Revel Recap: September 25 - 29, 2023
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
Monday morning was unlike any other for the Sparks! As the sun was shining, the breeze blowing, they ventured to the grass field with their yoga mats. As they lay down, they closed their eyes and took five deep breaths. The Guides then directed them through a gentle meditation, where they listened to the noises they heard surrounding them. Once back inside, the Sparks were handed a blank canvas to draw whatever they saw in the sky or near them during their mindfulness practice outdoors. On Tuesday, our day began with a directed drawing of a hot chocolate due to the chilly fall air. Midweek, we spiked our energy during a follow-along HIIT workout with Ms. Kaitlin. Our number cubes gave us the number of times we completed each exercise. Thursday, we learned about Truth and Reconciliation. We watched a mini-clip about why we wear orange on September 30th, followed by a colouring activity. On Friday, we read the book Who You Were Made to Be by Joanna Gaines. The Sparks were then given an image of a hot air balloon, and inside, they wrote three character traits they would use to describe themselves. Many learners said they were kind, imaginative, loving and funny!
Quest
On Monday, the Guides introduced a project the learners will work on until Exhibition - Vision Boards! We discussed the process and the importance of vision board creation, and on Tuesday, we were ready to jump into design. It started with mini-interviews with the Guides on dreams, needs and abilities (DNA). The learners listened to the story Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison, which is based on a character who embarks on a journey of self-discovery, a relatable figure to the learners at Revel! The story's character demonstrates that any dream can be achieved with dedication and determination. The learners were given a piece of paper and took time to write down a dream of theirs. Once everyone finished, we met in a group and took turns throwing their dreams into our wishing well (hula-hoop) and shouting it out loud. Afterwards, each learner explained why that dream was important to them. To end the day, the learners started designing their vision boards with their names, photos, and dreams/goals.
The following day, we read the book What Do You Do with an Idea? by Kobi Yamada. The story shares that ideas come in all shapes and sizes. It follows a child with an idea he doesn't know what to do with and is afraid others will think it is too strange, different, and wild, so he keeps it to himself. But as the child's confidence grows, so does the idea itself. This led the Sparks to answer the following questions for their vision boards: What experiences do you want to have? Who are your role models? Where do you want to live? And what makes you smile? The Sparks devoted time to this exercise all week and can't wait to share them at Exhibition.
Geography
From their North American journey, the Sparks decided to head down to South America to explore more of the continent and animals. We listened to the continent song before they started their animal scavenger hunt. The Sparks sang loud and proud! For the Sparks to discover which animals are native to South America, the Guide read three fun facts about six different animals. This week's animals were llamas, anteaters, jaguars, toucans, capybaras and sloths. Last week, Sparks provided feedback stating, "The scavenger hunt was too easy." This week, they were given a challenge, and the animals were much tougher to find!
Art
During art exploration, the Sparks were joined by a few Exploration Rebels! They started by reading Pete the Cat Falling for Autumn where Pete the Cat takes a stroll through the vibrant and colourful autumn landscape. He is on his journey and encounters falling leaves, apples and pumpkins. The learners then created an acorn family using googly eyes, pipe cleaners and acorn cutouts. Each family was unique in their own way!
Math
Introducing social and emotional skills to the Sparks has helped change how they view math. They recognized that math is not just about numbers, shapes, and measurements but how we interact and connect with the materials and gather information. The "math feelings advice" exercise encouraged the learners to complete the sentence, "If you are feeling_______, here is what you can do." The Sparks worked in pairs to complete this activity. They devised two ways to work around the specific feeling and shared their thoughts with the Guides. The following day, the Sparks continued with their 2D shapes, reviewing circles, triangles, rectangles, ovals, and squares. They then used these shapes to create ice cream cones, labelling each shape.
Reader/Writer Workshops
This week, we explored uppercase and lowercase letters. We learned that each letter has two different forms, one standing tall and proud, the uppercase, and the other more modest and humble, the lowercase. It was like getting to know the personalities of the alphabet. Using our word wall to work on our Lexia sight words, the learners wrote a sentence as a group. This week's keyword was, you. But that wasn't all! We also ventured into the world of punctuation, particularly the period. We discovered that the period is like a little traffic stop sign for our sentences, telling readers to take a pause and absorb what we've written.
