Remote Revel Recap: January 5 - 7, 2022
First of all, we’d like to send a big virtual hug to all of our Rebels and their families. You have handled this quick transition to online learning with grace, grit, and support for your fellow learners and our community. Thank you for your positive energy and willingness to make it work!
Spark Studio
Welcome to Session Four Sparks! Our Quest topic this session is all about SCIENCE! We started our week by asking the question, "What is science?" We brainstormed some ideas and then read a story together to learn more. We talked about how science is exploring and learning about the world. It involves asking questions, reading, learning, studying and experimenting. We talked about using our senses and exploring topics such as plants and animals, the weather, space, things that lived long ago, and more! We then read Ada Twist, Scientist, to inspire us to be scientists! The Sparks were encouraged to draw a picture and tell us what they wanted to learn about this session. Some of the topics they mentioned were; animals, physics, eggs, colours, how clouds are made, making potions, volcanoes and dinosaurs; what great ideas to help us launch our Science Quest!
Next, we posed the question, "What do you think a scientist does?" Again, we read to learn more. We talked about how scientists are people just like us, who learn things by investigating and experimenting. They ask questions, make predictions, do experiments, observe, measure, discuss and write about their findings. We then put what we learned into action and completed our first experiment. We set out to answer the question: "What happens when we mix colours?" Using water and food colouring, we made predictions, observed what happened, and recorded our findings on paper. The next day, we began learning about all the different kinds of scientists. We learned about biologists, paleontologists, computer scientists, archaeologists, astronomers, geologists, botanists, zoologists, etc. We were inspired to dream about what kind of scientist we would like to be. We then completed our next experiment, Sink or Float! We drew each object we were testing, predicted if it would sink or float and then recorded our observations! We tried a jellybean, a piece of Lego, a grape, a cotton ball and honey. Did any of the answers surprise you?!
In French, the Sparks reviewed the days of the week. We completed two handouts to practice recognizing the days of the week and tracing the words. Then, we read a book called Le loup qui voulait changer de couleur by Orianne Lallemand. Great job!
During our small group meetings, the Sparks were very busy working on various things. We enjoyed playing memory, guessing games, Who Am I, Would You Rather, and I Spy. We worked on our sight words, tally marks, and counting and addition. We also completed a directed drawing of a beaker and ended our week with Show and Tell!
Our groups also talked about how we are beginning a new year and what we could do to make it great! We picked one word to help guide and inspire us and then made posters to hang somewhere we will see it to remind us of the kind of day and year we want to have! All year, we will continue to reflect on the word we chose and check in with how we are making it happen! Some of the Sparks' words were; happy, nature, create, build, share and kind. 2022 will be an excellent year for our studio with words like those!
We hope the learners also had fun completing their choice board this week. Sparks were skating inside with paper plates, searching for sight words, working on equations, and creating ice suncatchers outside this week. Thank you, Spark learners, for showing up each day, participating and being so positive!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
With mental and physical health being a primary focus of this session, Rebels are encouraged to participate in the Social-Emotional Learning Choice Board Challenge. Can you complete a whole row or column? What about the whole board? Completing these activities is also a great alternative to the Fitness Challenge on PE days when energy is lower. The board is posted on the Bulletin Board of Journey Tracker and on the PD section of the Weekly Tracker. Next week on Tuesday, we will continue to have yoga with Ms. Mel, and Thursday will feature another yoga workout led by one of our Discovery Rebels!
Launches
As we made the switch to remote learning this week, Rebels brainstormed some special ROEs that will help us while we collaborate over Zoom. Rebels decided that we should use the chat feature for on-topic feedback only, that our display names should remain our proper names to avoid confusion, that we should try to set up our workspace in a place that avoids distractions, and be as punctual as possible to our meetings. We also took some time to socialize and share our New Year’s Eve celebrations (lots of pizza was had by all!). On Friday, we had Show and Tell: Cute Pets Edition, which included stuffies, cats, dogs, bunnies and even a mouse! Next week, Current Events will resume, led by two of our Squad Leaders!
French
Our French theme for this session is “Le Musée d’Art.” We will be focusing on visual arts to learn about colours, shapes, and what art means to us. This week, we went on Nearpod and discussed how we would define art. We debated a few questions raised in the video “C’est quoi l’idée? L’art”: Does art always represent things we can recognize? Are scribbles art? Can we all be artists? Finally, we matched different types of visual arts with their French names!
