Revel Recap: January 8 - 12, 2024

Spark Studio 

Mindfulness

Welcome to Session Four! After catching up on what everyone was up to over the holiday break, we started our morning by reading Squirrel's New Year's Resolution. We discussed how the start of the year is an excellent time to reflect on the year ahead and what you want your year to look like. What will you focus on? What do you want more of in your life? How do you want to feel? As we thought about these questions, we listened to examples of words we could use to guide and inspire us for 2024. Each Spark selected their own Word of the Year and wrote it on their paper for us to display in the studio. The next year is looking bright for our Sparks! On Tuesday, we listened to a guided meditation with a snowflake theme, and to help us focus on our breathing, the Sparks were invited to bring in a stuffed animal to use as a breathing buddy. They placed their stuffies on their stomachs and watched the animals move up and down as they inhaled and exhaled. The Sparks learned some new moves on Wednesday with the help of a Ninja Turtle-guided yoga. On Thursday, we continued the New Year theme by completing our latest collaborative poster full of disco balls, confetti, party hats, countdown clocks and more! Friday ended with a gratitude card game that asked learners different questions, and they could share their answers with the group. We had some really thoughtful responses about things the Sparks were thankful for!

Quest

Welcome aboard Spark Air! The Sparks began by reviewing the seven continents and singing the continent song before hopping on an airplane. Our first stop was on our continent of North America. As a group, we introduced passports and explained why we use them and how we get one. We started by putting our names and decorating the covers of our passports. Unfortunately, our flight did not leave due to weather until the following day. On Tuesday, we were ready for take-off, and we had a Rebel pilot behind the wheel! There were a lot of informative announcements, in-flight food service, entertainment, and some unexpected turbulence! We made it safely to the Sparks' country of choice, Costa Rica! When they got off the plane, each learner went through security, answering various questions and had their passports stamped! They then watched a short video in the airport lobby that told us all about this fascinating continent. We then read Animal Atlas to learn more about the animals found in North America. Each Spark picked their favourite and added it to the passport. Next, we learned about a game played for centuries in Mexico called Almohadita, the original "hacky sack!" We made our own almohaditas (little pillows) using balloons and lentils. Then we had fun tossing the almohadita and bouncing it off any body part except our hands! The game's goal is to keep the ball from hitting the ground for as long as possible! It was a fun challenge! 

On Wednesday, a new pilot took over and flew us all off to Mexico. While there, we saw the incredible Chichen Itza. We then flew all over the world, stopping to see various famous landmarks. We saw the Panama Canal, the CN Tower, the Space Needle, the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls and more! We then split into two groups and were challenged to build the CN Tower and the Chichen Itza out of Lego and Duplo blocks. We will add to these landmarks throughout the weeks, and they will be displayed at Exhibition. The Sparks also continued working on their passports, filling out a landmark they would like to visit and a popular food from North America that they would like to try. 

Antarctica was our destination on Thursday! Brrr, it was cold when we stepped off the plane! After heading through security, we read If You Could Go to Antarctica, which helped us learn much about this continent. After filling out some information on our passports, it was time for an experiment. We learned how some ocean animals have something called blubber, which helps keep them warm in the frigid waters. For this experiment, the learners dipped their hands in an icy bowl of water, once with a glove and once more with a blubber glove made of Crisco shortening. The Rebels remarked that their hand was a lot warmer with the blubber! On Friday, we woke up in Antarctica and the learners shared how their night went on this icy continent. We then learned more about the animals that live there and selected our favourite one to put on our passport. Next up was a fun game called Melt the Cube. We lined up in two teams, and each took turns rubbing the ice cube to melt it. Once their hands got cold, they passed it on to a teammate. The first team to melt the cube, won! This week, we have also been practicing a special song to sing for the Exhibition. Ask your learner if they can sing you a verse! It was a whirlwind week of adventure! Next week, we are flying on to Asia! 

Art

All of the snow this week inspired our weekly art project. We started with reading the heartwarming story One Winter's Day and then set off to draw some beautiful snow globes. Each learner traced a big circle in the middle of their paper and then used pastels to create a winter scene inside the orb. Around the outside, we turned the pastels on their sides and created beautiful, colourful patterns to make our pictures pop off the page! The results were fantastic! 

Math

Our math workshop this week reviewed the names of 3D shapes. Using the geometric solids, each learner took time to feel the shape and repeat the name. We then played a studio favourite game, where the learners guessed which shape was missing when one was removed. Next, we tested our knowledge with a Write-the-Room winter scavenger hunt. The learners had to identify the shape found in the picture and record their answers. 

