Revel Recap: January 22 - 26, 2024
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
To fuse our Quest learning to mindfulness, the Sparks followed a directed drawing of the Australian flag. Each flag had six stars: five for the constellation of the Southern Cross and the Commonwealth Star with six points to represent the states and the seventh for all the federal territories that constitute the nation, the Commonwealth of Australia. On Tuesday, the Sparks used their imaginations to build a story. Each learner held a story-telling card and contributed a unique sentence to weave together a narrative. The result was an enchanting tale about the mystery of the missing gold from a treasure chest. Wednesday was dedicated to our ongoing exploration of Australia, focusing on the iconic Sydney Opera House. The learners discovered fascinating facts, such as the Opera House is covered with over 1 million tiles! They then created their own miniature versions of this world-famous structure. Thursday morning, as we jetted off to South America, the Sparks listened to rainforest noises as they followed along with a guided meditation. They felt soil on their feet, their hands touching the river, ventured under a waterfall with mist touching their faces, and discovered new animal friends. To end the week, the learners listened to a read-aloud Just Like Me by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, followed by writing in their gratitude journals.
Quest
Welcome to Australia; thank you for flying Spark Air! Our first stop was a fascinating exploration of Aboriginal culture. The Sparks learned about the different symbols used to design boomerangs. They discussed ways a boomerang could be used, and some learners believed they were used to catch food, dig, and start fires. Symbols such as smoke, fire, water, sun, different animal tracks and people sitting were used on boomerangs designed by the Sparks.
The learners also ensured they got their passports stamped at Australia security before exploring other parts of the continent. They drifted off to the wonderful land of animals. Our Children's Illustrated Animal Atlas explains where hidden habitats of Australia are found and what the local climate is like. The book describes and illustrates plants and animals that live on the continent, and after reviewing the book, each learner shared which animal from Australia they liked the most.
Near the end of the week, the Sparks were ready for another adventure. With a new "fully licensed" Spark pilot ready to fly, we headed to South America. It was an eventful trip! The Sparks spent two full days exploring Peru, then jetted to Argentina. (Who would go to South America to visit the dinosaurs? Many of our learners, that's for sure!) Once they found a Spark to work as a security official to stamp their passports, they were off to adventure in Machu Picchu. The Sparks learned that it was the land of the Lost City and was surrounded by mountains and ruins. While in Peru, the Sparks learned a gym game called "HELP!" This is a playground game where you want to avoid getting caught by the chaser. The chaser is the person whose finger was touched by the Guide's hand when everyone placed their index finger on the Guide's palm. If you were in danger, you could hold hands with someone for three seconds to save yourself from the chaser. The Sparks loved this game! As our time in South America was ending, we made sure to learn about some new foods and the animals of Argentina. The Sparks imagined indulging in many new treats. Helado, Argentina's traditional ice cream, was a top pick, followed by Dulce de leche.
Math
The Sparks engaged in a measuring activity using the loose parts and objects from the Games Room. We engaged in a group conversation about measuring, whether we always need to use a specific tool to measure, and what other ways we can measure objects. The learners measured the area of blocks, animals, and utensils. They then explored how tall some of the more prominent materials were. All of the Sparks were engaged and excited to practice their measuring skills during their free time!
French
On Monday, we listened and danced to two videos in French on weather words and days of the week. We then practiced writing the days of the week in French on Tuesday and then completed a colouring activity for January and February on Wednesday. Thursday, we went to the gym to play games to review what we covered throughout the week. They had so much fun when each Rebel was given a day of the week and had to place it in the correct order.
Writing Workshop
This week's Sneezy the Snowman book study focused on ways Sneezy tried to keep himself warm. The learners explored four distinct methods, including sipping hot cocoa and going into a hot tub; each strategy brought a new twist to the story and sparked lively discussions with the Sparks. Some believed the hat, scarf, and jacket would keep him warm and not melt him. Everyone participated in drawing and labelling three significant events from the story to build on the learner's comprehension and utilize their creative skills.
