Revel Recap: April 19 - 22, 2022
Spark Studio
Welcome to Session 6, Sparks!
Mindfulness
Each morning began in a very peaceful way this week. The Sparks took the time to have conversations with other Rebels about their April break before drawing pictures and writing a sentence on how they spent their time. On Wednesday, the Sparks stretched their bodies using the muscles we studied. The learners realized many of the stretches were similar to some of their known yoga poses! On Thursday, the Sparks started their morning with a group conversation followed by colouring with calming music. To end the week, the studio used their Gratitude journals to write about ways they can protect planet Earth after the Guides read I Can Save the Earth by Alison Inches. We can't wait for next week's mornings!
Quest
Did you know there are over 600 muscles in our bodies? Yes, that's right, and the Sparks can tell you all about it! This week the learners worked so hard to learn the major muscles in their bodies, such as the deltoids, quadriceps, abdominals, biceps, and triceps. Throughout the week, the Sparks worked together to find each muscle on themselves. They also labelled an image of the major muscles which led to them labelling their own traced selves. They worked together in pairs to trace one another, and based on the facial expressions; they clearly enjoyed the activity. The Sparks have created a workout routine with the major muscles and can't wait to show it during the Exhibition; get ready, friends and families! Knowing that muscles grow not only by exercise was an essential topic in the studio. The Sparks learned that nutrition, sleep, and play also play a significant role in building and protecting their muscles! Lastly, we read a book called The Busy Body by Lizzy Rockwell. It elaborated on other ways the Sparks can move their bodies and grow their muscles. Many Sparks expressed themselves and told everyone a fun way they like to move their bodies to stay healthy! What a fun first week back in the studio!
French
Bienvenue à la Session 6! The Sparks began the week by sharing some of the things they did over the break. Then, we read the date and reviewed numbers up to 40. We read “Une crème glacée à partager”, an Elephant and Piggie story. The Sparks also enjoyed watching a bit of Peppa Pig in French! On Wednesday and Thursday, we learned new numbers and reached the number 50. Finally, we reviewed the alphabet with a vocabulary game, and we played a round of Numbers Bingo!
Additional Highlights
The Sparks have been working super hard during their work periods this week on storytelling, phonics sh and ch, the 100 board and much more! For Earth Day, the Sparks discussed how they could protect Earth. Many of them shared thoughts such as no littering, recycling, and respecting the water for the animals. Sparks listened to a story called It's Earth Day written by Mercer Mayer in the studio. It explained many ways we can protect our environment and planet. Throughout the week, the guides placed an invitation with loose parts and a prompt on a whiteboard stating, "Can you make the Earth?" The imagination was incredible, and we overheard questions such as "Is the Earth round" and "Is the Earth flat?" as they worked on their designs.
This week we enjoyed reading buddies with our Discovery Rebels once again. But most importantly, the Rebels got together more than once! The Discovery learners are now officially joining us during our outdoor time, and it has been great to see new relationships forming! Thank goodness for warmer weather and sunshine! We did Show and Tell to end the week and were very grateful to have learners join us on Zoom to be a part of our day!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Welcome to Session 6, Discovery Rebels! By this point in the year, many Rebels have a favourite mindful way to start the day, whether reading in the library, quietly colouring with friends, or joining the yoga flows. Our new Rebel Mindfulness Coach for the session will run the Wednesday blocks next week. This week's yoga focused on gentle neck stretches and finding strength and stability in mountain poses.
Launches
On Tuesday’s launch Rebels played “Tu préfères ça…ou ça?”. This time, we had to pick between moving objects with our minds or reading people's minds. Most Rebels chose the former since it would allow them to do things such as transporting a penguin from the Antarctic with just their minds! We experimented with the core skills Reflex app on Wednesday to develop math fact fluency. We discussed the different goals that the Rebels have tried to track and measure progress, such as 10 minutes a day, 20 minutes a week or 1 Green Light a week and how this contributes to fact fluency development. On Thursday, we discussed the results of our experiment: on average, it takes about 22 minutes for the Rebels to get a green light. Based on this, we have adjusted our weekly goals to get at least one green light (or more), as this sustained practice is the most efficient way to develop fluency. Friday's Rebel-led Current Events report included Who's Cuter: Bunny vs. Kitty, the 70 billion dollar deal between video game companies Activision Blizzard and Microsoft, and a new species of fish discovered in the Maldives.
