Revel Recap: Nov. 9 - 13, 2020
Spark Studio
This week during our morning mindfulness we tackled some really big themes. With Remembrance Day coming up, we began Monday’s meeting reading two books on peace. After reading I Am Peace and The Peace Book, we reflected on what peace means to us. We went around the circle and each learner completed the sentence, “Peace is..” The answers were really profound. They talked about how peace is having a friend, being kind, loving their mom, hugging, taking care of the plants and flowers, looking at the clouds, having a house, and doing yoga. In the book I Am Peace, we noticed the peace symbol. We recreated this symbol using beautiful watercolour paints that the Sparks were excited to hang in our window and share with our families. On Tuesday we read A Poppy is to Remember. We talked about how a poppy helps us to remember all of the special people who helped to create a peaceful world for us to live in. We then made our own tissue paper poppies to add to our peace window. On Wednesday we had a great yoga flow followed by a calming meditation. It was so relaxing one of the learners even fell asleep on their mat! Friday was World Kindness Day so we began our morning reading one of our favourite books, Be Kind, which was our motto for the day! After reflecting on the small ways we can be kind every day, the learners shared a powerful lesson. We decorated paper hearts and then scrunched them up. We then tried to lay our heart back out flat, but the Spark’s noticed that the wrinkles were still there. We talked about how hurtful words and behaviours can really affect someone else’s heart and feelings and how important it is to be mindful of how we treat others. The Sparks really took the time to reflect on this message. We then created cards for the people who help clean our school at night. They drew pictures and wrote thank you messages to show our appreciation! It was a week full of big topics, but the Sparks did such a great job listening and contributing to the conversations!
This week was very busy during our work periods. The Sparks are doing a wonderful job selecting their materials each day. They were excited to work on some new activities such as the Stamp Game, The Dot Game, and working with our reading drawers and the moveable alphabet. They continued to build stories and use their imaginations during our free play. We incorporated our train track set and the Tegu magnetic blocks to help spark ideas and guide our play. They used these blocks to make robots, people, cars, and various construction vehicles. They enjoyed using the gems and stones to further their creative constructions. We continued working on our sight word booklet. Our new word this week was to and we completed various activities incorporating this word. We also reviewed the names of the continents, completing a fun scavenger hunt in the studio using our puzzle map pieces. Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land and The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game also made appearances this week and it was great to see the learners teaching each other these games, holding each other accountable to the rules, and showing great sportsmanship!
During French, we read two picture books; “Sam apprend à dire s'il-vous-plaît" and “Rikki et Rouquin donnent un coup de main.” In the first book, Spark Rebels practiced the words merci and s’il-vous-plaît and the importance of using these words while interacting with others. In the second book, we practiced rolling our R’s through this sweet story of a squirrel and a fox that take care of a baby bat that lands on the fox’s head. After reading, we played a memory game with photos of the different parts of the body in French, where they had to say the part of the body before flipping their next card.
During our time outside, the Sparks had fun visiting the hill and showed perseverance completing several trips up and down the ‘mountain’ as the learners called it! They also had fun playing Hide and Seek among the trees in the field and at the park. This week they were excited to try the new trampoline in the gym, as well! The Sparks have also enjoyed spending time with some of the Discovery and Exploration Rebels during the day. We joined the other studios for a Remembrance Day ceremony. The Sparks showed a lot of respect, listening to the stories, colouring their Remembrance Day pictures, and being still during our minute of silence. They have been very excited to welcome the Exploration Rebels into the studio to talk about topics such as the planets, gravity, the changing leaves, and the tide. We also spend elective time with two of the Discovery Rebels and this is another favourite part of the week! Next week we will be recording our weather reports and the Sparks are looking forward to sharing the videos with their families!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Our week began with a guided meditation in the gym that helped Rebels to visualize what they are good at and the feeling of being appreciated for their unique talents that they bring to our community. We also focused on breathing and identifying any soreness or tension in our body and took time to stretch accordingly. The Rebels in attendance took the meditation time very seriously and were incredibly respectful of one another. The rest of the week we took part in our weekly colouring and yoga sessions. It really is a lovely way to start each school day!
