Revel Recap: October 24 - 28, 2022
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
“I am brilliant. I am creative. I am collaborative. I love to discover. I love to solve. I love to learn. I am Brilliant.” Brilliance was the Sparks’ affirmation focus of the week. Connecting the Sparks with this term gives them a better understanding that they can use their creativity and unique personalities to work together to improve their collaborative projects. On Tuesday, Eli the Box Turtle was featured in our podcast. The Sparks laid down on their mats and imagined the story of Eli trying to get into hibernation before an Eagle snagged him. Everyone participated in a jungle-themed exercise to move our bodies on Wednesday. The Sparks are wonderful as being different animals! For Thursday’s mindful colouring, the Sparks followed a directed drawing of a great white shark. Every shark was different, and all learners took the time to give their creation a name. At the end of the week, we read the story, A Little Thankful Dot, written by Diane Alber. The dot explained all the “little” things it was grateful for, such as boots for rain, snow, and the cold. The Sparks then made a circle and jotted down all the “things” for which they were thankful. This story helped the learners recognize how lucky they are to access so many wonderful things at home and school.
Quest
To kick off our Monday afternoon Quest, we introduced life cycles. We discussed what we know as a group and discovered that animals reproduce, each animal has a different life cycle length, and many are in danger from surrounding predators. Turtles were the first life cycle that we studied. The Sparks learned that there are five stages of a turtle’s life cycle, they can lay up to 100 eggs, they don’t lay all of their eggs at once, and their carapace (shell) changes texture based on their age. On Tuesday, we talked about the frog life cycle. The Sparks noticed that there are fewer stages compared to a turtle’s life cycle. We compared the difference between toads and frogs, listened to the noises they make, and looked at a variety of poisonous frogs from the books we have offered in the studio. On Wednesday, we focused on chickens. Once again, we filled out a sheet of the five life cycle stages and asked many questions! On Thursday, we had lots of interest in elephants. The guides mentioned to the Sparks last week that the gestation period of an elephant is 22 months long, and they were super curious to learn more. The guides read fun facts about elephants, talked about their habitat, and listened to a clip where elephants were vocalizing. Last week, the Sparks created a new animal and only spoke about their habitat. This week we had everyone use loose parts to go a step further and create a life cycle for their creation. Some had 2, 3,4,5, or 6 stages, some laid many eggs, though not all in the same environment, and the animals were many different sizes when they hatched. Lastly, we prepared the life cycles of the animals we studied throughout the week, and each group shared their contribution with the studio.
French
We learned a song about the seasons on Monday and started learning s’il-vous-plait (please) and merci (thank you) in French. Tuesday, we played Jean dit (Simon Says) to learn work on learning how to dress in French (put on your coat, mittens, and boots). Wednesday, we made Halloween cards and played Halloween Bingo to work on our vocabulary and on Thursday, we played a different version of Halloween Bingo with pumpkins to continue reviewing our emotions.
Math
“So Ms. Megan and Ms. Kaitlin, when we put things together, we end up with more?” “Yes, that’s what addition is ALL about!” This week, one group focused on addition from 1 to 10 and worked on numbers recognized from 1 to 30. They had to fill in the missing numbers from the board, use blocks if needed when adding and learn about addition and equal symbols. As a group, everyone watched a Scratch Garden video explaining addition and subtraction. Lots of donuts were in the video, so we apologize if your Spark came home craving one! The other math group focused on addition within the 20s, using ten frames.
Geography
“I’m Europe; you’re welcome for the pasta, pizza, waffles and fries!” Europe was our continent of the week. The Sparks sing so proudly when they hear the verse about Europe. We used our globe in the studio to point out many different countries included and noticed they are much smaller than Canada! The learners also came up with various animals that live in the area, such as hedgehogs. As one of the guides had spent lots of time in the Czech Republic, they taught the Sparks the words “ahoj” (hello), “jak se máte” (how are you), and “dobrý” (good)!
Literacy
Our work periods were incredibly productive this week and many of the Rebels have been crushing their self-made goals, filling in their goal sheets, and generally finding something from the shelf to motivate them to work towards literacy. We did one-on-one reading, focused on the phonic th, reading drawers. The character chart was wrapped around the book Frog and Toad Together, a compilation of short stories, and we picked two to read. The Sparks were asked to name the title, the author, and share information about the main characters in the story.
