Revel Recap: June 17 - 21, 2024
Spark Studio
MINDFULNESS
Has your learner ever asked you where their food comes from or how it gets to the grocery store or their home? This Monday, the Sparks engaged in a mindful activity inspired by Susan Greenland and Annaka Harris' Mindful Games Activity Cards. One card titled "Thank the Farmer" was our choice of practice. During this activity, the Sparks imagined they had raisins in front of them, but they could not eat them. Before we pretended to eat the raisins, the Sparks took time to thank the people, places and things that were part of the journey from the grapevine to the table. After this activity, the guides ask them, "Do you think about raisins differently now, and have you thought about your food this way before?" The Sparks listened to the Once Upon a Beat podcast on Tuesday. They have an enjoyable episode called "Goldilocks and the Three Beats." The episode is about Goldi wanting to sing in a talent show, but she can't find the right song. With a fun hip-hop beat in the background, Goldilocks decides to trade in porridge for records from three very hip bears. Ask your learner if she hit the right note or if her performance was too hot or cold to handle. While listening, the Sparks giggled and spoke about the podcast while colouring. Midweek, the learners participated in a Jack and the Beanstalk-themed yoga video. Poses such as trees, sprouting beans, and giants were all utilized. The Sparks discovered that this story differed slightly from the others they read throughout the week. On Thursday, we read a story called Ice Cream Summer, a perfect book to celebrate the first day of summer! To end the week and celebrate the cooler weather, we spent the morning outside. The Sparks played tag in the field and participated in watercolour painting.
QUEST
Practice, practice, practice! The Sparks have dedicated many days of Quest performing their stories in front of the studio. With the use of props, working together and doing their best, they will be ready next week! The Sparks have played many fun games that work on their public speaking and drama performance skills. They enjoyed tongue twisters, acting along with the sound of music, and Yes, No, Please, Banana. We can't wait to see you at our Exhibition on Wednesday at the Univerisity of Ottawa!
MATH LAB
As we continued with measurement this session, the Sparks used rulers. We discussed the difference between height and length and they had to measure both for five items. From meters to centimetres, the Sparks explored the difference in sizes. They were then given various objects, such as a car and a teddy bear. They were to circle which measurement would be best to measure each object. Not only did they work hard in Math Lab, but they also explored material from the shelf and worked in their Singapore math books.
READERS WORKSHOP
Jack and the Beanstalk has a variety of alternative stories to choose from. To begin our workshop this week, we stuck to the classic tale. The Sparks explored the story elements and character traits and explained what magic beans they would grow. To end the workshop, they enjoyed a silly story called It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk by Josh Funk.
ART
We might as well stick to our story of the week of Jack and the Beanstalk and complete a corresponding art piece! Before we began, we read an alternative tale called Jack and the Beanstalk and the French Fries by Mark Teague. Jack and his mother will no longer starve, as the beanstalk bears a vast number of beans! Jack's mom cooks baked beans, pickled beans, mashed beans, bean soup, and bean chowder. Jack soon grows tired of beans and dreams of burgers and french fries. When he climbs the beanstalk, he finds a like-minded giant! The Sparks designed a beanstalk using tissue paper, cotton balls, and paper. They created their own Jack and plopped their character on or beside the beanstalk.
FRENCH
On Monday and Tuesday, we revisited the song "Le roi, la reine et le petit prince" to prepare for Exhibition. Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, we played letter carrier in the gym to review the words we've learned this year and work on our French reading.
Our French read-aloud was called Ma Dent Ne Veut Pas Tomer! by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko. This book was a great choice as many learners are experiencing their first loose tooth!
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
As the warmer weather approached this week, there was no other way we would want to spend the end of the day other than playing with ice! The Sparks were each given a bowl filled with ice and a Lego character inside. They had to use their hands or a piece of Duplo to save the Lego person from the ice. Once removed, they were challenged to use all the Legos provided in a bin to create a home for their newly freed character.
On Thursday, the first day of summer, the Sparks were surprised with ice cream sundaes! Everyone participated in decorating their ice cream with delicious treats.
