Revel Recap: March 14 - 18, 2022
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
Monday morning began with an inspiring affirmation; “Courage is my power. I am courageous, powerful, and brave. I stand up for what is important to me. I am courageous.” We then went around the circle and talked about when we were courageous and how it made us feel. The Sparks are so insightful. They spoke about how different situations made them feel scared at first, but they felt so happy and proud once they did it. Next, we thought about how we need to be courageous when starting a business. The Sparks talked about how they need to be brave to pick an idea, to speak with their customers and to be courageous and persevere if they don’t sell any products right away. Next, we posed a question to the group. You must build a new house and live there with your family. You can make it in one of the three places: desert, arctic, or jungle. Which one would you choose and why? It’s always so interesting to hear their conversations and ideas!
On Tuesday, we started with another question: What would you do if you found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow? We shared in the circle and then wrote and illustrated our ideas. We have many generous Sparks who opted to give the pot of gold to their parents! Wednesday, we went through a yoga sequence that consisted of our favourite poses. We challenged ourselves to keep our balance and hold each pose for ten seconds. We ended our practice with bunny breaths. On Thursday, we completed a directed drawing of a leprechaun! On Friday, we read The Thank You Book by Mo Williams and followed it up by writing about people that we are thankful to have in our lives.
French
As requested by the Sparks, we are now learning about French numbers! Monday through Thursday, we watched a series of videos about numbers and helped adorable bunnies Pinpin and Lili count up to 10. We noticed that some numbers are written slightly differently in French and that French people show the numbers 3 and 2 differently on their fingers. The Sparks also enjoyed playing “1, 2, 3, Soleil” in the gym. On Wednesday, we read the book Cinq Joyeux Lapins about the arrival of spring. We traced our hands to show the number 10 and numbered each of our fingers on Thursday. We then practised writing each of the numbers and their spelling.
Quest
We started our week in Quest reading Camila’s Lemonade Stand. During this book, we observed how Camila provided her customers with a tent to protect them from the weather elements when they were purchasing from her and how she decorated her table. We thought about what we will need for our business when we open at Exhibition. In this story, Camila also starts adding more products to sell, making her more of a profit. We thought about our plant pot painting business. Is there something else we can sell that relates to this?! We decided on painting garden rocks, making seed paper, and some garden-themed Perler bead magnets. Next, we talked about how important a name is to a business. We needed to develop a name that gives customers an idea of what we are selling. We also talked about logos. We played a fun quiz where we showed the logo, and the Sparks guessed the business to test brand recognition. We set off to each come up with a potential name and logo for our own studio business. We presented our ideas and then voted. We settled on The Nature Shop with a flower in a pot as our logo!
Next, we read The Treehouse Trio, about a group of child entrepreneurs who create various businesses and never give up despite some setbacks. We were then inspired to work with a partner and design our own imaginary business. The Sparks came up with a name, a list of goods and services, and prices. They worked so hard on this activity and shared some awsome ideas during their presentations. On Wednesday, we read, The Unicorn Who Sold Zero Cupcakes. In this story, the characters try different things to sell their products, but it is only once they add sprinkles that they sell out! This story led to a discussion on what we can do to make products that people want to buy. It was then finally time to begin making our items! We started painting our plant pots and rocks, making Perler bead magnets, and nature-themed artwork!
Additional Highlights
It was another busy and fun week in the Spark Studio. Some highlights were making necklaces with paper straws, practising a special surprise dance for Exhibition, Zumba dancing, following along to rhythms by clapping what we hear, and extra time spent outside playing in all the water from the melting snow! We enjoyed some St. Patrick’s Day stories and body breaks, followed by the much-anticipated building of leprechaun traps! The learners made a plan and came up with some great ideas for traps, showcasing their incredible creativity and building skills! This week during group circles, we reviewed our continent map and song, our 1-10 counting chains, and 1-1000 golden bead materials. We also worked on our letters and sight words by writing them in a salt tray. We have enjoyed the videos for March Mammal Madness and are happy to report that our pick for the ultimate winner is still in the running! Go, pangolin, go! This week’s edition of Show and Tell was wonderful. We had some great items to share, and the whole group did a great job listening and asking questions.
