Revel Recap: September 19 - 23, 2022
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
The Sparks continue to improve their connection with themselves and how they feel, and they can get their minds and body prepared for the week with such positivity. To start our week, the Sparks affirmation on Monday was respect. We spoke about how respect can be heard and seen in their thoughts, feelings and belongings and those of others. The Guides have used this affirmation as they will be focusing on emotions and feelings during Quest this week. The Sparks then followed along to Breath like a Bear; a mindful moment called, “Send Good Thoughts.” During this activity, the Sparks closed their eyes, thought of someone they loved, and imagined that person was standing in front of them. They then had to think of something nice to say to that person. We listened to the Emotion Motion Podcast on Tuesday called Play Date Problem Solvers. The podcast talked about how the main character felt so many emotions before his playdate and how he could navigate through them. He learned that his feelings would come and go and how communicating with his friends would help him change the feelings he didn’t want to feel. Yoga Wednesday was directed by Cosmic Kids, exploring emotions. On Thursday, the Sparks did a directed drawing of the colour monster and coloured it based on how they felt that morning. To end the week, the Sparks wrote something about fall that makes them grateful in their gratitude journals. Lots of Sparks said they love the colour of the leaves and jumping into piles of fallen leaves!
Quest
The Colour Monster, written by Anna Llenas, was the perfect book to kick off our week on our emotions and feelings. The Sparks truly enjoyed this book and have gathered so much valuable information from its pages. It was great to watch them continuously return to the story when asked which monster they felt like at the moment. On Tuesday, the Sparks listened to a story called, Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Anne Miranda. The learners shared times when they felt sad, angry and happy. They are courageous to speak about their emotions, and we want them to understand that we all have different feelings and that expressing ourselves is ok. Afterward, the Sparks went into the gym and split into groups. Each group was given a colour monster and had to demonstrate the feelings as an action. We also played an emotions monster running game! Wow, the Sparks are great at acting and running! On Wednesday, we focused on the understanding that it’s ok to feel sad. Sadness is a part of our life; we will all experience it but can react to and acknowledge it differently. To end our emotions and feelings week of Quest, everyone enjoyed a game of Bingo related to feelings. Next week we will write our Studio’s Promises, learn how to be a bucket filler, and speak about our dreams and talents.
Math
This year the Guides have created specific time frames for Math. We have split into two groups to meet the needs of each child when learning the subject. Our focus this week was golden beads and large number cards, addition and recognition of numbers 1 through 10. Everyone sang the 1-100 song and completed the 100 charts as a group.
Geography
The Seven Continent song is stuck not only in the learners’ heads but the Guides’ as well! The Sparks have been working hard to learn about the continents, and we began with learning more about North America, the animals, weather and realizing that it’s where we live. Near the end of the week, we focused on Asia. The Sparks knew it was the largest continent and could name a few of the countries located there.
French
This week we continued to learn how to communicate our emotions and review our other vocabulary words in French. We also played “Move if you have this Colour on You” and “What Time is it, Mister Wolf?” to practice our colours and numbers on Monday. Tuesday, we drew our emotions and Wednesday, we listened to the video “The Wolf who Mastered his Emotions.” Thursday, we learned several vocabulary words about autumn in French with the help of a colouring activity.
Additional Highlights
Week three quietly approached our studio, and the Sparks are ready to start their Journey Board. The Sparks have noticed that their studio has many natural elements, such as plants and trees. It brings the outdoors in and creates a great feeling inside the studio. After learning the parts of a tree, the Sparks have chosen to use a tree image to connect their Journey Board to the studio setting. To consolidate our learning, the Sparks completed a booklet to review the parts of a tree, completed a puzzle, and worked as a team to label the diagram. We are excited to bring this aspect into our studio as it can encourage team building, independent learning, and goal setting.
As this week was the first day of fall, the Guides read the story; There was an Old Lady who Swallowed some Leaves. The Sparks laughed so hard during the reading as they couldn’t believe all of the items the lady was eating. Everyone worked together to answer comprehension questions and coloured pictures from the book.
