Revel Recap: Nov. 16 - 20, 2020
Spark Studio
Building on our conversations from last week about peace and kindness, we started our week discussing the idea of “bucket filling.” Reading Have you Filled a Bucket Today? helped us to understand the concept that everyone has an invisible bucket. When we are kind to someone else, we fill their bucket and our own because it makes us feel good to be kind. However, if we say or do things that hurt someone else, that can dip from their bucket and our own. We then went around the circle and thought of some ways we could be a bucket-filler. The Sparks had many ideas such as holding open the door, eating with someone, giving a gift, using kind words, sharing, playing a song for someone, helping with the dishes or dinner, smiling, saying “good morning,” helping with the laundry, reading a book together, helping someone with something they are struggling with, and telling someone something they are good at. We decided that as a group we were going to all observe this week and if we saw someone being a bucket filler, we put a pom-pom in our kindness jar! The Sparks had a lot of pom-poms in our jar by the end of the week! It was really amazing to observe some of their kind actions, such as delivering little notes and pictures to each other's desks to make one another smile!
On Tuesday we read How Full is Your Bucket? Our discussion centred around things that can make our buckets feel low. We talked about ways we could fill our own buckets by doing things that make us feel happy. We then drew pictures of things that make our buckets feel full. It was great to hear the learners using the bucket filling language this week when things made them feel happy or sad. On Wednesday, we turned our yoga poses into types of weather such as sun, wind, lightning, rain, snow, and clouds. We then had a relaxing meditation about a dog on a boat who was sailing through different types of weather. On Friday we read the affirmation card, “I am healthy.” It reads, “I am healthy. I am energetic. I am vibrant. I love my physical body as it is perfect just the way it is. I am healthy.” We then posed the question, “What are some healthy choices you made today? How did they make you feel?” The learners talked about eating vegetables, finishing all of their food, drinking water, sleeping, running at recess and in the gym and spending time with family as healthy things that had done recently. We then read Me and My Body. We focused on the page on the importance of healthy eating for growth and energy. We then talked about any ways we could help at school to meet our goal of finishing our lunch and water. We were feeling rushed during our lunch break, so we have decided to extend the time we spend at the lunch table. We decided we were going to try and keep our water bottles in the studio, to remind us to drink throughout the day (Ms. Megan, too!). We also talked about how we can help at home to pack our lunch. The Sparks all agreed that we feel better when we eat and are up for the challenge of trying to eat our lunches!
During Quest this week we learned about what a meteorologist does. We watched a video called “I Want to Be a Meteorologist” that showed us a little bit about how a meteorologist predicts the weather and an example of a weather report. We then talked about what to include in a weather report and worked on creating our own forecast. We recorded our weather reports and weather songs and the Sparks are SO excited to share those videos with their families next week! We also talked about severe weather, which the Sparks already had a strong understanding of. We read about flooding, earthquakes, blizzards, thunderstorms and tornadoes. They were so excited to make tornadoes using two plastic bottles this week. We added blue food colouring and glitter which was to represent water droplets and debris. The Sparks loved watching the tornado form in the bottle. They tried several different ways of shaking and spinning and were amazed that they could create bigger or smaller tornadoes based on the way they moved the bottle.
At the beginning of every French session, we go over the calendar together and the Sparks are really getting good at identifying the days of the week in French! This week we continued learning about the parts of the body and played Pictionary, drawing different parts of the body while others tried to guess what they drew with the correct word in French. We also read the following picture books; “Ceci Est Un Orignal” by Richard T. Morris and “Les Couleurs De L’Arc-En-Ciel” by Allan Fowler. After learning the colours of the rainbow in French, Rebels listened to instructions in French and coloured people's silhouettes.
For our free play, the Sparks were excited to explore with our farm set and animals. They had fun creating spaces for the animals in the barn, using loose parts to make pens, food, and beds and they even incorporated our weather theme into their play. They were overheard imagining different types of weather that were coming and how to protect the animals from blizzards, thunderstorms, and tornadoes! The Sparks also continued working on some puzzles. Some of the Sparks have asked if we could create a puzzle badge, that they could receive after completing a certain amount. This was a great idea! It was so exciting to hear them thinking of badges they would like to implement into their own badge plan! During Fun Friday, the learners spent some time getting to know Cubetto the robot. We learned about how the coding blocks worked on the board to guide and move Cubetto. We then went on two adventures, enjoying the stories and exploring how we can move him around on the maps! It was a fun way to end our busy week!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Our first mindfulness session of the week was focused on breathing. We learned a few different techniques such as gong breath, finger poses, and one Rebel taught us his ninja breathing technique while another showed us her favourite breathing while in Warrior pose. Tuesday and Thursday were dedicated to mindful colouring and zen doodles, while some Rebels opted to colour and design their Book Jacket cover pages. Wednesday and Friday yoga classes were dedicated to summoning warmer weather during this incredibly chilly week! Our flows and movements were a little more fast-paced this week to generate more heat and energy within our bodies. We took time at the end of our practices for a mindful minute - looking inward, feeling our breath and body temperature change as our movements change.
