Revel Recap: May 17 - 21, 2021
Spark Studio
This week during our online meetings, we continued building on our knowledge of sight words, playing a sight word demolition game and a sight word guessing game. The Sparks then worked together as a group to guess all the sight words before Ms. Megan drew a cat! Our math focus this week was on symmetry. After defining symmetry, we looked through pictures and decided if each was symmetrical or not. We then all found an object to share that was symmetrical, completed a butterfly symmetry handout together, and shared them with the group. During our writing and drawing time this week, we enjoyed drawing a rhyming story. We read a poem, together identifying the rhyming words and drawing them to make a monster! Everyone’s drawing was so unique! We also completed a gratitude drawing. The Sparks shared that they are thankful for their friends and family, Ms. Megan (this of course gave her happy tears, so kind!), their bicycle, butterflies, and flowers! It is always so special to hear all the things that make the Sparks feel happy! We were also excited that we got to do something that we always enjoy as a group in the studio, board games! Online this week we played Snakes and Ladders and Tic Tac Toe. The Sparks were so patient as there were a lot of snakes in the way before we could get to the end of the game!
Loup, loup y es-tu? This week in French class we read three books about wolves! We read about a wolf who wanted to change colours, a wolf that was made fun of by pigs, and a wolf that was just a scary joke. On Tuesday, we played a fruit-themed game of memory. Then, we spelled out kiwi and banane on our whiteboards and we drew both delicious fruits! On Thursday, we learned how to draw a pig thanks to Didou the rabbit. It wasn’t easy but we all gave it our best! Every day of the week we shared how we were feeling and what was making us feel that way. It’s so nice to get to share our ups and downs! We also ended each day with a verse from the song “Le roi, sa femme et le petit prince” to say goodbye.
We started the last week of our Session 6 Quest discussing what we hope to build when we get back to Revel. We talked about making a mud kitchen and garden planters and brainstormed what materials we would need for building and playing with these new additions to our outdoor space. We read a book about some of the tools we might need for our new garden and looked at pictures of some native flowers that we would like to plant to support pollinators. The Rebels had a chance to design the garden boxes with the flowers we should plant, which will help us in our planning. We then read a book called My Busy Green Garden which had us imagining all the things that may come and visit our garden someday. Later in the week, we focused on learning about another visitor in our garden that has a very important job, worms! After learning some fun facts about worms, we focused on how they keep the soil healthy which helps the plants to grow and ended our inquiry with the entertaining Diary of Worm book. Perhaps the most exciting part of our week was that the Painted Lady butterflies emerged from their chrysalis! We loved seeing the pictures of them being released and wished them well on their journey! To wrap up the end of our botany session, we reflected on all the things we have been learning about. We started with the life cycle of plants and flowers, looked at what plants need to grow, completed many fun planting experiments, had several conversations about what a pollinator is and how we can protect and support them, and learned and observed insects, birds, and growing gardens! It was such a fun session and the Sparks worked so hard. We are looking forward to adding our new badge to our banner when we get back. Well done, Sparks!
Wishing everyone a lovely break and looking forward to Session 7, where we will be exploring all things Superheroes!!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Our third and final week of the Mindful May Yoga Challenge was a huge success! Congratulations to all Rebels and family members who participated in the challenge, it was such a pleasure to move and breathe with you every morning and Ms. Jenna is looking forward to seeing you all on the mat again in Session 7!
Launch
After going through the schedule for our last week of Session 6, Rebels took part in a creative drawing exercise where they had to use the adjectives and body parts given in order to draw a brand new creature. It was so fun to see that even though they all had similar features, they were all very unique! During Tuesday’s launch, Rebels watched and discussed “The Reflection In Me,” a video that emphasized themes of self-love, acceptance and having a positive self-image. Rebels created a motivational quote board together of positive things we can say to ourselves to keep us feeling good about who we are and what we can do! Right on time for the Rebels’ drama performances, Wednesday’s launch was about Molière, the most famous French playwright. His plays were very popular among his contemporaries in the 17th Century, even with the King! He made (some) people laugh with his stories full of ridiculous characters and strong use of insults. Thursday’s Rebel-Led Launch was a screening of the latest Disney Pixar short film, “Out.” The plot features a young gay man who has not yet come out to his parents, who unexpectedly has his mind magically swapped with his dog's. It is Pixar’s first short film to feature a gay main character and was shortlisted for an Academy Award this year! Friday’s Current Events focused on a variety of trending stories and one of the biggest debates in world news this week: Should the Tokyo Olympics be cancelled this year? Rebels reviewed a pros and cons list as they formed their opinions and thoughtfully discussed what they would do if they were athletes expected to perform.