During recess on Friday, all Rebels joined in on the Terry Fox Run in honour of the Canadian hero. In the studio, we read the story Terry Fox and Me, an excellent introduction for the Sparks to learn about Terry Fox’s journey. We had a French read-aloud to end the week and enjoyed a fun Fun Friday!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
For Mantra Monday, the Rebels set up our affirmation station and spoke different “I am ___” statements to themselves using the mirror! We paired up with conversation cards called Our Moments during Talk It Out Tuesday. This was an excellent opportunity to continue to deepen our community ties by discovering interests and opinions about various thoughtful topics! On Wonder Wednesday, we listened to more classical music and continued our Fibonacci-inspired art, looking into the number sequence that helps build the logarithmic spiral. On Thankful Thursday, we started our gratitude practice, and the Rebels responded to prompts about all the different things in life they can be grateful for, such as our cousins, friends, funny dances, love, and time at the cottage. Feel Good Friday featured another yoga flow and a Go Noodle Chase to get our bodies moving and our hearts pumping.
Launches
This week’s launch series was about equipping ourselves for our independent work during Core Skills. On Monday, we reviewed how to set SMART goals in Journey Tracker, and the Rebels are starting to see the literal payoff (Rebel Bucks) for their hard work! For the rest of the week, we investigated two monsters: distraction and resistance. Specifically, we explored how each monster shows up on our path and what strategies will help us battle them. On Tuesday, we figured out what distraction might look like and sound like, and some Rebels chose to use timers to help them keep track of time and focus on a specific goal. Wednesday, we looked into resistance and how it sounds like the different excuses we make when we don’t want to do something. Thursday’s launch was designed to inspire. We read a story about a Canadian hero, Terry Fox: A Story of Hope. Friday’s Current Events report included a feature on how meteorologists track storms in Canada and a story about three Canadian kid heroes who used First Aid to save lives.
Reader/Writer
During Monday’s Rebel Reader workshop, the Rebels listened to the story Water Princess and focused on the “cross-checking” strategy to notice if the words and pictures match and if what is being read makes sense (letters, sounds, context). The story explains the long journey to water and the lack of access to clean water that one young girl in Burkina Faso experiences. The Rebels thought a lot about how this compares to their lives and made connections to their “my life is a river” metaphor and what it would feel like if their river dried up. We then revisited the idea of writing profound sentences from last week and continued to develop ideas and give each other feedback about their drafts, inspired by Princess Gie Gie’s tale. During Friday’s Wrap-Up, the Rebels had a team challenge where they had to organize segments of Ms. Mel’s river writing, deciding if it had a beginning, middle and end (the flow). Next, they reflected on the quality of her draft, discussing if it had deep sentences and enough detail. Next week, they will give feedback to each other based on the same criteria.
Math Lab
During Math Lab this week, the Rebels participated in a choral counting warm-up by 10s, 100s, and 1000s from random starting numbers like 13, 135 or 1358. We then played with the hundreds chart and mapped out skip-counting families or multiples of 2, 3 and 4, looking for overlapping patterns. Then the Rebels chose between word problems related to these patterns, focusing on different ways we can represent or show our thinking, like pictures, square tiles, or models with coded legends. During Friday’s Congress, the Rebels shared their problem-solving strategies and gave feedback using helpful prompts. For example, “I see it a different way…” or “I disagree because _____.”
Civilizations
After the death of Julius Caesar, the Rebels learned this week that his nephew, Octavian inherited great wealth and generously donated much of it to the poor Roman citizens. He quickly gained popularity, and the Rebels saw how his choices differed from his adoptive father. While Octavian still led the senate and the Roman army, he wanted to lead more like Cincinnatus than Julius Caesar. We discussed these choices and whether or not leadership styles from the past should impact leadership worldwide today. We also mapped the expanding Roman Empire around the Mediterranean Sea and continued to colour portraits of these Roman leaders, making comics to summarize key events from the read-aloud.