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
We have been chanting positive affirmations every Monday for the past few weeks now, and the Rebels love to share which ones they need to hear! This week we coupled this with a mini-Gratitude Journal project where they can capture their favourite mantra or affirmation. Here, the Rebels also strive to list highlights from their week and at least one thing for which they are grateful. Tuesday morning's yoga flow included a four-minute relaxation with peaceful "miracle" tones. On Wednesday, our Rebel Mindfulness Coach selected a colouring page with a dream theme, and we coloured while listening to a looped track called "Better Days." For Thursday's yoga practice, we started in mountain pose and worked on opening our shoulders with a cactus arm flow. We also increased our relaxation minutes to five. On Friday morning, we meditated in savasana for a full seven minutes!
Launches
Happy Pi Day! Monday morning, we learned, or in some cases, reviewed the terminology of circles, including radius, diameter, and circumference. We then read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi to kick off our celebration. Tuesday, we reviewed the gym safety rules as an entire school before watching the Wild Card Round of March Mammal Madness! On Wednesday, we met to discuss our upcoming "new, new normal" and how we will uphold our ROE of consent and our Studio Covenant on COVID protocols starting Monday when the government mask mandate is no longer in effect. Some Rebels shared that they will continue to wear masks next week, while others enjoy the idea that they can remove their mask sometimes. We also role-played a couple of scenarios, such as working in a pair where one Rebel is masked, and the other is unmasked. We agreed that respecting personal space and asking for consent before entering someone's personal space (and possibly masking up before doing so) will be a great way to deepen our studio's incredible culture of respect. Thursday's Rebel-led launch was a Kahoot on Revel Academy - How much do you know about Revel's history and organization? Thank you for this fun, community-affirming launch! Friday's Rebel-led Current Events report included: a March Mammal Madness update, a summary of the CBC Kids article on the war in Ukraine, and "Who's Cuter: baby pig vs. baby bear."
Reader/Writer
We began this week's Reader/Writer session by learning more about presentation posture. Dananjay Hettiarachchi, the 2014 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking, introduced us to his four best tips: don't cover your body with your arms, hold your palms outward, use the stage, and touch a podium or table while presenting. We also spoke about eye contact, the importance of a smile, and avoiding filler words like "um." We then played a fun game to practice volume and projection. Counting from one to ten, learners had to increase their volume, decrease, and follow other given patterns. It was interesting to see that we could increase easily, but decreasing volume gradually was much trickier. We then learned about Elevator Pitches. After hearing a few examples and identifying the key components, learners got to work on a rough draft of a pitch for either their Quest or Ottawa Children's Business Fair company. Next week we will form their notes into a speech that they will need to rehearse and present to the studio and the Exhibition.
French
This week, Rebels worked on setting up their clothing store inventories with item descriptions. We kicked off the week with our usual Nearpod games to practice clothing vocabulary. We also played "J'ai…Qui a?" on Thursday. We didn't beat our record this time, but we'll try again next week! Finally, Rebels who completed their assignment early had the opportunity to test their skills with extra activities and earn Rebel Bucks.
Math Lab
Draw and Anchor Rebels learned about wholesale prices and selling prices this week. They explored how business owners mark-up prices from vendors before selling to their customers to ensure they create profits. We also discussed coupons and how customers can save money on their purchases. We practised the key skill of using grid paper to line up prices for their addition and subtraction algorithms. The critical understanding was how dollars and cents align with place value (i.e. decimal amounts). For example, how would you stack the numbers when applying a 75¢ coupon to a product that costs $3.49?
In the Aim and Release lab, the Rebels concentrated on the concept of simple interest (I). They explored different bank offers of rates (r) and terms, or time (t), based on the idea that they had $5000 for a principal investment (P). We used the formula, I = P x r x t, to calculate how much interest we would earn with each bank. For example, Bank A offers 2.2% interest over four years. An essential skill that they needed to use the formula and make their calculations was how to convert the interest rate from a percentage to its decimal form. Understanding percentages as parts of 100 and then connecting those hundredths to place value was important. As the Rebels determined the interest earned with different deals, they wondered, what is the best combination of rate and time for the most interest? We will continue that exploration next week.