Math Lab
How’s Business?! This week Draw and Anchor Rebels used their pet adoption data tables to create a bar graph. Once their bar graphs were completed they used them to make some important business decisions moving forward. While we discussed our sales, some felt it was best to no longer sell the snakes as they weren’t as popular and perhaps add the black dogs to their stock. Others however felt that one week’s data wasn’t enough to make big decisions. Great job, Rebels on completing your Pet Store Math Lab project!
Aim and Release Rebels also completed their Dream Treehouse projects this week! After completing their design, learners created their treehouse rules and flag while also taking time to reflect on the past six weeks and their final product.
French
In French class this week, each group got to play Bingo in order to practice words related to spring and the garden. Some Rebels even got double or triple bingos! We also read a story called “Greeny voudrait être un arbre,” and we watched an episode of Drôles de Petites Bêtes. On Tuesday, when all the groups were together we also played a game of Charades. Thursday we watched a video about why bees choose certain flowers. We learned that their favourite colour is blue! Although not all flowers are blue, their petals reflect the light in a way that separates the different colours and allows bees to see the blue light around them. We then read a picture book about bees and their different roles in the hive. Did you know that bees can change jobs several times over the course of their lives?
Rebel Readers & Warrior Writers
The last week of Reader/Writer focused on wrapping up our poetry books, completing spelling and grammar work, and putting the finishing touches on journal entries for badge submission. Rebels created some incredible poems for our Discovery Studio Poetry Book, so be sure to check it out in our Reader Writer Session 6 folders! We had such a great session exploring poetry in both Aim/Release and DrawAnchor groups. Great work, everybody!
As we embark on our seventh and final session of the school year together, Rebels will participate in another round of book clubs, review drafting, editing, and revision in their written work, and take a deep dive into writing business plans and pitches corresponding to their entrepreneurial Quest work. Have a wonderful and well-deserved break, Rebels!
Quest
Rebels rehearsed and executed an incredible virtual exhibition for our first ever “Wax Museum of Powerful People!” Thank you so much to all of our Rebels who participated and helped to make Wednesday’s exhibition a great success! Families, thank you so much for taking the time to support your Rebels, film their videos, help with costume and set design - we wouldn’t have been able to do it without you! Videos and clips from the Exhibition are all available in our Session 6 Exhibition folder. Thursday, Rebels participated in a Virtual “Wrap Party” where we reflected more deeply on questions linked to our overarching question, “Does power corrupt?” Rebels discussed a variety of scientific and social experiments that attempted to understand power on a deeper level (The Stanford Prison Experiment, the Cookie Monster Study, etc.) and offered some really insightful perspectives on why humans might act the way they do when they are in “powerful positions.” Rebels participated in a culminating activity where they designed the “Ultimate Leader” based on powerful attributes they believed would best serve all citizens.
Our final Quest will challenge our Rebels’ entrepreneurial skills as they design and create their own Food Truck companies with the goal of participating in a Food Truck Festival Exhibition in July! We look forward to another session full of creativity, teamwork and, no doubt will end with amazing results!
Additional Highlights
After finishing the novel George last week, Rebels voted to read Number the Stars on Mondays and Wednesdays and Front Desk on Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving Fridays our day for picture books!
In ASL Club this week we learned how to say multiple colours and how to ask “What is your favourite colour?” and respond “My favourite colour is ______.” As the Exploration Rebels were a mixture of pumped and exhausted from their Exhibition, we also played a round of skribbl.io to end our session! We’re looking forward to continuing this club during our Elective time for Session 7.
We also ended our week with a fun game session after both Town Halls this week. After an ice breaker, we played Draw Battle and Land Grab before starting our weekend. Have a relaxing sessional break, Rebels!
