Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Wayne lives in the clubhouse

CLIFTON — For Sandra Giordano, failure was not an option.

The longtime educator had already lost school – she wasn’t about to miss the rare chance for her students to talk to an astronaut.

After hearing the depressing news that Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Wayne would do just that permanently closedGiordano, the school’s principal at the time, came up with an innovative way to save a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Catholic school, which served grades kindergarten through eighth, planned to contact the crew member about the matter International Space Station using walkie-talkie in September. However, Diocese of Paterson announced in May that the school would close due to low student enrollment and a growing budget gap.

Giordano, currently the principal of St. Catherine of Siena in Cedar Grove, reorganized the Amateur Radio Club at her former school and, with the help of several departing teachers, formed a new club called Heart of ARC.

This group, still needing a physical location to conduct the radio transmission, cooperated Clifton Art Center and Sculpture Park for this to happen.

“I’m one of those people who doesn’t take no for an answer,” Giordano said.

A non-profit organization that would facilitate radio broadcasting, Walkie talkie on the International Space Stationor ARISS, was initially reluctant to continue the project with Heart of ARC because the group is not actually an official entity.

And there was something more.

Each radio broadcast, which lasts 10 minutes, costs approximately $30,000. This entire bill is footed by ARISS, which depends largely on in-kind donations from NASA and other space agencies around the world.

“We want to make sure that the people we give this gift to are participating for the right reasons,” said Tanya Anderson, director of education at ARISS-USA. “We want to make the biggest impact on students possible.”

The ARISS organization is divided into five regions corresponding to the five space agencies present on the space station: Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the US

According to the ARISS website, amateur radio has been used by American astronauts for 40 years.

The Shuttle Radio Experiment, or SAREX, was the predecessor to ARISS. Beginning in November 1983, he allowed students to talk to astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia, which was flying around the Earth at 30,000 km/h.

Heart of ARC, led by Giordano, rewrote the lengthy proposal necessary for ARISS to consider the possibility of radio transmission with the space station. It was approved and the group is now scheduled to make contact with the astronaut at the Clifton Arts Center in February.

“Things happen for a reason”

An art gallery may seem an unlikely place for such a science project, but its director, Roxanne Cammilleri, said it was as suitable a place as any.

The “common denominator” of art and space exploration is discovery, Cammilleri said.

The studio, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in January, is housed in two restored barns within the city’s urban complex. They were built decades ago as quarantine stations for non-native animals, including exotic birds, musk deer and racehorses.

In July, space-themed workshops organized by Heart of ARC took place in the art gallery.

Giordano and Donna Roberto, a former teacher at Wayne School, taught students about the phases of the moon. Participants used Oreos to illustrate eight different phases by scraping – or eating – the cream off the cookie halves.

Giordano and Roberto will soon be conducting workshops on hydroponic gardening.

Damaris Herrera is another former Wayne School teacher who works with Heart of ARC. Independence gave the group room to grow, she said, noting that there were “many restrictions” under diocese control.

“I am a woman of faith and nothing happens without a reason,” Herrera said. “While we were devastated by the school closure, this could be a stepping stone to something bigger.”

Anderson, director of education at ARISS-USA, said the nonprofit organizes about 80 radio broadcasts a year. Most are out of school.

Anderson said communications last no longer than 10 minutes because they can only be established when the space station and its seven-person crew are above host schools – or, in this case, an art gallery.

During this short window, participating students interact with the astronaut in a question-and-answer format. Questions, Anderson said, must be approved by NASA before the event.

Anderson, a former teacher from Lisle, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, did a radio broadcast with her students 10 years ago. “When the astronaut’s voice comes back over the radio,” she said, “and they understand that this person is flying above them 250 miles — it’s very impressive.”

Now Giordano is taking the next generation on a space mission.

She said Heart of ARC maintains remnants of its former school in Wayne and includes students from its new school in Cedar Grove. It also involves the entire community, she added, because the art gallery has a wide network of supporters.

“We want to inspire our children,” Giordano said. “If not to become astronauts, then to have the goal of becoming great people with great minds.”

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to top news in your local community, subscribe or activate your digital account today.

E-mail: [email protected]

What do astronauts eat?

This question will be answered on November 6 at 4:30 p.m. during a workshop at the Clifton Arts Center & Sculpture Park, 900 Clifton Ave. Classes for children aged 7–12 will be conducted by Heart of ARC.

Participants will create gardens from recyclable bottles and learn how to grow plants without soil. They will also taste freeze-dried candies and ice cream. The cost is $25 for city residents and $28 for non-residents.

To register, call the art gallery at 973-472-5499.