Revel Recap: June 19 - 23, 2023
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
Based on our discussion Monday morning, it was a weekend full of family fun for the Sparks! Our opening conversation was full of stories about grandparents, eating cake, and enjoying Gatineau Park. After sharing our weekend tales, we jumped into a mini-workout where we worked our core, glutes, and legs. On Tuesday, we completed a mindful colouring with peaceful music playing in the background. Wednesday, we relaxed our bodies to some calming yoga; the learners truly embraced the energy in the room. On Thursday, we made lots of noise! We used the Boomwhackers and tested our ability to stay on the beat by trying more advanced songs! Two Sparks led our mindfulness activity on Friday. They organized a colouring station with pictures of dogs, fire trucks, and Wild Kratts. We can't wait to see what next week's mindfulness coaches come up with!
Quest
It's better to be over-prepared than under-prepared for any situation! The Sparks explored the First Aid and safety kits found in our homes, car, school and even on our backs when we go to the park. We discussed why we might need them, where they should be located, and what should be inside them. Before learning about all the materials you can find inside, the Guides asked the Sparks to brainstorm what they thought would be inside and what they would use each item for. Their next challenge was to fill a First Aid kit with five essential things they believed they would need if their group were on a hiking trip in the wilderness. The group's top three materials were a tick kit, bandages, and slings. The Sparks discussed the importance of being prepared for a burn, broken bone, and heat stroke. We then read four scenarios where the learners had to detect what type of help would be required and the material they would need in the situation. We dashed to the Discovery studio on Tuesday to work in our groups. The Guides had skits planned for the teams to demonstrate with little background knowledge of DRABC (Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing and Circulation plus consent). Once the learners discovered more information on DRABC, the teams would have to reenact based on their new knowledge. Everyone worked so hard together! Go, teams!
On Wednesday, the Sparks focused on compass use. Why do we need one, and how and when do we use it? We played a game to determine directionality in the studio. The Sparks listened to a song and followed the directions it was telling them. We then coloured and filled in the blanks of a compass.
Thursday was CHALLENGE DAY! The Rebels gathered together and used their skills to overcome many obstacles. To start, each team played a memory game. Ms. Mel placed a picture of various first aid materials on the screen, and the teams had 1 minute to observe it before creating their list. So many groups remembered over ten items! Every team then took turns and had five minutes to complete their BIG challenge. Each team had to pack a first-aid kit with five essential items, then go to a room and figure out where the north, east, south, and west were. They then had to dodge their way back to the Discovery Studio and perform in front of the other teams. Each team was handed an envelope with a first aid scenario. Based on the number of correct skills used, they earned points. The teams will find out their standings on Monday!
Math
We continue to work on telling time on an analog clock this week. The Sparks practiced counting by 5's to discover what each number on the clock face represents. We used the 5-counting chain to help us symbolize the numbers and get the hang of skip counting. Once we finished, the Guides created puzzles with clocks. The analog clock was missing its matching digital clock, so the Sparks had to find the missing piece another Spark had. We did a few rounds of this activity and then shared the times on the clock.
French
We reviewed our emotions on Monday, and on Tuesday, we played Jean Dit in the gym to revise our numbers, prepositions of place, and questions. On Wednesday, we read the books " Le loup qui aimait les arbres " and " Sauvons les abeilles " to learn French summer vocabulary and played weather vocabulary BINGO on Thursday.
Geography
From North America to South America, we read the book Animal Atlas. It provided fun facts about specific animals found on each continent. The Sparks then sang the continent song loud and proud. We worked on our continent map, traced each continent with our fingers, followed by saying the continent and shared our most liked animals from either North or South America. Many Sparks noticed that the animals were different due to the climate. One Spark asked, How could a moose live in South America? Another learner explained that many birds fly south for the winter, but the Macaw could not live here in Canada.