French
We completed a Potato Head craft on Monday to continue learning about body parts. On Tuesday, we learned the French song « Tête, genoux, orteils» (head, shoulder, knees and toes); the Sparks are great singers! We listened to a video on Wednesday to continue learning body parts with the help of Potato Head, and on Thursday, we played in the gym, practiced our song, and played the colour game.
Additional Highlights
It was another eventful week in the Spark Studio! The learners took part in their first Show and Tell of the year, and they decided to each take turns sharing their material, listen to everyone share, and then ask questions during free time. At the end of most days, we continued the story of Captain Underpants and finally finished the first story. The learners claim that the show is much funnier. With our extra time, we went to the gym and played a game called Hungry Hippo. The learners were placed into three groups and had to reach for the material surrounding their mats. Once all the materials were gathered, they had to add everything up. Each piece of material was worth a different amount.
We have continued to read fun facts of the day and have had productive work periods. The learners always look out for others and help one another when needed. We would also like to thank one of our families for sharing "All Children Matter" cookies for Truth and Reconciliation Day.
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
For Mantra Monday, the Rebels explored a tool called the RULER. Inspired by a podcast between Brené Brown and Marc Brackett from the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, the Rebels practised using their ruler to recognize, understand, label, express and regulate their feelings and emotions in different scenarios. The Rebels chose their favourite mindful activities for Take Your Adventure Tuesday, with many selecting puzzles! On Wonder Wednesday, the Rebels tried coding puzzles using Dash and Dot robots. On Thankful Thursday, we practised gratitude recipes in our journals. Rebels shared things they felt, from joy for the weather to frustration by a project. On Feel-Good Friday, the Rebels practised their ascending thirds and chord warm-ups and then tried a new Michael Jackson tune!
Launches
On Monday, we had a virtual escape room led by one of our Discovery Rebels. We discussed the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT) versus TED (The Empowerment Dynamic) on Tuesday morning. Rebels looked at how we can often get stuck in Rescuer (Hero), Villain and Victim mindsets, saving or fixing problems for others and complaining and blaming when things go wrong. Instead, we will aim to be Coaches, Challengers, and Creators, using collaboration or adaptive strategies to learn and grow together. Wednesday's mid-week check-in with the Leadership Team was very productive, with each Rebel heading into Core Skills with one or two goals written on a post-it note. On Thursday, we had a special launch to commemorate Orange Shirt Day. Rebels discussed if schools should be closed or open on this statutory holiday. We also reviewed its history and what wearing the orange shirt represents to them. CBC Kids News released an interview with the Orange Shirt Day founder, Phyllis Webstad, in honour of the tenth anniversary. Rebels watched part of the interview and shared what they would ask Phyllis if given the chance. Friday's Current Events report featured a discussion about the tenth anniversary of Orange Shirt Day and what reconciliation means, as well as a review of images of the Herbig-Haro collision!
Reader/Writer
This week in Reader Writer, Discovery Rebels worked hard on finalizing their Gratitude Letters for Exhibition. Those who had finished last week began their second writing assignment, a script for Rebels who may have to "Draw a Line in the Sand." Rebels discussed idioms, the meaning behind drawing a line in the sand, and reflected on the question, "Can drawing a line in the sand be an example of taking ownership of your education?" Rebels read through a case study of a setting where they would need to set a limit with fellow Rebels and began creating sample scripts of what those scenarios would look like. What could Rebels say to help them draw a line in the sand when they find themselves needing to set a limit or boundary with fellow teammates? Good copies of these scripts will be available at our Peace Table to assist with future conflict resolution discussions.
Civilizations
Ms. Kaitlin guided this week's Civ! She took Rebels on an adventure through life in an English castle and the feudalism model. Rebels remarked on how many societies are connected to England while they worked on a map showing movement to and from England by Angles, Saxons, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Greek, Italian, Scandinavian and Norman peoples. At the end of the story, they discussed how feudalism relates to today's societies, thinking deeply about whether or not money equals power and influence. Some argued that billionaires like Jeff Bezos are like kings, while others felt they have influence but not necessarily full power.
Math Lab
Ms. Kaitlin worked with the Rebels again this week to continue their How Many? Masterpiece project! To begin, she guided them through a Rebel solution to the Problem of the Week (POTW) and awarded them the Golden Gopher due to their excellent brain crossing! Then, Rebels worked on a new question string, using specific quantities and operations to help them organize their questions from less to more challenging. For example, Draw Rebels should have questions involving whole numbers up to 200, but Release level questions include numbers up to 100,000. Lastly, Ms. Kailtin gave them a checklist tool based on the success criteria agreed upon last lab. This tool helped them with their peer approvals, and Rebels then had time to complete their How Many design, draft and organize a question string with at least two questions per level, or secure their peer approval.