Launches
After discussing the purpose of commercials, we took the time to watch the new holiday Amazon commercial that shows a ballerina who earns a leading role and practices constantly until the day she finds out the show is cancelled. Her family and friends rally together to help her pull off a solo performance, celebrating her hard work and helping her to bring joy to an audience. Not only did we reflect on how the commercial helped us to remember to make the best of our current situation this holiday season, but we also spoke about the importance of representation in the media. Following up with the theme of representation and how important it is for a person to see things they can relate to in the media and world around them, on Tuesday, we watched Hair Love, a film about hair, love, and family. We discussed how elements of culture can bring people together and Rebels shared some routines they do with their family that are important to them. Wednesday’s launch was a wonderful presentation focused on philanthropy and community as one of our Rebels discussed Bridges Over Barriers, a fund under the Education Foundation of Ottawa designed to financially support students in need. “Bridges Over Barriers enables the OCDSB social workers to, through their clinical lens, identify any barriers that prevent students from accessing basic necessities and activities as well as recognizing the importance of mental and physical health support.” After learning more about the organization the Rebels voted to participate in their “What’s Up with BOB” challenge in two weeks. (For more information check out the Bridges Over Barriers website or Facebook page) Thursday our Current Events highlighted the top trending stories in the news this week. We once again highlighted the importance of representation as we looked through photos of young girls admiring Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech as the new Vice President. We also paid tribute to Alex Trebek, the late host of Jeopardy and ended with another great segment of children’s quotes at “Live from Snack Time!” We ended our week on Friday with a new conundrum surrounding a secret chocolate recipe.
Remembrance Day
On Remembrance Day we learned about the Memory Project and listened to a veteran's story while colouring or decorating rocks to be added to the Unknown Soldier Monument downtown. A couple of Rebels shared stories of their great grandfathers and Ms. Jenna led us through a recipe of peace activity. At 11:00 we all took a moment to sit in silence and remember those who fought for us so that we could live in peace today.
Rebel Readers & Warrior Writers
Aim and Release Rebels kicked off their week with a second spelling test, focusing on long "i" sounds and “ing” endings. We discussed the expectations of their upcoming Book Jacket project that we will be working on for the remainder of the session to present at the Author Reading Exhibition on Tuesday, November 24th. We ended our class with a fabulous read-aloud of The Thief of Always. Is it ever getting good?! We are almost nearing the end of the story and Rebels are learning if their previous predictions and foreshadowing hints were accurate. We are excited to read the conclusion next week!
Draw and Anchor Rebels had a very productive class on Wednesday with their second spelling test focusing on words in the “all” family and a variety of sight words. After our spelling test, we finished our Fantasy Storyboard and divided up the pages so each Rebel has 1-2 contributions to our team Fantasy Story that will be presented at our Author’s Reading for Exhibition. Rebels began their illustrations and will focus on writing their page’s lines next week before putting the book together.
Friday’s Reader Writer Mission was a literacy review version of Jeopardy! Rebels tested their knowledge of vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and reading comprehension of the Fantasy genre we have studied this session. They demonstrated a strong understanding of everything we have covered so far in Session 2 and loved being able to review through the format of a game show! Way to go, Rebels!
Math Lab
Our Draw and Anchor Rebels were introduced to the mathematical terms; mean, median, and mode before trying to find each with a simple set of data points. Groups then split and the Draw Rebels worked on their lesson, “Adding Nines” while the Anchor Rebels reviewed their x10 table and worked on the x5 table. We finished up our session with a game of 9’s BINGO and Zeus on the Loose, a new favourite!
