Revel Recap: May 31 - June 4, 2021
Spark Studio
Welcome to session 7 Sparks! We started our week together by sharing some fun things we did over the break. With all of the time we’ve been spending outside, we observed how the weather is getting warmer, the sun is shining for longer, and noted that we have a season change coming up. We all agreed that we are looking forward to summer. Each day we took time to exercise or complete a mindfulness activity to start our call. This included one of our favourites, 1-2-3 Clap, stretching, jumping jacks, and running on the spot. We also went through a sequence of poses during chair yoga and listened to a flower meditation story that had two learners so relaxed they told us they fell asleep with their heads on the table!
We were then excited to dive right into our new Quest all about Superheroes! We started by sharing any favourite superheroes we have. We then read a book called the Ten Rules of Being a Superhero. Some of the rules we learned about included, how every superhero has at least one superpower, they must use that power in a good way to help others, they need to rest to recharge, a superhero is always brave, and that it's fun to have a sidekick because saving the day with a friend is always more fun! We then began making our Inquiry Chart gathering our knowledge on what superheroes are, can, and have. The Sparks shared that superheroes are people that help others, brave, strong and cool. They have superpowers, capes, masks, cool cars, and shields. They can climb walls, fly, and save people. We will add to this chart as we continue our study. The next day we read another book about how to become a superhero. We noticed that each of the superheroes in the book had a special name, superpower, and costume. We used this information to think about how we could turn our wooden peg dolls into superheroes. The next day the Sparks shared the superheroes they created. They were all so unique and powerful! This week we also began learning about specific superheroes. We learned about the PJ Mask trio, Batman, and Spiderman. We loved seeing the Batmobile and it inspired us to build vehicles for our own superhero peg dolls. The Sparks used Lego and recycled materials to create some really interesting cars. Many of the cars could fly, move at super-speed and two of them even had slides to exit the vehicle! Again the Sparks showed just how creative they are!
One challenging activity this week was completing a directed drawing of a superhero. We have been working on directed drawings all year, but this picture had the most steps yet! It took a lot of patience and determination but the Sparks were up for the challenge and shared some wonderful superhero drawings. We also enjoyed listening to a fun song with different superheroes and what they do as well as a movement game where we had to move like a superhero. One of our favourite games we played this week was Superhero Memory. We were all laughing when we saw that hidden behind some of the cards were Minions dressed as superheroes!
In this session, Spark Rebels are learning about the animals of the forest in French. We started off our first week of Session 7 by talking about the way we were feeling to help reconnect with each other after being away for a week. Then, we went looking for three red items around the house. Mme Marie told us what each of them was named. We compared the size, “petit ou grand,” and discussed which one was the softest, “doux.” On Tuesday, we learned a new song called “Dans la forêt lointaine.” It is about two birds, “un coucou” and “un hibou.” We learned that coucou also means “hi.” We made different hand gestures to represent the sounds of the animals and then repeated the names of some forest animals while listening to the sounds they make. On Wednesday, we read “Petit Ours Brun fait du vélo.” Everyone in the Spark Studio has a bike and we shared what colours our bikes are. We also practiced how to draw a bear with Didou and we wrote OURS, which means bear, on our whiteboards. On Thursday, we checked in on our feelings again as it is the last French class of the week. Then, we spelled out COUCOU on our whiteboards and drew both meanings of the word. We sang “Dans la forêt lointaine” a few more times before ending the week with a dance party!
Other activities that kept us busy this week included reviewing the names of 2-D and 3-D shapes and playing a shape sort and “What’s Missing” game. Many followed up these games by completing shape sorting handouts at home. We also played a listening game, where Ms. Megan turned off the camera and used objects to make noises and the learners guessed what the noise was. They were so good at recognizing all the sounds! We continued to work on our reading and helped Spelly Spellican the pelican spell some tricky sight words. We ended our week with an exciting drama workshop, where we imagined all the new things our pillows could be and showed off some pretty neat things during Show and Tell. What a great first week of Session 7!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s yoga classes all focused around intention-setting as we launched back into the first week of our last session! Rebels worked on moving with breath, staying present, and playing around with balance. Tuesday and Thursday’s mindful periods are open for Rebels to choose an activity to help ground and prepare them for the day to come.
Launch
How do you want to feel on the last day of school? With six weeks left in the school year, Rebels discussed how they want to feel once the year ends, including ready for summer, accomplished, satisfied that they gave it their all, impressed with how much they’ve grown, and sad because they love Revel! We then reminded ourselves to prioritize our “Big Rocks” for our last session and we shared what they were with the group to help hold us accountable. Tuesday’s Launch highlighted Indigenous History Month. We discussed the importance of celebrating and honouring Indigenous History, heritage and learning about the diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada. We are very excited about the opportunity for all of us to learn about and appreciate the history, cultures, contributions, and strength of the Indigenous from past and present. Wednesday’s French launch was about athlete and singer Yannick Noah, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. We watched his 2011 music video for “Aux Arbres Citoyens” and discussed its environmental message. We pointed out that the environmental issues in 2021 remain quite similar, and that the children in the video reminded us of climate change activists such as Greta Thunberg. During Thursday’s Current Events launch, Rebels discussed and thoughtfully exchanged feelings about the Kamloops Residential School burial site in British Columbia. Rebels listened to “Stolen Words”, a video read-aloud about an Elder who reflects on their time at a Canadian Residential School. While these discussions can be very difficult to navigate, Rebels agreed that it is so important to learn about these events as education and knowledge are massive catalysts for future change. Friday’s launch heard Rebels express their opinions and debate the French Open’s Press Responsibilities for professional athletes. In light of Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the tournament, we discussed the importance of protecting our mental health and explored the questions: Who does speaking to the press immediately following a game serve most? Do you think press interviews should be mandatory for professional athletes? What changes, if any, do you think the World Tennis Association could consider moving forward when thinking about what is best for all athletes?