Math Lab
The theme of Math Lab this session is Procedural Fluency. Over the next several weeks, the Rebels will explore what it means to be flexible, efficient, and accurate when solving problems. The Aim and Release Rebels connected this understanding with how a doctor performs surgery. They described how a surgeon must be knowledgeable, have multiple strategies (flexibility), and choose which approach takes the least work or effort (efficiency if a patient is in trouble). They also need to have steady hands to ensure the procedure is done correctly (accuracy). Each week they will work on challenging word problems and take turns describing their strategies. By the end of the session, the goal is to publish fluent solutions for at least three of the 11 problems presented. A fluent solution would show multiple strategies, which one is the best and why, and how they know they are correct. This week, we focused on defining a strategy vs. an algorithm, with the Rebels exploring five ways to solve 49 + 262 to illustrate this key difference. Draw and Anchor Rebels will start next week.
Reader/Writer
In this session, we will be learning how to write five-paragraph essays complete with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. While this genre can be formulaic, having an organizational structure can be incredibly helpful for our reluctant writers as they get started in writing longer pieces. This week we tackled how to interpret an essay prompt and make a claim. After practising with different prompts, learners were able to make their claims, develop three reasons to support their opinion, and create their thesis statement. Using the essay structure, they then mapped out the skeleton of their introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
French
Bienvenue à la Session 6! In this session, Rebels will be learning about three French-speaking countries in North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. We played a game of Kahoot in which we learned that the main religion of the Maghreb region is Islam and that the countries we are studying are former French colonies. Then, the Rebels used their online research skills and the provided links to gather information about the location and flag of each country. On Thursday, we played a game called "Le téléphone arabe." In this game, one learner whispers a message to another learner (aka "the phone line"), who then whispers it to another. At the end of the phone line, the last learner then writes down what they heard and compares it with the original message! Rebels who completed their work early had time to watch an episode of Mouk in Morocco.
Civilizations
Our story of the ancient world continues this session into Ancient India and Ancient China. This week, we heard the story of the Ganges River goddess, Ganga, and how she would not provide water to the people of the Indus Valley who were thirsty. Another story was about the caste system and how people were separated into classes of priests, warriors, farmers, and servants. Lastly, we learned the story of Siddhartha, who later became known as Buddha, and how he saw life differently after leaving his family castle and seeing the streets with people from other castes. Our key focus in the conversation was the geography of India's two major river deltas (the Indus and Ganges deltas) and how this supported the people who lived there. We also shared ideas about the impact and ethics of classes in society.
Quest
On Tuesday, the Rebels Physicists entered the Rube Goldberg Engineering Contest. OK Go! We hit the ground running in this first week, meeting our Running Team and our Running Partners. Rebels will complete all STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) challenges with their team members (Running Team) and have their work approved based on the Standards of Excellence by their peers (their Running Partners). For their first series of challenges, the Rebels had to design two cars powered in different ways, exploring the concepts of gravity, momentum, and thrust. They competed in a contest with their vehicles on Thursday based on distance and accuracy. Over the week, the Rebels tried to isolate variables that would improve the performance of their car, such as the placement of wheels, size of the axle, added mass, positioning of the balloon thruster, etc. This culminated in each team writing a guide on how to best operate their vehicle and the final heat in Thursday's races where their competitors drove their car!
Physical Development
On Wednesday, the Rebels could choose between Mayhem Bootcamp in the gym or outdoor Track and Field training. The Bootcamp featured strength, cardio and core exercises circuits, and the Rebels worked hard to follow good form and increase their reps from the last session. Outside, the Rebels practiced relay racing and long jump.
Additional Highlights
Draw and Anchor met for another Body Talk on Friday, picking back up on pregnancy and childbirth raised in the last session. They came up with many changes that they know happen to the female body when growing a baby, and we compared it to this TED Ed video, learning about the proper terms for important parts like the uterus.
After our Reflex experiment on Wednesday, we decided on a new studio contest for Session 6 called the 100 Green Light Challenge! Each week we will track how many green lights the Rebels earn, and if we get to 100 collectively by Week 5, then we will celebrate with a movie and snacks. This week the Rebels earned 14 green lights. Go, Rebels!
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness and Launches
This week, Rebels started their mornings with yoga, a Peloton meditation, working on a Lego map, or taking 15 minutes to themselves to prepare for the day.