Fred found his way back into the studio this week! His boat capsized again, and the Sparks needed to use paper clips to flip Fred's boat back over, put his lifejacket and put him inside the boat without touching the water. We love this STEM activity as it has the learners work with their partners to solve the puzzle, listen to each other's ideas, communicate effectively, and work towards a common goal.
Discovery Studio
MINDFULNESS and LAUNCHES
Monday's Mantra was "AVP," which stands for acknowledge, validate, permit. Using the Inside Out 2 trailer as inspiration, Rebels discussed their different emotions and how AVP might sound in the moment. For example, I feel thrilled; that makes sense because it's my first time at Flying Squrriel, and I just discovered a new source of joy! Or, I feel distraught; that makes sense because I felt ignored at recess, and it's okay to be sad. For the remaining time, Rebels had fun designing their Inner Brain Command Centre and the little emotion characters that would live there. At Launch, we enjoyed another round of Murder Mystery Theatre, led by one of our Rebels! Tuesday's mindful adventure was a fun doodle maze! The learner-led Launch that morning was about Pride Month, the history of the Stonewall Inn and the rights of LGBT+ people, and how the annual tradition of a march or parade began in 1970. Wednesday's mindfulness saw the Rebels collectively solve the New York Times puzzle collection in fifteen minutes! Triad Check-Ins offered an opportunity for Rebels to check in with their teammates, go over what goals they had accomplished and get a head start on Core Skills as they anticipated a busy last two weeks and opted to maximize their time to finish goals. During Thank You for Sharing Thursday, the Rebels discussed what they would do if a cashier gave them too much change at check-out and what (if anything) made them feel guilty. Thursday's Launch involved a CBC News clip from five years ago about Hurricane Florence's impact and resulting evacuation in North Carolina. Rebels discussed what they would do if they were mayor of Wilmington and if the journalism they watched was helpful or hyped up. Feel-Good Friday, we enjoyed some Taylor Swift-themed Boomwhackers, and for Friday's Current Events, Rebels reported on the heat wave this week and celebrating June 21 as National Indigenous People's Day.
READER/WRITER
Our second last Reader Writer workshop of the year allowed Rebels to work on good copies of their speeches. Rebels worked hard using speech recipe templates, and those who completed their good copies during the workshop jumped into small feedback sessions where they shared their finished product and compared it with world-class speech examples. Rebels utilized the small group feedback circles to practice reciting their speeches out loud, working on their timing, projection, clarity and flow to ensure they stayed within the maximum allotted time of one minute. Rebels that have completed all four workshops up until this point in the session will participate in a presentation workshop next week where learners will decide whether or not to incorporate their speech as the introduction to their talent show performance at Academic Hall next Wednesday.
MATH LAB
Do we have enough to make change? This week's series of notice and wonder warm-ups were designed to get the Rebels thinking about counting by friendly amounts like 5s, 10s, 20s and 25s and to stretch that thinking to less common counting patterns like 3s or 8s. We also had a few Math Flip cards to contend with, where Rebels practiced expressing addition and subtraction scenarios with number lines, variables, and the standard algorithms. They also tried communicating the inverse relationship between these operations and using proper terms for all the parts, like addend, sum and difference. For the main event, Rebels used the Money Master activity to practice making change for various purchases over $100. For an extra challenge, they used money to represent the change using as few bills and coins as possible.
QUEST
Another week, another inspiring quote to kick us off: "I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being." - Oscar Wilde. Rebels dug deep to meet various deadlines this week in anticipation of our Show Your Growth talent show creeping up next Wednesday! From finalizing ticket prices and poster design to completing the show programs for printing to a third and fourth round of feedback circles and a slew of amazing rehearsals, Rebels proved they have what it takes to make this show happen in just under one week! As our final round of rehearsals came to a close, Rebels reflected on their Rebel Rehearsal Logs and asked themselves and each other, "What went well? What do I still need to work on? If I could only pick one thing to focus on for full run-throughs next week, what would that be and why?" As we dove into Monday and Tuesday, Rebels gave their full attention to the nitty-gritty details of what makes a performance excellent as we saw many of them opting to rehearse in groups of 3 or 4 so they could time each other and offer additional feedback as they prepared to showcase the latest stages of their performances in feedback circles on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. After a final debrief before our run-throughs with the Spark Rebels next week, Rebels agreed they felt prepared and, most importantly, proud of their accomplishments over the past four weeks. Next week, Rebels in Spark and Discovery will come together for two Quest blocks ahead of the big show on Wednesday to finalize transitions, timing, staging and blocking with props and costumes.
