Revel Recap: December 5 - 9, 2022
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
In the Spark Studio, we started our week following along to morning yoga with Cosmic Kids. The Sparks voted between a food-themed or holiday yoga, and the vast majority chose a holiday. Tuesday morning, everyone worked peacefully to the sound of instrumental holiday music. They each used a whiteboard and were asked six questions regarding how to plan a holiday that would be magical for them. The questions asked were, What is the weather like? How would you decorate? Would you have a holiday tree? What food do you eat? What baked goods do you prepare? What would you wear; pyjamas, a suit and tie/dress or cozy sweaters? We played musical chairs and freeze-danced the following morning to stay in the holiday spirit. Thursday, we used painter’s tape and white paper to create trees. Everyone painted their paper, and once the paint dried, we removed the tape to see their results. The trees look fantastic! To end our week, we worked on our random act of kindness, “Make bookmarks and put them in the library for others to use.” The Sparks are very thoughtful and came up with great affirmations to write on each bookmark.
Quest
Pizza, muffins, pizza, and more muffins! Phew, what a week in the kitchen. On Monday, we read the story Every Night is Pizza Night by J. Kenji López-Alt. The story was about a young child who thought that pizza was the only best food they could eat until they visited other friends from other countries with a variety of other great foods. The Sparks then created an individualized pizza on paper and shared what toppings they enjoy the most. Tuesday, the learners baked banana chocolate chip muffins! Everyone works so well together when we bake. We even made a batch without chocolate chips as we have learned not everyone LOVES chocolate like one of their guides! While the Sparks bake, everyone takes turns with a different ingredient and takes turns mixing. The muffins took a long time to bake, and the Sparks were stoked when we told them the timer was up. To add to our kitchen adventures, we spent the next two days in the kitchen. The learners made the dough for their pizza and were surprised to see that yogurt was one of the main ingredients. We placed the dough in the fridge overnight to continue our cooking the following day. We rolled out the dough and put our toppings on the pizza. It turned out so well everyone asked for seconds!
On Wednesday, the Sparks used our Canadian Money Kit and worked in groups to buy ingredients at the shop that had two cashiers working. There were five challenges for this activity. Each round, the amount they were given to spend changed, putting our counting and teamwork skills to the test. As for Thursday, the Sparks opened their own restaurant based on their created menus. Many Sparks were selling tacos for free, and the guides can’t wait for these restaurants to open up in the future! This week was full of food, baking, cooking, and dramatic play!
French
Based on a special request from the Sparks, we learned how to cut out snowflakes on Monday! We read “Moi, la neige” a book about the weather and used its instructions to cut out the snowflakes. Tuesday, we played in the gym to review our numbers, colours and the song “Si tu aimes le soleil.” On Friday, we read “Devant ma maison” by Marianne Dubuc, a book to learn our prepositions of place (in front, behind, under, on, etc.).
Math
Throughout the week, you will find all learners working on various math materials. This week Group One was very busy working independently with the sandpaper numbers and animal matching, spindle boxes, teen beads and cards, counting chains and more! They are working so hard on their understanding and exploration of numbers. Group Two continued to explore fractions. We reviewed our knowledge using our concrete red fraction material, which gives the learners a visual understanding of the parts of a whole. We looked again at how fractions are written and then set off to create posters. The learners traced the fraction materials to a sixth, deciding how many parts to fill in each circle. They then wrote their fractions below. They worked so hard on this and are very proud to display their work at Exhibition. To end the week, we read the story 100 Snowmen written by Jen Arena. This story is about different numbers of snowmen engaging in various activities on each page. Each combination of snowmen is accompanied by a number sentence, adding to 100 snowmen at the end. For a fun activity, the Sparks created their own silly snowman with ten different parts to add ten times!
Art
The Sparks have been working hard on a special gift for their families this week. They have been taking the time to decorate and design wrapping paper for their gift! The only hint we can give the families is that painting is involved. On Wednesday, we spent most of our afternoon creating holiday decorations. We found many products from our maker space and dived right into using their imaginations to make gingerbread men, holiday trees and much more! Thursday morning, as stated above, we made trees!