French and French Cooking Workshop
This week we had fun playing games that helped us work on translating and labelling everyday objects that surround us. We also began developing our French goals for the year. In our French cooking workshop, we made french fries! While a bit spicier than intended, they were still a hit!
Quest
On Monday, the Rebels discussed Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and what we NEED in our community to get to the best versions of ourselves. We then had time to continue to work on our Hero Boards and studio River Mural. On Tuesday, we used a checklist of items to help concentrate peer feedback on how well each board represents the Rebel and what they might add to showcase themselves better. We also discussed the concept of “excellent work” and will continue this next week as we get closer to badge submissions. Wednesday, the Rebels voted on which of the Rules of Engagement (ROEs) and Studio Covenants (promises) they wanted to keep, adjust or delete from our “Create The Culture” trials. Thursday, the Rebels had their last chance to complete their river mural paintings and finish all Quest deliverables to date. Next week we will start planning for our very first Exhibition of the year!
Physical Development
Monday, Rebels played games with Mme. Marianne or Manhunt in the park with Erin. On Wednesday, special guest coach Ms. Megan came out to help the Discovery Rebels prepare for the Soccer Jamboree next week. The Rebels warmed up with a dribbling exercise, aiming at the net and passing to their teammates before a quick game to practice positioning on the field!
Additional Highlights
The Rebels voted to include a weekly Show and Tell closing on Mondays, and it has been so much fun to see what the Rebels bring in and why the artifacts are important to them. It is also a great opportunity to practice whole body listening and not interrupting - two very important ROEs we’re working on currently.
We joined all the Revel Rebels on Friday for our school’s annual Terry Fox Run. It was a great time to come together and honour this Canadian hero’s journey. “Anything is possible if you try. Dreams are made if people try.”
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness
This week we began our Mindfulness sessions with a discussion of expectations. On Monday, we were on a hike in the woods, where we attempted to be aware of our surroundings, the sounds, the sights, and the smells. Tuesday, we learned how puzzles help our brains before working on an affirmation crossword. We pulled out the yoga mats and completed a full body scan on Wednesday. It was great to hear the Rebels rouse themselves afterward and say they felt less tension in their shoulders or jaw! Thursday, we had our first colouring session with peaceful music in the background and on Friday, we wrote a gratitude list on a post-it to stick in our work area for the day.
Launches
As we continue to create our culture in the Exploration Studio, this week’s launch series focused on better understanding ourselves, our role in the studio, and Revel expectations. We watched Adam Grant’s TedTalk on Monday on Givers, Takers, and Matchers. We learned that in every workplace, you will find those three kinds of people and that if we avoid burning out our Givers and allow space for asking for help, we can promote a community of generous givers while keeping takers from hurting our studio. What is excellence? We watched this speech by Naval Adm. William H. McRaven, who gave us his ten lessons for life. The first was about how if you start each day by making your bed, you have already accomplished one task, which will help kickstart a more productive day. The second was, “If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.” On Wednesday, we learned the “SOFTEN UP” technique and how smiling, open arms, forward-leaning, touch, eye contact, nodding, undivided attention, and positivity significantly increase the likelihood of a great first impression. We voted in our first Rebel Buck Council of the year on Thursday and discussed potential job opportunities at Revel. Rebels can apply for a job (or two) and receive compensation for work well done. Final applications will be due next Friday. To honour the life of Terry Fox, we learned more about his life and the impact he still has today.
Community Service
On Monday morning, Sharon Boddy met in Carlington forest to speak with us about the park’s various species, including endangered, invasive, and interesting ones! We also learned more about the work to preserve the area and how we can help! Beginning next week, a group will help to plant some native species in the garden by the stairway and start removing some of the Buckthorn. Tuesday, Shawna Thibodeau, the Max Keeping Humanitarian Award winner for 2022, came to speak with us about her outreach with the homeless in Ottawa. Shawna’s perspective and passion greatly inspired us as she helped us to open our eyes to some of the current problems and the steps we could take as a studio to make a difference. Our last visit of the week was from Christie Byvelds, who spoke with us about mental health. We learned more about the various resources available, barriers to access, and concrete steps we could take if a friend or we were struggling.