We look forward to showing you our hard work at our off-site Exhibition next week! Great job, Rebels!
CIVILIZATIONS
This week, the Rebels listened to tales of new colonies in America. We mapped journies across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain and England to modern-day Florida and Virginia, respectively. Rebels heard how the Queen of England entrusted Sir Walter Raleigh to organize multiple expeditions and how he had to sacrifice a lot of personal freedoms along the way. He was even jailed for a time just for marrying a woman he loved! In North America, settlers experienced harsh winters and trouble growing crops, and many wanted to return to Europe. There was also cooperation and conflict with the indigenous groups who already lived where the settlers landed. In one case, a colony on Roanoke Island (modern-day North Carolina) was lost and never found. What do YOU think about this lost piece of history? How important is it to understand what happened? Should modern governments put money toward finding out?
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
With the extremely hot weather on Tuesday, all Discovery Rebels stayed inside for P.E. With their upcoming performances for Quest; we thought it was the perfect time to come together as a group and play various drama movement games. First, we started with a character walk, where the learners moved around the gym, acting out different scenarios. We then played Catch and Clap, where they threw two bean bags to people around the circle, and the group clapped when the bean bags were in the air. Next was a challenging round of Who's the Leader? One Discovery Rebel would leave the gym, and the rest of the group would follow the leader's actions. The Rebel returned to the gym and tried to determine who was changing the movements! Then we learned more about each other by playing A Big Wind Blows. Each learner had a chance to repeat, "A big wind blows for everyone who loves…" and then fill it in with something they enjoy. If other Rebels also liked it, they would run to the other side of the gym. To end our day, we played Mirror, Mirror. The Rebels had a partner and took turns making movements, with the other person mirroring these movements, like they were looking at themselves in the mirror. It was a fantastic afternoon, with all the learners participating, having fun, and practicing excellent drama skills!
FRENCH
This week, the Rebels had to sing five songs they had chosen in French. We then continued to learn the song Tout le Bonheur du monde for Exhibition.
Additional Highlights
Please check out Revel Rebels BAND app for all of the essential details pertaining to the Spark and Discovery off-site exhibition on Wednesday, June 26th!
Exploration Studio
MINDFULNESS AND LAUNCH
After a learner-led mindfulness Monday morning, we explored one of the main issues of AI-based predictive models and how they affect user decision-making and accountability at Launch. Consider this: a couple has been thinking about getting engaged but is worried about divorce statistics. An AI-based model was just released that can predict your likelihood of divorce with 95% accuracy. The only catch is the model doesn't offer any reasons for its results. So, based on this AI's prediction, should they decide whether or not to get married? The Rebels explored AI's transparency problem and discussed their personal decision, with the group split ending in a close to 50/50 tie. Tuesday's Pilates practice this week was a simple daily mobility flow to stay calm and cool with the heat wave upon us. Each move was slow, controlled, and planned to increase the ease of functional movements of everyday life. For example, turning, looking and stretching over each shoulder or lifting our legs towards the other in a seated position. After introducing ourselves to a new learner, we debated who we would send first to help set up if we were starting a new society but had never been to the area: farmers, medical professionals, geologists, military personnel, or another group. The Rebels did a great job providing their reasoning concisely and with evidence while maintaining our ROEs. Wednesday, we continued our pinata-making for our Summer Birthday celebration on the 3rd, with several at the decoration stage. Thursday's yoga focused on our new game, Island Elimination, with 24 new yoga poses to choose from for Rebels to create their own sequences. Rebels had a lot of fun challenging each other to memorize and recreate the flows each team made.