Aim and Release Rebels also learned about the mean, median, mode, as well as range. After going over what each term represents, we ran through multiple data sets in order to find each one! Once comfortable, Rebels worked with Ottawa’s monthly weather data from this past year to find the average and range of temperatures. Those who needed a bit more time to work with a smaller data set worked with Mrs. Erin and then created their own data sets to identify the mean, median, mode, and range. Mrs. Erin was so impressed with each learner’s willingness to challenge themselves and ask for help when they didn’t quite grasp the concept!
French
This week Rebels received constructive criticism on their scripts and Flipgrid videos and using the feedback, recorded a second take. Once their second practice video was complete they watched and reviewed fellow Rebels videos. Rebels also installed and learned how to use Screencastify, a program they will be using to film their final French videos, adding audio to a short video showing a natural phenomenon.
Civilization
To get a better understanding of some of the trials and tribulations of life as an habitant in New France, we played the Adventure Game! In groups, Rebels were each assigned a number and based on rolls of the dice they were able to clear, plant, and harvest their fields, store wood for the winter, and gather food for storage. Throughout the game, there were random supply ships that delivered not only much-needed materials but also the Fille du Roi or Daughters of the King to marry. While a wife or livestock added to the amount of land you could work, they also cost you more in the winter months as they required food. (You can imagine some of the comments that were heard in the winter!) There were also wild animal attacks, positive and negative encounters with Indigenous tribes, illness, storms, and taxes owed to the Seigneur. While we didn’t make it through the whole game, the Rebels enjoyed learning about the challenges of settling New France through this game of chance.
Quest
After learning about various forms of severe weather, it was time for the Rebels to design a hurricane-resistant home! The first step was to attempt to build the tallest structure possible using a set of playing cards in groups. We then reflected on our experience and asked; did your team strategize before starting? Did you appoint certain roles to each member? What design process did you use? We quickly realized that most groups jumped right in without making a plan and felt they would have likely been more successful had they taken the time to do so. After reviewing the Engineering Process we started off by defining our problem, who was affected, and why finding a solution was important. We then moved onto the second step: Ask. We questioned the different functions, shapes, and materials of roofs and thought about how materials are used differently in North America compared to in developing countries. Rebels watched four videos in order to further their research including; “The Shelter Effect,” “Project H Playground,” “Earthquake Survival in Haiti,” and their favourite, “House Construction with Plastic Bottles.” Once their research was complete, teams moved on to the planning stage and began sketching ideas for their shelters. Each team member then shared their ideas and as a group they were asked to compromise and create a blueprint for their final shelter plan. Lastly, teams built their prototypes using a table full of various materials in preparation for testing next week! We saw so many teams working so well together, listening to each other, and finding ways to take their prototype to the next level!
PE
Monday’s circuit was a high-intensity cardio, core and arms class! Rebels focused on a lot of bodyweight exercises and we added skipping to the cardio stations this week. We ended the workout with a 2-minute cardio burnout - a special shout out to one of our Rebels for being the last person standing at the Beat Blast sprinting activity! The other options for the week were a hike, kickball, and Zumba!
Town Hall
In our weekly Town Hall meeting, the Rebels discussed some tweaks they’d like to make to Studio Maintenance, ideas to make Fun Friday even better, and how we should vote for our Rebel Character badges next week. We ended with the awarding of several badges and some tear-inducing Character Callouts!
*A huge thank you goes out to our parent volunteers for helping us at the Carlington Bike Park! The Rebels had so much fun and hope to repeat the experience in the spring!
Exploration Studio
Launch
Launches and closings have continued with having guest speakers come in to tell us about their work. The stories that everyone has been telling have really resonated with the learners and given them a glimpse into the working world. The old idea of having one career or job for the rest of their life is something the learners are letting go of, opening opportunities for adaptability and change in their passions and learning. There are still spots open for the final weeks of the session. If you know someone who you think would be interesting to come into the school via Zoom, let us know!
