Revel Recap: December 4 - 8, 2023
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
We started our mindful morning on Monday with a meditation story about a shy dinosaur. While we listened, we also completed dinosaur colour-by-number pictures. On Tuesday, our artists started with a directed drawing of a baby dinosaur hatching from an egg, and on Wednesday morning, we completed a high-energy dinosaur-themed workout. Thursday started with some relaxing, instrumental holiday music and puzzles. We even discovered where the missing puzzle piece from Dazzle the Dino went! We tried a new gratitude activity for our studio called "Tap Someone Who" to end our week. This activity encouraged the learners to appreciate one another and show their gratitude. We sat in a circle facing away from each other with our eyes closed. A few people stood in the middle, and the guides read statements. For example, "Tap someone who makes you laugh." The Sparks in the middle went around and tapped people on the shoulders to whom the statement applied. After several rounds, we met for some discussion questions. The Sparks agreed that it felt good to compliment someone and receive one! What a positive and uplifting way to start our day!
Quest
On Tuesday, we discovered that Dazzle the Dino had moved into the dollhouse! She wrote us a letter stating that the house was too small and asked if anyone could make her a new home. This launched our discussion about habitats and what the world was like when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. We then watched a video with a guessing game that showed different environments, such as a desert plain, a forest, a swamp and a coastline. The Sparks had to guess what dinosaur lived in which environment. Next, we read through some of our various dinosaur books, noting the pictures that showed dinosaurs' habitats. We observed the ferns as tall as houses, volcanoes, water, mountains and other features we could use when creating our dioramas. Next, it was time to select the box they wanted to use for their diorama and begin painting the sky and the land. On Wednesday, we looked at two examples of dioramas that others had created to get ideas for our own. The learners then spent the rest of Quest planning their habitat on paper and designing their creations. On Thursday, we started by learning ten important facts about dinosaurs. (Ask your learner what the Greek word for dinosaur is!) Next, we looked at pictures of different types of dinosaurs and noted their features. With this information, we began designing our own dinosaur out of clay. Throughout the week, the Sparks also completed a booklet to accompany their creations, illustrating things like what their dinosaur eats and a fun fact! They are SO excited to share their amazing work at our Exhibition!
French
On Monday, we learned a second song in French, "Le petit renne au nez rouge," and on Tuesday, we listened to the story of the little red-nosed reindeer, followed by a colouring activity to learn more about the vocabulary words in the song. We played a Holiday BINGO game on Wednesday and ended our week with fun in the gym to review our colours, numbers and what we'd learned during the week with a mime game!
Art
This week, Dazzle the Dino brought us our art activity! She had noticed how much our studio loves to colour and left us a collaborative holiday sweater poster that said "Deck the Halls with Kindness." Each Spark coloured two pages, and we will hang it up outside the studio for everyone to admire!
Math
Tuesday's math workshop began with a Spark favourite, a Scratch Garden song. This song was all about counting by 2s. We then gathered in a circle and used dinosaur cards to help us count all the way to 50 by 2s. We followed up our learning by writing to 20 in our math books using this skip-counting method. Next, it was time for a fun STEM-building activity. The Sparks were challenged to create a dinosaur using our wooden geometric shapes. They recorded the number of shapes they used and drew a picture to complete the activity.
Writing Workshop
After completing some preparation activities last week, it was time to read our mentor text, We Don't Eat Our Classmates. After enjoying the story, we focused on learning about the setting. We discussed that the setting is where the story takes place and then brainstormed some possible locations for a tale. We then reflected on the story we had just read and identified the setting as a classroom and the timing during the day. After writing their responses, they illustrated the setting. On Thursday, we learned about describing characters. Using Piglet as an example, we observed their exterior traits (what we see), and then we described their personality traits. Next, it was time to examine the story and describe the main character, Penelope, the dinosaur.
Additional Highlights
We noticed that Dazzle the Dino had brought some canned food items on Monday. After reading her note, we learned that she had left some information about two different holiday programs that help those in the Ottawa community. We read The Berenstain Bears Think of Those In Need, demonstrating the importance of helping others, giving, and generosity. We then talked about Toy Mountain and the Ottawa Food Bank and what programs they are running over the holidays. The Sparks decided they wanted to help and will collect new, unwrapped toys and non-perishable food until December 18, 2023.
On Thursday, we read The 12 Days of Kindness to kick-start our kindness journey. Over the next twelve days, the learners will have different challenges to complete. This week, the learners were encouraged to tell their families about our toy and food drive, write a kind message, and deliver it to someone at school. It was heart-warming to see the Sparks deliver these messages and how happy the recipients were to receive them! We also started the 12 Days of Holiday Books. So far, we have read A Horse for Hanukkah and Tough Cookie.