Art
Our art session connected to the life cycles we have been learning about throughout the week. We previewed a book all about animals and specifically found pages on different types of frogs, turtles, and chickens. The learners used outlines of the different animals and then used tissue paper to brighten up their animals in their unique way. Sparks made poisonous frogs, leatherback turtles, and colourful chickens. We also continued to work on our habitats. They are coming along nicely, and we can’t wait to share them at Exhibition!
Additional Highlights
What an eventful week we had! We celebrated two birthdays and went to Valleyview Farm with the Discovery Studio! In our studio, we sing “The Earth Moves Around the Sun.” During this song, the guides ask the Spark about milestones during each year of their life. For one of the celebrations, their sibling joined from Discovery and was able to share memories from the learner’s earlier years! Singing this song and having others join is a wonderful way to engage in conversation and learn more about each Rebel. As a studio, we continued to sew our animals, work on our habitats and share our Show and Tell.
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Monday’s mantra was, “My mind is strong.” The Rebels listened to a read-aloud about a young girl named Kate who learns how to keep her mind strong even when things don’t go her way. She uses strategies like counting to ten when angry, making lists when overwhelmed, and breathing mindfully when she can’t concentrate. On Talk-it-out Tuesday, the Rebels met with their squads to share in some more “Our Moments” conversations, sharing thoughts and opinions like what they do to calm down when they are angry, what they most want to learn, or what is the hardest part of being a boy or girl. For Wonder Wednesday, we continued with our class puzzle while listening to more classical music - significant progress is being made each day! On Thankful Thursday, we added more leaves to our gratitude tree, and the Rebels appreciated new books, friendship and delicious food. Feel-good Friday focused on finding good energy in the body with a dance-off!
Launches
On Monday, we discussed a recipe for launches and closings that the Rebels can refer to as they start to take over this role. They know that the goal of this time is to either equip, inspire or connect the community and that this is an excellent time to highlight and improve on maintaining the Rules of Engagement or ROEs. Beyond this, they said they would like this time to be interactive and participate in a conversation or activity that the Rebel is guiding. Tuesday’s launch was an opportunity to equip, reflecting on the studio’s leadership levels. Using David Logan’s model of Tribal Leadership, the Rebels voted on the tone or mood of the studio, with the average rating being between 3-5 (out of 5). At Closing, the conversation continued regarding how we could move from level three to four: focus on teamwork and how to get more done in groups. Wednesday morning, we had a fantastic Rebel-led launch about Irish dancing and an upcoming Oireachtas competition - thank you for equipping us with knowledge on this beautiful art form and giving us the chance to connect! Thursday morning, we reviewed paid positions in the studio and suggested new ones like Lost and Found Manager. Friday’s Current Events report featured: a missed apology from police to an Indigenous family from Vancouver, changing Halloween dates for a small town, and cyborg cockroach first aiders?!
Math Lab
The Rebels honed their estimation skills in this week’s first challenge. They had to guess how many items were in each of the two jars and the resulting sum. They had to continually revise their estimates based on a series of clues such as “each jar holds between 51-71 items” until the final round when the exact totals could be known for sure. Next, they could choose between three linear measurement tasks using various tools such as found items like pencil crayons, math manipulatives, string, rulers or metre sticks to conduct their work.
Reader/Writer
Rebel Readers: This week, the Rebels reviewed some ideal behaviours of good readers and the I-PICK strategy for reading texts that are a good fit. During DEAR and other personal reading time, they should aim to choose one spot, get started right away, and read the whole time. When this is coupled with good-fit books, it becomes a chance to experience fluency. We added this to our CAFE wall under F for fluency, and the Rebels discussed the importance of being able to know most of the words and read accurately while still maintaining an understanding for it to be considered fluent reading. They know that if they don’t know too many words on a single page, they likely won’t understand and will get frustrated.
Warrior Writers: What is a catalogue? The Rebels say this is like a mini magazine with information. Over the next few weeks, they will work together to create a studio catalogue with special text features to showcase the different rocks, minerals and auction items they’ll have at Exhibition. This week we looked at real examples of title pages and cover designs, tables of contents, images with captions and detailed descriptions from a variety of texts and field guides. Then, using a catalogue entry template to guide them, the Rebels started to make their drafts by carefully observing some of the rock specimens we have gathered to date.
French
On Tuesday, we read the book “Chez toi, Chez moi” (my place, your place) by Marianne Dubuc. We also did some colouring and association games to learn about objects and rooms in a house. We did a Halloween treasure hunt to review our French adjectives and colours on Thursday and also drew and wrote costume suggestions for Madame Marianne! What will she be for Halloween?! In our French cooking workshop, we baked and decorated Halloween cupcakes!
