I also have a German foreign exchange student in my US history class. Should I be worried that it might be awkward to teach World War II with her in the room? Maybe I should just leave my Dr. Strangelove impression at home this year.
I don't think I ever updated my many readers concerning homecoming. The students selected as their theme:
A Night at the Oasis: Spend an exotic evening under the stars at a Bedouin campsite; warm yourself by the fire, relax in a Bedouin tent, or whirl like a dervish on the dance floor.
We spent countless hours and $4,800 on what turned out to be the best Bedouin themed homecoming ever! Here are some pictures. You can see many more over at my Flickr page.
We built four 10' x 10' tents out of 2x4's painted a lovely shade named, "cranberry zing."
The roofs were covered with gossamer purchased from Stumps.com.
Because we only expected about 200 guests, we created a small, cozy rectangle in the middle of the gym to create a more intimate space. The rectangle was created with black polyvinyl (again from Stumps.com) stapled to wooden uprights anchored in five gallon buckets filled with concrete. We then placed one tent in each corner.
A dramatic lighted entryway led from an exterior door to the center:
Each tent was decorated with unique imported Indian fabrics (purchased through E-bay), pillows (made from cloth napkins, table runners, and placemats that my wife found for a song), plants from Old Time Pottery, and rugs from Garden Ridge.
Each tent was also equipped with a faux fire (a Chauvet Bob purchased through Amazon.com).
From one tent to another:
Most of the pictures were taken with the lights on; the effect was much warmer when the gym lights went down. The black polyvinyl, which has the appearance in the full light of a massive trash bag day tends to transform into a black void when the lights go off. The night ended up a great success.
Peace
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