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
For Move-it Monday, the Rebels came to the gym to try some more wall-supported pilates exercises. They tried lateral and backward lunges and made "snow" angels on the wall with their arms and legs. They continued decorating the studios for the holidays on Tuesday morning and chose their own mindful activities. We tried another Connections word puzzle from the New York Times Connections game for Wonder Wednesday, and on Thankful Thursday, we turned on the fireplace, and the Rebels chose between journalling or their gratitude adventure. Feel Good Friday, the Rebels decided too many were away to do Boomwhackers, so they chose their own activities and listened to piano versions of Disney tunes.
Launches
Monday's Launch connected and inspired Rebels with our daily Pokemon Advent Calendar celebration and a quote from Adam Grant on collecting information, perspective and knowledge from everyone around you. "A key to lifelong learning is to see everyone you meet as a potential teacher, No one has a monopoly on wisdom, each interaction you have is an opportunity to question old assumptions and gain new perspectives. Collecting lessons from others is the fastest way to fill gaps in your experience. " Relating this quote to Revel's "3 before G" system inspired Rebels to utilize the learners around us - who has already finished Lexia? Who has completed coding? Who could be a great French teacher if Mme. Marianne is unavailable? Rebels looked inward and around the room to see who they could collect lessons from as the week unfolded. Tuesday's Launch was an announcement from the Yearbook Club about the upcoming cover contest vote. Rebels were inspired by the beautiful learner-designed artwork and discussed elections and the civic duty to vote. Wednesday's Squad Chickens presented Rebels with our first Productivity Bonus: the Squad that had completed the most goals this week would receive 1 Rebel Buck for each member. Squad Leaders did a mid-week audit of their team's goal sheets and tallied completed goals for each member. Reflecting on the opportunity, Rebels discussed ways to improve the number of goals they have achieved if we were to do this again next week. On Thursday's special Rebel-led Launch, we discussed the idea that there is more than one way to hold each other accountable. The Rebels committed to reframing their tough-mindedness from taking Rebel Bucks to trying different strategies like communicating beforehand, coaching each other for success, and awarding Rebel Bucks for improvements and changed behaviour. Friday's Current Events report featured an overview of Hanukkah and unique traditions like sufganiyot, a welcome to the world announcement for a baby Sumatran rhinoceros in Indonesia, a discussion about unauthorized Xbox controllers, and some Dad Jokes to lighten things up before heading to Core Skills.
Math Lab
Rebels unpacked this session's essential question this week in the lab: What's wrong? We reviewed the skill of error analysis, and the Rebels tried to break down the two types of errors mathematicians may make and then think of examples of each. With conceptual errors, Rebels need help understanding a problem or a procedure for solving it - the Rebels linked this to learning the algorithm for multi-digit multiplication and not knowing whether to add or multiply digits that were regrouped. Rebels understand what to do for computational errors but make a miscalculation with their operations. Each week, they will rework addition and subtraction or multiplication and division calculations and identify the error type. Then, in the guided station with Ms. Mel, Rebels acted as lead detectives, reviewing the work of their colleagues and deciding which learner strategy would lead to cracking a case involving a multi-step problem. Next week, we will launch with the difference between a Rebel-generated strategy and a standard algorithm, noting the pros and cons of each.
Civilizations
This week, the Rebels learned about the first Russians. They heard stories about how the Rus people descended from Vikings, and we mapped important locations like Constantinople, Kyiv, and Moscow. In particular, the Rebels discussed the lineage of Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible, considering how different their leadership styles were.
French
This week, we continued practicing our holiday songs «Vive le vent!» and «Le petit renne au nez rouge,» and then played a game of seek and find to review winter vocabulary. Some learners were also able to start a reading comprehension activity about Christmas around the world in which they had to read a short text and answer a series of True or False and vocabulary questions.
Reader/Writer
This week, Reader Writer Rebels held their first rounds of Rebel Edits! Using the COPS editing checklist (capitalization, organization, punctuation and spelling), Rebels read through each other's first drafts of their stories and offered intentional feedback on each element of the checklist. Rebels have the opportunity to make changes and update their writing so that their fictional stories are ready for printing and read aloud in the coming weeks. Team members offered some tough-minded and warm-hearted feedback, encouraging Rebels to dig deep and make some hard decisions about their books and whether or not it's been their best piece of writing so far this year.
