronaut Michael Massimino Lands at John Street School

January 29, 2010 was a special day here at John Street School. We had an exciting visit from our very own JSS alumnus, astronaut Michael Massimino. Michael Massimino returned from his space flight in May where he restored and worked on the Hubble telescope.

There was a great deal of preparation that took place prior to his visit. John Street School students worked with Mrs. Randazzo to help make the decorations to welcome him, which were displayed in our school gymnasium. The third grade students displayed their space projects in the main lobby. Invitations were sent and refreshments were prepared by our dedicated PTA.

Michael Massimino organized a presentation for us where he shared some video footage of his launch into space, the crew that he worked with and how he practiced for his trip into space. He showed the students the most recent images taken with the Hubble telescope. Throughout his presentation, Mr. Massimino always referred back to how hard he worked to get where he is today and how much he enjoys being an astronaut. Most importantly, he told our students how important it is to follow their dreams and never give up. He continued by explaining how NASA turned his application down the first time, but through his persistence and determination he was able to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut.

Although the students of JSS are not astronauts themselves, they still had the opportunity to travel into space through the heart and spirit captured in Mr. Massimino's beautiful photographs. In honor of Michael Massimino being a JSS alumnus, the students of JSS sang the John Street School alma mater and presented Mr. Massimino with a new JSS mascot t-shirt! He was very humbled by all of the attention. He wished he could have stayed all day long, after all, this is where his dreams began!