Launches
A magical being has given you the power to see the future, but you won’t be able to choose which parts of the future you will see. Considering the pros and cons of the gift, will you accept? The Rebels voted and gave great reasoning for either accepting or declining the ability to see the future. Tuesday’s Launch was a “Write On” activity that emphasized connectivity. Rebels chose one of 3 different writing prompts, we set a timer and wrote whatever came to mind when the timer started. “What are 12 different ways you cultivate joy?” “Write about a truth that was hard to hear but you needed to hear it,” and “Write about a disappointment that turned out to be good for you.” Many Rebels shared their responses with our team in a heart-warming sharing circle and bonded over similar truths and experiences that they have been through. Wow. On Wednesday, we reviewed what made great constructive feedback. After reviewing how to write warm-hearted and tough-minded comments, Rebels began working on this session’s 360 Reviews. Thursday was spent discussing the week’s Current Events and Friday we brainstormed questions that we’d like to ask Alex Mateas when he visits us next Monday!
Rebel Readers & Warrior Writers
Aim and Release Rebels finished up their Fantasy Novel Study on The Thief of Always. It was an incredible finale and Rebels thoroughly enjoyed the story. Everyone is looking forward to Book Club to dissect and discuss the story in more detail next Wednesday! Rebels will be focusing on finishing up their Fantasy Book Jackets for the big Author Reading presentation on Tuesday morning! Their storylines are so creative and we look forward to sharing them with you next week!
Draw and Anchor Rebels worked away on their final draft of their Fantasy book pages! Each Rebel has been working so hard on their contributions, focusing on producing their best-written work (aesthetically pleasing and easy to read, considering margins, size of their writing and spacing) and designing illustrations to accompany their paragraphs. Our last set of spelling words were also sent out this week focusing on long vowel words with a silent E on the end. They are uploaded on Journey Tracker for this week if Rebels want to practice at home!
Friday’s Reader/Writer class was dedicated to working on Exhibition projects. Rebels worked on finalizing details, illustrations, and last-minute edits for their fantasy stories. Those who finished early had the option to work on the November Literacy Challenge, 20 questions that all incorporate reading, writing, comprehension, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Those who may need more time have an additional Reader-Writer period on Monday and can take their projects home to finish this weekend should they choose to do so!
Math Lab
Draw and Anchor Rebels began their class with an interactive activity, finding the numbers on an unmarked number line. With a series of instructions, Rebels climbed up and slid down the number line accordingly. Draw Rebels then practiced their addition facts, focusing on problems adding 9. Anchor Rebels reviewed their x5 products and then began work on their x6 table. Lastly, we played Zeus on the Loose and Cloud Hopper and it’s impressive how much quicker the Rebels are getting with their mental addition and subtraction!
Our Aim and Release Rebels also began their Math Lab class with an interactive number line review. Each Rebel was assigned a number which they had to locate on our huge number line and then move according to different instructions given. After they showed a strong grasp of negative and positive numbers, we used a hundred chart in order to go on a Number Hunt. Multiple clues with various math terms were given in order to help the Rebels narrow down the possibilities until they discovered the correct number. Learners then ended with a continuation of last week’s mean, median, mode, and range activity to ensure a solid understanding.
French
This week Rebels received verbal feedback of their video clips through Screencastify and then recorded their final take so we could watch them as a group and vote for their Top 3 videos. Our French beginner group worked hard on their scripts, using Google Translate when required. All of the learners wrote down their comments in French and practiced saying the comments several times in order to get it right for their recordings. Stay tuned to see the winning videos in this session’s Exhibition!
Civilizations
This week in Civilizations we discussed “Colonies and Conflicts: New France and the English Conquest.” After reviewing the Seigneurial system, we read about the Iroquois Wars (1684-1701) and learned about the reasoning behind the Fur Wars (1613-1763), focusing also on the results of the Treaty of Paris. After our discussion, we played another round of our Habitant Adventure Game which again had the Rebels laughing, frustrated, and nervous their number would be rolled during group play!
Quest
On Monday we put the finishing touches on our hurricane-resistant home prototype before testing using a fan and 30 sprays of water. After ensuring that each structure met all of the requirements, (at least 30 cm tall, the base of at least 100 cm2, two floors, and could hold 100 grams of weight on the second floor), their structure was bombarded by wind and water. Rebels made observations in order to better their structures for their second prototype and on Tuesday they spent the afternoon making their improvements and testing once again with even more fans and more sprayers! All of the teams made great improvements to their homes and successfully survived the hurricane test! On Wednesday, teams met to create a presentation in order to tell the other learners more about their design, process, and lessons learned. After they were ready they also completed a reflection and self-assessment of their structure based on the Competition Criteria given at the beginning of the project. On Thursday, after reading an excerpt about the aftermath of a natural disaster, Rebels were given a list of actions to order from most urgent and important to least important and can wait. We then discussed their chosen order as well as their reasoning, at times pausing to reassess our lists. Rebels then reviewed the Get Prepared website in order to learn more about emergency preparedness and we requested that they create or review emergency plans and kits with family if it had been awhile. Following a rather weighty discussion, we livened things up with a couple of rounds of Weather BINGO utilizing our meteorology vocabulary learned throughout the session.