Civilizations
We studied many Roman innovations this week, such as concrete roads and apartment buildings, public bathhouses and aqueducts. We also learned how the Etruscans brought stories of the Greek gods to the Romans and how Romans adopted these gods as their own with some name changes. Similar to conversations from our Ancient Greece Quest, we looked at how the Romans used these myths and legends to explain the natural world and guide human behaviour. Putting ourselves in the shoes of a Roman gladiator, we imagined which choices we might make if faced with that life. Next week, the war at Carthage!
Quest
The entrepreneurs of Revel City were busy last week, choosing company names and developing their logos and slogans. With their company image and brand in mind, the Rebels worked together to explore consumers' buying behaviour and better understand their market. They worked through a risk analysis on Tuesday, imagining what they would do when faced directly with competition. On Wednesday, we returned to the importance of brand and image, comparing three different company commercials for lemonade. Exploring which demographic of people the companies are trying to sell to led us to review our BIA mission statements and business image - Who are we trying to sell to, and how will we reach them? The BIA teams prepared for our BIA Stand-Off by budgeting costs of this opportunity to promote business concepts to investors to earn money that would support them through the rest of our Quest. The Launch & SWA Crossing BIA earned the most profits from the Rebel investors based on their booth display and signage. They won an additional hundred Business Bucks to spend on the remaining challenges. However, they do not have the largest remaining budget overall after investing so much in the Stand-Off. Next week, we will go even deeper into different costs and risks to better understand how to turn true profits from our businesses.
Physical Development
On Monday, Rebels went outside for some hardcore conditioning! After a warm-up and stretch, Rebels took on the challenge to run up Carlington Hill as many times as possible in 30 minutes. The other Rebels played games in the gym. We took Smaug's Jewels outside and played this territory game in the snow on Wednesday! We rotated dragons every two rounds and discussed how to create inclusive call-outs like, "if your name has an 'e' or and 'a,' approach the mountain!" However, the more Hobbits that we include makes it more difficult for the dragon to defend their precious jewels!
Additional Highlights
The first fruits of the Health and Wellness Expo winners' grant arrived this week. We are pleased to welcome Aqua, the sloth Squishmallow to the studio! He loves tacos, snow cones, and being a DJ! We also have added a hardcover copy of the most recent Diary of a Wimpy Kid book to our library shelves. Some team members even brought in new plants to refresh the studio! The winners plan to explore brain games to purchase with their remaining money.
Pi Day, Monday, March 14th, was celebrated with PIE! Need we say more? Thank you, Ms. Erin for the delicious treats!
Leprechaun trap building with the Sparks on St. Patrick's Day was so much fun! It also put our STEAM skills (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) to the test!
Exploration Studio
Launch
On Monday's Launch, Rebels listened to Mme Marie's read-aloud of Briser la Glace, which we began reading last week to celebrate International Women's Day. The book is about Manon Rhéaume, the first and only woman to play in the NHL. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday's Launches were spent together as an entire school, watching the March Mammal Madness recaps! MMM puts together some entertaining and informative videos about animal habitat, ecosystem, and adaptations and what could happen should two combatants meet. There were two learner-run Launches and Closings this week. In one, the learners were instructed to partner with someone that they rarely talk with and get to know each other better. The partners were asked to discover as many things as possible that they have in common in the 15-minute window. In the afternoon, a learner took us through a round of Geoguesser, a geography game that uses Google Earth to have the player guess where in the world they are located.
Mindfulness
Our mindfulness activities centred around using a group as a resource for finding our breath. We talked about the "lizard brain," the oldest part of our brain both developmentally and evolutionarily. The medulla, or lizard brain, controls many of our body's functions that we usually don't think about, including our breath. When we are conscious of our breath, we activate different parts of our brain that help us become more aware of our senses. We then had each learner in the small group of four be in charge of telling us when to breathe in and when to breathe out. One learner said "breathe in," and the next said "breathe out," aiming for around five seconds between each breath. In the next activity, each learner partnered up. The learners connected their breath to their bodies by raising their arms to signify an inhale and lowered them to show an exhale. We did both of these activities for two minutes each. It was very showing, having the learners say when their breath in or out was. A few learners would rush the breath or take shallow breaths. We talked about how short and shallow breaths put our "lizard brain" into fight or flight mode all day and that we need to be aware of having long breaths constantly.