After yoga, we learned about Nobel prize winner Norman Borlaug, a plant breeder who touched over a billion lives with his determination to stop world hunger. We learned about the challenges and successes that Borlaug and his team faced as they developed new varieties, pioneered new methods and refused to give up; a great example of one person's impact on the world! We then had a Socratic discussion on genetic engineering. Friday's team puzzles saw Rebels working together to complete the New York Times puzzle collection. Rebels successfully completed Wordle, The Mini, and Letterboxed but got stumped by this week's Connections groupings.
QUEST
Welcome to PLAY Week, Rebels! After their three-week crash course in visual arts, Rebels could select their preferred mode and medium and get creative with the elements to compose a personal artwork on Monday. We had Rebels working on graded pencil drawings, oil pastel pieces, "painting" with paper in the form of collages, clay sculptures, more mask making, new collagraphy for printmaking and both acrylic and watercolour paintings. On Tuesday, we mapped out how many days there were until Exhibition and clarified expectations about what would need to be ready for our gallery displays. For the remaining time on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, Rebels worked on their personal projects and started thinking about their Artist Statements. On Thursday, we had a special guest, Emily McInnes from Eye Buy Art, come to talk about working in the art industry and then participate in our weekly critique. She presented some images showcasing the type of work she secures for residential and corporate installation but focused on the "why" behind any piece and the importance of its story. She then generously offered her time to speak with each Rebel individually, offering feedback on their body of work to date. Thank you so much, Emily, for sharing your experience, expertise, advice and insight!
Civilization
This week, we learned about Brexit. We learned about some key issues and the players involved before putting ourselves in the shoes of various people to determine if the UK should remain in or leave the European Union. What would you do if you owned a small-town furniture factory where half of your revenue comes from selling to the greater EU, and 60% of your employees are from Poland and other EU countries? What if you were a UK factory worker at the MINI Cooper plant in Oxford or a UK citizen living and working in Germany for the last eight years? Will you vote to stay or leave? After discussing our vote in each scenario, we thought about what each person would have done after the vote. We looked at maps and graphs to better understand which regions and generations voted to stay and which voted to leave the EU. We discussed if they thought that Scots would want to re-vote on their membership with the UK and if they were the CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, would they build their 10 billion dollar plant in Cowley, UK or Leipzig, Germany based on the results of Brexit. Rebels also put themselves in Angela Merkel's position and voted on whether Germany should punish the UK with high tariffs to set an example to other countries or maintain favourable trade terms to keep the relationship.
FRENCH
This week, we played two big games of Jeopardy to brush up on our knowledge of the three verb groups, sports, marine vocabulary, and reverse questions. The competition is fierce, and the Rebels are studying hard to win!
MATH LAB
This week's Math Lab focused on operations with fractions and decimals. During the problem string warm-up, Rebels noted the expression of the word "of" as multiplication, as in ⅛ of 20 is calculated as ⅛ x 20, as well as the relationship between parts of a whole and division. To continue with the previous example, ⅛ of 20 = 20/8 and 20/8 is calculated as 20 divided by 8. We also had a great conversation about when to use fractions to represent solutions and when to use decimal numbers. In our problem-solving, Rebels tended to express ideas using decimals, and we figured out this was because they are easier to compare than fractions with different denominators. In one problem, Rebels had to determine if groups on a field trip got the same amount of sub sandwiches, but each group had a different number of people and a different number of subs to share. Next, Rebels had to determine how many cookies were in a jar before several people had come to snack on various portions (like the first person eating half, another eating one-third of what was remaining). For their final challenge, the Rebels attempted the unusual baker's cakes problem, where each cake was valued at ten dollars, but the pieces were all cut uniquely and in different ways and sizes. They had to apply a combination of spatial reasoning and proportional reasoning to determine the cost of each piece of cake.
READER/WRITER
In our fourth workshop this session, Rebels reviewed their biography Google Slides templates using the criteria they came up with at the end of Week 3. We reviewed the different ways they could make their biographies unique while still containing all the important information required for an excellent biography. Rebels jumped into a research block to learn as much as possible about the artist they selected to write a biography about. Using various websites and resources, Rebels began to gather information about artists' early life, education, accomplishments, famous quotes, favourite artworks, those who inspired their artists and more. Rebels will have one more workshop to complete their artist biography and they will be on display at the Vernissage Exhibition next week!