Art
Whistles are just as crucial as a compass, bandaids, and Polysporin as they can get someone's attention in an emergency. But have you ever had a pearly/beady-designed whistle? Well, now you will! The Sparks decorated a lanyard of their whistle for their first aid kits at home or in their cars. They also made so many Perler bead designs this week and will be ready to head home on Monday! Many Sparks have also enjoyed colouring and spending time in the Makerspace with the Discovery Rebels.
Storytelling Workshop
In this week's Storytelling Workshop, the Sparks separated into two groups and were given story cards. The learners had to create a story with a beginning, middle and end, named characters, and a problem. Each group worked well together and shared their stories with the studio afterwards. In our second activity, everyone was given a card, and we wrote down a story as an entire studio. The Sparks realized that having more cards meant more brainstorming ideas as a team! In the end, the story turned out lovely. It was about a raccoon who a princess spelled, and everyone lived happily ever after in a house made out of cake!
Additional Highlights
Mystery Readers are still making their visits to the studio! This week we had two Exploration learners join us! The Sparks did not see this coming, and every time the facts were placed on the board, they continued to think it was one of their parents!
This week, we celebrated the first day of summer by sharing some of their favourite activities and playing a Would You Rather game. Be ready for your learner to ask you to go GLAMPING instead of camping!
This week we continued to play fun interactive games to end our days. Fred required the Sparks' helping hands to get them back on their boat using just two paper clips this time! They played other games such as Heads Up, Seven Up and Headbands and a new game called Shark and Minnows in the gym! For a fun and stimulating STEM activity to end the day on Thursday, the learners listened to the story Mr. Ferris and his Wheel. The story is about an engineer's creative vision and mind to defy gravity and seemingly impossible odds to invent the world's most iconic amusement park attraction, the Ferris Wheel. After the read-aloud, the Sparks used straws to create their own model.
The butterflies finally emerged in the studio! They are now fluttering away in our beautiful community as we released them in our garden before the weekend. Their journey was fascinating, and the Sparks closely observed any changes.
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Monday's mantra was: "I show up. Speak up. And I let my light shine." The Rebels discussed times of the day when it is most important to show up or speak up. They said attending Launches and participating, speaking up when someone is unkind to them or someone else, and being present during Quest periods were all important. Tuesday and Wednesday, Rebels could choose their mindful adventure - puzzles, reading, or colouring while listening to relaxing music. On Thankful Thursday, the Rebels met with a choice board and used those prompts to practice gratitude - and because they discussed in groups, they also learned some new things about each other! Feel-good Friday, the Rebels played their best renditions of all the warm-up and chord exercises and then had fun trying a Boomwhacker version of Imagine Dragons' tune "On Top of the World."
Launches
Monday's Launch set the tone for the week of Guides working on making themselves smaller in the studio and encouraging Rebels to step into their leadership roles. Imagine this, your Guides have a special conference out of town for the entire week, and your grownups decide that it is still safe for you to be at school because the Rebels know the schedule and systems so well that they can run it themselves! How long do the studio and its systems (Maintenance, Rebel Bucks, Covenants and ROEs) take to fall apart? One hour? One day? One week? Or will the Rebels be able to run it successfully with no issues? Rebels discussed this hypothetical situation at great length to determine how they would self-govern to achieve a week without the Guides! Tuesday's Rebel-led launch prepared the groups for a debate about two popular games: Roblox vs. Minecraft. The Rebel assigned teams and prepped the Rebels for how their debate would be scored! Wednesday's Squad check-in featured a problem-solving conversation about a recess game and how the Rebels could adjust the rules to make it safer. Thursday's launch was a great Socratic discussion about the Island Conundrum. Rebels shared evidence to support their firm stand and tried to connect their ideas to the topic of civility. Friday's Current Events report featured another instalment of Choose Your Hero between Robin's bravery vs. Cyborg's strength, a Rebel's stunning karting results, the science and tech behind the OceanGate Titan tragedy, and of course, some levity at the end with another series of Live from Snack Time quotes.