French 

This week, we completed a train craft project to learn the days of the week in French. The Rebels coloured in the wagons with the days of the week and then had to cut them out and glue them in the correct order.

Writing Workshop

Our mentor text for this session's book study is Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright. This week, we did not read the story but focused on the story elements. We looked at the back and pictures to help us identify the title, author, illustrator, setting, and characters. We also predicted what we think will happen in the story before we read it next week. We thought about ways Sneezy could warm up and what would happen when he does. Each learner then presented their ideas to the studio. We look forward to reading the story next week and discovering if any of our predictions were correct! 

Discovery Studio 

Mindfulness

Our first mantra of the year was, "I respect boundaries." We looked at some examples of what boundaries sound like, and then Rebels took time to reflect on their own and share them with the studio. Tuesday was an Under the Sea Mindful adventure as Rebels chose from ocean-themed floor puzzles, marine animal zen doodles, and colouring while listening to the sounds of whales as they practiced breathwork. The Rebels worked on the New York Times Wordle and Connections puzzles for Wonder Wednesday. This Thankful Thursday practice featured a new Sweet Potatoes thread where Rebels focused their gratitude on each other's actions. For Feel-Good Friday, we did our regular Boomwhackers warm-ups and then tried a new tune featured in the movie Wish!

Launches

Monday's Launch had Rebels seeking to answer the question: How does one convince themselves that what they're doing and working on is worth it? Inspired by an interview with Rick Rubin, Rebels discussed how they value their work and whether it's more important to base worth on the outcome or the process. So what is a Launch really worth? Why are they designed to inspire, equip or connect? By the end of Tuesday's Launch, most Rebels voted that it was designed to equip or prepare them. To continue our conversation about boundaries, we revisited the concept of our team "storming" and norming" phases with an emphasis on collaboration and respect for this new session. Rebels plan to focus on acting as coaches, not rescuers, when collaborating and to show more respect by offering growth mindset feedback to each other when we fail, learning to co-exist with our differences and taking breaks when we have big feelings like anger or frustration. Wednesday morning, the Rebels met with their squads for their traditional mid-week check-in, and learners focused on filling in their progress on their goal sheets and setting a goal for a productivity or an accountability Rebel Buck bonus. Thursday's Inspire Launch used a short clip from Good Morning America to convey the harrowing tale of an elite Team USA swimmer who nearly drowned during a global competition until her coach dove in and saved her. When you've "gone under" for too long, who are the people that notice? Who comes to help? And are you that person for someone else? In a studio environment focused on self-advocacy, sometimes it's important to remember to check in on one another, too. As a result, Rebels are interested in trying a new studio experiment: Running Partners. Stay tuned! Friday's Current Events was hosted by a group of Discovery Journalists focusing on a glitchy lunar launch, an update on the karting world, and a record-breaking Tetris achievement!

Reader/Writer

This week in Reader/Writer, Rebels took a deep dive into their Marine Animal Journals as they took on the roles of Marine Biologists. They selected the marine animal they will research and write about for the next six weeks. We also looked over the Badge expectations and components of their research journals. Rebels will work on their essay writing and research skills as we create non-fiction informational reports about marine animals. This week, Rebels got to work on general information about their chosen marine animal, such as their animal's scientific name and which oceans they are located in and began researching their animal's physical traits. How is their animal affected by problems facing our oceans? Rebels will seek to connect their research to more significant questions we are exploring in this session's Quest as we produce our most extensive written assignment this year! 

Civilizations

Was it the end of the world? Some people thought so, as the Bubonic Plague wiped out one in every three people during the Middle Ages. Rebels learned about the "Black Death" illness this week and how it spread via fleas and rats from one country to another, person to person, livestock to livestock. They mapped its spread over time using a colour-coded key and participated in an exceptional Socratic discussion about the hard choices they would have had to make then. 

Math Lab

What do you see? This session's theme is Ocean Animal Geometry! Rebels will work on developing their geometric reasoning and practice identifying and comparing the attributes of various shapes this session. On Monday, they started with ocean-themed tangram puzzles and worked on describing the relative area of pattern block designs using numbers or fractions. As the weeks progress, we will deepen our understanding of part-whole relationships as the Rebels investigate how each piece of the tangram puzzle or pattern block set relates to the whole puzzle or design.