After three powerful visits, learners had time to think more about the service project they would like to take on this year, researching various organizations or causes. They also completed a personal passions and assets inventory to brainstorm ways that they could put their talents to the greatest use.
Math Lab
This week in Math Lab, we began by going over our norms. We discussed how speed does not equate to being strong in math and how we shouldn’t yell out the answer so that our peers also have time to think through the problem. We also reminded ourselves that there is no such thing as a “math person”; we are all capable of learning and loving math. We then had fun with the Crackers activity, a fun math trick that allows a person to guess someone’s number using a series of cards. After blowing their minds with a few examples, Rebels made observations about the patterns on the cards and created a convincing argument for how the trick works. Those who wanted to take it a step further attempted to figure out what the next card in the series would look like. With the time remaining, Rebels worked toward their Khan, Reflex, or coding goals.
Quest
We began our week learning about three of the greatest challenges we will face on our hero’s journey; resistance, distraction, and victimhood. After we learned about each one, Rebels deeply delved into the one or two that they believed troubled them the most. Learners then came up with solutions for how they would avoid the common pitfalls and developed some SMART strategies for the year ahead. Learners then answered a series of questions, such as the Zimbardo test, to determine how they perceive time and whether they are more optimists or pessimists. Once we discovered our results, we discussed and reflected on how this knowledge could help them moving forward. Rebels also took a Human Needs test which force ranked the most important to least important out of; significance, love and connection, growth, certainty, variety, and contribution. Not all learners agreed with their results; however, some felt that perhaps they weren’t being honest with themselves. These tests require a significant amount of reading, an understanding of high-level vocabulary, and focus. Excellent persistence, Rebels! Next week we will take all our results to create our Hero Boards!
Hero Essay
Rebels also continued to add to their personal Hero essay this week. Their aim is to take a strong stand with as much evidence as possible on the following three questions, “Who am I?” “Who do I want to become?” and “What do I promise to change, and what will I hold sacred?” Once completed, they will also add a Launch (introduction) and a Call to Action (conclusion).
Civilization
The early Universe was dark and cold until a few atoms of hydrogen and helium got together to create a star! Rebels learned about the Goldilocks conditions that took place for the birth of the first stars to occur; a fantastic chain of events enabled a diversity of elements and chemistry. We then learned about massive supernovae and how these explosions scattered all of the periodic table elements throughout the Universe. Once our lesson and research was completed, one Rebel led an outstanding Socratic discussion ensuring our rules of engagement were followed!
French and Mural Workshop
In Exploration this week, we filled out a lengthy questionnaire to get to know each other better and practice common questions in French. We also played Boulettes, a miming game, because when you don’t fully know a language, you often have to mime strange things! We also played our French Flag game and worked hard on our mural stencils!
Additional Highlights
As a whole school, we completed a Terry Fox Run on Friday. We were so impressed with the Exploration Studio as we saw several learners push themselves to complete multiple laps while others slowed their pace to help our younger Rebels. What an incredible community!
This week most of the Rebels had their first mentor meeting with Erin to discuss their current progress, comfort, challenge and panic zones, and goals for the year. Family meetings will be held over the next few weeks to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page.
Launchpad
Now that we are in full swing, Launchpad Rebels independently complete their weekly goals in math, literature, communication, and second languages each morning. In Spanish, our Rebel reviewed numbers and the alphabet while learning about Puerto Rico, while our other Rebel chose a French sci-fi feminist novel to read and discuss with Mme. Marianne.
Service Project
On Monday morning, Sharon Boddy met in Carlington forest to speak with us about the park’s various species, including endangered, invasive, and interesting ones! We also learned more about the work to preserve the area and how we can help! Beginning next week, a group will help to plant some native species in the garden by the stairway and start removing some of the Buckthorn. Tuesday, Shawna Thibodeau, the Max Keeping Humanitarian Award winner for 2022, came to speak with us about her outreach with the homeless in Ottawa. Shawna’s perspective and passion greatly inspired us as she helped us to open our eyes to some of the current problems and the steps we could take as a studio to make a difference. Our last visit of the week was from Christie Byvelds, who spoke with us about mental health. We learned more about the various resources available, barriers to access, and concrete steps we could take if a friend or we were struggling.