On Tuesday, we took the time to regroup and remember the "Why." We then dissected our current accountability systems, discussed potential changes, and chose to move to Triads instead of Squads this session. Next week we will reflect on the changes made to our Rebel Buck system, studio maintenance, and studio productivity to continue increasing the intentionality for the remaining two sessions. We also introduced a KhanTest where learners will work together to earn a celebration if they put in 15,000 active minutes on Khan Academy over the next five weeks. Lastly, a list of leadership opportunities was posted on the Journey Tracker Bulletin Board, including; Fall Overnight Trip planner, Mural Designer, Contest Creator, 3D Printing Guru, Acton Representative, Rebel Olympics Coordinator, and more. Wednesday’s launch Rebels played “Tu préfères ça…ou ça?”. The first card asked us to pick between having a strawberry for a nose or kiwis for ears. Then, we discussed whether we'd prefer to lay eggs or have to pee every ten minutes. Quels choix difficiles! On Thursday, we discussed design vs. production. Using a reference data chart, learners had to recommend to the government if they should reinforce specific regions of a fighter plane to increase the strength while recognizing the expense and effect on the speed and manoeuvrability of the aircraft. We also had to put ourselves in the shoes of a team leader who has to decide whether to follow direct orders even when unsatisfied with a product's design or go against the boss to create something you know is better. Is failure necessary? As Rebels saw in a video of space launch failures, advancements in science and technology do not always progress smoothly.
Our closings this week focused on Team Building. We drew popsicle sticks with a peer’s name and gave them a Character Callout, played a Newton’s Laws focused Jeopardy, and had a very productive Town Hall!
Genre - 5 Paragraph Essay
In this session, we will be writing five-paragraph essays. While this genre can be formulaic, having an organizational structure can be incredibly helpful for our reluctant writers to get started in writing longer pieces. This week we tackled how to interpret an essay prompt and make a claim. After practising with different prompts, learners were able to make their claims, develop three reasons to support their opinion, and create their thesis statement. Using the essay structure, they then mapped out the skeleton of their introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Quest
Welcome, Rocket Scientists! The first day of our Session 6 Quest was spent gathering in our teams to prepare our lab notebooks, sign the safety agreement, choose a team name, and sign a group contract outlining roles and what to do when there is conflict or disagreement. We then looked at Newton's Laws and connected the Law of Inertia, Law of Force and Law of Action and Reaction to rocket launches. We reviewed the scientific method using the popular Mentos and Diet Coke experiment by analyzing the experimental question, creating a hypothesis using the "If, then, because" format, and discussing the control, independent and dependent variables, and constants. Wednesday, Rebels dove into rocket design and were tasked with creating a technical diagram that included structural, propulsion, and payload systems for their film canister rockets they will begin next week. They also learned more about the four forces, flight, and free body diagrams through research and online simulations if they had time.
We split into two groups on Friday, and half of our teams conducted their Mentos experiment. Groups tested the reactions with different types of soda, different flavours or number of Mentos added, and various mint candies. Rebels filmed their eruptions to record the eruption's height and length of reaction and then measure the volume of soda remaining. (Once all of our groups have a chance to conduct their trials, we will attempt to find the best recipe for the best explosion!) Meanwhile, the other four groups learned how to use an Estes AltiTrak tool to help them calculate altitude. After measuring a baseline distance, learners used the AltiTrack to measure the angle to the top of various objects such as trees, buildings, and one another. Using a Tangent Table, they could translate their angle to a tangent which they then placed in the formula Altitude = Angle Tangent x Baseline Distance.
Health
Our friend Layal came in to talk with us about Body Image this week. We discussed puberty and the physical, emotional, and social changes that often occur. We were introduced to a puberty kit to learn more about the changes and how to embrace them. Our session ended with how these changes can affect our perception of our body and how eating disorders and substance use and their detrimental impact on our health.
On Wednesday, the Rebels could choose between Mayhem Bootcamp in the gym or outdoor Track and Field training. The Bootcamp featured strength, cardio and core exercises circuits, and the Rebels worked hard to follow good form and increase their reps from the last session. Outside, the Rebels practiced relay racing and long jump.
French
Bienvenue à la Session 6! In this session, Rebels will be learning about three French-speaking countries in West Africa: Senegal, Mali and Benin. After a game of Kahoot, Rebels used their online research skills and the provided links to find out the shape and the flag of each country and some geopolitical information.
