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What's Happening at MARS

MARS 2026·27 Calendar

Microcollective for AI, Robotics, and the Sciences. The full academic year — every Campus Thursday at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, every Chem & Math Tuesday, every book, every movie night.

Academic Year · July 2026 — June 2027

A full year of rhythm and rigor.

30

Campus Thursdays

37

Chem & Math Days

8

Books (Aug–Mar)

10

Movie Nights

Legend

What every tag means.

  • Campus Day @ USSRC
  • Chem & Math (Tue)
  • Chem & Math + PTO
  • Teen Movie Night (Fri)
  • PTO Meeting (Tue eve)
  • Parent Training (Thu eve)
  • Technology Day (Mon)
  • Tech Day + Parent Training
  • School Break
  • Celebration

The MARS Reading List

Eight books. One each month, August through March.

Look for the gold book card at the top of each month below — it shows which title Trailblazers are reading that month.

  1. 1

    August 2026

    Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky

    Historical Fiction

  2. 2

    September 2026

    Fahrenheit 451

    Classic Foundations

  3. 3

    October 2026

    Unbroken (Young Adult Edition)

    Biography of Bravery

  4. 4

    November 2026

    Outliers

    Money Matters & Mindsets

  5. 5

    December 2026

    Frost · Dickinson · Hughes · Angelou

    Poetry & Expression

  6. 6

    January 2027

    Brave New World

    Dystopian Worlds & What-Ifs

  7. 7

    February 2027

    A Long Walk to Water

    Global Voices

  8. 8

    March 2027

    The Alchemist

    Stories of Morality & Meaning

Month by Month

Every day, accounted for.

Hover a tag to see what it means. Bold gold ring marks today.

July 2026

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14PTO
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

August 2026

Historical Fiction

Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2
3Tech+Train
4C·M
5
6STRATA
7Movie
8
9
10
11C·M+PTO
12
13AI Tools
14
15
16
17
18C·M
19
20Curriculum
21
22
23
24
25C·M
26
27Goal Setting
28
29Bash+PTO
30
31

September 2026

Classic Foundations

Fahrenheit 451

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1C·M
2
3#1
4Movie
5
6
7
8C·M+PTO
9
10#2
11
12
13
14
15C·M
16
17#3
18
19
20
21
22C·M
23
24#4
25
26
27
28
29C·M
30

October 2026

Biography of Bravery

Unbroken (Young Adult Edition)

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1#5
2Movie
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13C·M+PTO
14
15#6
16
17
18
19
20C·M
21
22#7
23
24
25
26
27C·M
28
29#8
30
31

November 2026

Money Matters & Mindsets

Outliers

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2
3C·M
4
5#9
6Movie
7
8
9
10C·M+PTO
11
12#10
13
14
15
16
17C·M
18
19#11
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

December 2026

Poetry & Expression

Frost · Dickinson · Hughes · Angelou

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1C·M
2
3#12
4Movie
5
6
7
8C·M+PTO
9
10#13
11
12
13
14
15C·M
16
17#14
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

January 2027

Dystopian Worlds & What-Ifs

Brave New World

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1Movie
2
3
4
5
6
7#15
8
9
10
11
12C·M+PTO
13
14#16
15
16
17
18
19C·M
20
21#17
22
23
24
25
26C·M
27
28#18
29
30
31

February 2027

Global Voices

A Long Walk to Water

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2C·M
3
4#19
5Movie
6
7
8
9C·M+PTO
10
11#20
12
13
14
15
16C·M
17
18#21
19
20
21
22
23C·M
24
25#22
26
27
28

March 2027

Stories of Morality & Meaning

The Alchemist

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2C·M
3
4#23
5Movie
6
7
8
9C·M+PTO
10
11#24
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23C·M
24
25#25
26
27
28
29
30C·M
31

April 2027

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1#26
2Movie
3
4
5
6C·M
7
8#27
9
10
11
12
13C·M+PTO
14
15#28
16
17
18
19
20C·M
21
22#29
23
24
25
26
27C·M
28
29EOY·Rockets
30