Geography
Trying new foods is one thing but knowing where they come from is a whole other experience! This week we focused on traditional foods of Asia. Tofu, chow mein, and tandoori are foods we read about while we also focused on the overall geography of Asia, including the weather in the wide range of climate regions. We learned you could climb the highest point in the world, but you can also find the lowest part on dry land, the Dead Sea.
Additional Highlights
So much has been happening this week in the studio! We enjoy this session’s 12 Random Acts of Kindness and 12 days of Holiday books. This week’s random acts of kindness were: smiling at everyone you see around school, setting the table for dinner, holding the door for someone, cleaning up your toys or making your bed without being asked, and making bookmarks with affirmations to place in the library. We are proud to see how the Sparks can make someone’s day so special. As for our 12 days of holiday books, we started the week by reading, The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition by Carol V. and Bell Chanda. The Guides wanted to read this book as we have heard that it’s another tradition celebrated by some, but not all, families. (We have heard some elves have been doing silly things around the house!) The other books we read were Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O’Connor, Mickey’s Christmas Carol and Bambi - The Wonderful Winter Tree, written by Walt Disney Productions. We will read books about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in the next two weeks.
This week we spent a lot of time in the fenced-in area, witnessing some awesome dramatic play in the kitchen! On Friday, we ended the week with our story-telling workshop. We used our holiday playset, and as a group, the Sparks created a story to share with their guides. They worked really well together and came up with a title, setting, beginning, conflict, and ending!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
This Monday’s mantra was “there is only one me,” inspired by the story Only One You by Linda Kranz. While the Rebels listened to the wisdom shared by the fish in the story, they created their own painted rock and pointed out the lessons they needed the most from the story. Talk-it-out Tuesday focused on “talking things out” with a kind-hearted tone. Rebels have become so empowered and confident in speaking up for themselves and holding each other accountable for their ROEs and Covenants. Still, we wanted to ensure that how we communicate with each other is done thoughtfully and from a place of warmth and kindness. On Wonder Wednesday, the Rebels chose between the power of puzzles or to continue painting their rocks from earlier in the week. The long-haul puzzlers have developed a strategy for finalizing the puzzle’s edge, while the painters focused on inspiration based on the shape and size of the rock - like a little strawberry! For Thankful Thursday, the Rebels thought about gratitude, manifesting, self-love and acceptance, grit and perseverance as prompts for their journaling. Some expressed that they were frustrated and instead used their journal like a sponge to soak up the bad! They then ripped these pages out and tossed them away to symbolize the removal of these negative thoughts! Feel-Good Friday was an excellent Boomwhackers practice where the Rebels jammed out to their rendition of “Allstar” by Smashmouth!
Launches
Monday - Rebels discussed the difference between doing “Your best” vs. doing “the best.” We discussed how trying to achieve “THE best” is a finite goal. While it may allow for temporary senses of achievement, changing your mindset to base success on bettering the person you were the day before can allow for more meaningful, meaningful, long-term opportunities for success and growth. Tuesday’s launch was designed to equip and inspire the Rebels to take charge of their studios by considering the best approach to our Freedom Levels system. Should freedom be earned across the board, or should there be different levels of autonomy for various parts of the schedule? The Rebels argued that having some freedom rewards in areas where they consistently uphold their ROEs is more motivating than having no freedom across the board because of one area that needs improvement. Wednesday’s Pizza Conundrum was a fantastic discussion about two pizza places that want to open in the same building in a growing town. Rebels discussed four different options that could help the town decide which pizza place gets to move forward and open its business. Thursday’s launch unveiled the new Freedom Levels, and the Rebels outlined what needs to happen to move up (or down) a level. Friday’s Current Events report included the history of the caribou, Ottawa’s holiday lights tour, and an opinion poll on the most streamed songs of 2022!
Math Lab
The Rebels started this week in the lab with two important warm-ups before an instant team chess annotation challenge: they worked out their hands and eyes! First, they discussed strategies for identifying the lowercase “b” and “d” letters and then took their time to practice printing these and the capital letters needed to annotate the King, Queen, Bishop, Knight and Rook. They also practiced printing their numbers 0-9. Next, they used this digital tool to train their vision and speed in locating chess addresses. The high score to beat in the studio is 11 addresses in 30 seconds! For the main event, the Rebels worked with their squads to re-enact a Rebel chess match from the day before, using the Rebel annotations. During the analysis and debrief, some key takeaways were: proper orientation of the board with the white rook on a1, and white queen on d1, how to annotate a capture and castle king-side, and most importantly, you may not castle your way out of check!