French
This week, we continued practicing our numbers in French. On Tuesday, we played games in the gym that allowed us to listen for and say numbers and the Rebels are getting really good at understanding bigger and bigger numbers! We continued our work on Thursday with some fun mystery and number association games.
Quest
This week in Quest, the Rebels are on the "road back" of their Session 1 Hero's Journey. On Monday, we discussed the concept of warm and cool feedback and how we will soon be completing 360 Surveys to give and receive feedback from our peers about our citizenship in the studios. We also started a teamwork map for Exhibition and broke down what will be on display and what needs to be finished by the end of the week. At the daily debrief, Rebels tried the "Could you handle the HOT SEAT?" Challenge, where they practised answering questions from families as part of a Hero Panel. Tuesday, the Rebels discussed excellence and how we measure this at Revel. On Wednesday, the Rebels took their provisional Rules of Engagement (ROEs) and provisional covenants and narrowed the list to finalize these contracts. Thursday afternoon, the Rebels determined a few more details about Exhibition, including our hosts and speakers, Hero Panellists, and dress code.
Physical Development
The Discovery and Exploration Rebels had fun working through soccer drills, mini-games, and team building to prepare for the two Soccer Jamborees held this week at other schools. The learners who chose not to play soccer had fun with free play at the park and going for a hike!
Additional Highlights
Rebels in Draw, Anchor, Aim, Release and Exploration, took to the soccer pitch this week on Wednesday and Friday to participate in the Soccer Jamborees! We were so impressed with the Rebels’ teamwork - each group opting to begin and end their games with Character Callouts for each other. Referees, coaches and players from the tournament were quick to comment on how warm-hearted both Revel teams were. A special thank you to the families who supported and carpooled our teams to and from the tournaments! Great work, Rebels!
On Wednesday during Quest, Ms. Kaitlin delivered a special Quest launch on diversity. Rebels were given ten dollar bills and asked their value, then proceeded to draw on them, crumple them and then review their concept of value. They had to make a tough choice and continued with a Socratic discussion about the value of people, concluding that we are all unique and worthy.
Exploration and Launchpad Studios
Mindfulness and Launch
We met our newest Exploration learner on Monday morning and are excited to welcome her to our community! To improve our positive self-talk, we took a series of common Fixed Mindset quotes and turned them into Growth Mindset statements. Rebels then had the opportunity to pick out a rubber bracelet to remind them of an important phrase that will help them when they feel stressed, lonely, or need a pick-me-up!
Tuesday's yoga flow featured the reclined pigeon pose and a reclined twist. After our yoga practice, we discussed what motivates us. After brainstorming our personal motivators, we watched a talk by career analyst Dan Pink, where he examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. We learned how to draw an emoji folding surprise with food inside on Wednesday! Triads then met to discuss their progress this week and strategize for the remainder of the week. We honoured Orange Shirt Day on Thursday and debated the pros and cons of National Truth and Reconciliation Day becoming a statutory holiday. We also read a portion of the book Fatty Legs and introduced a new addition to our library, Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge. On Friday, learners began new Lego sets, worked on puzzles, and knitted during their Free Choice mindfulness time before listening to this week's Rebel-led Current Events presentation.
Quest - Astronomy
To begin our Quest session on Monday, learners each signed up for a mythology play that they will have a hand in putting on while we are at camp next week! The two plays chosen were Li Chi and the Serpent (China) and The Deeds of Finn MacCool (Ireland). They then got to work finalizing their templates for the geodesic dome they are designing in Math Lab. Tuesday, learners researched a constellation of their choosing and created slides complete with the story behind the star grouping as well as information on the location, name of the alpha star, size, and other interesting facts. Once their research was shared, they could make an art piece using any chosen medium. Some decided to embroider, others painted, and a few used glow-in-the-dark Perler beads. Astronauts who travel to space face many challenging conditions that engineers must consider when designing spacecraft. Challenges include extreme conditions such as space being a vacuum, a place empty of all matter. Without air molecules, there is nothing to hold in the Sun's heat. Therefore, the temperatures fall very low if an astronaut is not in direct sunlight. Knowing this, engineers need to design spacesuits that keep the heat in with the astronaut for an extended period of time. In groups, Rebels had a hand in creating their space suits on Wednesday with the following requirements: their can must be easily inserted into and removed from the space suit, the can could not be tampered with in any way, and the suit could not exceed a diameter of 20 cm. Once the suit was built, groups put their suit and a control can in an ice bath and recorded the temperature change for ten minutes. After the experiment, groups calculated the heat efficiency of their creation and reflected on which materials worked best and what they would do differently next time. Thursday's Quest period was spent completing unfinished challenges from the past few weeks, including Hero posters, constellation research, myths, and geodesic dome work.