Civilizations
Picking up where we left off last week, the Rebels listened to tales of Nero and Constantine. Some of their buzzwords for the week were homophones like “lyre” and “liar” or “reign” and “rain” - the Rebels always catch the buzzwords and use context clues to help find the right meaning. After the story, they also discussed the qualities of the two emperors and whether or not their actions towards Christians at the time were ethical, just, fair, or reasonable.
Quest
Week 2 of our Geology Rocks! Quest was all about minerals and the various properties, and tests geologists conduct to identify and classify rock samples. On Monday, the geologist teams met to review the rock cycle from last week and compare two similar samples: granite and gneiss. Subtle changes in colour and layer patterns helped the Rebels to suggest possible pathways through the cycle, such as the granite was broken down into sediment and eventually changed by heat and pressure into gneiss. The teams then worked on four sorting challenges using words and pictures to arrange a collection of images based on their properties like size, shape, texture, and colour. Tuesday’s Geology lab required the Rebels to start collecting data for an official lab report. They had to describe the colour, texture and lustre of their favourite rock sample, as well as measure its mass using a scale, and its length and height using a ruler. They also had to perform a series of tests on their sample to determine if it was magnetic, reacted with acetic acid (vinegar), and how hard it was using scratch tests and the Mohs scale. On Wednesday, the Rebel Geologists returned to the lab to continue testing their samples but they also worked to make final identifications based on their observations and test results, using field guides and having at least one peer approve their ID.
Additional Highlights
We had such a great time at Valleyview Farm on Friday with the Sparks; a big thanks to Sue and Heather for hosting us! Feeding the animals was a cool experience, as was the train ride, corn maze, and climbing through a real tractor!
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness and Launches
Walking into the studio between 9:00 and 9:15 am, you would have seen learners doing yoga, completing puzzles, solving Rubik’s cubes for flag mosaics, or working on diamond dot paintings each morning. As the Exploration Rebels were taking the IOWA exams this week, we reviewed a few test-taking strategies to keep in mind. We also used our launch time to settle and prepare for each day’s subtests.
Civilizations
This week Rebels learned more about the various forms of government. After reading Max Borders’ Rules without Rulers framework, Rebels competed in two Kahoots on what we just learned. The top four winners of the Kahoots became our team captains, who helped their group develop five questions for a future quiz session. Now that the Rebels have an introductory understanding of the different stages, we will dive more deeply into clans next week.
Investment Quest
Before investing your money, you must understand the important concept of risk and return. To help Rebels learn more about risk and returns, they were given the option to invest in either a safe investment or one with more risk. The safe investment will provide you with a return of 2%, while the risky investment’s return will vary. Using a chart with various initial investments and returns, Rebels calculated the amount of money gained or lost before answering questions about which investment they would take; the safer or the riskier option. Rebels then learned that an investor is someone who commits money, time, or their own effort to get a return on that investment. One way to measure the value of that return is called return on investment, or ROI. Return on investment is a calculation of the amount, or percentage, that you have earned (or lost) on an investment you have made. Once again, Rebels put their math skills to the test to calculate the ROI for various investments. On Tuesday, learners tackled a series of case studies focused on savings alternatives, all of which involved costs and benefits. Each family or individual was considering options between a savings and money market account, a 2.5-year GIC, or corporate bonds or stocks for their $5,000 savings. Rebels had to consider each case’s needs, goals, and risk tolerance before making a suggestion. Wednesday, we explored inflation. Inflation is what happens when prices increase over time. However, inflation isn’t an increase in the cost of a few things, it’s an increase in the price of all goods and services in the economy. Inflation affects buying power, the amount of goods and services that a given unit of currency can purchase. Rebels used a graph illustrating the average price of a gallon of milk and a movie ticket along with the US federal minimum wage in 1960, 1990, and 2019. Using the data, learners had to answer a series of questions before using the CPI Inflation Calculator to understand inflation better. Rebels also learned more about the CPI for Canada, discovering the current inflation rate and discussing how inflation affects our investment decisions. Our last Quest session of the week was used to catch up on unfinished challenges from the past two weeks and play Cashflow! If you haven’t played it yet, set aside 20 minutes to play with your learner this weekend!
Paperclip Challenge
This week our Golden Paperclip Challenge was unveiled, and Rebels worked together to create the challenge parameters. It was decided that they had until June 30th to trade their paperclip at least seven times for an item with the highest monetary value. They also agreed that they couldn’t ask immediate or extended family members; however, they could tell those they were trading with about the challenge. Friday afternoon, a group of Rebels explored the neighbourhood and were able to exchange their paperclips for candy, water guns, toys, keychains, pumpkins, lightbulbs, and a set of golf balls!