Rebel Readers & Warrior Writers
Session 7’s Reader Writer classes kicked off with some amazing momentum and spirit this week! Discovery Rebels were introduced to their final novel study of the school year: The Unsung Hero of Birdsong USA by Brenda Woods for the Aim and Release Rebels and The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis for the Draw and Anchor Rebels. Aim and Release Rebels participated in a read-aloud for their novel and discussed some of the complex elements of South Carolina’s history, the main setting of the novel. We made inferences about events coming up in the story based on the title page and cover and started to expand our ideas and thoughts on some of the characters. Draw and Anchor made predictions about their novel’s plot by writing 10 Minute Tales using images found on the cover of The Secret Lake. Rebels took turns reading aloud the first three chapters together and discussed what they think is coming up next for the main characters in their story, Tom and Stella. We got off to a great start this week and we look forward to another session of interesting novel studies and Book Clubs!
Math Lab
Welcome entrepreneurs! In this session of Math Lab, we are focusing on financial literacy. Our Draw & Anchor Rebels began with a review of coin and bill identification. Together or alone, Rebels then completed a variety of exercises that asked them to skip count, determine the value of mixed change, and find various ways to create the same amount but with different coins. We also took some time to work on our estimation strategies and, if the Rebel had time, work on Reflex or finishing up their Math Facts That Stick program.
Aim and Release Rebels began with a discussion on earning, spending, saving, donating, investing, and expenses. We then went through a few scenarios where the learners had to choose between a couple of options as to which was the better financial decision. The rest of the class was spent reviewing financial terminology, the value and addition of various coins, identifying which sum of money was greater or less than, paying bills, and determining if they had enough money to buy various objects. Lastly, Rebels determined the wages of four different jobs before debating which job they would choose based on the given information. It was a great refresher before we dive into ledgers, budgets, and the financial decisions that go into running a restaurant!
French
In this session, Rebels are travelling through time to discover life in the Middle Ages! We kicked off the first week of Session 7 with a Kahoot! True or False quiz. Did you know that the Middle Ages extended through ten centuries? That’s 1,000 years! On Wednesday, we played an animal guessing game in small groups to practice asking questions. This week, Groups 2 and 3 were introduced to the different categories of people making up medieval society through a lesson on “féminin et masculin.” It can be tricky to remember which nouns are feminine and which are masculine, but we can find hints by looking at word endings. Meanwhile, Group 1 dove right in with “Le chevalier qui avait peur du noir” by Tony Ross and Barbara Shook Hazen, a book about a knight who is afraid of the dark. Then, we watched Boris Chevalier and sorted scenes from the cartoon in order of appearance.
Civilizations
We began our class reading about Canada after World War II which was considered a “Boom Time” for multiple reasons. Due to learner interest, we also read about the events leading up to the Korean War and why, to this day, Korea is still divided into two vastly different ideologies.
Quest
We had an amazing start to our Food Truck Festival Quest this week! Rebels met their Food Truck teams and started building on their ideas as they worked through their “Company Formation Challenge Packet.” We introduced challenges and strategies that helped Rebels form their team’s mission statements, decided roles, completed strength assessments and explored various decision-making strategies that would help them over the next few weeks. As our Quest unfolds, we will be interviewing and listening to some real-life entrepreneur heroes from all over Ontario! This week, we were so grateful for our Entrepreneur Interview guests, our very own Ms. Erin - Founder of Revel Academy, and Lesley Nimmo - Co-Founder of Toronto based Align Creative Minds. They shared some very insightful advice and a key takeaway from both interviews was to “Think about your WHY...” when forming the vision and building on your business idea. To wrap up our week, Rebels explored and discussed the importance of a solid pitch when presenting your business, and then wrote/pitched their own Food Truck companies and ideas to each other! Congratulations to all of our Rebels on a very successful first week, we look forward to seeing where the “Revel Creamery,” “Fantastic Foods,” “Mash-Ups,” “Stack It Up,” and “Freaky Fries” food trucks take us this session!
Additional Highlights
This session our daily read alouds have us wrapped up in Number the Stars (Monday and Wednesday) and Front Desk (Tuesday and Thursday) with picture books taking center stage on Fridays. Rebels who are interested have also been getting together after Civilizations and Town Hall to play online games with one another! Hearing the learners laugh and enjoy some downtime together has been a true highlight of the week.
