Revel Recap: March 29 - April 1, 2021
Spark Studio
Mindfulness & Launch
We started our week reading a beautiful story called My Heart Fills with Happiness. We then went around the circle and finished the sentence, “My hearts fill with happiness when...” Some of the Sparks mentioned being at school and snuggling their parents or stuffed animals. We then used this sentence as a journal prompt to illustrate and write in our story writing books. On Tuesday, we coloured some Easter-themed pictures and worked on making Easter cards for our friends and family. The Sparks are really concentrating and taking their time to create beautiful, detailed pictures. It has been wonderful to see them bring their pictures to Circle Time to proudly show their friends! On Wednesday, we had a great yoga flow! The Sparks are really challenging themselves to hold their poses and we have been practicing looking at a spot on the floor to help us keep our balance. We then listened to a story meditation and the Sparks continue to enjoy this relaxing moment, being really mindful and present during these meditations. They are also doing a really great job following along with the breathing exercises that are incorporated into our meditations. On Thursday, we completed a directed drawing of an Easter Bunny and as always, our artists created awesome pictures which they have brought home to share with you, along with some of their other artwork!
Quest
For our final week of Quest, we reviewed what kind of things a civil engineer builds. We talked about roads, bridges, and buildings and how important of a role they play in designing and building cities. Our challenge this week was to create a town. We brainstormed what would be needed in a city and made a blueprint of where we wanted the buildings, roads and bridges to go. We then made the roads first, as an outline of our city. From there, each learner built their own house with some incorporating driveways or even swimming pools! We worked together to set up the rest of the town, using a variety of building materials. They constructed a hospital, grocery store, school, park, gas station, and even a pedestrian bridge. They were so excited to get the Lego people added and had a lot of fun creating stories and using their town for dramatic play. Be sure to check out a video tour they made in the Quest folder! We also read the book A Year at a Construction Site. This book provided a good example of how a building goes up and showcased all the different stages and the different trades involved. We talked about each of the different jobs and at the end, we took a vote to see if any Sparks would like to be involved in the construction field someday and a few said they would! It has been such a fun Quest and we all have learned so much!
French
In French class this week we learned about the April 1st “Poisson d’Avril” tradition. We sang “Les petits poissons dans l’eau” and we drew some fish to tape on our friends’ backs! We even learned how to spell the word le poisson. On Thursday we received our French badges and we had a dance party to celebrate the last day of Session 5.
Additional Highlights
This week the Sparks were very excited to talk about all things Easter. We shared how we each celebrate this holiday, while also enjoying some Easter-themed storybooks during our read-aloud. We also completed some Easter crafts including an Easter egg suncatcher using tissue paper. We hope you enjoy hanging them in your windows at home! We also reviewed the various types of lines, such as zig-zag, wavy, straight, dotted, spiral and curved. We then practiced using these lines to decorate an Easter egg. Our favourite Easter activity this week, however, was definitely our egg hunt. The Sparks had fun searching for plastic eggs hidden throughout the school, which they redeemed for some real chocolate eggs! We then used the plastic eggs to test our balance by having egg relay races.
Dominoes were a popular activity this week, with the Sparks exploring, building and having fun watching them topple! We also spent some time organizing our bins and work to get us ready for the next session! On Thursday, we celebrated all of our hard work with a badge ceremony and of course, a visit to the Rebel Buck Store. We hope you enjoy seeing the pictures of everything we have been working on in the Spark Studio posted in the Exhibition folders!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Monday and Wednesdays’ yoga classes this week welcomed reflection and setting new intentions as we wrap up another session. Elongating our breath before and at the end of our practice has helped us to be more mindful of the way we breathe and the calming effects “slowing down our breath” can have on the entire body. Tuesday and Thursday’s mindful colouring incorporated some fun Easter-themed zen-doodles and some additional bonus art activities from the novel, Holes.
Launches and Closings
Monday morning we worked together to create a list of items that needed to be completed in order to wrap up Session 5 on a high. Rebels noted that they had badges to submit, 360s (Full Circle Feedback) to complete for their squad members, Session 6 squad leaders to vote for, and nominations for Character Badges to write up. With the list made, learners got right to work on their submissions before beginning their core skills. For Monday’s Closing, we watched a video from science educator and journalist Jamy Gourmaud about the Easter egg tradition and the history of chocolate-making.