Big History
Exploration Rebels continued making their model Earths this week, painting and further exploring what topics they want to learn about their particular Earth. We will finish up next week and present it on Thursday.
On Remembrance Day, during Quest, each learner engaged in research around a question they had related to Remembrance Day. The learners chose their question, spent the hour engaging primary and secondary sources related to their topic and formulating answers to their questions. We finished off presenting our work to one another.
French
This week Rebels dove deep into their research of local businesses using the following guiding questions; Who is the owner? Why did they decide to open their business? What do they sell? How do you know that the employees are properly treated? Who produces their products? Once their research is complete they will be making posters and presentations to promote this local business to our Revel community. On Remembrance Day we also read about the Unknown Soldier Monument in Ottawa through the book Le soldat inconnu.
Math Lab
This week in Math Lab, Exploration Rebels reviewed mean, median, mode, and range using multiple data sets. We then explored percentages of different amounts of money using cash register tape of various lengths. Rebels were asked to find the 50%, 25%, 10%, 5%, and 1% of each and we witnessed some creative problem-solving! Rebels then finished with a game of Zeus on the Loose and a visual discrimination game called Q-Bitz.
Quest
We had three Personal Finance Quest sessions this week. On Monday, we played the last game in our series of turn-based spending, saving, and earning. Each week has been based on a different economic model: Libertarianism, Welfare, and a Universal Basic Income. During the Libertarianism society, the learners paid no tax but had to take out loans when they were short on funds. When they retired, they could collect money that they chose to invest during the game. The Welfare system was similar but had taxes and a pension if the learners weren’t self-employed. If they needed money, they could go to the state and fill out the paperwork to receive welfare. Finally, in a UBI state, there were higher taxes, but each learner got a payment each year that they could spend on whatever they want. Ask your learner which system they preferred and was the most just!
The other two Quest sessions were spent completing a budgeting exercise on Google Sheets and using Ikea catalogues to plan out their dream bedroom. The budgeting exercise started with Deagan divulging his bank and credit card statements with the learners to give them an anecdotal idea of what expenses and income is like in real numbers. Deagan also showed his personal budget to the learners. The learners then went and created a budget for themselves at the age of 25, estimating income and expenses.
PE
Monday’s circuit was a high-intensity cardio, core and arms class! Rebels focused on a lot of bodyweight exercises and we added skipping to the cardio stations this week. We ended the workout with a 2-minute cardio burnout - a special shout out to one of our Rebels for being the last person standing at the Beat Blast sprinting activity! The other options for the week were a hike, kickball, and Zumba!
Team Building
This was the first week that the learners ran team building. Everyone was very engaged in a game of Duck-Duck-Goose and a story-building game. The learners then gave feedback at the end to the facilitating group in order to improve our sessions each time.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Exploration: If you could have one dream person come in and give a talk, who would it be?
Exploration: Which economic model: Libertarianism, Welfare, or Universal Basic Income do you think is best? Why?
Discovery: Reflecting on the short film Hair Love that you watched during Tuesday’s launch, are there people in your life that you admire for their sense of style? If yes, give a specific example of why you admire them.
Discovery: Do you think your shelter will withstand the winds and water of the “hurricane” on Monday?
Spark: What does peace mean to you?
Spark: What is one way you would like to show kindness next week?
Upcoming Special Dates and Events:
Session 2 Exhibition: Each studio will be holding separate Exhibitions the week of November 23rd - November 25th.
Exploration Exhibition: Wednesday, November 25th at 1:30 pm (Recordings will be available for those who can’t attend!)
Discovery Exhibition: Tuesday, November 24th - Author Reading at 11:00 am and Quest at 1:30 pm on Zoom. (Recordings will be available for those who can’t attend!)
Spark Exhibition: Videos and work will be sent on Wednesday, November 25th!
Sessional Camp: November 26th and 27th
Session 3 Begins: November 30th