Reader/Writer
This week in Reader Writer, Rebels read and listened to the incredible story of the Ulrich family and how they survived the Lituya Bay Mega Tsunami in Alaska in 1958. Rebels discussed what specific equipment they would need to prepare for a trip in this area of Alaska, as earthquakes are more common due to the Fairweather Faults. Rebels discussed the importance of thinking critically about and preparing for natural disaster emergencies. Rebels finalized their rough copies in our writer's workshop this week, and some groups began good copies of their Survival Handbooks. Rebels discussed what "excellence" means to them and what "excellence" standards should be in Session 7. When it comes to a rough copy ready to be elevated to their final work, what should it look like? Is this your best work? Is this better than the work you've produced in previous sessions? How does this compare to the World Class Example on display? Rebels will continue to reflect on these questions as their handbooks come together over the next two weeks.
Math Lab
This week's lab put the Rebels in the shoes of an overnight grocery store employee in charge of stocking and facing the shelves with orange juice! This task, again, is designed to push the Rebels to extend their additive strategies to more multiplicative thinking. They built models and drew diagrams connected to sample arrays or area models to estimate how many bottles of juice there would be in four cases. The Rebels did not disappoint; the lab was buzzing with new understandings! They created beautiful and varied visuals, noticing how many ways there are to break apart factors and find partial products. During our warm-up, a bonus conversation arose about the different mistakes a mathematician can make (i.e. computational or conceptual) and how understanding these errors helps us better target our feedback when we get different answers than our peers—well done, Rebels!
Civilizations
The Middle Ages Museum exhibits are well underway, with all Rebels continuing to develop content like timelines, maps, and labelled diagrams about their chosen civilization. This week, the Rebels negotiated for us to extend the grand opening by one more week for them to finish these stunning displays according to our standards of excellence.
French
This week, we tested our board game with the other Rebels! After enjoying the new games, learners filled in a self-evaluation sheet and answered questions in French, such as: How well did you participate? What other learner-developed games did you like to play?
In our gardening workshop, we made flower boxes in teams! Great work, Rebels!
Quest
Welcome back to Rebel Survivor! This week's survival theme was SAFETY. The Rebels explored various nature dangers they may encounter in the wild, learned some essential first aid skills in case of injury, and worked through some navigation challenges using a combination of maps and compasses. On Monday, the Rebels received a Safety Gameboard. They were able to choose from a variety of tasks: learning how a compass works, how to make a fire in the wild, designing and testing a bear bag suspended from a "tree branch," or researching how to prepare and cope with other natural hazards like wasps, ticks, or extreme sun exposure.
Tuesday, the Sparks joined us for a First Aid role-play workshop! Rebel teams took turns acting out scenarios where they would need to use first aid skills. Being in the heat of the moment helped them better understand not only how each individual has a different comfort level in emergencies but also what the roles and responsibilities of a first aider are! There are important steps to take whenever a scenario may arise: we used a DRABC script to practice assessing a scene for any Danger, asking the patient for a Response (and consent) before helping them, and rehearsed noticing if the person does not respond if perhaps their Airway is blocked, Breathing is missing, or if there are Circulation issues. Rebels know that seeking adult help and/or a 911 call is the most crucial step during the ABC portion of the script. Rebels also discussed relevant medications like inhalers and epinephrine and how they should never administer them - first aiders are not nurses or doctors. Still, they can ask questions and help people in an emergency find medications that the affected person can take on their own! This week's Rebel Survivor challenge brought it all together with the "Lost with Compass" competition. Rebels had to pack a first aid kit using only five items, make their way to a campsite and orient their team using a compass, and then perform first aid on an injured teammate based on the scenarios and scripts we used earlier in the week!