Reader/Writer
This week in Reader Writer, Rebels continued reading and listening to the story of Peshka the Pawn’s adventure in the streets of Brooklyn! We added new vocabulary words to our Chess Word Wall that we have discovered and learned about from the past week and continued to work on our Chess Instructional Booklets. Rebels are focusing on the pieces of the game, their roles and the rules that coincide with each piece. Some Rebels presented their Chess Piece instruction pages, and others offered feedback about how they could be clearer or switch up some of the language/sentence structure to be more detailed and elevate their explanations.
Quest
What a week! Our Grandmasters have been showing incredible progress in their knowledge of the game! We had our first games ending in “Checkmate!” some incredible examples of attacks and defences using strategies they have been learning about in Quest lessons and practicing using the Chess Algebraic Notation to notate their games. Rebels have truly been immersing themselves to the fullest extent in the game of Chess, and their dedication to learning so many new concepts each day has been inspiring! Next week, we will introduce a few new concepts to help Rebels along the last half of their Checkered Road Journey. “Fast & Slow Thinking,” using Chess Clocks, and learning to play “Fast Chess” will be the focus next week as Rebels continue fine-tuning their skills. Way to go,
French
On Thursday, the Rebels participated in a game of “Qui a….” “J’ai…” (I have, who has?!) focusing on our family vocabulary. Rebels completed workbook pages, La Famille-themed activities from Tuesday, organized their French Duotangs, and caught up on some Duolingo to ensure they were meeting their French goals for this week. Rebels!
Civilizations
This week the Rebels met the Angles and the Saxons, travelling with them across the North Sea to the shores of Britain. They mapped the western region inhabited by the Celts and the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that developed in the eastern region. They heard stories passed on by bards, like the epic tale of Beowulf and Grendel! Knowing these stories were meant to instill values like aggression and Rebels discussed, which they felt would be more important to impart to their children: strength and aggression or calmness and diplomacy.
Additional Highlights
We wanted to shout out our newest team member, who has been an incredible addition to our Discovery Studio! Welcome to the team, the Rebels and Guides are so happy to have you with us!
The Geogems (Session 2 winners of the Exhibition Grant) will be shopping for their new STEAM equipment for the studios!
Book Club has been off to a great start! Rebels are enjoying the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler so far!
Choir and Boomwhacker practices have been going great and we look forward to presenting them at Exhibition on the 21st!
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness
On Monday, we turned off the lights and set ourselves up for the day with a morning guided meditation for positive energy and motivation. Tuesday morning’s yoga practice featured movement for releasing tension in the back and spine, using rock n’ roll, side body stretches, standing forward fold and wide-legged forward fold. The Rebels used their breath and these gentle movements to unfurl and relax. We completed a geography-themed dot-to-dot on Wednesday, and Thursday’s yoga session had us relaxed and ready for the day! We learned how to create six-sided snowflakes on Friday and were so engaged that we made over 50 in fifteen minutes!
Launches
We began our week reviewing weekly challenge and badge submissions and our core skill goals for the week. We are greatly impressed with the accountability shown and the goals reached by this point in the year! What are the leading causes behind the fall of empires? On Thursday, we compared what led to the rise of Achaemenid Persia, Maurya India, Han China, and the Roman Empire before investigating the reasoning behind their falls. Our Current Events team taught us about the Dumbo octopus, the world’s oldest land animal, current World Cup standings, and Mitch Marner’s incredible point streak.
French
After working hard on our French core skills, we completed a genealogical puzzle to learn the proper names for each family’s roles.
Math Lab
The Rebels got straight to it this week and worked together with their squads to complete a volume warm-up. Building on ideas from last week’s lab, many started using the layers (or area of the base) of a solid to estimate the volume of rectangular prisms and cylinders. They also used fantastic lines of reasoning to explain where their estimates came from when comparing the dimensions of two paper cylinders. For example, since the base of Cylinder A appeared to be double that of Cylinder B, but the height was not doubled, one Rebel supposed the volume would not even out. After measuring and proving (or disproving) their hypotheses using packing peanuts, the Rebel Congress looked at how to develop a formula for the volume, making it through the evolution from concrete to representational to abstract. For the second half, each squad had time to apply this to their session design project. Will they select a cereal box donation size or popcorn serving container based on the greatest volume, or will the least surface area be the determining factor?