May 2027

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2
3
4C·M
5
6
7Movie
8
9
10
11C·M+PTO
12
13
14
15
16
17
18C·M
19
20
21
22
23
24
25C·M
26
27
28
29
30
31

June 2027

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2
3EOY Celeb
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Key Dates at a Glance

MARS Microschool · 2026–27

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL

  1. Jul 14

    PTO Meeting

    Monthly PTO begins · 2nd Tuesday · 6 pm · Jul–May

  2. Aug 3

    Technology Day + Parent Training

    Monday · Tech orientation for students + parent training kickoff session

  3. Aug 4

    Chem & Math Days Begin

    Every Tuesday (skipping break weeks) through May 25 · 37 sessions total

  4. Aug 6

    Parent Training Night 1

    Thu eve 6–7:30 pm · Topic: STRATA Overview

  5. Aug 7

    Teen Movie Night

    Monthly · 1st Friday · 5:30 pm · Aug–May

  6. Aug 11

    PTO Meeting + Chem & Math

    2nd Tuesday · Chem/Math class + PTO meeting this evening

  7. Aug 13

    Parent Training Night 2

    Thu eve 6–7:30 pm · Topic: AI Tools & Integration

  8. Aug 20

    Parent Training Night 3

    Thu eve 6–7:30 pm · Topic: Curriculum Overview

  9. Aug 27

    Parent Training Night 4

    Thu eve 6–7:30 pm · Topic: Goal Setting

  10. Aug 29

    Back to School Bash + PTO Meeting

    Kickoff celebration for Trailblazers & families · PTO meeting included

  11. Sep 3

    First Day of School — Campus Day #1

    First on-campus Thursday @ USSRC

  12. Oct 1

    Campus Day #5

    Thursday @ USSRC

  13. Oct 5–11

    Fall Break

    No school for students

  14. Nov 5–19

    Campus Days #9–11

    Thursdays @ USSRC

  15. Nov 23–28

    Thanksgiving Break

    No school for students

  16. Dec 3–17

    Campus Days #12–14

    Thursdays @ USSRC

  17. Dec 21–Jan 4

    Winter / Christmas Break

    No school — enjoy the holidays!

  18. Jan 7–28

    Campus Days #15–18

    Thursdays @ USSRC

  19. Feb 4–25

    Campus Days #19–22

    Thursdays @ USSRC

  20. Mar 4, 11

    Campus Days #23–24

    Thursdays @ USSRC

  21. Mar 15–21

    Spring Break

    No school for students

  22. Mar 25

    Campus Day #25

    Return from Spring Break · Thursday @ USSRC

  23. Apr 1–22

    Campus Days #26–29

    Thursdays @ USSRC

  24. Apr 29

    Campus Day #30 — Final Campus Day

    EOY Showcase · Rockets · Drones · Nationals Prep

  25. May 4–25

    Chem & Math Days (May)

    Final Tuesday sessions · May 4, 11, 18, 25

  26. May 7

    Teen Movie Night

    1st Friday · 5:30 pm

  27. May 11

    Final PTO Meeting of Year

    2nd Tuesday · 6 pm

  28. Jun 3

    End of Year Celebration & Awards

    First Thursday of June · Celebrating our Trailblazers & their achievements

🏆 Trailblazer Community Sport

Let them choose.

Put a sport to a class vote at the Back to School Bash. Suggestions: Kickball · Volleyball · Pickleball — or open nominations. A shared sport builds community, healthy competition, and gives Trailblazers something to look forward to all year long.

🎓 Dual Enrollment Suggestion

Calhoun on Mondays & Wednesdays.

Trailblazers take Chem & Math on Tuesdays, and MARS campus days are Thursdays — leaving Mondays and Wednesdays wide open. Encourage students to seek M/W dual enrollment courses at Calhoun Community College for college credit, more community connection, and a conflict-free MARS schedule.

Questions about a date?

Let's talk through the year together.

Jennifer walks every family through the calendar, dual enrollment options, and what a typical week looks like for their student.

Schedule a Call with Jennifer