French
This week, Rebels worked on setting up their clothing store inventories with item descriptions. We kicked off the week with our usual Nearpod games to practice clothing vocabulary. We also played "J'ai…Qui a?" on Wednesday. We beat our record! Finally, Rebels who completed their assignment early had the opportunity to test their skills with extra activities and earn Rebel Bucks.
Quest
This week, the learners started working on their businesses, with many Rebels making great strides. Each day, we would meet for about 15 minutes, introducing a different business concept the learners need to consider. On Monday, we reviewed all of the different ways we've learned to make a plan in the past: Important vs Urgent, Gantt charts, Mind Maps, and calendars. Whether they knew what their business was or not, each learner took the first 15 minutes of the period to make a plan or brainstorm. Afterward, the learners organized themselves into the four readiness levels, gathered in those four groups, and shared their next steps. The remaining time was spent on the execution of their plans.
On Tuesday, we started by looking at another way to visualize our time using an infographic of the daily routines of 16 of history's most creative people. We viewed the various schedules and discussed how different each person was in their pursuit of success. The learners finalized their plans for the following weeks by creating their graphic, using a time scale of the next 14 days of Quest before Exhibition rather than a 24-hour metric. Wednesday, we talked about funding. The learners started by role-playing to discover what would be needed to get financing. We then posted our summary on BAND to ensure both the learners and their adults were on the same page.
Market research was the focus on Thursday. We started by imagining that we work at a fast-food restaurant that wants to sell more milkshakes. What should we do? The Rebels came up with several strategies, showing great creativity. They were then asked how they could make the best decision with a fixed amount of money. That's where market research comes in. We talked about traditional market research, dividing each consumer and product into different categories and then analyzing the data. We then introduced them to a new approach to market research, where you view your product as a job being completed. If you interview some customers about why they are buying your milkshake, you may find that most people use it as something to occupy their hands on their commute to work in the morning. This information will clarify options, maybe adding a milkshake to a combo breakfast meal, introducing a breakfast flavour, or making the milkshake more predominant during breakfast time.
Health/Sex Ed
Our topic for Health this week was systems of the body. The learners were given large pieces of paper in small groups, which they outlined the human body. The learners drew some of the body's different systems (respiratory, digestive, skeletal) and labelled the various parts of those systems. This activity aims to eventually introduce the reproductive system and identify the anatomy of those systems. This information will serve as base knowledge for discussions around the function of each body part and a base for knowledge around menstruation and reproduction.
Documentary
Each group met up with another group and shared their progress on their documentaries. The learners received feedback on each part of their work so far. We also have a few new documentaries starting, with the new learners in our studio and a few learners who have already finished their documentary.
Math Lab
What is the best way to chart expenses? This week learners who attended Math Lab created circle charts to model given business expenses. First, they needed to convert each cost into a percent of the total. They then had to multiply each percent by 360 degrees to find the angle for each portion of a circle. Lastly, they used a protractor to draw each angle so that investors and employees could visualize the total monthly expenses. While some Rebels preferred the paper, pencil, and a protractor method, others immediately thought to use Google Sheets to create their graph. By the end of the class, everyone was shown how to create a data table in sheets and convert it to a graph of their choosing and could also use benchmarks (25%, 33%, 20% etc.) to create three different circle charts.
Additional Highlights
Monday was Pi Day!!! Rebels enjoyed some pie while we reviewed the history of Pi Day, the formula for pi, and how to manipulate the equation to find circumference or diameter when only one is known. On St. Patrick's Day, several of the Exploration Rebels joined the other studios to create Leprechaun traps! It was fantastic to watch the collaboration between our 4-year-old and 11-year-old Rebels!
Launchpad
While not working on their final chemistry lab report, reading Shakespeare, learning about World War II, or taking part in Workspace Sky courses, our learners were busy with Geometry, Algebra, Spanish, Dutch, and Deep Books.
Launchpad Rebels also spent time creating their first resumes! After identifying their strengths, experiences, and objective, they used Canva to create modern and visually pleasing CVs. Once finished, one learner approached a local coffee shop owner regarding opportunities for this spring!