Math Lab
On Wednesday, the Aim and Release Rebels explored their Session 4 Math Lab project: planning an agricultural conference. Based on the Western Canadian product canola oil, Rebels worked on marketing ideas for the conference based on the latest farming methods, safety, crops, equipment, and processing. In the coming weeks, they will move through budgeting projected income and expenses, venue selection based on optimal space, exhibition hall set-up, and conference day details. The other badge component this session will continue to be the Math Flip! journal entries, with a new addition of area model task card journal entries. Using Base Ten Blocks, Rebels deepen understanding of area as it relates to multiplication and division. We completed one task card as a team and reviewed essential vocabulary: factor, product, equation. Next week, Draw and Anchor Rebels will begin their project.
Reader/Writer
As we know, it can be challenging to identify with or understand someone else’s perspective. That is why Draw and Anchor Rebels will be working on viewing a variety of stories from multiple points of view! This week we began with a 5-minute journal entry on a time they met someone new, whether it was a classmate or a new neighbour. What did they think about them at first? Why did they believe that? How did their feelings about them change as you got to know them? What made their feelings change? We then read the book, Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester L. Laminack. Using the story, we discussed each character’s point of view about the peacock and their reasoning for feeling the way they did. We also thought about who the story’s narrator was and what evidence we could provide to back up our claim. Lastly, Rebels had the option to pick any animal and write a letter to the farmers, convincing them why they would be the perfect animal for a particular job. While brainstorming, we heard ideas for ducks, moose, unicorns, and giraffes!
Aim and Release Rebels did not have a Reader/Writer period this week; however, they began reading this session’s novel, The Goldfish Boy. There will be a read-aloud of the book on Tuesdays and Thursdays during DEAR for learners interested.
Quest
Welcome to the Revel Academy Health and Wellness Expo! In this session, Rebels will study media and the writing process as they work together to produce a collaborative health and wellness publication. This week began with a deep conversation about wellness, wants and needs, and emotions. Rebels completed surveys about their energy as introverts, ambiverts, or extroverts and worked on journal responses about what they do with their anger and how they are feeling this week as we make the switch to online learning. On Thursday, we discussed strategies to release and reframe negative thoughts and chose to complete a Year Ahead compass package or create a vision board for 2022.
Civilizations
To launch this session, Rebels heard the story of Gilgamesh and made connections to the timeline of history we have explored so far this year. Rebels are starting to understand the sequence of civilizations that developed around the globe, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. Each week they will complete a map and a colouring activity to help paint a picture of how this all comes together. This week’s discussion focused on the lessons of Gilgamesh, with Rebels deciding that this epic teaches us the importance of treating others as we wish to be treated.
Physical Development
Rebels have the choice during PE to work on the Social Emotional Learning Choice Board Challenge mentioned above or to select from a variety of Fitness Challenges (posted to the Bulletin Board in Journey Tracker). Please share pictures of your workouts, neighbourhood scavenger hunts, dance routines, and puppy dog obstacles courses! We also enjoyed seeing Rebels come to our online Activity Break, where we completed “This or That” and “Try Not to Laugh” challenges! Way to keep moving, Rebels!
Additional Highlights
Rebels from Discovery and Exploration continued to develop a proposal for the Pinecrest Park Mural project. We voted this week on the final details of our design and met to outline the budget component. Rebels are welcome to work on this over the next several days, as we will meet once more next week on Friday to finalize our budget and proposal for submission!
Exploration Studio
Launch
All three of our launches this week were centred around making the transition to online learning as smooth as possible. Having experienced working from home before there were many opinions and ideas to maximize our productivity while keeping our spirits up. After discussion, the learners voted on various ways to make the schedule work for us during our time of remote learning.
French
Our French theme for this session is “Le Musée d’Art.” We will be focusing on visual arts to learn about colours, shapes and what art means to us. This week, we went on Nearpod and discussed how we would define art. We debated the questions raised in the video “C’est quoi l’idée? L’art”: Does art always represent things we can recognize? Are scribbles art? Can we all be artists? Finally, we matched different types of visual arts with their French names!
Math Lab
We will be learning or reviewing mathematical concepts the Rebels request in this session! For our first week, Rebels took part in a Gnome Hero Quest, where they were tasked with saving a magical realm with their math skills. Fraction, decimal, and percentage conversions, adding and multiplying fractions, adding and subtracting decimals, and completing multi-step word problems were all required to find the one true hero! Next week we’ll take a look at radial symmetry with the help of origami!