Reader/Writer - Exploration
This week in Reader Writer, Rebels started with an “Imagine this…” discussion of the essential elements when editing the work of another Rebel. Should perfect spelling, punctuation and grammar be the focal point of an edit? Or should there be more emphasis on ensuring your myth has a robust and clear plotline and descriptive character development? Rebels debated their thoughts and created an editing checklist for peer approvals. The rest of the workshop was open for Rebels to finish drafting their myths, Rebel edits and setting a due date that worked around their upcoming camping trip. Rebels are excited for you to see what they’ve created at Exhibition next week!
Civilizations
4.5 billion years ago, a massive cloud of gas and dust hit the shock wave of an exploding star, which compressed to become our Sun. The remaining debris clumped together and became the planets. After learning about these thresholds, the learners assembled as a studio, appointed a discussion leader, and established their Rules of Engagement. They then held an interesting Socratic discussion on Goldilocks conditions, the relationship between science and religion, and whether or not science will answer all of the essential questions.
Math Lab
We finally started construction of the geodesic dome this week! The studio broke into three sub-committees: the template trimmers, the tracing crew, and the assembly line. Those working with cutting cardboard sheets were sure to be safe, protect surfaces underneath, and be slow and precise. Then, once we had at least one of each CCB and AAB triangles, the crews developed a line of communication and "runners" between them to track how many more copies were needed. The assembly line had to experiment with fasteners and decided to use cardboard screws. Next week will be the true test - can the Rebels use everything they've learned to assemble all the pieces together into our dome, sweet dome?!
NGA - Launchpad
Launchpad learners continued to work on their "Relationships are Key" challenges this week, spending most of their time identifying heroes and mentors while also reflecting on who they are at this point in their lives.
French
This week, we sang the song "Notre Place," the anthem for Franco-Ontarian Day and spoke about the history of Franco-Ontarians in Ontario. We also reviewed how to use a Bescherelle and learned the three verb groups in French. Then, the Rebels had time to finish their presentation on their trade or complete grammar exercises if they had finished.
Additional highlights
We had a great time at Closings this week, playing a series of funny games, celebrating Rebel birthdays, and taking time to plan next week's Exhibition. We can't wait to show you all we have accomplished this session!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark
Are you having fun creating your vision board?
What did you draw on your canvas after your outdoor mindfulness practice?
French: Can you name all the parts of Potato Head's body?
Discovery
If you could meet Phyllis Webstad, what would you ask her?
What is your role for the exhibition next week?
How many badges do you hope to earn?
French: How do you say ___________ ( any number higher than 50) in French?
Exploration/Launchpad
If scientists detected a Mars-sized object headed to Earth that would wipe out all life, and we had a spaceship big enough for 100 people, would you launch the ship with 100 people to colonize a planet but doom the rest, or launch the vessel with 50 people and 250 animals and 250 plants?
How would you select the lucky travellers: Random selection, IQ, skills, political connections or wealth?
What selection process likely would be used and why? Would you put yourself on the manifest?
French: What's a Bescherelle? What's it used for?
How many badges do you hope to earn this session?
What are you most excited about and nervous about regarding the overnight trip?
Dates of Interest
Exploration and Launchpad Overnight Camping Trip Monday, October 2nd to Wednesday, October 4th
Session 1 Exhibitions
Discovery Studio - Tuesday, October 3rd, 4:15 pm - 5:30 pm
Spark Studio - Thursday, October 5th, 4:15 pm - 5:30 pm
Exploration and Launchpad Studios - Thursday, October 5th, 4:15 pm - 5:30 pm
Pumpkin Run (Grade 4+) - October 17th
Saunders Farm Field Trip (Sparks and Discovery) - Wednesday, October 18th
Rebel Guardian Onboarding - Self-Driven Child Book Club Thursday, October 26th at 7:00 pm - The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives Book Club (Read the book in advance and come ready to discuss.)