Naming of elementary school, tour of local schools also scheduled.

McCall teacher and astronaut Barbara Morgan will be welcomed home to McCall next week in a celebration highlighted by a public rally Tuesday night at the McCall-Donnelly High School gym.

The rally will be just one of a series of events Morgan will attend during her week-long visit to Idaho, her first visit since she completed her 13-day mission for NASA in August.

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday with M-D high school cheerleaders serving as ushers and
hostesses.

At 7 p.m., welcoming remarks will be made by KTVB anchorman Mark Johnson after which Morgan is expected to arrive via police car at the school where she will make a grand entry.

Mayor Bill Robertson will present the key to the city to Morgan after which winners of an essay contest held at McCall Elementary School will . read their essays.

Associated Student Body President Alicia Keithly will introduce Morgan who will then make a presentation about her mission to the International Space Station.

On Wednesday, Morgan will visit students at McCall Elementary School, Payette Lakes Middle School, M-D high school and Heartland High School.

The day will end with a public reception beginning at 6 p.m. at Whitetail Club & Resort. Tickets cost $50 for the event, which is sponsored by the McCall-Donnelly Education Foundation.

Those attending will be able to meet with Morgan, take photos with their own cameras, or have 1 their photos taken by a professional photographer.

"We are honored to be a part of Barbara Morgan's historic homecoming celebration as her educational values and lifelong' pursuit and focus on the students aligns with our foundation's goals," foundation Executive Director Tom Greco said.

Next Thursday, on Dec. 13, Morgan will visit Donnelly Elementary School, Cascade schools and the private Tamarack Academy at Tamarack Resort.

Tamarack has named a room in the resort's Arling Center Grange meeting center in Morgan's honor, and a public dedication will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Academy students also will present a Science and Arts Fair from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Arling Center Schoolhouse.

On Friday, Dec. 14, Morgan will meet students in the Meadows Valley School.

At 2:15 p.m., a ceremony will begin to name M-D's new elementary school now under construction as Barbara Morgan Elementary School.

Before she travels to McCall, Morgan will visit Boise State University on Monday as part
of a welcome home event organized by the Discovery Center -of Idaho.

BSU is a sponsor of a free public lecture that Morgan will deliver at 6:30 p.m. in the Velma V Morrison Center for the Performing Arts.

Admission is free of charge, but tickets are required and can be picked up at the Discovery Center, 131 Myrtle St.

From 1975-78, Morgan taught remedial reading and math and second grade at McCall-Donnelly Elementary School. After a year in Ecuador, she taught second, third, and fourth grades at McCall Elementary School from 1979-98.

Since 1998, she has worked full time for NASA and is a fully trained astronaut.

She and her husband, Clay, and the couple's two sons live in Houston, where she works at NASNs Johnson Space Center.