Vertical Gardens. Gene Splicing. Harvesting an asteroid. These all seem like futuristic and space age inventions and ideas but that is the truth of the past. Today is a world that is moving faster than ever before. At Merryhill, we know that the students of today, will be the leaders and inventors of tomorrow. We strive for our students to become disciplinarians in the fields in which they will someday be pioneers. The concept of “thinking like a disciplinarian” can be found applied in many ways around campus, with the greatest real world applications occurring when students have an opportunity to participate in an authentic simulation. This month, 8th graders will embark on an adventure to become a disciplinarian as they head out to the Powerhouse Science Center in Sacramento. Our eldest students will become amateur astronauts and command officials as part of a simulated space mission. As the idea of thinking like a disciplinarian implies, our astronauts will take on roles like “Remote Team,” “Telemetry,” and “Life Support” and keep the spacecraft they are piloting safe and secure throughout the mission. While the simulation is a great example of how space missions work inside NASA and other space agencies, the mission itself holds even greater importance than the actual knowledge they glean. The students learn to work together and ensure sure that they understand the parameters of their specific job title. This real life simulation not only tests their knowledge of the science aspects within the mission, but also tests their ability to cope with stress and work with teammates.There is no better way than through authentic simulations to show students how the concepts covered within the classroom apply to jobs in real life. Thinking like a disciplinarian will always be a way to prepare our students for life outside of the classroom, where ever that might be!