Quest
Welcome back to the Revel Police Academy, Detectives in Training! By Monday, the Case of the Missing Files had not been solved, but the superintendent had narrowed the search to three suspects based on last week's investigation. As such, the Rebels shifted their focus to one key piece of evidence left at the crime scene by the culprit - a handwritten note. The Rebels completed four types of handwriting analysis (i.e. top of letter, bottom of letter, spacing and slant analysis). Then, they had a chance to try and compare handwriting samples on record to the one from the crime scene. Then, on Tuesday, the training squads had to use deductive reasoning to prepare their first Official Detective Report in an attempt to close the case officially. This had to include a proposed handwriting match, fingerprints lifted from the scene with analysis and a proposed match, and a height match based on their footprint and/or stride measurements taken at the scene. By Wednesday, the Case of the Missing Files was closed! Rebels correctly identified the known criminal "Atomic Limerick" as the suspect who stole the files! Unfortunately, another case was stacking up, and the Rebels opened the Case of the Hairy Cat Capers. On Wednesday and Thursday, they worked with microscopes to conduct hair analysis, learning about hair structure and chemistry to try and determine if they could identify a cat hair that was recovered from potential cat-napping suspects. They made wet mount slides with various hair samples and sketched what they saw. Will they catch the criminal?!
Physical Development
There were two choices for Tuesday's Physical Development session. Choice one was to play games in the gym, while group two headed outside for an activity created and led by one of the Discovery learners. This game had the learners build the snow to various levels and find creative ways to get over the snow pile. It brought a lot of laughter to our day! We then had a fun game of snow soccer, where the game ended in a 5-5 tie! On Thursday, the learners headed into the gym for a fun game of Sabakiball!
Additional Highlights
The Yearbook Club has posted the Rebel-made designs for the cover contest, and the Spark and Discovery Rebels can vote at lunchtime on their favourite designs for the front and back. Winners will be announced next Friday!
Exploration
Mindfulness and Launch
After brainstorming several ideas for Random Acts of Kindness, learners committed to enacting a few in our studios and our community over the next few weeks. We then listened to an interview with Brene Brown about daring greatly, which also helped us review the BRAVING Inventory, which breaks down trust into seven elements: Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, Vault, Integrity, Non-Judgemental, and Generosity. Using this inventory, we reflected on how we gain trust, how our actions impact others, and the people we should surround ourselves with.
Full Body Conditioning was the name of our Pilates routine on Tuesday as the Rebels tried a variety of dynamic movements to target their bodies head to toe from different positions. For example, learners tried standing wall-supported knee raises and side kicks, wall "snow angels," seated side body stretches, and reclined glute bridge with a pull-through crunch. After our workout, we discussed how English is a curious melting pot of words from across the globe, forged through millennia of invasions, wars, colonial expansion, and scientific and cultural developments. On Wednesday, we learned about the origin of several words and how around a thousand words are added to the Oxford English Dictionary each year.
On Wednesday, we had a fun art start! Rebels followed a directed drawing of a "Monster Gift," and they turned out awesome! Thursday's yoga session allowed Rebels to practice three variations of Dancer's Pose from the floor to tabletop to standing. Rebels reset their bodies and minds between each level with a child's pose to think about the mantra "I am grateful for what my body can do." At each break in the sequence, Rebels were encouraged to repeat this mantra to themselves as they attempted each pose.
While we are studying The Great War in Civilizations, we decided to go back even further Thursday morning to discuss the Treaty of Paris (1763). "Few documents have shaken up global politics so dramatically. This Treaty of Paris wrested Canada from France, redrew North American geography, promoted religious freedom, and lit the fuse that set off America's revolution." Rebels found it hard to imagine so many lands changing hands and better understood the backdrop for other events in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
After our Free Choice mindfulness, our Rebel-led current events team led our Launch on Friday morning before Rebels completed their weekly core skills goals!
Quest - Chemistry of Cookies
This week in Quest, Rebels took to the Kitchen Lab to answer the question: What happens when you turn up the heat? Moving upwards and onwards in analyzing popular cookie ingredients at the molecular level, like in Week 1, Week 2 focused on the chemical reactions these ingredients have when exposed to thermal energy. Common cookie ingredients such as butter, eggs, water, sugar and baking soda were tested in various experiments using heat (through convection, conduction and radiation). What happens to the mass of baking soda when it has been baked for 15 minutes at 350 degrees? What happens to butter's physical shape, texture and colour when you turn the heat up to medium-high? What happens to sugar and water at low, medium, and high heat? Why does the egg-white of an egg turn white when we apply heat? Rebels capped off the week with a Voiceover Challenge for an oven time-lapse video that showed the transformation from dough to cookies to demonstrate their takeaways from the lab experiments. Using terminology and evidence gathered from observations in their labs on Tuesday and Wednesday, Rebels created 1-minute voiceover summaries of the chemical reactions inside the cookie dough to each ingredient. Up next week: Maillard Browning Reactions and [finally] baking a LOT of cookies!