Exploration Studio
Launch
Monday’s launch was about Molière, the most famous French playwright. His plays pointed out the flaws of the high society of the 17th Century and made people laugh all across France, including the king! However, his love of insults and his depiction of priests as hypocrites did not please the Church. On Tuesday, we discussed healthy relationships. We began with a brainstorm of the qualities we are looking for in a friend or in a romantic partner such as trust, respect, support, acceptance, honesty, and the ability to be the real you. Time was then spent listing relationship red flags such as jealousy, feeling pressure to do things you aren’t comfortable with, being accused of things you didn’t do, and making you feel guilty when you spend time with other people. In order to be in a healthy relationship, we also reiterated that we too have to mirror the qualities that we want. Wednesday we dove into the world of cicadas, learning about their interesting life cycle and hearing that this summer, trillions from Brood X are expected to emerge! (Get your noise-cancelling headphones ready!) On Thursday we heard that during times of upheaval, there tends to be a boon of innovation. However, Rebels agreed that sometimes we make life even more difficult with our “life hacks” as seen in a laughter-inducing, head-scratching video. During our last launch of the session, we competed in a fun Kahoot! to show off our knowledge of current events and random facts!
Math Lab
The tracks are beginning to emerge! Our paper roller coasters are beginning to really take shape as funnels, jumps, straight tracks, switches, half-pipes, and more are being added! We will take the first couple weeks of Session 7 to wrap up our projects before using them to collect data to calculate a marble’s speed, as well as its potential and kinetic energy.
Big History
On Tuesday, all of the learners showcased their artifacts and their-write ups to one another, offering and accepting final pieces of feedback to one another before submitting their badges. We were really impressed with the detail that many learners put into the creation of their artifacts and how much they learned about the era they chose. For our last session of the school year, learners will be creating a picture book or graphic novel from a theme of their choice that we’ve covered in Big History this year.
Quest
As this was the last week of our Monologue Quest, we used the week to prepare for our Session 6 Exhibition. The first three days were used mainly for rehearsal, with the learners making all of the decisions regarding the agenda, timing, and roles. The final exhibition was broken into three parts. In the first component, the four learners who submitted their monologues in video form shared their videos. Secondly, each learner showcased their skit that they developed with the Ottawa Children’s Theatre. Finally, the learners went into small groups in breakout rooms and showcased the other things they’ve been working on for the session including their artifacts from Big History.
French
To begin our last week of French class for Session 6, Rebels tested their knowledge of the vocabulary surrounding the Maghreb and the desert with a Quizlet competition. Then, we studied a poem by Moroccan poet, Maria Zaki called Je Dis. Her poem looks similar to a conversation between two people, and it talks about the desert. However, when we took a closer look at the vocabulary and the meaning that could be attached to it, we realized that it also posed philosophical questions about spirituality and knowledge. Based on Maria Zaki’s model, we wrote our own poems, replicating the conversational aspect by alternating our own verse starting with “Je dis” with someone else’s verse and concluding the poem with a verse that combined both points of view and themes. Finally, we watched two episodes of Mouk, a cartoon about a bear who travels the world with his friend. The first episode was about singing sand dunes in Morocco, and the second was about trading items at the market.
Launchpad
Should you tell someone that they are dying? This week in our Embracing Life and Facing Death course, we discussed the pros and cons of letting someone know their time has come to an end. We also debated whether age matters in the scenario and if roles were reversed, would we want to know? Our Launchpad Rebel then completed their weekly pieces such as an analysis of the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley, in comparison to A Dialogue Of Self and Soul by William Butler Yeats and working on a draft of their vision of life after death as well as their obituary.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark: Can you find some objects that are symmetrical?
Spark: What was your favourite part of this session? What did you enjoy learning about?
Spark French: What are some things that you learned in French class this session? Can you give me the names of some animals in French?
Discovery: Should the Tokyo Olympics be cancelled this year? Why or why not?
Discovery: What was your favourite part of this session? What was one of the most interesting things you learned about?
Discovery French: What was your favourite activity this session? What are some new words that you’ve learned?
Exploration: How similar are you to your historical figure?
Exploration French: What was your favourite activity this session? What did you learn about the cultures of Maghreb countries?
Launchpad: Which act would be more difficult for you as a doctor, informing a patient they are dying, or informing the family of a patient?