This Week from the Shire

Spring showers the Shire with a brighter sun and warmer air. The color of wild flowers peppers the fields. Peasants prepare the land for planting. Cool spring breezes chase the stale winter air out of the castle and into hiding. Spirits are as high as the castle's towers and smiles, paired with warm greetings, are shared by all.

Our band of Troubadours spend their days repairing the tents and polishing instruments. With the summer at hand the urgency to prepare is paramount.

Yesterday I met with Master Brent about changes to the Voyager. Our Voyager stage is showing its age and waiting replacement. We’ve saved our shillings over many seasons for this rebuild. Master Brent is the Master Craftsman of the Programming Guild and will oversee the retooling. His reputation is known from the great sea to the Thames River . His skills are sought by kings and nobleman alike. He will respond to their call but only after honoring his commitment to our band.

The talking stretched from the mid day sun to evening. I bid the party adieu at twilight - feeling the exhaustion of age and hours without sleep. Masters Brent, Kyle, and Bridger have my confidence.

We celebrated the birthday of one of the longest serving members of our professional family. Lady Lorraine joined our Troubadour band over fifteen years ago.
Her unshaken hand at the helm has kept our ship afloat through many tempests. Lady Aleta prepared sweets to honor this birthday at our Band’s gathering on Friday’s night.
Our voices joined in song to honor Lady Lorraine. This birthday melody is not one our Troubadours perform well, but what I heard Friday evening surprised me with perfect harmony and enthusiasm. We hope that Lady Lorraine enjoyed her day with family, friends, and our good wishes.

It is Sunday’s midday. I write this parchment with eyes closing like curtains on a tired play. My quill struggles to give permanence to my thoughts. This is the time to put ink away and retire for an afternoon’s rest. May this week bring happiness and the satisfaction of work done well to all.

The Head Cranker

The Head Cranker!

There are times I get chuckles just watching a crew in action on the Voyager. Last week I was running the Voyager mission for a sixth grade class. There were two boys working Damage Control. It just so happens that the camera above the first office always points to Damage Control and Left Wing. The camera's direction gave me a perfect view of "the head cranker".

There are many intense moments in "Intolerance". It is easy for a crew member to become distracted. Once distracted it can take several minutes to refocus a kid back to his job. I'm used to seeing kids abandon their jobs and watch the action as it unfolds around them. This was not the case with one of the boys at Damage Control. Several times during the mission the officer working on the right computer would stop working and look around to follow the excitement of the mission. This was normal. I didn't pay attention. Suddenly the boy on the left computer reached up with both hands to remedy the situation. One hand was placed on back of the other boy's head and the other on his chin - Then "CRANK" the boy turned the boy's head back to his computer. I read his lips. "Get to work!" he said.

In seventeen years I've never seen a kid take the situation into hand like that. The rest of the mission was a joy to watch. Every time the right boy became distracted the left boy would reach up and crank his head back to his computer with the same words, "Get to Work!". I'm guessing it happened over 20 times during the mission. I was amazed that the boy on the right didn't punch the kid out but he calmly would go back to work for a few minutes before looking around again. Crank........ Towards the end of the mission the right boy had worked out a system where he could take super fast glances without getting caught by the boy on the left. He adapted to the situation.  I was amused. It was awesome to watch.

Mr. Williamson

Overnight Camp Camper Satisfication Inventory

Hello Troops:
Here are the results from the student survey taken by the campers at
the end of the Overnight Camp of March 7-8, 2008. This camp was sponsored by the the 5th and 6th grade students of Barratt Elementary. There were 47 campers.

Our Flight Directors were:

Voyager: Braydn L (Shadows: 11 campers)
Phoenix: Dave Daymont (Supernova: 6 campers)
Odyssey: Caity L. (Outlaws: 8 campers)
Galileo: Bracken F. (Scorpion Relay: 5 campers)
Magellan: Brittney V. (Red Storm Rising: 16 campers)
_________________

The first question: Think about your story in the simulators. Were
they fun? Did it have good characters? Did it challenge your brain or way too easy to solve?

Here are their choices:

A = 1
B = 2
C = 3
D = 4
F = 5

Here are the results. Remember, a 1 is a perfect score.

Voyager story's quality score: 1.10 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Galileo story's quality score: 1.20 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Magellan story's quality score: 1.18 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Odyssey story's quality score: 1.14 (Last camp's score: 1.14)

Phoenix story's quality score: 1.17 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VOYAGER FOR TAKING TOP STORY HONORS.

__________________

The next question: How would you grade the Staff of the simulators? Think
about friendliness, helpfulness, and acting.

Voyager staff's quality score: 1.10 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Galileo staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Magellan staff's quality score: 1.11 (Last camp's score: 1.07)

Odyssey staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Phoenix staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ODYSSEY, PHOENIX AND GALILEO FOR TAKING TOP STAFF HONORS.
____________________

The next question: How much did you enjoy your job in the simulators?
Choices: (1 = Great; 2 = Good; 3 = OK; 4 = Not So Good; 5 = Bad)

Voyager job's quality score: 1.60 (Last camp's score: 1.09)

Galileo job's quality score: 1.20 (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Magellan job's quality score: 1.18 (Last camp's score: 1.07)

Odyssey job's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.29)

Phoenix job's quality score: 1.17 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ODYSSEY FOR TAKING TOP JOB HONORS.

____________________

The next question: Did you feel doing your job made a difference in the
mission?

The Camper's choices were: Yes(1) Maybe (2) No (3)

Voyager making a difference quality score: 1.20 (Last camp's score: 1.09)

Galileo making a difference quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Magellan making a difference quality score: 1.11 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Odyssey making a difference quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.14)

Phoenix making a difference quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GALILEO, ODYSSEY, AND PHOENIX FOR TAKING TOP HONORS IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
_____________________

The final question: Would you like to come back to the
Space Center again for another mission?

The Camper's choices were: Yes (1) Maybe (2) No (3)

Yes: 100% (47 students)
Maybe: 0% (0 students)
No: 0% (0 students)

The Director's Trophy: Overall Scores averaged:

Voyager: 1.20 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.04
Magellan: 1.12 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.05
Odyssey: 1.03 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.11
Galileo: 1.08 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.04
Phoenix: 1.07 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.00

Overall Average: 1.10 Last Week : 1.05

The ODYSSEY is awarded the Director's Trophy! Super Job Caity L and her staff: Christine G. and Corbin.

SATISFACTION SCORES:

Our Satisfaction Scores for the Overnight Camp. Campers were asked the following question at the end of their survey.

1. How would you rate your overall experience for this overnight camp?

Their choices follow:

10 = The funnest thing I've ever done in my life.
9
8
7
6
5 = As Good as watching my Favorite Movie for the first time.
4
3
2
1 = The Most Horrible, Boring time I've ever had.

The students are asked to rate the overall camp experience on that
scale. They are given verbal instructions on the rating system to
insure comprehension.

Here are the results for today's overnight camp.

Voyager: This Week: 9.56 Last Week: 9.18
Galileo: This Week: 9.60 Last Week: 9.20
Phoenix: This Week: 10 Last Week: 10
Magellan: This Week: 8.87 Last Week: 9.87
Odyssey: This Week: 9.57 Last Week: 9.43

The PHOENIX takes the Prize for Best Satisfication Score! Great Job Dave Daymont, Rachel H., and Alex M.

Overall Ranking by all campers for this Overnight Camp:
This Week's All Ship Average: 9.52 out of a perfect 10.
Last Week's All Ship Average: 9.54 out of a perfect 10

Thanks All for Another Great Overnight Camp!

Thanks for all you do to support the Space Center,

Mr. Williamson