Additional Highlights
Most of the Rebels had a Mentor Meeting this week where we discussed their goals and priorities for the remaining two sessions. We reviewed the Goal Trackers and Badge Plans, highlighting any areas that they may need to be altered to end the year on a high and ready for the next level. We also decided that this will be our last session with time set aside for Documentary creation. While many Rebels have significant work to complete, they felt that having a tighter deadline would help them focus and make tough decisions about what to include and what to cut.
Launchpad
Canadian History
In this session, we will be focusing on Canadian history from 1945 to 1980. We began with a timeline exercise where the learners each chose two events between 1945 and 1957. We then read about the "Changing Face of Canada" as we learned about Post-War immigration, the rise of the suburbs, the age of the automobile, the roles of women in the 50s, the birth of teen culture, and the impact of television and the Consumer Society. Rebels compared what they had learned about teen culture in the 50s to being a teenager today. We also learned about The Massey Commission and the creation of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) which were created to protect Canadian culture. Lastly, we learned how the post-war years were also times of transition for Aboriginal communities, including education and changes made to the Indian Act.
Rocket Science
Launchpad is joining the Exploration Rebels to study the chemistry and physics associated with rocket science! The first day of our Session 6 Quest was spent preparing lab notebooks, signing the safety agreement, choosing a team name, and creating and signing a group contract outlining roles and what to do in conflict or disagreement. We then looked at Newton's Laws and connected the Law of Inertia, Law of Force and Law of Action and Reaction to rocket launches. We reviewed the scientific method using the popular Mentos and Diet Coke experiment by analyzing the experimental question, creating a hypothesis using the If, then, because format, and discussing the control, independent and dependent variables, and constants. Wednesday, Rebels dove into rocket design and were tasked with creating a technical diagram that included a structural, propulsion, and payload system for their film canister rockets they will start next week. They also learned more about the four forces, flight, and free body diagrams through research and online simulations if they had time.
On Friday, our Launchpad Rebels were able to conduct their Mentos and Diet Coke experiment. Rebels filmed their eruptions to record the height and length of the reaction and then measure the remaining soda volume. Once all of our groups have a chance to conduct their trials, we will attempt to find the best recipe for the best explosion! They also used their time in the afternoon to learn how to use an Estes AltiTrak tool to help them calculate altitude. After measuring a baseline distance, they used the AltiTrack to measure the angle to the top of various objects such as trees, buildings, and one another. Using a Tangent Table, they could translate their angle to a tangent which they then placed in the formula Altitude = Angle Tangent x Baseline Distance.
Health
Our friend Layal came in to talk with us about Body Image this week. We discussed puberty and the physical, emotional, and social changes that often occur. We were introduced to a puberty kit to learn more about the changes and how to embrace them. Our session ended with how these changes can affect our perception of our body and how eating disorders and substance use and their detrimental impact on our health.
WorkspaceSky Pilot
As many of the courses are still on their spring break, only our Socratic Discussion was held this week. One of our Rebels took the lead and led the group of teens through a discussion on robotics and artificial intelligence. Next week our classes will start again, ending at the end of May.
Additional Highlights
William was back in the studio for our weekly Friday Worldbuilding session, and the learners are excited to extend their time with them in the weeks ahead!
Launchpad also continued working on their independent projects. One learner ran the Ottawa Children’s Business Fair online Kick-Off event on Thursday while they other continued working on their historical fashion research and dress design!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark:
How can you build your muscles?
What exercises could you do that work your obliques or your quadriceps?
French: What are you most interested in learning about this session?
Discovery:
What was the most challenging part of designing your car in Quest? The wheels, the axle, the balloon thruster or something else?
What is your new Reflex green light goal, and how do you earn a green light?
Earth Day was on Friday. What are some things we could do to reduce our carbon footprint or protect our planet?
French: What are some things you'd like to learn about North Africa this session?
Exploration:
Which is most important, the fortitude to embrace the reality of failure or the foresight to learn from it?
Would it pain you more for a launch to fail within seconds or within miles of its destination? Why?
French: What are some things you'd like to learn about West Africa this session?
Launchpad:
Would it pain you more for a launch to fail within seconds or within miles of its destination? Why?
How is your Much Ado About Nothing final project progressing?
What are your priorities for Session 6? Could you share your plan with me?
Dates of Interest
Session 6 Exhibitions
Spark: Wednesday, May 18th at 4:15 pm
Discovery: Tuesday, May 17th at 4:30 pm
Exploration: Thursday, May 19th at 4:30 pm
Launchpad: Thursday, May 19th at 4:30 pm
Middle School Track Meet: May 18th 9:15 am - 2:00 pm