Shakespeare Study
This week we read Act 3 of Much Ado About Nothing. Now that we are three acts into the play, we have seen a thematic repetition of subterfuge and "noting." Rebels also met the character Dogberry and were asked to track his rampant malapropisms used to add humour to each scene.
Canadian History
In this week's timeline activity, Rebels chose to dive deeper into the causes of World War 2, the surrendering of German troops at Stalingrad on February 2nd, 1943, the attack on Pearl Harbour, and the liberation of the Netherlands. We also had discussions regarding fascism, communism, and totalitarianism as we learned about Mussolini and Stalin before learning more about Canada's response to the threat of war.
WorkspaceSky Pilot workshops
The Socratic Discussion led by Revel, focused on whether minimum wages help or hurt the working poor. We joined with learners from Texas, California, and New York to discuss the pros and cons of a federally set minimum wage and how it affects those earning less than a living wage, small businesses, and large corporations. What an incredible group of teens!
Learners also took part in a variety of other workshops throughout the week. One Rebel is helping to build a self-governing community within a Minecraft realm, making decisions that will affect all who participate. They are also taking a course on Attention, and this week they learned that some brains easily harness their focus while others are infinitely distractible. They then dove into learning how to harness biology to increase their ability to focus. In another class called, Scheduling for Success, she learned how to use Google Suite tools to manage time and make space for fulfilling activities. This week was all about how Google calendar can help schedule meetings and events and get reminders about upcoming activities. They also learned that you could create multiple calendars and share them in order to work more efficiently as a team or family! In her Voice Acting class, they shared their experiences and dreams regarding voice acting before learning about different vocal techniques to adapt and change the sound of your voice. They also discussed final project ideas to present at the Expo!
Our other Rebel is taking a Critical Thinking course and this week's focus was on levels of thinking and how to become aware of what influences our thinking and the development of discernment. In their Forest workshop, they learned more about forests' role in keeping the earth in balance. They began with an overview of the ecosystem of forests, the statistics, the threats, and the role we can play in preserving and protecting these resources.
Worldbuilding
With all the WorkspaceSky workshops, learners have less time for World Building this session. One learner, however, was able to detail one of their races, the Nahla, finish writing the "Humans" chapter of their Race Masterlist, and start a second Masterlist for culture.
Independent Projects
This week, one Rebel finished the first sketch of the "Floral Evening Gown" design and contrasted common crinoline trends in France and England for the given time period.
Our other learner added sponsor logos to the Ottawa Children's Business Fair website, responded to emails, and approved applications for the event on May 15th!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark:
Have you made any products for the Spark business? What did you make? How much do you think you should charge? What do you think the studio should do with the money made at Exhibition?
If you could start any business what would it be?
Who are you thankful to have in your life?
French: Which numbers are written differently in French? How do you show the number 3 on your fingers in French and in English?
Discovery:
Civilizations: Is there a modern equivalent to the Roman gladiator? If so, what is it?
Draw and Anchor Math Lab: As a business owner, how will you manage wholesale prices and mark-ups to earn a profit?
Aim and Release Math Lab: What are some examples of simple interest for borrowing or saving money?
Reader/Writer: What is your hook going to be for your Elevator Pitch?
French: How did you go about writing your item descriptions? Which part did you find most challenging?
Exploration:
What materials do you need to gather for your business? How will you fund your start-up costs?
Math Lab: Why are circle graphs helpful for charting expenses? Which method did you prefer to use when creating your circle graph; paper and protractor or Google Sheets? Which would you use for a formal presentation to investors?
French : How did you go about writing your item descriptions? Which part did you find most challenging?
Launchpad:
If a minimum wage isn't a good idea, as Anthony Bradley contends, what can be done to help the working poor instead?
How were many totalitarian leaders able to gain power in Europe and Asia at the beginning of the twentieth century?
Which Workspace Sky workshop are you enjoying most?
Do you need any support with your resume and next steps?
Dates of Interest
Session 5 Exhibitions
Exploration Studio: Tuesday, April 5th at 4:30 pm
Spark Studio: Wednesday, April 6th at 4:15 pm
Discovery Studio: Thursday, April 7th at 4:30 pm