French

This week, we briefly introduced the book The Little Prince and its significance in Francophone culture. We then discussed how, in teams, we will write a final chapter or add a new planet to the story by the end of the session! Lastly, we played Bâbord-Tribord, a game in the gym to learn common vocabulary from the story of The Little Prince. 

Quest

Welcome to the Oceans Quest, Rebel Marine Biologists! Over the next several weeks, Rebels will become experts on all things ocean, grand and small, on the open seas or far below the surface. Each week, they will complete challenges with their teams to level up from krill to octopus to tuna to shark to whale! In this first week, Rebels had three challenges for their KRILL level. They focused on the problems facing the world's oceans and the skills they will need to advocate for solutions - this is key as they are working towards hosting the 2024 Our Oceans Conference for this session's Exhibition! On Monday, we met two heroes who are already dedicated to saving the oceans, and as we listened to their passions, ideas and journeys, Rebels tapped into important issues like plastic pollution, fragile ecosystems, and climate change. Then, they started by dividing their workload to ensure everyone on their team had a challenge they could rise to; a presentation skills primer activity where they needed to make a flipbook about an ocean animal, a research skills primer where they were guided through Google searches related to oceans, or an oceans problem survey and research prompt which led them to design a solution and then pitch it to the studio. On Tuesday, the Rebels continued working on their Krill tasks and learned about nurdles or microplastics. Wednesday was their last chance to complete their work before presenting on Thursday, and we reviewed the presentation qualities of two young activists: Autumn Pelletier and Greta Thunberg. Rebels noticed that understanding their audience was important, that using clear language people could understand was more effective than overly scientific language, but that facts were undoubtedly a critical aspect of being convincing. Congrats to the Rebels moving on to the OCTOPUS level next week!

Additional Highlights

Rebels began their second Book Club novel, A Whale of the Wild by Rosanne Parry, and will join in read-aloud during DEAR over the next few weeks. We will host our second book club in Week 6 to discuss themes, characters, and parts of the plot and fact-check a lot of the fascinating information we are learning about Orcas!  

Exploration and Launchpad Studios

Mindfulness and Launch

Welcome back, Rebels! We began Session 4 with a Boomwhakers session where we learned how to play "Peaches" from the Super Mario movie. We have quite the musical crew! We then discussed the practice of choosing a Word of the Year to help us stay focused on our most important goals and values for the next twelve months. Using a list for inspiration, Rebels came up with some motivational words such as "Breathe," "Encourage," and "Balance." 

As we have an incredible watercolour artist as a Guide, we are taking full advantage of Ms. Mel's talents! On Tuesday, Rebels had a quick tutorial on the basics of watercolour, exploring different techniques like applying wet paint to wet paper and how this looks compared to a wet-to-dry application, dry-to-wet, or dry-to-dry. Rebels created beautiful test designs, exercising patience between layers to try splatter effects, texture effects, and gorgeous ethereal paint blooms. Next week, we will experiment with tape to experiment with "zip" effects, creating clear boundaries between shapes or colours. After our painting tutorial, we discussed the controversial "broken windows" theory before completing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of our studio. With the new year upon us, the Rebels feel good about where we are and where we are headed as a community!

We kicked off Wonder Wednesday, making "Mindful Connections" using the Connections game featured in the New York Times. Rebels woke up their minds with brain games by sorting and grouping 16 words into four categories before catching up on recent news with our Current Events crew.

Have you ever felt you've invested too much money and effort to quit? After our yoga session, Exploration Rebels learned about the sunk cost fallacy one of the most common fallacies influencing our decision-making using the British and French governments and the Concorde jet program as an example. 

On Friday, we began our read-aloud of Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow to learn more about the various experiences of World War II. 

Quest 

What's the most important skill for an entrepreneur: sales, operations or finance? Most Rebels agreed with a survey of seasoned entrepreneurs that sales is the most critical function. So, what's the most essential sales skill? Being able to tell a convincing story that sells (and is true to your values and long-term vision). Our focus for Session 4 will be creating stories that sell. 

As we begin our exploration of sales objectives and skills, our first step on Monday was to meet in our incubator groups and create a contract for how we commit to working together, including what to do when conflict arises. We then put ourselves in a prospective customer's shoes by reading an Acton MBA note on "Getting Inside the Mind of Your Customer." We then took turns interviewing and being interviewed for 15 minutes on a recent purchase, whether it was an impulse, utilitarian, or image item. 

