Revel Recap: February 3 - 7, 2025
Spark Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
Each day this week, we started our morning with a game and a directed drawing. On Monday, we had fun playing Charades, where the Sparks acted out as different animals, and the learners tried to guess what they were. Next, with Groundhog Day the day before, we discussed what predictions were made and completed a drawing of this cute animal. On Tuesday, we played a few rounds of the board game HedBanz. In this game, the learners ask the group yes or no questions to figure out the card in the headband. Afterward, we drew a cactus Valentine picture. On Wednesday, we played a fun game called The Voice. One learner would turn away from the group, and then another learner would be selected to be the voice. They would disguise their voice and say "hello" while the guesser tried to identify who was speaking! By the end of the game, learners were showing off their acting skills and really changing their voices to try and confuse each other! Our next drawing was a studio favourite, an axolotl Squishmallow! On Thursday, we played a game called Ask Me Anything. Each learner had a chance to sit at the front of the studio, and we took turns asking them three questions. They came up with various questions, such as their favourite colours, food, animals, cars, sports, and more. It was a great way to practice turn-taking in a conversation and get to know each other better! Next, we joined Discovery for a Launch about our upcoming field trip to the Ottawa Art Gallery. We discussed where we would go, what to do when we arrived, and bus expectations. On Friday, we played Hot and Cold. One Rebel left the studio, and we hid an object in the room. When they returned, they looked for the item, and we gave them clues about the object's location using the word "hot" (when they're close) or "cold" (when they're far away). Our last drawing of the week was a Valentine's cupcake!
Quest
Our artist of the week was Pablo Picasso! We started by reading his biography. We learned that his art made everyone look at things differently and that he changed art forever! From a young age, Picasso loved to paint and draw. His first word was even "piz," the Spanish word for a pencil! Throughout the book, we learn more about his journey as an artist. The Sparks found it interesting that he couldn't afford furniture when he moved to Paris, so he painted furniture on the walls of his apartment! We also observed his different approaches and periods, including his blue and rose periods, in which he painted only these two colours. We saw pictures of the Cubism style he created, where his artwork looked like it was made up of squares, triangles, and rectangles. The next day, we looked at some of Picasso's portraits. We discussed the different shapes and colours we saw, and the Sparks noticed that some of the facial features were in different spots than where we usually see them. We then created some Picasso-inspired self-portraits using our creativity and brightly coloured paper! The results were so unique! On Wednesday, we started Quest reading the book Emily's Blue Period. This book is about a little girl who is inspired by Picasso's work and wants to become an artist just like him. The story also discusses his Cubism style, which inspired our "cube" Valentine project of the day! The learners began by drawing hearts on their paper. Next, they used rulers to draw lines through their pictures to create different shapes. Once they completed all of their lines, they began to fill in the sections using different colours. Picasso would have been proud of the result! Our last activity of the week was to explore Picasso's co-invention of collages. We looked through some of his collage artwork, noticing the different textures and materials he used. The Sparks then used scrapbook paper, tissue paper, magazines, and wallpaper to create fascinating artwork! We are excited to invite our families to our art exhibit next Wednesday and show off everything we have been working on!
Math Lab
This week, Group One started by practicing writing numbers 1 through 15 on chalkboards. The Guide demonstrated a number using sandpaper numbers, and the learners would say the number aloud before writing it down. We focused on ensuring that their written numbers matched the model exactly, paying close attention to the correct formation of each digit. At this stage, it's common for learners to write their numbers backward occasionally. Next, we worked with the Groundhog addition sheets in pairs. Learners explored the concept of addition by combining two numbers to create a larger number. Using numbers 1 through 9, they used counting cubes to help identify their answers, then wrote the sum on their chalkboards. Throughout the week, we encouraged Group One to engage with various materials from the shelf, including sandpaper letters, number rods, the teen board, the addition board and the 100 board. During work periods, learners continued to practice writing their numbers on their worksheets, chalkboards and whiteboards.