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
We began our week with a mindfulness game where partners drew a picture on one another's back and had to guess the drawing. During the last round, the artists had to close their eyes while drawing, yet their partners could still put the clues together to guess the intended picture correctly! After we spoke about this week's Civility Challenge. We talked about the intended behaviours and language that would indicate we reached our goal after reading some tips on improving civility in the workplace. Tuesday's yoga flow was again a "hands-free" practice, featuring gentle neck hygiene in a seated position and some reclined leg work. As more Rebels secure their apprenticeships, we used Tuesday's launch to help them prepare for the first days on the job. What should they wear? What time should they arrive? How can they put their best foot forward, and is it a problem if they eat something in the fridge that isn't theirs?! With the end of the year quickly approaching, learners took time on Wednesday to plan the Rebel Olympics and Graduation Ceremony. Some learners brainstormed the stations they would like to set up, a couple of others made the mixed-studio teams, and our graduating Rebels made notes on where they would like to hold the celebration and what food they hoped to provide. Thursday's yoga practice saw Rebels working on their "Stillness Challenge" with a record-breaking 14-minute meditation challenge! Rebels were able to lay/sit completely still, with only their belly or chest moving from their breath. Rebels will attempt an entire mindfulness block of stillness with a 15-minute meditation as we enter the final two weeks of the session next week. On Friday, we began our day with a read-aloud of our current book, They Both Die at The End, as we hope to finish it before the end of the year. Our Current Events crew then led our Launch, where most of the discussion centred on the OceanGate Titan submersible catastrophe.
Reader/Writer
This week in Reader/Writer, Rebels ventured into an Escape Room full of homophones! Our second Escape Room focusing on grammar, spelling, and punctuation, had the learners in flow as they unravelled a series of clues to work through six stations! Rebels put all their learning and review together for a final bonus challenge as they had to create sentences and paragraphs showcasing ten different sets of homophones. The sentences had to make sense while using several homophones, and their sentences used correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling to complete the Escape Room in under 50 minutes. Way to go, Rebels! Up next week, reading comprehension.
Math Lab
This week Rebels continued to develop their Final Act project. Many teams were fine-tuning their content, checking the flow of slides, or asking for feedback about how to add or change things so that future users would better understand the math they were trying to clarify. For example, some were creating visual models for multiplication and division with whole numbers, others with decimals, and one group was using graph paper to visually show what Desmos does to make a graph when you input a system of linear equations! Some teams plan to share their work next week, while others need one more week to finish their product.
French
On Monday, we learned who Charles Perrault was, listed the fairy tales he wrote, defined what a fairy tale was, and did some activities to understand "Le petit chaperon rouge" in its original version in French. We listened to a video on Wednesday about Gilles Vigneault, a well-known Quebec poet. Then we sang and translated his song "Gens du Pays," the anthem of French-speaking Canadians AND how we sing "Happy Birthday" in French!
Apprenticeship
After discussing workplace etiquette and preparing for Day 1 of an apprenticeship or new job, we spoke about how to make an excellent phone pitch. Preparation is important, so we brainstormed why an employer may say that we are not ready or qualified and came up with our response. We then discussed the importance of having clear covenants with your parents defining what we may and may not do on our apprenticeship, including transportation logistics. Lastly, we learned about the agreement that should be made between the learner and their employer. Having the dates, location, pay (if applicable), and type of work they will be doing is critical to ensure a valuable experience for both parties.
Quest
Quest Takeovers saw our Rebels venture back into the kitchen and the beautiful outdoors this week with sandwich making, a two-part baseball workshop, and an engaging basketball tutorial! Rebels learned about specific rules and fouls in basketball before taking their knowledge to the court and competing in a close four-on-four game. It was so great to see every Rebel participating! Our sandwich-making workshop had Rebels cooking BLTs with eggs and put Rebels' stovetop skills to the test! Part One of Tuesday's baseball workshop focused on specific skills and drills of the game, such as pitching, catching, fielding, and hitting in rotating groups. On Wednesday, for Part 2, the entire studio came together for a full game at the baseball diamond and discussed how team sports teach us many important life lessons. Rebels look forward to seeing what their teammates plan for the upcoming Week 5 workshops on jewelry making, sticker design/crafting, ball hockey, and coding workshops!