Launchpad Studio
Poetry Analysis
This week, we reviewed our previous winners from our Poet vs. Poet bracket to narrow them down and find our top choice. Our winner was "Songs of the Spavinaw" by Ruth Muskrat Bronson due to its rhyming scheme, beautiful flow, imagery, and personal connection to the piece. The rest of their Poetry Analysis period was spent creating their final piece for Exhibition.
MTC
Where is the proof?! This week, learners began adding the foundational and advanced competencies they earned and then making a list and in some cases, attaching their evidence. It has been exciting to hear the learners remember various challenges over the years that prove they are creative, critical thinkers who know who they are!
Self-defence
On Thursday, Launchpad learners returned to Douvris for another lesson in self-defence! They worked their back kicks, elbow blocks and hits and earned their first belt! Great work, Rebels. Thank you, Sensei Dom!
CIVILIZATION
Cultures used to be more distinct before globalization. After completing research on a chosen ethnic group and their customs, learners discussed whether they believed their group would primarily lose or win if it became homogenized to be more like other dominant cultures. They also discussed what they felt was most responsible for the Westernization of cultures: travel, clothing, entertainment/media, food, or the internet.
INDEPENDENT STUDY
Independent courses, including integrated math, data and statistics, high school physics, and other online coursework, took up a large part of the week. We also saw a continuation of learner-driven and fun passion projects as we end the year. Two learners continued work on their PC, a few worked on their digital art, and another learner began building a cardboard war hammer.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark Studio
Which Jack and the Beanstalk story did you enjoy the most, and can you tell me the ending of all three you read?
What objects would you measure using a meter stick compared to a ruler?
French: Do you know all the lyrics to the song "Le roi, la reine et le petit prince"?
Discovery Studio
R/W: How is your speech going for Reader/Writer? Will you be using it as your introduction to your Talent Show performance? Why or why not?
Math Lab: If you're paying by debit or credit, ask your learner how much change you should have received had you paid in cash!
Quest: With the big show next week, what is one thing you want to focus on between now and then to make your performance excellent?
Quest: What do you think is more challenging: performing in front of a bunch of strangers or performing in front of close friends/family?
French: Which songs did you choose for your French badge? How did it go?
Exploration Studio
R/W: What artist did you select to write your biography about? Can you tell me something you learned about them as a result of writing their biography?
Math Lab: What is the relationship between fractions and decimals? For example, without a calculator, how would you compare ⅗ and ⅚? How would you express these as decimal numbers to be sure of your comparison?
Quest: What two pieces will you display at the Vernissage Exhibition next week? How did you make these, and how are they special or important to you?
Many argue there is no ethical difference in engineering the genetics of plants and animals. Do you agree or disagree? What about humans? Why?
What do you believe was the single most important issue in Brexit: self-governance, immigration, the British economy, racism, or something else?
French: How does the competition work in French? Where does your team stand?
Launchpad Studio
As director of marketing for a shoe company, do you lay out a plan to market to individual ethnic groups or do a "one world" campaign?
What challenges/badges are outstanding for the end of the year?
What competencies do you have evidence for? What pieces do you want to work on to improve?
Dates of Interest
Exploration Graduation Ceremony - Monday, June 24th at 3:00 pm (For families of Grade 8 learners moving on to high school)
Session 7 Exhibitions
Spark and Discovery off-site at uOttawa Academic Hall - Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - Doors open at 2:45 pm, Showtime at 3 pm! Please see BANDApp for more information!
Exploration Vernissage Exhibition, on-site at Revel - Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 4:15 pm
Canada Day: No School - Monday, July 1st
Rebel Olympics - Tuesday, July 2nd
Swimming, Summer Birthday Celebration, and Ice Cream Truck - Wednesday, July 3rd
Bouncy Castle Party - Thursday, July 4th
Last Day of School - Friday, July 5th