Meanwhile, Group Two continued to explore fractions. We reviewed what a fraction is and the terms numerator and denominator. The Sparks then worked on two activities. They coloured in parts of shapes and wrote the fractions for the parts they coloured. They also completed a fractions secret code puzzle by matching the fraction picture to the written form and filling in the corresponding letter. Once complete, they discovered the mystery hidden message! This group also continued to set goals to work on math materials during work periods each day. Learners explored addition, subtraction, and multiplication using the materials and completed two pages in their math books daily.
Reader/Writer
The Group One Sparks were given a whiteboard and marker to start their weekly Reader/Writer workshop. The Guide said a sound, and they had to write which letter it was. The Sparks then took turns doing this with partners. Their next activity was to find objects throughout the studio that started with each letter on their whiteboard. Letters such as a, c, m, p, and t were provided. Objects the learners found included maps, puzzles, teacups, tigers, asteroids, and tiles.
This week, Group Two continued their grammar studies, focusing on nouns. We learned that a noun is a person, animal, place, or thing. We wrote this definition in our workbook and then read a book called The World Is Full of Nouns. This fun story introduced us to the world of nouns, providing many examples. The learners then took turns reading out loud to the group and identifying the nouns in the sentences. We all underlined the nouns we found and then completed a noun word search.
Geography
This week, we started our geography lesson by looking at the puzzle map and reviewing the names of the countries in North America we have learned so far in this session. We also listened to a song that told us that there are 23 countries in North America. We then shifted our focus to the beautiful island of Jamaica! We read Anya Goes to Jamaica and learned about the popular foods, beautiful beaches and tropical weather, the flag's colours, that the capital is Kingston, the language Patois is spoken there, and that reggae music originated in Jamaica! The learners then coloured in this country's flag while listening to lovely reggae music.
French
On Monday, we reviewed the parts of the body through a fun and interactive game using Potato Heads. Then, on Tuesday, the learners finished colouring illustrations of opposite words in French. We also reviewed the song « Le roi, la reine et le petit prince » (The King, the Queen, and the Little Prince) to practice the days of the week. Wednesday and Thursday, we played the game « Petit Loup apprend ses émotions »(Little Wolf Learns About Emotions), a fun activity that allowed learners to review and express their emotions interactively.
Additional Highlights
The Sparks have been busy learning about famous artists and recreating beautiful masterpieces over the last five weeks! They were very excited for their visit to the Ottawa Art Gallery! We started with an art workshop inspired by two things the Sparks have learned about this session: the Group of Seven and collage art. The learners selected a piece of Group of Seven artwork to create their collage using pictures found in books and magazines and to reimagine the scene. The learners got right to work and made some fantastic pieces. Next, we enjoyed a tour of three beautiful exhibits, including an incredible Group of Seven artwork collection. It was a fun experience to wrap up our incredible session!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
On Monday, two Rebels showed initiative and asked if they could lead the studio through Wordle for their mindfulness. Again this week, this daily puzzle stumped our studio! On our last guess, six out of six Rebels called their lifeline, Ms. Kaitlin, for help in solving the mystery word! For Launch on Monday, we discussed habits we want to work on, such as praise, gratitude, vulnerability, affirmation, attention and curiosity, empathy, looking for the positive, and welcoming others. We also discussed habits we want to work on getting away from: sarcastic, annoying behaviour, gossiping, criticism, complaints, and bragging or topping a story. The Rebels each chose one habit that they wanted to work on. We started the day drawing an ice skating koala for Tuesday's mindfulness. For Launch, Rebels discussed Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, considering what they have learned over the past five weeks. They reflected on what is more motivating to them by comparing items such as food or love. Shelter or dreams? Finally, they voted on whether they agreed or disagreed with how the categories of needs are organized. Then, we started to design a motivation experiment for the next session. Stay tuned for details! Rebels played the Connections, Wordle and Letterboxed puzzles from the New York Times on Wednesday morning. They were able to guess one of four Connections categories, solved the Wordle with two guesses to spare, and solved Letterbox with eight words. Launch on Wednesday was led by one of our Rebels! She planned a pancake-themed scavenger hunt, and the winning Rebel received a Pancat gift card! On Thursday morning, we started our day with a Hakuna Matata meditation. Hakuna Matata means focusing on not worrying and letting our problems go. At Launch, we met with the Sparks to review the details of our upcoming field trip to the Ottawa Art Gallery! For Feel-Good Friday, we warmed up the Boomwhackers and then tried a special request for a "Nightmare Before Christmas" song, "This is Halloween." For Current Events, we learned how Black History Month came to be in Canada and why it is so important. Did you know Black History Month only started in Canada in 1995? We also learned about the importance of shopping Canadian due to the upcoming USA Tariffs and how to check the labels on food items to see if they are completely made in Canada.
