Revel Recap: Nov. 23 - 25, 2020
Spark Studio
On Monday, the Sparks were SO excited about the snow! We started our morning with a directed drawing of a snowman. After drawing our own snowmen with black markers, we used watercolours to paint them. It was amazing to see how unique each learner's drawing turned out. They are displayed in our classroom windows for all of our families to see! On Tuesday, we enjoyed colouring a winter picture and talking about the things we love to do during the winter. The Sparks are looking forward to sledding at the hill. (Don’t forget to send a helmet if your learner would like to go tobogganing at recess!) On Wednesday, we each came up with one stretch for the studio to try as our warm-up. We then chose our poses using our yoga spinner game. At the end, we listened to a meditation story that discussed that even when things around us are loud if we need a moment of calm we can take deep, relaxed breaths thinking calm thoughts as we do this. Even though we can still hear things around us, the quiet and calm are within us.
To end the last week of our Weather Quest, we read Curious George Rain or Shine. This book talked about how the weather kept changing and how George kept trying to predict it. Throughout the book, we explored many of the terms and weather instruments we have been learning about, which was a good review for us. We then played a trivia game, answering some true or false weather questions. The Sparks have become quite the meteorologists and know a lot about the weather! We also drew a picture and wrote about our favourite type of weather. Many of the Spark’s remarked that they LOVE the snow! We then took some time to look back at our weather chart. We have been tracking and recording the weather every morning this session. We counted how many days were cloudy, rainy, snowy, foggy, sunny or windy. We found that some of our answers varied but everyone had written down that for this session the weather that had the most days was cloudy. We also went over our KWL chart from the beginning of the session and ensured we answered all of our questions and talked about all the things we learned. What a great session we had!
After checking that our kindness bucket was full, the Sparks were eager to visit the Rebel Bucks store. They have worked very hard this session and have shown so much kindness to each other. They each picked out an item and were happy to show each other in the studio what they chose. We also received badges to celebrate some of the work we have completed. We spent some time organizing our bins and desks and the learners were thrilled about how clean their desks were and were saying to each other, “Wow come check out how clean my desk is!” They also went through their works bin and got their binders ready to take home. They are very excited to show their families our weather videos and their binders. We hope you enjoy seeing all their hard work! To end our week together on Wednesday afternoon, the Sparks had fun taking Cubetto the coding robot on an adventure in Space. They really enjoyed listening to the story, answering some of the questions the story posed and moving him all around the mat. They did such a great job taking turns and helping each other when they needed it.
We are looking forward to Session three, where we will be having fun learning all about Fairytales! See you on Monday!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
On Monday, we took time to read over the warm-hearted and tough-minded feedback we received from our squad and reflect on what we would like to stop, continue, and start doing during Session 3. All of the Rebels faced this incredibly hard task with a beautiful growth mindset this time around! You could hear a pin drop if you entered the studio on Tuesday as the Rebels were quietly colouring during mindfulness. On our last day of the session, we completed an awesome yoga flow with Ms. Jenna!
Launches
During our morning launches this week we focused on setting our priorities for the day and achieving our end of session goals. We also reflected on our visit with Alex Mateas and spoke about Bridges Over Barriers, “What’s Up with BOB?” campaign.
Rebel Readers & Warrior Writers
This week in Rebel Readers and Warrior Writers, learners finished up their Book Jackets in preparation for their Author Reading on Tuesday. We also had our first Book Club based on The Thief of Always and the Rebels loved discussing such a great book while sipping on juice and snacking on pastries!
Quest
Monday was spent creating our slides, writing our scripts, and practicing for Tuesday’s Exhibition. Once we rehearsed a couple of times, Rebels had time to complete their Quest reflection and submit their badge. It was then the big day! The Rebels were so excited to present to their families on Tuesday afternoon and while nervous, felt really good about what they had accomplished. With some time to spare, the Rebels were tasked with breaking out of a Weather Escape Room! With questions, clues, and decoders the Rebels tried to find the winning combinations to break free! They have learned so much about meteorology and even more about working as a team.
PE
While we only had one PE period this week, it was an incredible one! Alex Mateas of the Redblacks joined us to speak about the connection between physical and mental health as well as the importance of sportsmanship and being a good teammate. Alex then ran us through a circuit training session. He was so impressed with the Rebels!
Bridges Over Barriers
On Wednesday afternoon, interested Rebels decorated apples in support of Bridges Over Barriers! We were even able to take part in a Facebook call with Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng! The Rebels were so excited to help support other learners in need and took their BOB creations very seriously!
Town Hall
While it was a short week, there was so much to discuss and celebrate at Town Hall! After going through the Town Hall Jar with the week’s suggestions and complaints, we got right to the business of awarding badges! We ended our week and our session with some of the most beautiful Character Callouts we have ever heard. Wow, it is so nice to be a part of such a caring community.
Don’t forget to check the Discovery Google folder to see the Exhibition, pictures, and videos from this session! We’re looking forward to Monday when we begin our study of Canadian Citizenship!
Exploration Studio
Launch
The end of the session can be a stressful time so we utilized various mindfulness strategies during launches and closings this week. On Monday's launch and closing, we did a mindful music activity. Each learner had a piece of paper and pen with them and, every time a new song came on, they would notice how the song made them feel or what it made them think of. The learners had the choice between writing what comes into their mind or drawing what they were feeling. The learners quite liked the range of music that was played and reflected that they were really susceptible to the music. We also took time to draw and doodle and ended up creating a fun background for our Exhibition!
Big History
In our one Big History session this week, we wrapped up our model Earths and reviewed our studies with a couple of activities. We played one game where the learners were divided into groups of 4 and had each geological eon presented in front of them. They were asked a question like “Which eon was the shortest?” and then they had to touch the correct model. The second game we played had the learners back in their Earth groups. They were asked a yes or no question specific to their eon and if it applied to their eon, they lifted their Earth up in the air. After the games, we hung up the models to display them for all to see!
Quest
We wrapped up our Personal Finance Quest with our Exhibition on Wednesday. The final two days before the Exhibition were spent preparing each learner’s presentation and rehearsing. On Wednesday, we met with our families on Zoom and were impressed that each learner had the courage to get up and speak about something from the session that they had learned. Great job, Exploration!
PE
We only had one PE session this week, but it was one of our best yet. We all attended a chat from Alex Mateas, an Ottawa Redblack’s linebacker. He led us in some warm-up activities and spoke about the connection between physical health and mental health. Afterward, some of the learners stayed in and continued the workout while Mr. Deagan took a crew out in the fresh snow. The learners were like puppies, playing and frolicking with beaming smiles. We made a lot of snowballs and buried each other in the snow.
See you in Session 3!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Exploration: Which activity do you think you learned the most from in this session?
Exploration: How will you apply your new knowledge of personal finance to your life?
Discovery: What badges did you earn this session?
Discovery: What are you going to do differently this next session?
Spark: What is your favourite type of weather? What do you like about it?
Spark: What did you pick from the Rebel Bucks store? Do you have some ideas of items you would like to see there next time you visit?
Upcoming Special Dates and Events:
Session 3 Begins: Monday, November 30th
Exploration Field Trip to the National Art Gallery: Tuesday, December 1st