Reader/Writer
This week, our Short Story Literary Analysis unit began with a reading of Ray Bradbury’s tale, “The Veldt.” We discussed the differences between personification, idioms, similes, and metaphors and examined the various forms of irony. We then learned about annotation and read the story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. After analyzing the story together as a group, we viewed an exemplar presentation and provided feedback to improve it. After Rebels understood the expectations for their presentations, they were given their assigned stories to begin reading and a template for their presentation!
Math Lab
The Rebels returned to their proposed norms this week and affirmed their studio expectations for respect, language, tools, and duotangs. Regarding the last category and showing their work, we considered the concept of a brain crossing - when mathematicians estimate with numbers and symbols and visualize ideas using concrete tools or drawings. This lights up multiple points in the brain and leads to deeper learning. Using exemplars from their initial work last week as a starting point, we reviewed how to push our solutions deeper, from verbal explanations and physical models to representations like sketches, charts, or diagrams, to more abstract expressions or equations. After time with their squads to revisit their work and apply brain crossings, we met for congress to share ideas. Here we mainly focused on the Shapes in Space problem, building thinking from a rearranged model of the design using pattern blocks to assigning a number value to each shape’s area using the triangular grid, to writing a statement using mixed numbers and inequality symbols.
Service Project
This week, Rebels took time to log their community service hours, make a plan, and confirm their next steps. Two Rebels have decided to organize a cold-weather clothing drive for newcomers, and those in need and others have offered to help stuff envelopes for the Ottawa Riverkeeper!
French
On Monday, we worked on formal and informal communication in French. To prepare for meeting someone in an interview or situation where formality is appreciated, we are learning to address people in more polite forms instead of our typical, casual way of speaking. On Wednesday, we played Nord-Sud (north-south) - Halloween Edition, a game in the gym to learn common Halloween words, and we played “parle-moi” a question-and-answer dice game. This week we also worked on our mural, which looks great! Next week, we will start working on our next workshop, writing and editing a book for the Sparks!
Additional Highlights
Exploration Rebels spent the morning working their way through the IOWA testing. While some loved the opportunity to take the subtests, others powered through with Friday’s Sundae bar for motivation! On Friday, we celebrated the end of the testing with ice cream, toppings, and an afternoon of fun!
Launchpad
Core skills, IOWA testing, and ice cream, oh my! It was a busy week in the Launchpad Studio!
Civilization
This week Rebels learned more about the various forms of government. After reading Max Borders’ Rules without Rulers framework, Rebels competed in two Kahoots on what we just learned. The top four winners of the Kahoots became our team captains, who helped their group develop five questions for a future quiz session. Now that the Rebels have an introductory understanding of the different stages, we will dive more deeply into clans next week.
Communication and Literature
NaNoWriMo preparation is underway! With one week until novel writing begins, Launchpad learners used their planning workbooks to think about how to build conflict, outline their plot, explore their setting, and write great dialogue. Next week learners will set their NaNoWriMo goals on Monday and begin writing on Tuesday, November 1st!
This week, our Short Story Literary Analysis unit began with a reading of Ray Bradbury’s tale, “The Veldt.” We discussed the differences between personification, idioms, similes, and metaphors and examined the various forms of irony. We then learned about annotation and read the story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. After analyzing the story together as a group, we viewed an exemplar presentation and provided feedback to improve it. After Rebels understood the expectations for their presentations, they were given their assigned stories to begin reading and a template for their presentation!
Launchpad Rebels will write an argumentative essay at the end of the session for one of the short stories we will be studying. This week they read through the expectations and will begin planning their essay using a general or story-specific prompt this next week.
Quest
It’s time to start investing! First, Launchpad Rebels had to complete at least 30 minutes of research into some of the stocks currently being traded and answer a series of questions: What will be the three first stocks you will purchase? Why do you think they will increase in value? What will your investment strategy be? Learners then signed up for their online trading portfolio to begin trading in simulated money and began curating a watchlist of thirty stocks that they found interesting. Next, they were ready to start trading, ensuring that no stock was more than 10% of their portfolio and that they didn’t have more than 20% of their portfolio in cash. Next, Rebels had to understand the basics of keeping track of their investments. Using a simplified template, learners had to use a given set of values to fill in the values for 2028. They were given extra points if they could add formulas to fill the entire spreadsheet automatically. Launchpad Rebels also selected their Investment hero or villain based on their choices from last week’s challenge. They completed research noting their hero/villain’s backstory or early life, praise or criticism of their type of investment or investment strategy, and any similarities or differences between how they see cash, risk, and reward.