Quest
The theme of this session’s Quest is Cities! While we had a reasonably ironed-out plan that the learners had a hand in creating before leaving for the holidays, online learning caused us to make a significant pivot. (Using the classic “PIVOT” Friends clip as a starting point, we discussed the definition and how we would pivot as a studio for the next couple of weeks.) Since there were only two days of Quest, we spent the first period discussing how we could alter our plans, settling on a few different projects to work on while at home. The learners have chosen to work in groups to create a city. The groups then began work on their underwater city, medieval city, and military base.
Documentary
In our one documentary session of the week, we readjusted what our documentaries will look like in an online setting. The learners were in one of three positions in terms of changes to their work:
Business as usual (this applies to learners working independently with all the needed equipment).
Quick readjustment (mostly groups who needed a slight alteration to plans).
A total pivot group (many groups planned on shooting their scenes together).
Deagan was quite impressed with the learners and groups’ creativity in transitioning to an online setting.
Additional Highlights
Rebels from Discovery and Exploration continued to develop a proposal for the Pinecrest Park Mural project. We voted this week on the final details of our design and met to outline the budget component. Rebels are welcome to work on this over the next several days as we will meet once more next week on Friday to finalize our budget and submit the document.
Exploration Rebels also had the opportunity in small groups to either go for a hike or play in the field on Friday afternoon. The chance to get outside and see their friends was an awesome way to end our week!
During DEAR this week, some of our learners joined Erin for a geography study group focused on Central and South America and chose Amari and the Night Brothers as our sessional read-aloud.
Launchpad
While our Launchpad Rebels would prefer to learn together, both wanted to avoid time on Zoom wherever possible. After discussing the best methods for communication and ideal meeting times, Rebels got right to work on their core skills, including algebra, geometry, Dutch, Spanish, coding, and literature study.
Chemistry - Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science
In this session, we began our Harvard edX course, exploring the scientific principles that underlie both everyday cooking and haute cuisine! This week we reviewed the syllabus, lab information and took the pre-course survey. After reading through the course information, Rebels completed a series of videos and problem sets to brush up on the required background math and science concepts for the course. We studied exponents, Logarithmic and exponential functions, percentages, calculating the volume of spheres and cubes, graphing data, unit conversions, density, and concentration notation. Rebels also reviewed the scientific method and had to identify great experimental questions and create a testable hypothesis. Lastly, we were introduced to the chefs we will be learning from this session, including Ferran Adria, Jose Andres, Daniel Humm, Joanne Chang, Joan Roca, Dave, Arnold and more!
Canadian History
In Session 4, we will be studying Canada's history from 1896 to the Great Depression. We began learning about Canada in the early Twentieth Century and the impact of technology and the industrial revolution on the economy. We also read about how women influenced society and the attitudes of many Canadians toward minorities, and the steps our government took to control immigration. Rebels also chose two events between 1896 and 1914 to study further in-depth. This round, they decided to learn more about the Komagata Maru Incident, the sinking of the Titanic, Canadian involvement in the Boer War, and the addition of Alberta and Saskatchewan to the Confederation.
Accounting
This week, our Rebels continued their accounting study with a review of cash flow statements, fixed assets, capital or expense, and depreciation from the last session.
World Building
While learning remotely, Launchpad Rebels will continue to build their worlds with this week's focus on thinking about their final projects. One learner began populating their World Anvil account with what they've developed so far, while the other was asked to create a list of content they would like to include in their guide.
Additional Highlights
One of our Rebels also spent their time organizing their action list for the Ottawa Children's Business Fair. Deadlines were set, and a social media campaign was outlined to ensure a successful event in May.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark:
What is your word for the new year? Why did you choose it?
What is a prediction?
What do you want to learn more about in this science session?
French: What are the days of the week in French? How can you remember what order they come in?
Discovery:
Which Remote ROE do you think is the most important and why?
How did you do with your core skills this week? Is there anything we can try next week so that you feel more set up for success?
Is education a want or a need?
What makes you angry? How can you release deep feelings like this?
Aim and Release Math Lab: What is your conference called? Which part of an area model is the product?
French: What is your favourite kind of visual art? What is it called in French?
Exploration:
How did your documentary change with a transition to online learning?
Did you figure out who the one true hero was during your Gnome Quest?! Are there mathematical concepts that you would like to review with Erin one-on-one?
French: What is your favourite kind of visual art? What is it called in French?
Launchpad:
What was your biggest win this week? Biggest challenge?
What was Canada's relationship to Britain in the early 20th century?
Which chef are you most excited to learn from in our Science and Cooking course?