Creating stories that sell, specifically in the digital realm, will be one of our chief objectives in this session. On Tuesday, learners were asked to find helpful resources and great examples that show how to use storytelling to sell an item or service. Beginning with the Acton Academy webpage, Rebels identified if there was a "hook," whether the questions were built like the plot of a compelling story, and whether there was a final ending or a "call to action." They then looked for videos, articles, and books that tell us how to use storytelling to sell on the Internet for use throughout this Quest. 

On Wednesday, we began our Quest lesson by learning the paradox of value. Imagine you're on a game show and can choose between two prizes: a diamond or a bottle of water. It's an easy choice – the diamonds are more valuable. But if given the same choice when you were dehydrated in the desert after wandering for days, would you choose differently? After our discussion, Rebels had time to identify at least ten options for products or services they could sell over the Internet. They then ranked their list from most attractive to least attractive, classified them as impulse, utilitarian or image items, and identified the customer and need or desire the product or service fulfills. Learners then noted the top three they are most excited about selling and their reasoning in preparation for selecting their top choice next week. 

During Thursday's Quest Launch, we learned about Unit Economics, sometimes referred to as EOU for Economics of One Unit, which is the base level of understanding your business's breaking-even point and profitability potential. This is typically done by establishing the break-even point by calculating costs versus revenue. (It gets tricky in the many entrepreneurial scenarios where no physical item is sold, or the physical item can climb into the millions.) After reading a note on valuation, the Rebels had a chance to play simulations on break-even, payout and pre-tax cash flow before playing an Acton learner favourite, Robo Rush! Growing a business can be a tricky endeavour. Grow too fast without the necessary organization, processes, and systems, and your business will collapse in a fiery crash of red ink. Refuse to delegate, and it'll get stuck in an early stage. Growth is all about execution. Robo Rush compresses the entire growth phase of the Entrepreneurial Journey with the help of a robot manufacturing company!

To practice our sales skills throughout the week, we also played games at the end of each day, such as Snake Oil, and a new fan-favourite, Who Am I, and What Do I Want? The Rebels are getting better and better at asking questions that will help to get in the minds of their customers!

Math Lab

What makes logos so effective and visually pleasing? Could it be the mathematical properties behind them? To launch this session's Logo Design Project, Rebels were assigned one of several sets of four logos, each with a list of mathematical prompts. They used their lab time on Thursday to explore and begin to measure or notate as many of the mathematical components as possible. For example, are any congruent or similar shapes used to create the logo? Has any transformation, tessellation or dilation occurred? What types of angles or angle properties can be identified in the various composite polygons? Compared to the design plane, what is the relative area of the logo and which measurements are needed to calculate this? Could any special relationships like the Pythagorean Theorem, trigonometric ratios or quadratic equations be highlighted? Over the next few weeks, Rebels will continue with these investigations, developing their geometric reasoning as they apply it to design their very own personal logo to add to the studio's mural. 

exploration Reader/Writer

We began our first novel study of the year, Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer, with a deep dive into some big questions about the topic of witches. Rebels discussed questions such as "What do you think of when you hear the word 'witch'?", "Do you believe in witchcraft?" and "What are some instances in our world and life when things have happened that have been unexplained?" Rebels discussed superstitions regarding games they play and whether or not they believe that mysterious things can happen that can alter an outcome. Before kicking off our read-aloud of Chapters 1 and 2, Rebels discussed the over-arching idea that although the trials and legal prosecution of witchcraft came to an end in the eighteenth century, the pattern of behaviour that causes witch hunts can be identified throughout history and in our modern day/society. We briefly touched on cancel culture and examples of modern-day "witch hunts" in politics and popular culture that follow the formula: Fear + Trigger = Scapegoat. After reading Chapters 1 and 2, Rebels worked on a series of discussion questions and vocabulary work they will build on each week to participate in our Witches! Book Club in Week 6. 

Exploration Civilization

The Great Depression of the early 1930s was a worldwide social and economic shock. Few countries were affected as severely as Canada. After reading about the causes and effects of the Great Depression in Canada we also learned about Herbert Hoover's response as well as FDR's New Deal in the United States. Our discussion centred on what actions (if any) we would have taken had we been the leader of a nation during this tumultuous time period. With a better understanding of what the world was experiencing during the Great Depression, learners had a new perspective on why the Germans were looking for a way out of a desperate situation which was magnified as they were also paying reparations for their role in the Great War. We spent our Civilization period learning about Carl Schmitt, a Nazi-era philosopher who wrote the blueprint for New Authoritarianism and discussed how, at the time, many Italians and Germans felt Fascism was the only way to keep weak democratic parliaments from being swept away by Communists. We also debated whether the most important duty of government is to preserve order, freedom, or something else. 