On Tuesday, Rebels learned about compounding. When you purchase a corporate bond, the company pays you interest, in effect renting the use of your money. The interest keeps accumulating every minute, and the longer it compounds, the more the interest builds, like a snowball headed downhill. This is the miracle of compounding. However, when you borrow money, the situation reverses. You must pay someone to rent their cash. What does it feel like when you get too far behind to catch up? A lot like this. After learning about the hidden dangers of compounding, Rebels thought about ways they could lessen their daily discretionary spending and completed an intriguing coffee habit simulation.
Investing in yourself, generally, is a great idea, but what about University? Is it worth the cost? On Wednesday, Launchpad chose a university or college and a major. Learners reviewed the total annual cost, including living expenses using a ranking system. They then looked at their major’s “field of study” and took the median earnings. Using a formula, they determined their after-tax earnings, deducted living expenses, and divided the answer by 12 to get the maximum they could pay each month. It was then time to use a loan calculator to calculate how many years it would take to pay off the debt, recognizing that they are paying every dollar toward repaying the debt, not investing for retirement. Will University be worth it? Rebels also took time to write up their lessons learned from their parent financial interview. This information will serve as pre-writing material for their Money Manifestos.
Is the market perfectly efficient? Some people believe the market is so perfectly priced that there’s no way to profit from investing - except by luck. Some believe fundamental investing or technical analysis trends can be consistently profitable. Others think quantitative analysis can spot correlations between assets or investments that lead to profitable trades. After viewing the video above, Rebels completed more research and wrote an explanation of if they believe the market is efficient or if they think you can spot trends or find correlations that allow one to make consistent profits.
It’s Friday, and the markets are closing for the weekend. Launchpad Rebels took time to report and reflect on how their investment strategy is coming along with their online portfolio. With any time remaining, learners were challenged to play Cashflow with at least one other person in the studio or online!
Paperclip Challenge
This week our Golden Paperclip Challenge was unveiled, and Rebels worked together to create the challenge parameters. It was decided that they had until June 30th to trade their paperclip at least seven times for an item with the highest monetary value. They also agreed that they couldn’t ask immediate or extended family members; however, they could tell those they were trading with about the challenge.
Spanish
This week our Spanish learner studied the culture of Argentina. They also worked on their animal vocabulary and focused on ser vs. estar in the grammar portion of their class.
French
It was a hands-on week in French! We baked cupcakes with the Discovery Rebels on Tuesday, which were delicious! We also fixed the broken sofa together, learning not only the French vocabulary for the job but also life skills!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark:
What are the life cycles you learned about this week?
What did you see at Valleyview Farm?
French: How do you say please (s’il-vous-plait) and thank you (merci) in French?
Discovery
Will you lead a launch or closing sometime this session? What is the recipe for this responsibility?
What is your Rebel Buck balance? How could you earn more Rebel Bucks?
Next week you get to start a research project for the Geology Rocks! Quest. What part of geology would you like to learn more about?
French: According to you, which Halloween costume do you think Madame Marianne should wear?
Exploration
Which type of government promotes the following values the best?
Good processes designed with human well-being in mind?
Strict but fair laws?
Individual sovereignty?
People voluntarily decide to be there and like being there?
Joey is a 27-year-old construction supervisor earning $40,000. He is married to Phoebe, who does volunteer work at a daycare centre. They are planning to have children soon and move out of their apartment and into a townhouse. Which saving alternative do you recommend? Why?
French: What is the difference between a formal and informal question in French? How can you be more polite in French?
Launchpad
What stocks have you chosen so far for your online portfolio? Why did you select each one?
Are you feeling excited to begin writing your novel on Tuesday? What is your main goal?
French: What construction words did you learn this week? What tools did you learn to use this week?
Dates of Interest
Rebel/Grown-Up/Guide Meetings for Spark and Discovery - November 1-11, 2022
Discovery Studio IOWA Testing Dates - Wednesday, November 2nd through Tuesday, November 8th
Guardian Book Club: Thursday, November 10th
Second Caribou Test: Wednesday, November 16th
Session 2 Exhibitions
Exploration and Launchpad: Monday, November 21st
Discovery: Tuesday, November 22nd
Spark: Wednesday, November 23rd
Sessional Break and Camp: Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th.