After three powerful visits, learners had time to think more about the service project they would like to take on this year, researching various organizations or causes. They also completed a personal passions and assets inventory to brainstorm ways that they could put their talents to the greatest use. Should they use their design skills to create an awareness campaign or their cooking skills to make meals for the soup kitchen?
Apprenticeship
While our learners need to find a service project, they also need to secure a valuable apprenticeship this year. They began by using their Spark Path Career Journal to help guide them through the process of identifying and reaching their career goals. Instead of focusing on job titles, our learners will think critically about what challenges, problems, and opportunities they are passionate about when crafting their ideal position. This week they focused on
Civilization
The early Universe was dark and cold until a few atoms of hydrogen and helium got together to create a star! Rebels learned about the Goldilocks conditions that took place for the birth of the first stars to occur; a fantastic chain of events enabled a diversity of elements and chemistry. We then learned about massive supernovae and how these explosions scattered all of the periodic table elements throughout the Universe. Both learners brought their evidence and reasoning, adding to the depth of the discussion with the Exploration Rebels.
Science
This week learners reviewed testable questions, formal lab report requirements, and how to analyze data and create accurate graphs. Lastly, we reviewed simple and multivalent ionic compounds to end our week.
Coding
This week in coding, Launchpad learned about the four types of processing that computers might use to turn input into output and reviewed how computers store information. The rest of the week was spent working on a team app proposal. The app needed to solve a defined real-world problem and identify the inputs, outputs, storage, and processing required. After the app design was complete, the Launchpad Rebels shared their idea with a couple of peers to receive feedback to incorporate into their final design.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark
Can you tell me more about the Colour Monsters? What do the different colours mean?
Can you teach me the Continent Song?
French: What colour do you have on today?
Discovery
What is the Challenge Donut? Which apps put you in your Comfort zone? Challenge zone? Panic zone?
Which monster are you struggling with the most: distraction, victimhood or resistance? What strategies will help you stay on track next week?
Let’s do some choral counting. Choose a random number to start at and count on by 10s, 100s or 1000s.
Is your river writing draft ready for peer review? If not, what moments from your life do you want to write more about?
French: Why do we say French fries? Why are they French?
Exploration
What patterns did you notice in the Math Lab “Crackers” activity? Can you show me how it works?
Do you tend to focus on the past, present or future? Do you feel you are an optimist or a pessimist?
What skill do you believe contributed most to Mendeleev’s development of the Periodic Table; pattern recognition, natural curiosity, or the ability to view things from different perspectives? What is your evidence? Is this true when you have to look for creative solutions to a serious problem?
Launchpad
Can you tell me about your app proposal?
While early in the planning stages, could you tell me what you are thinking for your service project idea or potential apprenticeship options?
Dates of Interest
Monday, September 26th, 2022 - Franco-Ontarien(ne) Day - wear Green!
“Perfectionism: How to Stop Moving the Goalposts” - Online talk given by Dr. Matt Zakreski from 8-9 pm on Tuesday, September 27th (Zoom link to be sent in advance)
Discovery Soccer Jamboree at Turnbull School - Wednesday, September 28th (leaving Revel at 9:10 am).
Truth and Reconciliation Day and Orange Shirt Day - Friday, September 30th
Babysitting Course through Safety Tree - Sunday, October 2nd
Clean Up the Capital Campaign - Tuesday, October 4th
Session 1 Exhibitions
Discovery: Tuesday, October 4th at 4:15 pm
Spark: Wednesday, October 5th at 4:15 pm
Exploration: Thursday, October 6th at 4:15 pm
Sessional Break - October 11th - 14th
Rebel/Grown-Up/Guide Meetings for Spark and Discovery (coming in Session 2/November) - We are happy to meet sooner if you would like, but this will give the Rebels a chance to take more ownership of their Goal Trackers and routines.