PE
For our second to the last circuit of Session 2, we selected the top 4 stations from previous circuit workouts. The Rebels’ knowledge of movements and positions were very impressive, and a huge shout out to all Rebels who held their plank with perfect form for a full 50 seconds! The growth and progress in their physical and mental strength over the course of one session has been awesome to witness! Way to go, team! We had a larger crowd in Zumba this week and a blast showing off our moves through dance. Rebels also enjoyed their hike and kickball sessions with Mr. Deagan.
Closings and Town Hall
This week during closings we reviewed “Stranger Danger” especially when playing games online such as Among Us. We also watched and debated The Lake Conundrum as well as The Lake Returns Conundrum. The Rebels are getting so much better with their ROE’s and ability to state their opinion concisely and clearly! In Town Hall, we brainstormed options for our Wednesday PE class as well as additional Studio Maintenance requests. We ended our week on a high with the announcement of badges and Character Callouts. Is there a better feeling than when there are so many compliments that we continue past the end of the school day and they still want to continue?!
Exploration Studio
Launch
For launches this week we had a variety of activities and discussions to get our day started, depending on the needs of the Rebels. We read picture books, discussed the importance of managing our time properly, and knowing when it is an appropriate time to join in group chats or social discussions. We also talked about inner and outer scorecards and discussed how having a center scorecard with a healthy balance of both would probably be the best way to live. The inner scorecard refers to being happy with ourselves and our own expectations, where our outer scorecard refers to reaching other people's expectations and making them happy. We also had a guest speaker who spoke about their life as an artist and how their work involves programming activities and outreach programs for youth living in the street, through art.
Big History
In Big History this week we finished our models of earth! Each learner was a part of a group that was tasked with creating a model of Earth and an accompanying write up on their group’s eon. We can’t wait to show you their models at the Exhibition! This wraps up our study of our Earth. For our next three week long session we will be studying the different planets and each learner will be making a brochure on a planet or object in the solar system. From there, we will come back down to Earth and start talking about life.
French
This week Rebels presented their French presentations on local businesses that are contributing to society in a positive way. From recycling our clothes to buying gifts from stores supporting small businesses in developing countries, Rebels showed us the importance of purchasing things consciously, to reduce waste and support those in need. We recorded the audio of their presentations so we can hear their progression throughout the sessions.
Personal Finance Investment Simulation
This week, we took a break from our assignments to review by watching the following videos; How Does the Stock Market Work and How Do Investors "Beat" the Stock Market.
Math Lab
Exploration Rebels warmed-up in Math Lab by attempting to figure out a “Secret Code” based on a series of clues. All of the Rebels worked together to discover the answer and were able to come up with multiple potential numbers. Since we could not get one of the clues to fit with our solutions, we’re hoping to revisit this exercise with fresh eyes in a couple of weeks. We then played a game called “Get to Zero” where learners had to use a set of dice in order to get from 999 to exactly 0. Instantly the learners began strategizing and were all able to accomplish the task. We finished off our session with multiple games including Q-Bitz, Q-Bitz Extreme, Rubik’s Race, and Perfection to improve our visual dexterity!
Quest
Two of the four quest days this week were occupied with a government simulation game. Each learner was divided into one of the three branches of government and given a briefing document on their responsibilities and current budgets. They were then given three different situations that they had to respond to as the government: Reconciliation, the Ice Storm, and a free turn to implement their own changes. At the end of each turn, each government branch went up and presented the adjustments they made to their budget. Following their presentation, a swath of reporters (the other learners) asked questions about their changes. Wednesday and Thursday were both utilized as preparation for Exhibition. We are looking forward to seeing those who can attend on Wednesday and will make the recording available for those who cannot.
PE
For our second to last circuit of Session 2, we selected the top 4 stations from previous circuit workouts. The Rebels’ knowledge of movements and positions were very impressive, and a huge shout out to all Rebels who held their plank with perfect form for a full 50 seconds! The growth and progress in their physical and mental strength over the course of one session has been awesome to witness! Way to go, team! We had a larger crowd in Zumba this week and a blast showing off our moves through dance. Rebels also enjoyed their hike and kickball sessions with Mr. Deagan.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Exploration: What will you be showcasing for the Exhibition?
Exploration: Are you on track to getting your badges for this session?
Discovery: What is a truth that was hard to hear, but you needed to hear it?
Discovery: Tell me about a disappointment that ended up being good for you?
Spark: Would you like to be a meteorologist when you are older?
Spark: What is something that fills your bucket? What can you do to fill someone else’s bucket?
Upcoming Special Dates and Events:
Special Visit with Alex Mateas of the Redblacks: Monday, November 23rd
Session 2 Exhibition: Each studio will be holding separate Exhibitions the week of November 23rd - November 25th.
Exploration Exhibition: Wednesday, November 25th at 1:15 pm (Zoom invites have been sent and a recording 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 (Zoom invites have been sent and a recording 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: Monday, November 30th
Exploration Field Trip to the National Art Gallery: Tuesday, December 1st