Reader/Writer
Draw and Anchor Rebels worked on completing their 'Best Part of Me' paragraphs this week. The Rebels learned about taking good pictures and took photos of their best part. Then, they inputted their paragraphs and pictures into our shared class book.
Aim and Release Rebels worked on editing their Book of Awesome paragraphs, and then they decided to share their writing in a collective book. They worked hard getting their writing into the book and organized it with a table of contents.
Math Lab
During Monday's lab with Aim and Release Rebels, we made some big connections between equations and inverse operations. First, Rebels worked together to try and explain the difference between expressions and equations. We listed examples on the whiteboard and reviewed how they can use inverse operations (or fact families) to help us solve unknown variables in basic equations. Then, smaller Rebel teams broke off and worked through the session's most challenging problem string involving two-step equations, which required them to apply (and reverse) the order of operations or BEDMAS. All equations involved decimal numbers with the intention that they could use a calculator (so as not to be bogged down by calculations with decimals) and instead truly apply inverse operations to isolate and solve for variables. In short, we really stretched our algebraic reasoning muscles this week!
At Wednesday's lab with Draw/Anchor Rebels, we played Splat! Rebels looked at visual puzzles showing three types of information: a total numerical value for the puzzles, various numbers of blue dots and various amounts of mystery splats. In the first series of puzzles, Rebels had to use the clues to determine the value of the splats. In the second and third series, there were different coloured splats where splats of the same colour must have the same value (and splats of a different colour must have a different value). When discussing how they solved the puzzles, Rebels shared various ways of thinking, from guessing and checking to using a reverse order of operations. For example, one team figured out that for some puzzles with only one colour splat, they could subtract the number of dots from the total and then evenly divide the value left over among the splats. Another team figured out that some puzzles with different colour splats have multiple solutions. Great algebraic reasoning, Rebels!
French
This week, the learners added colour and details to their family trees, making them more personalized and visually engaging. Group 2 also completed a written text about a family member, allowing them to practice their descriptive writing skills.
Civilizations
This week in Civilizations, we learned about gravity and focused on the ideas that changed how people understood the world and government.
The chapter highlights Isaac Newton, who discovered the laws of motion and gravity. Newton's ideas helped people understand how the universe worked, showing that natural laws, not just divine intervention, governed the world. His discoveries laid the foundation for modern physics and changed scientific thinking forever.
The reading also introduced John Locke, a philosopher who challenged traditional ideas about government and power. Locke believed that people had natural rights—life, liberty, and property—and that governments should protect these rights rather than rule with absolute power. His ideas about democracy and individual freedoms later influenced revolutions, including the American and French Revolutions.
This chapter emphasizes how scientific discoveries and new political ideas reshaped society, encouraging people to question old beliefs and seek new ways to understand the world and their place in it.