Exploration Studio
Launch
Monday’s French launch was about Yannick Noah, a tennis player and singer who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. We watched his 2011 music video for “Aux Arbres Citoyens” and discussed its environmental message. Although the video is meant to empower the youth to enact real change, the fact that very little has changed ten years later can feel discouraging. On Tuesday, we celebrated Pride Month! To learn more about the fight for equality, we watched a video that began in the Middle Ages and explored important movements and moments for the LGBTQ2+ community. Wednesday we took time to honour the 215 children who were found buried at the Kamloops Residential School site. During our discussion, we watched a clip from Chief Robert Joseph who shared his experience as a residential school survivor. As June is also Indigenous History Month, we will be continuing to discuss and educate ourselves in order to continue the process of reconciliation. A new Ted-Ed riddle had us thinking critically Thursday morning and during our Rebel-led launch on Friday, a learner told us what she learned from her interview with a local restauranteur!
Math Lab
With only two weeks to go until we test our paper roller coasters, Rebels were hard at work adding to their tracks. We saw jumps, funnels, zigzags, stairs, loops and more all coming together to create a wild ride! Our newest Exploration Rebels had the opportunity to either work a financial literacy review, coding, or their math core skills.
French
What will life be like 100 years from now? As we unveil the contents of a time capsule sent to us from the year 2121, Rebels will imagine what humans will be like in the future. We started this first week of Session 7 with a discussion around what aspects of life might be different in the future. We watched a video in which young people from 1970 imagined life in 2000, from fashion to architecture and wars. Then, we brainstormed our own ideas for 2121. On Wednesday, we talked about ways to predict the future and found out how French sci-fi author Jules Verne was able to imagine revolutionary ways of travelling in great detail through research. Finally, we started learning how to conjugate in the future tense. We will continue practicing throughout the session!
Big History
Big History this session is all about the connection between food and culture. Each learner chose a different cuisine which they are going to present to the group. The purpose of these presentations is to help the learners learn about the varieties of food that they could build their food truck around. We all agreed that food is incredibly connected to culture and the learners thought it was important to really understand a culture to gain a greater appreciation of what they will be cooking and eating. In order to demonstrate the expectations, Deagan modelled a presentation about the culture of the Anishinaabe people which highlighted his research techniques and included his understanding of the seven fires, a series of prophecies and an ethnography of the various tribes of the Anishinaabe. Exploration Rebels now have the opportunity to present a culture of interest of which they will complete their research and presentation next week.
Quest
Who doesn’t love food trucks?! In this session each learner will be creating their own food truck, choosing the aspects of the business creation that interest them the most. Each week will have a different theme including branding, designing, and marketing in which there will be a series of projects related to the theme. This week was an introduction, where each learner was able to run with a project that interested them the most. Some learners made websites, some worked on logo design, some made food truck models, some painted murals, some created menus, some interviewed restaurateurs, and we all learned a lot! We capped off the week by showcasing our work in small groups where the Rebels talked about the next steps and provided feedback.
We will also be having conversations with food truck owners and restaurateurs. On Thursday of this week, we will be interviewing a friend of Deagan’s who just so happens to be opening her very own plant-based food truck in Greely in the coming weeks! We will also hopefully be having a conversation with local bao shop, Gung Fu Bao about ethics in entrepreneurship.
Launchpad
For our Entrepreneurship Quest in Launchpad, we are designing subscription boxes! This week we focused on choosing the theme and identifying our ideal customer. After determining our direction we learned how important the aesthetics of the mailer box are in customer enjoyment as it creates excitement and gives the first impression. Over the next week, we will research product ideas, design the box, and work on our pricing!
This week in our Embracing Life and Facing Death Genre, our Launchpad Rebel was asked, a series of questions such as, What is a soul? Do you have one? How are your “soul" and "consciousness" alike and different? After reading a couple of articles on how different religions view the soul, we then asked, is there a scientific basis for believing that souls exist, or is this like comparing “apples” and “spaceships?” After taking time to get feedback and edit previous work, our Rebel was also asked to complete their vision of life after death using any medium of their choosing.
*We’re also excited to announce that we have begun moving into the additional suite!!! We can’t wait for the Rebels to put their mark on the new space!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark: This week we learned about PJ Masks, Spiderman, and Batman. Which superhero was your favourite? Why?
Spark: What are some of the rules of being a superhero?
Spark French: What does “coucou” mean? How can you show the different meanings of the word with your hands?
Discovery: What are some of the strategies your team will use to help you all make decisions and compromise when planning the details for your Food Truck?
Discovery: What was the most meaningful thing you learned or did this week?
Discovery French Group 1: Who were some of the characters in Boris Chevalier?
Discovery French Groups 2 & 3: What shape can be used to represent medieval society? Can you give me an example of a word in both its masculine and feminine forms?
Exploration: Which ingredient is the most important in cooking?
Exploration French: What are some things that you found interesting or surprising about the video where young people imagined life in 2000? Do you think it’s possible to predict the future?
Launchpad: What is your vision of life after death?
Launchpad: Please tell me about your subscription box theme and ideal customer.