Additional Highlights
We had some beautiful fresh snow at the beginning of the week and were, therefore, able to enjoy some sledding! It was a first for some of our learners, and they had fun and showed courage tobogganing down the hill! We had to stay inside for recess due to the freezing rain on Thursday and Friday. The Sparks enjoyed time in the gym with the Discovery learners or working on arts and crafts in the main space.
This week, our Mystery Readers shared that they have been lost when running in Stockholm, they are an only child, and their favourite colour is periwinkle. Of the three family members who signed up, only one out of three of their learners could guess it was them; what great mystery clues! The Sparks laughed, showed great engagement, and respectfully welcomed the families to the studio as they listened to the new stories. We can't wait to see who will sneak into our studio next week!
On Bell Let's Talk Day, we discussed our emotions. Each learner shared their feelings and expressed ways to help talk about or change their feelings when needed. We then read the story, The Color Monster, by Anna Llena, for its ability to simplify complex emotions. The book introduces sorting and understanding emotions, much like sorting different colours. It provided a platform for our readers to express their feelings, fostering empathy and understanding among peers. After the reading, we reminded each other that there are caring individuals around them: guides, friends and family who are ready to listen and support them.
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
On Mantra Monday, the Rebels expanded last week's phrase about belonging. To kind and respectful, they've added words like civil, intentional, and excellent: "I belong to a kind, respectful and civil community. I am intentional, and I produce excellent work." Tuesday morning, we continued with our Ocean-themed mindfulness activity and a "Magic of Yet" prompt - Rebels reflected and wrote about or drew a picture of a skill they have not mastered…yet! Wonder Wednesday's game of Connections was challenging, but the Rebels persevered, and some pairs solved 3 out of 4 categories! On Thursday, the Rebels took time to write their "sweet potatoes" messages, and then we tried a new routine called "thank you for sharing." Rebels chose a discussion prompt, and each took a turn to share a connecting story. This week's prompt was, "A time I needed to admit I was wrong, but didn't…" Only Rebels who want to share do so, but everyone must show whole body listening and then thank the person for sharing. Feel-Good Friday, the Rebels tried a new tune on the Boomwhackers: the "Try Everything" song from the movie Zootopia!
Launches
To kick off our week with meaningful connections, Rebels began planning their cards and messages to send to our friends on the memory care floor at Amica in the Glebe. Rebels discussed ways to make their recipients smile, learn more about them, and spark some joy. We made a plan over the next three weeks that our Monday launches for the rest of this Session will be dedicated to creating our cards. Tuesday's Launch was meant to connect and equip the Rebels to be more intentional. Last week, they voted to focus their studio culture experiment on Rebel Bucks, and Tuesday morning, they ironed out details for this: they want to add new reasons in Journey Tracker for giving and taking Rebel Bucks and then do a weekly audit where they review the transactions/reasons. Wednesday's Squad Chickens helped Rebels determine which goals to prioritize to achieve Fun Friday this week. Following up on our discussion about intentionality, Rebels agreed that they would prioritize a goal that they normally leave until the end of the week as an attempt to be more intentional about their goal-setting strategies. On Thursday, we reviewed the new reasons in Journey Tracker for giving and taking Rebel Bucks and celebrated some of the awesome intentionality already rising to the surface of the studio this week. Friday's Rebel-led Current Events report featured an update on the American primary results in New Hampshire, footage of a Dumbo octopus, and five things you should know about the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics!
Reader/Writer
Rebels wrapped up a third workshop, completing their research for their Marine Animal Journals. While Draw and Anchor learners utilized the time to gather information from a third and fourth source (both offline and online), Aim and Release Rebels participated in a focused tutorial group to examine book, website, and YouTube citations. Rebels practiced proper formatting when citing each source and where to locate the information they needed from all three. Rebels will incorporate a Works Cited page for their essay in the coming weeks. Next week, Rebels will start turning their notes and research into an informational essay!