Quest
What is self-actualization? How is it different from person to person? Rebels kicked off this week's Quest theme by sharing their biggest dreams, particularly how they will know they've unlocked their fullest potential. For one, it's if they are a chef in their own restaurant; for another, it is to take over their mom's business, have a family and house, or become a Pokémon designer. With these dreams in mind, we switched our focus to one collective goal - opening the Revel Health and Wellness Centre next week for our Session 4 Exhibition! As such, Monday's first challenge was to participate in an idea blitz, developing workshops that could help teach our guests about different needs. On Tuesday, groups naturally formed based on their initial brainstorming, so we worked on goal setting. Each team had to list three workshop goals, diagram their workshop station and list the needed materials. Wednesday was the beginning of crunch time: Rebels made swift decisions about where teams would present their work on Exhibition Day, which Elective projects they could showcase, and how and when MCs would address our guests. On Thursday, Rebels got right to work making slides in Canva, quizzes on Blooket, posters, dioramas, and so much more! Their creativity and engagement are sure to impress next week!
Physical Development
On Tuesday, we all headed to Carlington Hill to play games in the snow or go sledding. It was a little chilly, but the learners enjoyed the fresh snow that had recently fallen! On Thursday, the Rebels started with a 15-minute HIIT workout followed by Capture the Flag.
Additional Highlights
On Friday, the Sparks and Discovery Rebels jumped on a bus and headed downtown to explore the Ottawa Art Gallery. The Discovery Rebels first took a tour of the galleries and explored "Through the Ground Glass" which explores the work of historical Ottawa photographer William James Topley alongside six contemporary artists—Lori Blondeau, Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Anique Jordan, Neeko Paluzzi, Adrian Stimson, and Geneviève Thauvette. Using techniques like image manipulation, hauntology, and theatrical portraiture, these artists challenge narratives and reclaim power. Inspired by Topley's composite photography, which pieced together images to shape stories, they adopt similar methods to resist, reconstruct, and critique history, creating new perspectives and realities. Then we looked at "Stories My Father Couldn't Tell Me: Jeff Thomas Origin.": Since 1980, he has used photography to reclaim Indigenous narratives in urban spaces, reworking colonial images to tell new stories. His latest series, Dream Panels, reflects on key themes in his work—identity, fatherhood, land, and ancestry. The show is part of a partnership between the National Gallery of Canada and the Ottawa Art Gallery to support Indigenous artists. We then looked at a couple of paintings from the famous Group of Seven and got our hands dirty making our own collages and artwork!
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
After our free-choice mindfulness period, Rebels discussed their plans for Valentine's Day and Session 5 experiment perks. We then read the beautiful poem "At the Age of 18 - Ode to Girls of Color" by Amanda Gorman before taking partin a Black History Month Blooket. Tuesday morning began with two musical guessing games where learners played the designated notes with Boomwhackers and had to guess which Disney movie or nursery rhyme they were playing. We then went over this month's Let Grow theme: taking initiative. We brainstormed ways for the learners to show initiative at school and home and can't wait to see what project they take on in February! Wednesday morning, we returned to our eye drawings, taking the next step of colouring them with oil pastels. Thursday's yoga flow focused on the shoulders and hips. We moved through a series of seated stretches, like "swimming" forwards and backwards with our arms. Then, we flowed through mountain and forward fold several times before ending with a deep stretch on either side in a pigeon pose. Rebels then were asked what the following list of books had in common: Hunger Games, The Giver, Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and Drama. Learners suggested they were all Hero's Journey stories, best sellers, and best-loved books. When it was revealed that all of them had been on a banned book list at different times, they were shocked. Rebels were then asked if there was ever a good reason to ban a book, with some feeling that if it encouraged hate or was age-inappropriate, there may be a reason to ban a tome. This led to who gets to decide what is inappropriate, why their perspective may be different than ours, and what the consequences can be of banning books. Lastly, we watched a Ted-Ed video on one of the most banned books of all time: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou's critically acclaimed memoir. Contexto was tricky, with the Rebels requiring a few hints to finally get the answer on Friday. Our learner-led Current Events Launch filled us in on some of the recent sports highlights and news including the big NBA trade. We also learned about tariffs and reading labels to find out if products are REALLY made in Canada before diving further into Black History Month.