During Tuesday’s Launch, we watched and discussed Pixar’s latest short animated film “Float.” Rebels discussed the importance of celebrating each other’s differences, what it means to do things “out of love” (even when it doesn’t always feel that way) and emphasized the importance of Asian and Asian American/Canadian representation in film. For Wednesday’s Launch, we learned about the origins of the French “Poisson d’Avril” tradition and that for a long time, not all French people celebrated the new year at the same time! Wednesday ended with an interesting video on the origin of several math symbols which gives further insight into the operation behind the symbol! Thursday morning we celebrated the Championship round of March Mammal Madness! With the kangaroo and the harpy eagle making it to the end, most Rebels were quick to pick the bird of prey as their hopeful winner. The kangaroo however came out victorious as did one of our Rebels who will be given the trophy upon our return from the break!
Rebel Readers & Warrior Writers
For our last Aim and Release Reader/Writer class for Session 5, Rebels had an incredibly productive period! Many finished their essays which can all be found in the Session 5 Exhibition folder under Reader Writer - Aim and Release. Early finishers and those who wanted to reach ahead for additional Holes-themed activities, created “SPLOOSH” advertisements, designed maps of Camp Green Lake, and Yellow Spotted Lizard infographics. Thursday’s Book Club was an absolute blast! Rebels participated in deep discussions about the novel and indulged in “Holes” treats like sliced fruit, peach juice and lizard-shaped candies. Draw and Anchor Rebels exchanged their thoughts on favourite parts and characters from Pugs of the Frozen North and designed their ideal sled should they be the ones participating in the Race to the Snowfather. In the afternoon, we hosted our first Film Club and screened the highly anticipated Holes Disney movie! Rebels shared thoughts throughout the film, comparing and contrasting scenes to those from the novel. Overall, the team said the book was the better of the two!
Quest
This week was spent preparing for our Session 5 Exhibition! On Monday, the learners paired up to practice introducing themselves and speaking about their challenges and accomplishments over the past six weeks. They then took turns asking and answering a series of questions that they could be asked during the Exhibition. They then chose their preferred presentation time slot and the location they would like to have in one of our two online Kumospace rooms. Our rehearsal was on Tuesday and the Rebels loved getting a chance to explore Kumospace and were intrigued by the spatial audio technology. Wednesday was the big day and we were so happy to see so many family members join us to hear about our Biomimicry projects as well as our French superheroes, informational essays, elective progress and more! Thank you for taking the time to support your learner’s journey!
Math Lab
To wrap up Session 5, our Draw and Anchor Rebels finished up any outstanding work before building K’NEX vehicles to test! Using a ramp, Rebels attempted to make cars that would travel the full length of the gym, altering their designs to improve their distance. We also experimented with different angles of the ramp until we believed we found the ideal angle for maximum speed and distance. Due to the short week, Aim and Release Rebels requested to use their Math Lab session to complete their Khan goals, submit their badges, work on Beast Academy Fillomino puzzles, and solve Rubik’s cubes. It was a productive work period!
French
In French class this week, we wrapped up our superhero descriptions to receive our French badge for the session. We showed a great deal of imagination, creativity, and resourcefulness in coming up with the ideas and vocabulary we needed for this task! (Our superhero sheets are in the French folder for families to see.) On Tuesday, we watched our final episodes of Les Minijusticiers: Supermauvaisjoueur, Superalabourre and Supertrovite. There are a lot more episodes available on YouTube should your Rebel choose to view more! On Wednesday, we put the finishing touches on our superheroes, played a variety of games, and completed some Easter-themed activities.
PE
On Monday, we had a blast during our Rebel-led circuit! The two Rebels in charge led an incredibly fun and energetic circuit that was enjoyed by all! It has been so much fun watching the Rebels learn and then create their own dynamic exercise circuits! Warm weather has finally allowed us to play games that don’t require sliding on ice and snow! On Monday the learners engaged in active play at the park, some playing basketball or soccer while others were swinging or walking around. We look forward to more outdoor activities for the remainder of the year.