Reader/Writer
Reader/Writer left Ms. Jenna’s teeth the cleanest they’ve ever been! In a new “How-To” challenge, the Exploration Rebels were tasked with writing out the instructions for brushing one’s teeth! Easier said than done! Putting some of their instructional vocabulary and writing components to the test, Rebels split off into teams of 4-5 to create the most accurate instruction manual to guide a person through brushing their teeth. Rebels gathered and saw their instructions play out in real time, with most groups able to successfully guide Ms. Jenna through each step! A special thank you to all for not making Ms. Jenna drink any “sink water!” Next week, Rebels will begin drafting their instructions to accompany the game they are creating in Quest. We will explore a few different game pamphlets from some of the most popular board games and practice doing a critique of instructions for Jenga, Hungry Hippos, Twister, and Monopoly.
Civilizations
With the Empire simulation under our belts, Rebels learned more about the strategies the Mongol Empire used to build and sustain their empire under Genghis (Chinggis) Khan and the eventual downfall due largely to the lack of a succession plan. After our research, we came together to discuss how the Mongol Empire followed the traditional path of an empire and how it broke with traditions such as Genghis’ merit-based ruling system and willingness to allow those he ruled to keep their culture and religion. We also compared the Mongolian Empire to the Aztecs before ranking the Mongol Empire on indicators such as corruption, coercion, treatment of minorities, and process to amend rules.
Game Design Quest
What is a game? We began our week learning about game designer Chris Crawford’s hierarchy of games and discussed the premise that a game must include a challenge, conflict, and participants who interact/interfere. As we headed into more game design this week, Rebels began thinking about the type of game they wanted to make. How challenging will it be? Will it be based more on luck or skill? Will it be communal or independent? Will it address a need in the world? We then spent the rest of Monday’s Quest period going through the process of creating, testing, and adjusting a game of luck with the help of our peers.
Tuesday, we discussed the purpose of a game before learning about two heroes who invented a game and a toy that changed the world. Rebels then took the class period to go through the process of creating, testing and adjusting a game of skill. Once finished, they had a better idea of what makes a good game and how to incorporate the right amount of luck, skill, and difficulty.
Wednesday, we learned about the essential parts designers consider when creating engaging games we love. We then spent time as a studio creating a rubric which we will use to evaluate and measure one another’s final projects based on what we believe makes a great game. It was then time to begin designing our board games using a Game Designer Guide to walk us through the steps and help us clarify our vision.
The creator of Catan, Klaus Teuber, said that he drew inspiration for the game from his interest in the Vikings! We brainstormed our interests and discussed whether we would rather create a communal game in which people are very social while playing or a competitive match without much interaction between players. Rebels then had the rest of the period to continue working on their game for the Game Expo.
Online Game Design and Coding
Rebels also had time set aside to work on their own online game. Some are using Scratch, and others are utilizing Code.org, Hatch, and other programs of their choosing.
Additional Highlights
Our Winter Clothing Drive and drop-off for Shawna’s Outreach was completed this week! Great job, Rebels!
Launchpad
Communication and Literature
We began our week by discussing last week’s poetry analysis questions before diving into a study of Shakespearean sonnets. After reading a few penned by the master, learners wrote their own using a random topic (ice cream and Disney princesses) and the ABABCDCDEFEFGG pattern. Rebels then read “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” and analyzed the theme, structure, rhyme scheme, meter/syllable pattern, and literary devices utilized. On Thursday, we began watching Dead Poet’s Society before reading “O Me! O Life!” by Walt Whitman. Rebels summarized the free verse before discussing the purposeful white space between sections. Rebels watched more of Dead Poet’s Society on Friday, recognizing many of the lines from poems they’ve recently studied. They then had time to view a modern adaptation of Whitman with the help of an Apple iPad Air commercial using “O Me! O Life” read by Robin Williams from Dead Poet’s Society.