French
This week, we read Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) up to chapter 14 together and answered comprehension questions. We also began planning what kind of planet we would invent for the little prince next week!
Math Lab
This week, Rebels completed a set of challenges related to the location and movement of shapes on a grid system. Draw and Anchor Rebels focused on giving and reading directions about locations on a map, including what moves are needed to get from one place to another. Aim and Release Rebels used more sophisticated grids, including x and y-axis coordinates, to describe translations and rotations. All Rebels worked to make accurate and opposite reflections of composite polygons using dot paper. Next week, we bring it all together to create our ocean animal geometry art!
Civilizations
Rebels learned about the Wars of the Roses and England's ongoing battles for the throne this week. They mapped the location of the Lancastrians and the Yorks and marked Bosworth with a Roman numeral three for King Richard the Third. They were mesmerized by the tale of the two missing Princes in the Tower, and after the story, they debated what must have happened. Were these young boys a problem for Richard, their mother, and her five brothers? Next time, we will check in on Spain, and the new kingdom is emerging beside it.
Quest
Welcome to the deep sea! Rebels investigated the creepy, curious creatures that inhabit the deepest depths of our world's oceans for this week's TUNA challenges. We started at the surface on Monday and completed some activities with our Giant Floor Map. Rebels used Ocean Habitat Cards to identify various marine bioregions of Canada and the different animals that live there. Then, we dove deep - really deep - and explored the wild community of creatures presented by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Rebels worked in squads to research as many of these species as possible before deciding on one they would bring to life in papier mâché! Over the next few days, Rebels worked together to make a creature prototype, layer the papier mâché, and select a realistic colour palette (understanding how limited light impacts how we see colour at extreme depths). While the paint was drying, Rebels started putting facts and information about their creatures into a slideshow for another round of practice presentations before the 2024 Our Oceans Conference.
Physical Development
We continued our learner-led physical development program this week. On Tuesday, there was an option of running or playing Sink the Ship for the warm-up portion, and the main activity choices were dancing or playing soccer. The groups came together in a big circle at the end and completed a great round of stretching. Thursday, the learners either joined in on dancing and gymnastics or played dodgeball. Ms. Kaitlin taught the learners the "old school" version of dodgeball, and they seemed to enjoy the alterations. Good job, Rebels!
Exploration & Launchpad Studios
Mindfulness and Launch
We began our week with a Studio Maintenance check-in before we played Flowers by Miley Cyrus and Dance Monkey by Tones and I with the Boomwhackers! This group has rhythm! Tuesday morning's whole-body pilates workout had the Rebels flex their muscles from head to toe. We completed standing exercises like knee tucks, seated exercises like side body stretches and reclined exercises like bicycle crunches. Nice job, Rebels! Since we had a potential learner join us, we came together to introduce ourselves and then followed a directed drawing of a Boba Tea to cap off our Launch. On Wednesday, the learners enjoyed solving the Wordle and then worked together to solve the New York Times Connections puzzle before our Rebel-led Current Events presentation. After a great yoga session on Thursday morning, we pondered why, even in peacetime, friends become enemies and why, even in wartime, enemies become friends. Surveys show that, over the past forty years, fewer and fewer people say they trust each other, so we used this great simulation to learn how game theory can help explain our epidemic of distrust –and how we can fix it! Through the activity, Rebels discovered that three things are needed for the evolution of trust: repeat interactions, possible win-win scenarios, and clear communication. On Friday, we listened to a read-aloud of our current novel, Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow.