Rules without Rulers
How many of you think a Utopia—or a perfect nation—is possible? How much better can the world ultimately get? What is the end goal for a happy society? After an intriguing discussion, learners began thinking about the criticism their government will likely face during their pitch and how they will respond. They also thought about how they will deal with the three plagues of government: corruption, complexity, and populism. This week's main challenge was to think about the logistics, such as where to form their new government, what it will be called, how many citizens there will be, how the currency will work, and if they will have a military. We discovered that this process is challenging after learning about Israel, a Jewish State formed in the 1900s to give Jewish people a safe place to live far away from religious persecution while displacing the Palestinean people in the process. With any remaining time, learners worked on their slideshow pitch!
Additional Highlights
On Wednesday, a group of Rebels who earned the right to a lunch out chose Sapporo for a delicious sushi meal! It was a fun afternoon of great food and fun conversation!
Launchpad
Weekly Field Trip
On Tuesday, we ventured to Gatineau Park for a hike! While initially, we planned to hike around Pink Lake, we had to pivot and hike the Sugar Bush trail near the Visitor's Centre. Luckily the path was incredibly close to La Cigale, a fabulous ice cream shop!
Othello
Are you ready for the dramatic conclusion of Othello?! After reading the final scene, Rebels further analyzed Othello's opening soliloquy and discussed his justifications, conflicting feelings, and the symbolism of light and darkness. We enjoyed looking back at our predictions to see which ones were correct and which were entirely off the mark.
On Tuesday, we rated our satisfaction with the play's ending before analyzing what happened to each character in the last scene using key quotes and their significance. We also discussed how Iago managed to retain his power, how Emilia came into her own, the characters that underwent the most significant change, and whether we found the characterization believable.
Othello is a racist play - Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Rebels held a fascinating debate, substantiating their points with evidence from the text and time period, asking questions, and voicing their personal views. We then watched an online discussion and assessed if the arguments swayed us. The lesson ended with reading the article "Racism, misogyny and motiveless malignity in Othello" by Kiernan Ryan. For our last full group discussion, we recalled the five elements of a tragedy and debated whether or not the learners considered Othello a tragic hero. We discussed what we felt his fatal flaw was, as well as the more profound commentary Shakespeare might be presenting.
On Friday, learners individually chose a way that they would like to demonstrate their understanding of the play. A final exam, argumentative essay, dramatic recitation, creative narrative piece, debate, or another presentation of their choosing were just a few of the proposed options. We're excited to see what everyone comes up with!
Rules without Rulers
How many of you think a Utopia—or a perfect nation—is possible? How much better can the world ultimately get? What is the end goal of a happy society? After an intriguing discussion, learners began thinking about the criticism their government will likely face during their pitch and how they will respond. They also thought about how they will deal with the three plagues of government: corruption, complexity, and populism.
This week's main challenge was to think about the logistics, such as where to form their new government, what it will be called, how many citizens there will be, how the currency will work, and if they will have a military. We discovered that this process is challenging after learning about Israel, a Jewish State formed in the 1900s to give Jewish people a safe place to live far away from religious persecution while displacing the Palestinean people in the process. With any remaining time, learners worked on their slideshow pitch!
Service Project
Stuffed peppers were on the menu this week! Launchpad learners spent Friday morning preparing the delicious meals to drop off at Highjinx in the afternoon.
Modern Art History
On Monday, we explored Neo-Expressionism, a diverse art movement that dominated the art market in Europe and the US during the early and mid-1980s. Neo-Expressionism was comprised of young artists who had returned to portraying the human body and other recognizable objects in reaction to the remote, introverted, highly intellectualized abstract art of the 1970s. After learning more about the history of Neo-Expressionism, learners compared and contrasted the style to Symbolism and the political events of the time Neo-Expressionism was reacting to. Using the Sotheby's page, learners researched various artists and chose their favourite pieces to analyze.
It would be challenging to talk about the Neo-Expressionist movement without talking about Jean-Michel Basquiat: a rebel and social critic who broke the mould and made it to fame in a few short years. After researching and analyzing his work, Rebels learned about his friendship with his mentor, Andy Warhol, his relationship with Madonna, and his untimely death.
"Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time." - Jean-Michel Basquiat On Tuesday, Rebels learned about the music that influenced Basquiat's life and work before reflecting on the effect music has on their lives. They even created a soundtrack to their current life, listing at least three songs and what they say about who they are or what they are experiencing.
Have you ever wondered if you had a doppelganger somewhere on a canvas? Rebels discovered on Tuesday as they used the Google Selfie App to find their art twin. The results were hilarious; ask your learner to show you their painted selves!
On Wednesday, we turned to Pop Art. This form is the mid-late 20th-century movement that used images from popular culture to create fine art. Pop art reflects our material culture but in a way that intellectually critiques our society. Roy Lichtenstein, one of the most famous pop artists, used the popular style of comics. While Lichtenstein painted his works, he carefully modelled them after the DC comics. The intent was to make it seem as cheap and cliché as possible, which opens up some interesting commentary on the world of fine art. Other artists explored the processes that created popular culture, like industrial-scale advertising and studied how this affected images. Pop art is often seen as a rejection of the Abstract Expressionists' very stuffy, high-minded ideals. Rebels were asked to explore more about the Pop Art movement independently, choosing five pieces to analyze. They discussed Pop Art's commentary about consumerism and advertising and the importance that Warhol used silk screening instead of individually painting each piece from scratch. Lastly, learners researched what was going on when Pop Art emerged as a movement to understand better what made it imminent and necessary.
Superstars, movies, paintings, and parties, Andy Warhol, was more than just an artist; he was an icon. Launchpad began by learning about Andrew Warhola Jr., born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 6th, 1928, to Slovakian immigrants in a hard-working, blue-collar family. Learners were interested to read that when Andy was in the third grade, he contracted Sydenham's Chorea, also known as St. Vitus' Dance. This nervous system disease causes involuntary movement of the extremities (hands and feet), and from this illness, Andy became bedridden. However, during the months he spent recovering, he took up collecting pictures of movie stars (an interest in popular culture that would later develop into his art). It was also when his mother taught him to draw. Rebels then learned about his education, interest in painting and screenprinting, rise to fame with Pop Art in the 1960s, and slow recovery after being shot several times in 1968. They read about his focus on photography and writing in the 70s and his collaboration with young artists, namely Basquiat, in the 1980s.
Rebels then took a virtual tour of the Andy Warhol Exhibit in the Halcyon Gallery to finish our Modern Art History lessons this week. After browsing the exhibit, they chose their favourite piece and wrote what made it uniquely "pop."
For this week's Studio Time, Rebels had a few options to choose from. They could select a Neo-Expressionist or a Pop Art piece as inspiration and create their own interpretation, or they could choose an everyday object to take a picture of and, using an online program, edit the colours of the image, modelling Warhol's technique.
Additional Highlights
We had six of next year's Launchpad learners join us on Friday for a planning session. We brainstormed potential Quests, field trips, events, and schedules. It is shaping up to be a great year with an exceptional group!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel
Spark
How do you navigate with a compass?
What would you pack in your first aid kit?
Could you and your family prepare a safety kit for your car, house or cottage?
French: Can you tell me what the weather is like outside today in French?
Discovery
What environment are you making a Survival Handbook for? What is the most essential item to put in a survival handbook?
Try this problem string: How would you solve 3 x 9 without a calculator? What about 3 x 18? 13 x 18?
Does acting as a first aider put you in your comfort, challenge, or panic zone? What is the DRABC script, and how does it help you?
French: What did you build this week during the French workshop?
Exploration
What was the most challenging homophone pair/trio to use correctly in a sentence?
How will you know your Final Act Math Lab project is excellent?
French: Who is Gilles Vigneault ? What did he write?
Launchpad
Would Warhol's art have been as popular if it had originated earlier or later?
What topics/events were you most excited about during our 2023-24 planning session?
Dates of Interest
Tuesday, June 27th - Discovery and Spark Field Trip to Baxter Conservation Area
Monday, July 3rd - No School
Wednesday, July 5th (3:00 pm - 5:00 pm) - Full School End of Year Celebration
Thursday, July 6th - Exploration Graduation Ceremony