Launchpad - Canterbury Tales

Welcome to the world of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales! In this session, we will read a few of his satirical stories to analyze how literary language and elements create meaning and reflect specific cultural and historical traditions. We began on Monday by reviewing the session's goals and how to annotate a satire using a helpful guide! With the help of a slide presentation, Rebels learned what satire is, the difference between Horatian and Juvenalian, as well as various satirical devices, including parody, hyperbole, malapropism, bathos, paradox, juxtaposition and multiple ironies. We then applied what we learned as we read Mark Twain's satirical speech "Advice to Youth" aloud and identified as many devices as possible. On Wednesday and Thursday, learners worked in two groups to complete a Satirical Escape room comprised of five challenges that utilized Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, a series of comics to sort into Horatian or Juvenilia, a series of Satirical Quotes to identify the device, a reading of "A Modest Proposal" by Dr. Jonathan Swift and an assessment of Weird Al Yakovic's "Amish Paradise." On Friday, learners learned more about the man behind the Canterbury Tales. After reading an article on Geoffrey Chaucer, they watched a video introduction on the famous satire to prepare for our tour of the Middle Ages next week. 

Launchpad World History

Near the end of the Third Century BCE, Qin Shi Huang unified China and declared himself China's first Emperor. Qin had extraordinary accomplishments but also took the philosophy of Legalism (state dominance and harsh penalties) to the extreme, burning Confucian books and murdering Confucian scholars. His dynasty died with him, but China remained united since. Was Qin Shi Huang a great man who deserved to be admired or a villain? After completing their research, the learners came back together on Tuesday to discuss their views and answer a series of Socratic questions. On Thursday, we learned more about the Silk Road trading routes that connected China with the Middle East and Europe. We learned about essential Bactrian camels, the dangers of the route, and how the exchange of ideas between Eastern and Western cultures during this period was even more significant than the trade of goods.

Next Great Adventure - Select Launchpad Rebels

"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

Three of our older Launchpad Rebels began the second Next Great Adventure Quest this week in preparation for their Declaration Talks in March. 

A group of Rebels also cooked and delivered a delicious meal to donate to Highjinx on Friday.

Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel: 

• Spark

• What word did you choose for 2024? 

• Can you sing me a verse of the song you have been practicing for Exhibition? 

• Would you like to visit Antarctica someday? What animals live there? How do they keep warm? 

• French: How do you say Monday in French? (lundi)

• Discovery 

• The studio's collective goal for this session is collaboration and respect. How did this play out for you this week?

• R/W: Which animal did you select for your Marine Animal Report? What is one new thing you've learned about it from your research? 

• M/L: What is the Mathigon Polypad? Can you show me how a virtual tangram puzzle works?

• Quest: Which topic did your Quest group present on? Which of the five do you think is most critical and why (from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, plastic pollution, ocean acidification, overfishing or declining predator populations)?

• French: What does the little prince visit?

• Exploration and Launchpad

• What is your Word of the Year, and why did you choose it? How will it help you to reach or remind you of your goals this year?

• R/W: What do you think of the Witches story so far? Do you think Sarah Good, Sarah Osborn and Tituba were fairly accused? What do you predict will happen next? 

• M/L: What is your favourite brand logo and why? What mathematical properties does it have?

• Quest: What are the top three services or products that you are thinking about using for your Quest project?

• Exploration Civ: What do you believe caused the Great Depression?

• inevitable booms and busts in the economy

• too much Government meddling

• the Stock Market crash

• bank failures and a weak banking system

• foreign trade tariffs

• drought

• LP World History: Why do you think Emperor Qin Shi Huang felt it necessary to brutally suppress Chinese philosophers and intellectuals to unify China? Are:

• Intellectuals are always resistant to state control or

• Does the unification of a nation require the establishment of severe laws to which all elements of society must submit?

• Next Great Adventure: What has been the hardest challenge to complete in this second Quest?

Dates of Interest

• Spark and Discovery field trip to the Canadian Museum of Nature: February 8th (travelling by bus)

• Session 4 Exhibitions

  • Spark and Discovery Studio Exhibitions: Tuesday, February 13th at 4:15 pm

  • Exploration and Launchpad Studio Exhibitions: Thursday, February 15th at 4:15 pm