If you’ve walked past the auditorium lately, then you have probably noticed something a little out of the ordinary: a giant train. No, it doesn’t quite match with the medieval theme of the Knights of North Penn, but it does, however, go hand in hand with this year’s Winter Ball theme, the Polar Express.

At the beginning of November, the class of 2016 student cabinet knew they wanted to change up Winter Ball by choosing a theme that was different. They wanted no more blue- and purple-clad winter wonderlands, but instead a journey to the North Pole decorated with reds and golds.

The cabinet tossed around various ideas, but ultimately the vote for Polar Express was nearly unanimous due to the idea’s potential to turn into something truly unique.

“[The Polar Express] is a Christmas movie, but there is so much more that’s not about Christmas,” said Joey Shibata, President of the class of 2016. “There’s the friendship, the joy, and the spirit of the holidays.”

In order to tackle this sizeable job efficiently, the 2016 Class Cabinet split up into different sub-committees. Each team has been dedicating their time in and out of school to fulfill the miscellaneous tasks that they were assigned.

Numerous posters were hung all over the school to advertise the dance. In other words, on almost every corner of every pod, you can find a picture of the Polar Express going up a mountain or the famed “Believe” golden ticket.

Members of the cabinet have been crafting a majority of the decorations that will be on display at the Winter Ball. Using golden tickets and jingle bells, the cabinet has made it their mission to take students on a journey to the North Pole on the Polar Express.

As far as the actual party day, the cabinet has enlisted the help of the East Coast Event Group with DJ Bob playing the hottest music to keep the night alive. Plus, the night will feature homemade food from cookies to brownies made by members of the cabinet themselves, along with a Chick-Fil-A chicken nugget tray.

The cabinet has been working diligently to accomplish this major assignment. But, with January 24^th rapidly approaching, members of the cabinet are beginning to feel the pressure of the preparations that still need to be finished.

“It’s stressful,” said Class of 2016 Cabinet Member, junior Lauren Hall. “We have a lot to do in not so much time. At this point, it’s just all hands on deck in order to get everything done.”

Mr. Jonathon Fluck, co-adviser of the Class of 2016, said that everyone is doing a fantastic job getting everything done, and he’s enjoying watching them shine in an area outside of school. “While myself and Mrs. Daywalt will offer advice, we are allowing the students to plan and prepare for the dance themselves.  I enjoy the work that goes into planning a big dance like the Winter Ball and cannot wait to see how great it looks the night of the 24th.”

Even with all the necessary preparations that still need to be finished, the cabinet is pushing to get everything done the best they can and are also having fun doing it.

Shibata commented on the joys of planning a big dance like this, saying that it is a fun experience and that with each passing day he gets more excited to see the end result.

Chris Jeffries, another member of the class of 2016 cabinet, said that he can’t wait to see how it all turns out. “I have confidence that everything is going to come together just fine, so I highly recommend that everyone take the opportunity to go.”