Math Lab
Rebels started with an instant team challenge this week where they had to use the price of bulk ingredients for a big batch cookie recipe to scale down and determine the cost of one cookie in the batch. This task activated thinking about proper fractions, mixed fractions, decimals, applying unit rates, and working together to explain their thinking to their teammates. From there, many were ready to tackle their second ALT recipe of the session, while others continued to work on their ALT recipe from last week (for task one, they had to find a dinner recipe and scale it down to feed just themselves). This week's assignment asked Rebels to find a new dinner recipe designed for one or two and then work to scale it up to feed their family! In either case, Rebels worked through unit conversions, figured out how to put new measurements into practical terms and practiced applying operations to fractions and decimals. For example, would you write 1/32 tsp of salt on a recipe card or simply say, "a pinch of salt?" How would you take three and ¾ cups of veggie stock from a recipe for four and scale it down to one serving?
Reader/Writer
This week in our second workshop, Rebels studied Mentor Chef Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest and her famous pierogi recipe. Taking a deep dive into cookbook formatting, Rebels listened to Tieghan's narrative and core memories attached to her sweet potato pierogi dish, and discussed how providing sensory details of a memory can captivate a listener or reader and bring them back to a specific time in that person's life. How can you recreate a memory? How does a plate of food help us do that? What details should be included in our narratives to help readers or listeners feel like they're sharing this meal with us? Rebels used the rest of the work period to develop their recipes into our Cookbook Template and began the first drafts of their narratives.
Civilization
World War I represents many terrible firsts - poison gas, air bombing of civilian centers, and genocide, to name a few. This week, learners explored how the Great War got started. With the help of a Crash Course video, we learned how things unfolded in July and August of 1914 and more about Franz Ferdinand, Gavrilo Princip, the Black Hand, and why the Serbian nationalists wanted to kill the Austrian Archduke. We also learn who mobilized first and gathered evidence for who started World War 1. In small discussion groups, Rebels then debated whether or not the Great War was avoidable and if bombing civilians is ever justified. While the majority felt the killing of everyday citizens was wrong, when the caveat of the civilians working in factories that directly or indirectly support your enemies, the learners became a bit more divided.
On Thursday, we continued our discussion of World War 1, and with more research under our belts, we tried to figure out if the war was started by Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, or if one can even assign blame to any one of the nations involved. We also learned about the Armenian genocide before our discussion groups debated if they believe modern governments use more or less propaganda than in 1914 and whether our population is more or less easily influenced.
French
This week, we continued writing letters to senior citizens for the holidays. Each Rebel was assigned a specific person and given a short description of the person they were writing to. Once their first draft was complete, learners began to handwrite and decorate their letters to make them even more festive!
Launchpad
Adulting 101
On Monday, learners utilized their time to complete their budgets for life after high school. After researching the costs of living and miscellaneous expenses such as phone, internet, gym memberships, and gifts, Rebels had to compare their income to their monthly bills and reflect on items they would need to change or remove to stay in the green. One thing is for sure: children are EXPENSIVE! While Launchpad Rebels didn't need to include the financial burdens of having kids in their monthly budget, they were tasked with researching some of the costs associated with having a child in Canada, including medical expenses, diapers, car seats, and childcare.
On Tuesday we learned how to read nutritional labels and reviewed information on serving size, calories, Percent Daily Value, and the differences between fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals. After answering a few questions regarding what we learned, we skimmed articles and images on picking fresh produce and seasonal fruits and vegetables before creating a meal plan based on a budget. Each Rebel made a meal plan for one full week and wrote out the groceries that would be needed and the price of each item, aiming to come in under $75.
On Wednesday, Launchpad Rebels used the expertise of Mme. Marianne to learn how to patch and paint one of our pod rooms! They did a great job repairing and sanding the walls, and we hope to practice our painting skills soon!
On Thursday, learners read an article on expiration dates and important things to know. We learned how long various foods are good after the date has passed and how long canned food lasts vs. frozen vs. leftovers. Rebels then went to the grocery store to price out their meal plan and purchase the ingredients they needed to cook a delicious meal for Highjinx on Friday. Rebels learned how to read the labels to compare the value of different products and did a great job looking for produce based on when they planned to consume it.
