The little green playhouse with blue and yellow trim, along with its surrounding tools and supplies, took up most of the stage in the school's auditorium the week before the holiday break, filling the room with the strong odor of paint.

After seven weeks of hard work and many discussions about paint color -- the house was re-painted three times before the students reached an agreement -- the students do agree on one thing: building the roof was the most difficult task.

Nhat Bai, a junior who said she's never done "hard core" construction before, was one of the brave few who worked on the roof.

"The hardest part was putting it together with the pieces that the others made," she said, pointing with her paint brush. "There was some discrepancy in size and angles."

Cooperation is key to the project's success, Neifeld said, which is exactly why he assigns a similar project every year. Last year, the class built a pirate ship.

"Most of the projects we do in here are individual -- metal work, mask making, costumes or sound design," Neifeld said. "Here, the students collaborate, and they're learning from the ground up how to use a tape measure and power tools, and deal with design problems."

Teresa Cotsirilus, a senior, and her friend Tati Webb, a junior, usually spend their extra time in visual arts classes. They used their artistic eyes to come up with a theme for the house, and then they learned how to use a jigsaw to cut an oak leaf pattern into the front door, and make gable decorations.

"We don't do projects at my house," Cotsirilus said. "The last time my dad tried to screw in a light bulb, he blew something up."

"There's something about seeing a young woman with a power drill," said Katherine Day Hase, communications coordinator for the school. "It's a chance for them not to be intimidated, a chance for them to have a go at a project at home."

But there's the other side of the project, too, Neifeld said.

"It's a chance for the students to learn to do something important for the community," he said.

The students will disassemble their masterpiece and reassemble it for the children at Harrison House on Wednesday. By the time the children are playing with their new toy, the students will be celebrating with a bottle of sparkling cider, Neifeld said.

And then it's back to work for the students -- this time, on the world premiere production of The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."