Exploration Studio
Launches and Closings
During Monday’s Launch, we spent some time reflecting on our experience in French throughout the session, giving Madame Marie some feedback in preparation for Session 6. That afternoon we closed our day by reviewing and updating our studio expectations for mindfulness, the lunch break, and DEAR in order to maximize the benefits of each time slot and remind ourselves to take a break from our screens. The age-old Trolley Problem was the focus of our discussion on Tuesday morning and like many before, the Rebels struggled with the “greater good” aspect of the dilemma vs. the direct moral implications of having to make the decision to kill one to save five. Our day ended learning about an art forger who fooled the Nazis by creating counterfeit Vermeer paintings. Our discussion then turned to the role of digital art after learning about Mike Winkleman’s (also known as Beeple) work, which sold for a record $69 million, the highest price paid for an NFT, or non-fungible token. Wednesday and Thursday mornings were spent watching the exciting final conclusion of March Mammal Madness! With the kangaroo and the harpy eagle making it to the end, most Rebels were quick to pick the bird of prey as their hopeful winner, however, the kangaroo became the crowned victor of the 2021 edition of this annual tournament!
Quest
This week was our final week of the Climate Change Quest. On Monday, the learners adjusted their Exhibition pitches, using the feedback from their practice presentations with the Discovery Studio last week. Our Exhibition was then held on Tuesday on the Kumospace platform in order to maximize conversation. Thanks to all of those who joined us online and engaged the learners in meaningful and reflective questions. On Wednesday, the learners decided between five different climate films and chose the Biggest Little Farm, a documentary about a couple starting a farm and learning about how to coexist with nature. (The other four films are all on Netflix or Disney Plus and would be great to watch as a family over the break!) On Thursday, we went on a field trip to the Canadian Museum of History. With an empty museum to explore all to ourselves, we were able to enjoy long discussions about Canada’s narrative and the stories that make up that narrative.
Big History
With all of the separate battle stories now complete, we spent Tuesday reading our March Phanerozoic Madness match-ups and conclusion. The research and imagination that went into these creative writing pieces were awesome!
Field Trip
Before we left on the trip, we talked about how quilts can be a metaphor for history. Each story, person, or artifact is one square of fabric that, when stitched together, forms something bigger than the sum of its parts. The learners had differing opinions about what Canada’s “quilt” of history would look like. Some learners said that our stories of residential schools, racial, and gendered injustice depict an unjust Canada. Others thought that those stories were noticeable in our history but were more blemishes that show the growth of our nation.
While at the museum we also took time to prepare for the next session’s Big History study by thinking about what artifacts we could make to represent a culture from the past.
French
This week in French class we all earned our purple stripe for La Vie en Communauté! On Monday, we caught up on our previous stripes or practiced our vocabulary online. On Wednesday, the International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), we started the class with two videos about gender identity. Then, we had a group discussion about big and small ways we can support transgender people in our lives and this reflection on how to implement positive change in our community earned us the purple stripe in our rainbow stripe collection. Some of us even received a pink stripe from Gilbert Baker’s original rainbow flag for working especially hard this session! Finally, we watched a funny April Fools video and completed Easter-themed activities.
PE
On Monday, we had a blast during our Rebel-led circuit! The two Rebels in charge led an incredibly fun and energetic circuit that was enjoyed by all! It has been so much fun watching the Rebels learn and then create their own dynamic exercise circuits! Warm weather has finally allowed us to play games that don’t require sliding on ice and snow! On Monday the learners engaged in active play at the park, some playing basketball or soccer while others were swinging or walking around. We look forward to more outdoor activities for the remainder of the year. Hopefully, the paths dry up and we can continue going for walks and hikes on the hill.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Exploration: What story summarizes Canada’s history best?
Exploration: How do you feel your Exhibition presentation went? What would you do differently next time?
Discovery: With two sessions remaining what are your big rocks?
Discovery: How do you feel your Exhibition presentation went? What would you do differently next time?
Spark: What fills your heart with happiness?
Spark: Do you think you would like to be an engineer someday? What would you like to build?
Upcoming Events & Special Dates:
Session 6 Begins: Monday, April 12th