Rebels used their strong culinary skills to make a batch of chicken alfredo and then delivered it to our friends at Highjinx on Friday. They look forward to cooking more delicious nutritious meals for the neighbours over the coming weeks!
Physical Development
Launchpad Rebels each created a month-long exercise plan they will follow for the remainder of December. Once the plans were completed, they went to the gym for tag, played snow soccer, or took it to the mats for a great Peloton yoga session.
Personal Finance - Math Lab
While spending only $2,000 to take home a brand-new car may sound like fun, paying on that loan for 72 months may be challenging. On Tuesday, we learned that many people buy things out of their reach and are often short-sided in their financial planning. Rebels recognized that having a solid understanding of budgets and monthly payments is essential to an individual's financial literacy. Using the formula, and given information including loan amount, interest rate, and number of months, Rebels calculated the monthly payments for various scenarios. They also determined the total amount the individual spends on monthly payments and calculated the difference between this amount and the original price tag as the loan's interest. With the monthly payments calculated, Rebels could advise whether or not the individual could afford their purchase.
World History
Some of humankind's greatest thinkers and leaders lived during the Hellenistic era between 323 BCE and 31 BCE. After completing 30 minutes of research using a series of videos and articles, Launchpad Rebels gathered for a lively discussion beginning with the questions; You can have dinner with Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, King Philip II, Alexander the Great or another hero from this period. Who do you choose, and what three questions would you ask? Rebels also debated who they felt was the most exceptional individual and who most benefited from luck or circumstance.
On Thursday, Rebels turned to 44 BC. Julius Caesar, leader of the Roman Empire, declared himself dictator for life, prompting great fear in the Senate that he would betray the republic in favour of tyranny. Was it moral to kill Julius Caesar? The Rebels once again used evidence from their research and strong communication skills to discuss what they would do in similar scenarios. For example, if you were Marcus Junius Brutus, a close friend and political ally of Julius Caesar, would you shun the assassination plot and inform Caesar, join the scheme and even help orchestrate, or keep quiet? To end their session, Rebels debated whether or not it is ever moral for our government to try to assassinate a foreign leader.
Communication and Literature
Rebels continued to read their individual Personal Finance Deep books, and we look forward to reading the most significant lessons learned in their reviews in two weeks!
On Friday, learners also finished drafting their resumes. They will each receive feedback next week and, using the suggestions, they will polish and print them for display at Exhibition. Next week, we will learn about cover letters and how to stand out from the pile of other applicants!
Next Great Adventure
This week, learners worked to complete the last section of Quest 1: Beginning with the End. They were asked to showcase their gratitude and meet with their running partners to review their progress. Next week, learners will be tying up all of the loose ends before taking a moment to celebrate the completion of this incredibly challenging experience!
Additional Highlights
After dropping off our food at Highjinx, we stopped by Morning Owl to drop off our candy donation for Shawna's Outreach. We have the most incredible people in Ottawa who inspire us to do more each day.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark Studio
What features did you add to your diorama? Can you tell me about the dinosaur that you created?
Can you count by 2s with me?
Who did you make a message of kindness for? What did it say?
During the gratitude activity, did you receive a tap on the shoulder? What was the compliment?
French: can you sing me the little red-nosed reindeer song in French?
Discovery Studio
Of all the types of forensics you've been experimenting with, which one are you most interested in: analyzing fingerprints, handwriting, footprints, or hair under a microscope?
What are the two types of errors that a mathematician might make, and how do you describe them?
French: How is Christmas celebrated in Switzerland?
Exploration Studio
Which is the more powerful force: the ideological mobilization of civilians through propaganda or the economic mobilization of civilians through physical production?
Which recipe did you choose to make adjustments to this week?
Which mindfulness activity do you enjoy the most? Which do you think helps you to start your day the best?
To whom are you writing your letter to in French?
Launchpad Studio
You can have dinner with Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, King Philip II, Alexander the Great or another hero from this period. Who do you choose? Why? What three questions would you ask?
How are your Adulting BINGO challenges going? Do you need any support at home?
With two weeks remaining in Session 3, would writing an Action List or creating an Eisenhower Matrix help you to identify your biggest priorities?
Dates of Interest
Toy and Food Drive: December 4-December 18
Session 3 Exhibitions
Exploration & Launchpad: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Joint Spark & Discovery: Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Holiday Gift Exchanges
Spark Sock Exchange: Friday, December 15, 2023
Discovery Gift Exchange: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Exploration and Launchpad Gift Exchange: Wednesday, December 20, 2023