Civilization
On Thursday, we compared what led to the rise of Achaemenid Persia, Maurya India, Han China, and the Roman Empire before investigating the reasoning behind their falls. With last week’s Empire simulation under our belts, Rebels learned more about the Mongol Empire’s strategies to build and sustain their empire under Genghis (Chinggis) Khan and the eventual downfall due largely to the lack of a succession plan. After our research, we came together to discuss how the Mongol Empire followed the traditional path of an empire and how it broke with traditions such as Genghis’ merit-based ruling system and willingness to allow those he ruled to keep their culture and religion. We also compared the Mongolian Empire to the Aztecs before ranking the Mongol Empire on indicators such as corruption, coercion, treatment of minorities, and process to amend rules.
Climate summit Quest
This week, all Launchpad Rebels worked on their team’s Climate Summit presentation, the “How We Get Around” challenge, using an infographic and data exploration articles. In doing this work, they’ll form their own sense of the most promising Innovation Pathways, or the areas within their Grand Challenge most ready for meaningful change. They then began to specialize in materials that could help them identify relevant solutions associated with the specific Innovation Pathway they selected. Solutions are technological and/or social innovations that may already exist or may be in development. The deployment of these various solutions is critical to getting to net zero, so the learners need to understand why their solution is promising and the possible obstacles to development. Next week they will complete their team presentation and begin their solo challenges.
Spanish
This was the last week of our learner’s first semester of Spanish. They focused on common verbs, an introduction to verb conjugations, and the culture of Peru. There was also time to complete a semester review with several fun activities and quizzes!
French
Our learner in Launchpad went for coffee, discussed current events and vocabulary, went over our workbook progress, and continued reading our French book club novel, ANAN.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark
What holiday book did you enjoy the most?
What ingredients did we use to make pizza?
What are a few traditional foods from Asia?
French: Are all snowflakes different or all the same?
Discovery
This week you added the Freedom Levels system to your studio. Which time of day (Mindfulness, Core Skills or DEAR) will be easiest for you to earn more freedom? Which will be the hardest? Why?
How is Chess Notation going? What has that been like having to notate your games as you play? Has it helped you, or has it been adding another layer of difficulty to the game?
Remember the Pizza Conundrum? What option did you go with for selecting which Pizza Place gets to open in the growing town? Why? (Option A: First person who asks to rent the space, gets it. Option B: Flip a Coin. Option C: Highest Bidder gets it! Whoever can spend the most money gets the space. Option D: The Town Leaders vote on which pizza tastes the best and selects which pizza place to open.)
French: How do you say grandma/grandpa/uncle/aunt in french?
Exploration
What went well with your instructions for Ms. Jenna to brush her teeth? What would you have done differently if you could go back and edit the instructions your team gave her?
As a player, which of the following building blocks is most important for a designer to get right?
Space: How does the game feel and look?
Components: What exists for the player to use?
Mechanics: Think verbs. What can players do?
Goals: What can the player achieve?
Rules: What are the constraints? What can a player do and not do?
What are the leading causes behind the fall of empires?
Local citizens, who don’t consent to the government’s rule?
Overexpansion, letting ambition take over the ability to govern?
Bad leadership, with emperors who are out of touch with their people?
Poor economy, with little or no ability to pay for all the hierarchy & maintenance of an empire?
No succession plan; there is no apparent heir after an emperor dies?
Something else?
Launchpad
What is more effective to start building an empire: to dominate other cultures by imposing their own culture or gain alliances by respecting local customs? Why?
Walt Whitman is one of the most celebrated poets in the canon of American literature. After examining “O Me! O Life!” what
do you think Whitman's verse has turned out to be? What do you want your verse to be?
Dates of Interest
Toy Mountain and Ottawa Food Bank Collections: November 28th, 2022-December 16, 2022
Discovery Studio Gift Exchange: Friday, December 16th, 2022
Spark Sock Exchange: December 20th, 2022
Exploration Secret Santa: Bring items in on Thursday, December 22nd, 2022, for the exchange on Friday, December 23rd.
Session 3 Exhibitions
Exploration Exhibition: Tuesday, December 20th at 4:15 pm
DATE CHANGE - Sparks and Discovery would like to combine for the Session 3 Exhibition on Wednesday, December 21st, at 4:15 pm for a family celebration with food and games before the holidays!