We all need to know more about money management, but this is a whole different level.
On our short trip to the Memorial Performing Arts Campus, Thursday, we were rewarded with some exposure to the theatrical arts. High school students portrayed western characters in the melodrama, Christmas Crisis at Mistletoe Mesa. Students portrayed characters named Happy Holiday, Mary Christmas, and others. They were able to save Christmas from the likes of the dastardly Ebenezer Grunch and his evil mother. In the end, Santa and his reindeer were rescued from the hotel outhouse. In a year when our school's theme is Dreams, we are reminded that dreams are not always positive ones. I know, nightmares probably are not what we had in mind when selecting the theme for the year, but there is something to be said about them.
Nightmares are memorable. They are the stuff of conversation beside the water cooler or in the cafeteria, the next day. Nightmares are inspirational. They can be fodder for stories we choose to write. Nightmares are reminders. We are reminded that we are not immune to harm, illness, or injury, and when we awaken, we are relieved and thankful that it wasn't real. Nightmares are motivational. They wake us up, warn us, give us a way out, and help us cope with reality. I have awakened in the middle of the night many a time after having experienced a nightmare. I have battled with flaming and flying snakes, I have broken or lost my teeth, and I have been shot at...all within the safety of a dream. I have even been drowning in the deep end of a swimming pool only to awaken heaving to catch my breath. I suppose most people experience strange dreams from time to time, but how are these positive in our lives? After waking, I usually spend the next few minutes, or even hours, trying to solve the dream, trying to figure out alternate endings to it, or even trying to understand why my subconscious mind took me there in the first place. I even attempt to return to the same dream in order to see it through - to no avail, of course. I really do believe, though, that the darker the nightmare - the stranger the tale being spun - the more I am reminded that my life is blessed. When I think about things for a little while, I realize that my life, with its ho-hum troubles and the stresses of family and career, is really not so bad after all. Perhaps that is what nightmares do: they remind us to appreciate what and who we have.
Perhaps every country is not really represented here, but the information is still interesting. 
The drop-weight system is a method to apply force to the K'nex vehicles that groups recently built. With a string and two hooks, the vehicle is attached at one end, and weights (metal washers) are hung from the other. Students were tasked with timing how long it took for the car to roll to the edge of the table, and then recording the results. The weight was increased several times, and the process repeated.
 The new Operation College Bound shirts look pretty good. I just didn't think it was fair to hang on to these until our trip to Missouri State University in the spring. Students, remember to wear these shirts when we go to MSU in Springfield, Missouri. While we're on the subject of field trips, our next one is scheduled for this Thursday. We will take a hop, skip, and a jump to the high school performing arts center (currently at the old Memorial facility while the new area is being completed at the new high school) for the drama department's Christmas production. Whether seeing a college campus or watching a play, these are always opportunities to show others our manners and respect. We look forward to these, and perhaps other, trips off campus. This week, Hoggatteers had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do my laundry! You could cut the excitement with a knife. I presented three laundry baskets with a variety of wet - yes, it was wet - "clothing". Each piece had a math equation or number on it that had to be sorted into its rightful place on one of the clotheslines that strung across our room. I required the laundry to be sorted on the lines from least to greatest. Working in their groups, we were able to sort and resort the laundry a few times before all my clothes were dry and ready to wear.
Have you ever thought about designing your own vehicle? Hoggatteers recently had a taste for the engineering world of automobile design. Donning protective eyewear, students used the K'nex pieces to construct their own cars - the only stipulation being that the car had to go 100cm on a table top when nudged or pushed. As always, I asked them to write in their notebooks about the experience - what worked well, as well as struggles along the way.
I realize that working with other students is a continuing struggle for most people, but it is part of the learning process in activities such as this. Compromise and consensus are difficult concepts to master (as is evident in most governing bodies in our world), but are imperative in the real world. Most of the time, I try to allow students to work out their own disagreements, but occasionally I have to intervene. So far, to their credit, the groups completing this task have worked through their design issues without my help.  I have put together a Classroom Wish List for people who are interested in contributing items for our classroom. Some items may be available locally, but most are easier to find online at the links on the list. Do you know any philanthropic patrons who would like to make purchases for us?
Here's some basic information about the continent that most of us will never visit. 
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