Quest: Selling through Storytelling
Now that the learners have a product or service chosen, an understanding of sales funnels, completed an analysis of similar websites, played sales simulations like "Cha-Ching," and put themselves in the shoes of a customer, it is time to create their storyboards for a mock website as well as their sales pitches! Using a series of steps, on Monday, they created an outline for a pitch that included a hook, a story to address needs, and a call-to-action using a layout tool such as Canva, Google Slides, or Lucid Chart. Their focus was to be on the story and not the aesthetics. They were then tasked with presenting their rough draft to a group to receive warm/cool feedback. Using what they learned from their initial presentations, Rebels worked on creating an iteration with visuals that would clarify or make their pitch more compelling. On Thursday, we learned about interviewing potential customers for market research purposes. We discussed the pros and cons of running A/B tests on websites, sending email surveys, phone surveys, panel discussions, focus groups and one-on-one conversations. We then imagined how we would go about interviewing potential customers in a mall about our product or service and how we would get the most out of each interaction. Rebels created market research interview scripts with introductions, a mini contract such as "Would you allow me thirty seconds to...," a few simple questions, and a thank you for their time. Once their scripts were finished, learners had to design a data collection method that would allow them to study the data in greater detail once the interviews were complete. Finally, it was time to practice their field interviews with at least three other Rebels from the studio. While some learners found the exercise uncomfortable and others loved the challenge, all of them felt that there were areas in either their line of questioning or their data collection method that could be improved upon if they were to complete this task in a real mall.
French
This week in French, we practiced our listening comprehension by listening to four short documentaries and answering comprehension questions. It was great practice and a confidence boost for many, but it was also an excellent opportunity to hear different French accents.
Math Lab
"This creative process, marrying art with strategy, demands precision and innovation. Central to achieving this blend is the grid system—a foundational tool that guides designers in creating balanced, harmonious, and effective logos" (taken from an article at Kreafolk.com). This week, Rebels broke down the process of designing strong concepts for their brand - be it a logo to represent them, a company related to entrepreneurship, or redesigning the Revel Academy logo. We practiced using keywords to get ideas flowing and briefly discussed how a colour palette helps establish mood. Then, Rebels noted how taking these ideas from a blank page to grid paper will help ensure their mathematical attributes are present, balanced, and as exact as possible.
Exploration Reader/Writer
This week in Reader Writer, Rebels continued reading Witches! As the situation in Salem and surrounding towns darkens and the primary investigations of witchcraft come to an end as the more formal trials are about to begin, Rebels drew more comparisons between the key players involved and uncovered more and more connections between the accused and their accusers (debts owed, grudges, etc.). Rebels had some extensive discussions as they began putting themselves in the shoes of trial members. Would you accuse another person of witchcraft to save your life or the lives of your family? If you were a magistrate in Salem during the trials, would you convict a young person of witchcraft even if you genuinely believed they were innocent? Rebels started to make connections to modern-day justice systems as they discussed examples of corruption they had heard about in the media.
Exploration Civilization
After the devastation of Europe in World War I, multiple efforts were made in the late 1930s to peacefully contain Adolf Hitler. On Tuesday, Rebels read about the Munich Agreement and the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact before debating what they would have done in British Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain's shoes. They struggled to decide whether they would give in to Hitler's demands and subject thousands of free Czechoslovakian citizens to Hitler's rule or plunge Britain into a war it was likely not yet strong enough to win. On Thursday, Rebels finished watching a Crash Course video that looked at WWII from the perspective of limited resources before learning about Japan's invasion of Manchuria (1931) and China (1937), Germany's invading Poland (September 1st, 1939), and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7th, 1941). Learners then debated if they had been the U.S. President at the time, which of the events would have caused them to enter the war.
Launchpad Canterbury Tales
We began the week by reading Nevill Coghill's introduction to the Canterbury Tales, and on Tuesday, it was time to dive into the Prologue. As we read Chaucer's description of the various pilgrims, we took our time to dissect the meaning of different lines while adding notes to our Pilgrim Charts. We analyzed the level of society each pilgrim belonged to, the satirical devices used, and whether or not Chaucer approved or disapproved of the character. By the end of the week, we had finished the Prologue, and with a better understanding of Chaucer's prose, we feel ready to tackle the Pardoner's Tale on Monday!
