2007-08 Planning Discussion

This page contains the notes that were taken at the meeting on July 29th, 2007 to plan Spacesim's course for the next year. Discussion about their contents should take place on the talk page.

Events for Next Year

Discussion of next year's events centred both on developing new events and improving existing ones

Spacesim Camping Trip

The first major suggestion was that Spacesim go on a 2-night camping trip over the first or second weekend of October 2007 (5th-7th or 12th-14th). This event would have several benefits, including

• possibly attracting new members
• serving as an opportunity for star-gazing, since Gatineau or Algonquin are free of light pollution
• building camaraderie and a sense of esprit de corps among those who attend
• serving as preparation for the mission, in that all supplies must be planned and brought in ahead of time, since resupply is difficult

Several observations were made about this possible event:

• It is unlikely that Spacesim members possess enough camping equipment to run this event. This means that three options are apparent:
  1. Spacesim buys camping equipment
     • This could be a significant expenditure, depending on how much must be purchased
     • It would leave us well-prepared to run such an event in future
  2. Spacesim members buy camping equipment
     • This relieves some of the strain upon our budget, but might be asking too much of the families of members
  3. Spacesim borrows camping equipment from the Outdoor Ed. stockpile
     • While this option is much cheaper than the other two, it relies upon us obtaining permission from the school to use its equipment
     • This also imposes scheduling constraints, since we would have to work around Outdoor Ed's use of the same equipment
     • Damaging or losing the equipment would result in us having to make good the damage/lost, possibly at significant expense
• Other points raised were:
  • We would probably need additional supervision, since asking Dr. Magwood to supervise many members on an overnight trip would be asking a lot. These additional supervisors might be:
    • Willing teachers
    • Benevolent parents of members/alumni
  • If we do decide to go ahead with this event, the school would need to be informed as soon as possible

Week of Hype

• will be taking place Mon-Wed before Clubs Day
• overall goal: needs to have higher profile than last time
• 1 'theme' each day:
  • Explosions Day (NI₃, thermite, liquid nitrogen bottles)
  • Rocketry Day (Bottle rockets, model rocket engines attached to goalposts)
  • Marshmallow Day (LN marshmallows, other LN activities)

Clubs Day

Clubs Day will be the Thursday after the events of the Week of Hype. Spacesim will have a time slot in the assembly to be held on that day. The consensus of those at the meeting was that we should have a slideshow instead of a skit, since none of us is particularly good at acting or writing skits. It was also suggested that the hovercraft be repaired in time for use at Clubs Day. The significant issue with this proposal is that space is lacking inside the gym, and the new brickwork in the Mall is not compatible with the hovercraft.

Organization

Many ideas were suggested in the area of Spacesim's organization and operation for next year

Lunch Meetings

Lunch meetings will be moved to the middle of the week (probably to Wednesday, barring major conflict with another club). This will allow enough time between the meeting and the work session for plans to be made and supplies to be purchased, so that work can commence immediately upon arrival at 440 Albert Street. Commanders' meetings will be held after school the day before the meeting (probably Tuesday), to set the agenda and allow time to make any necessary preparations.

--Not complete--