Launchpad World History
In Western Europe, the years between 1350 and 1650 brought a massive change in human perspective. For the first time, people began to see individuality, art, and education as more important than blind obedience to authority. Launchpad Rebels researched the Middle Ages, Humanism, and the Renaissance. They then met to discuss what they discovered and debated who they would rather have dinner with out of the big names of the time and whether the Renaissance was caused by a chance assembly of great artistic talent, rising wealth due to trade, changing political forces, or new ideas all while providing evidence from their research.
On Thursday, we learned that in the early 1400s, Admiral Zheng-He led an enormous Chinese Armada (over 20,000 men and 60 ships) on seven voyages along the coasts of Indonesia, India, Arabia and Africa. His voyages aimed to enhance the prestige and power of China. Learners researched and discussed the Ming Dynasty and its leaders before writing up their opinions backed with evidence from their research and discussion.
Next Great Adventure
This was the last full week for our Launchpad learners to complete the second Quest of the Next Great Adventure! They worked incredibly hard, dedicating the majority of their week to finishing the endeavour to the best of their ability. They have completed challenges that have asked them to reflect on their passions, face their fears, listen to the right voice, explore their options, build their relationships, assess the weight of their decisions, and commit to something hard. This week, the main highlights included one of our learners speaking with a potential mentor and journalist and the others completing a series of Clearness Committees to gain clarity on hard decisions. Incredible work, Rebels!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark
Can you share a story one of our mystery readers read?
Which two continents did you travel to this week?
Where did you visit when you flew to Peru?
What's another name for Machu Picchu?
French: How do you say January in French? (Janvier)
Discovery
RW: Aim/Release - What did you learn about citing sources this week? Can you show me how you would cite a YouTube video?
RW: Draw/Anchor - Do you feel like you have enough information about your marine animal to start your essay next week?
ML: What are the three types of movements a shape can make on a grid? What are the informal and formal words for these moves?
Quest: What is colour, and how do we see it? Why is it different when you dive deep underwater?
Quest: When making a public presentation, what are some things you can do to make it excellent?
French: Who is the Little Prince?
Exploration
RW: In the Salem Witch Trials, more and more people are starting to second-guess their accusations. If you were in the shoes of the townspeople watching the Salem Witch Trials, would you speak up in front of the court to try and stop them from happening? Why or why not
Civ: After Chamberlain's decision, Winston Churchill said in a speech to the House of Commons: "You were given a choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war." Do you agree with Winston Churchill that Chamberlain's choice was dishonourable?
ML: What brand are you establishing for your logo design project? Will your logo represent you or a company, or will you re-imagine Revel's logo?
French: What documentaries have you listened to in French? Which was the easiest and which was the hardest for you to understand? Why do you think that was?
Launchpad
Would you rather have had dinner with Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, William Shakespeare, or a member of the Medici family? Why?
Compared to the Middle Ages, does "well educated" mean the same thing today?
Admiral Zheng-He was a Muslim, a eunuch and not ethnically Chinese. Despite what many would consider disadvantages, he rose to incredible power in Ming China. Do you believe it's because:
There was tolerance and even respect for diversity in Emperor Yongle's China;
Some individuals are simply in the right place at the right time, or
Disadvantages can drive certain individuals to great achievement.
NGA: Can you tell me the process for a Clearness Committee? Who did you ask, and what did you learn?
Dates of Interest
Exploration and Launchpad Field Trip - Canada War Museum February 2nd, travelling by school bus
Revel Family Glow Party! - Join us on Wednesday, February 7th, for some music, dancing and activities at Revel! Please send your RSVP to Sara Miles on BAND.
Spark and Discovery Field Trip to the Canadian Museum of Nature: February 8th, travelling by school 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