Reader/Writer - Character development
Rebels who had completed their character profile and backstory printed their drafts for feedback on Tuesday. Each learner gave input to at least three other learners reading for proper punctuation, capitalization, "juicy" words, voice, flow, and aesthetics. Once at least three people had provided their notes, learners used the feedback to improve their profile and backstory in preparation for display at Exhibition next week. Learners who had not finished their pieces worked to finish them and will need three people to provide feedback before next Thursday.
Math Lab
This week's lab featured a series of Slow Reveal Graphs. Rebels gathered together to carefully examine parts of graphs on display, where more and more information was gradually revealed to help them tune in to small details and think more critically about data analysis. We looked at various graph forms: a simple bar graph about tornadoes in Alabama, a more complex bar graph representing Rideau Canal Skateway season lengths, a pictograph and infographic showing barrels per day in terms of oil production in several countries, and a pie chart displaying which countries meet certain standards in terms of their net-zero goals. Through these examinations, Rebels used proportional reasoning, comparing the sizes of bars to others to estimate values, and looked for clues that would help them determine the graph's content. For example, when looking at the bars of the skateway seasons, Rebels wondered at first, without context, if it was representing stock market data or inflation rates. Then, when the x-axis revealed years dating back to 1970, they realized that what they knew about inflation now didn't match the trend in the shape of the bars. After warming up their minds, they broke into small groups to investigate and discuss a graph showing average global temperatures between the 1850s and 2018.
French
This week, we explored the theme of Black History Month through a reading comprehension exercise. We also discussed Francophonie in Africa, highlighting the diversity of French-speaking cultures and their contributions. To reinforce our knowledge engagingly, we played two Kahoot on these subjects, encouraging active discussion.
Apprenticeship Prep
This week, we focused on networking and seeking assistance effectively and professionally. Learners took notes while we read an Acton MBA note on Naive Networking before reading a sample apprenticeship email and dissecting it for mistakes and faux pas. We then compared the first email with an example of an excellent email that successfully resulted in a meeting. We ended our Apprenticeship class on Tuesday, posting three things we would never do when networking and three things we will always do. Learners recognized that being prepared, requesting short 5 - 15-minute phone calls, providing questions in advance, and using professional language were really important! In the next session, we will work on creating a list of potential people to reach out to for our apprenticeships and write our draft emails using the template we viewed this week.
Civilizations - Cartography
On Thursday, Rebels learned about typography and reviewed the expectations for their worldbuilding map. Learners agreed that they needed to create a well-executed map with a title, compass, key, and at least five locations labelled to earn this badge. A few learners have completed their pieces, while most will put the final touches on their map next Tuesday.
Quest - worldbuilding
As we near Exhibition, this was the learners' last week to work on their final project. We began with a Project Plan Check-In on Monday to ensure Rebels planned their work periods to be as productive as possible. We also reviewed the badge requirements, which included a polished version of their Worldbuilding Workbook, a completed mood board with at least six images, as well as their final project, which could be a RPG campaign, a 3D model of their world, a Creature Compendium, a card, board, or online game concept, or another idea they pitched for approval. The remaining work periods were spent on their final projects. Open-ended projects are incredibly fun and show the learner's natural strengths and creativity. However, they are also challenging as the Rebels must break down the steps and manage their time wisely.
Additional Highlights
In this session, our Problem of the Week has been a series of challenges tied to our Quest theme. Each week, learners complete a problem that helps them narrow down a list of gnomes to discover who the true hero is. Rebels participating have converted fractions and percentages to decimals, added and subtracted decimals to the thousandths, calculated various answers to volume questions using multiplication, decimals, and percentages, and added fractions with uncommon denominators. Next week, they will complete the last problem by calculating how many miles each hero walked using a path length and percentage, fraction, or decimal of what they travelled. With all of their clues combined, they can discern who the one true hero gnome is and earn a special prize!
We read chapters 17 - 20 of The Westing Game this week, and after reviewing the week's vocabulary words and discussing the chapter summaries, Rebels answered a series of comprehension questions.
As part of the Running Partner Selfless Leadership badge, one of our learners was tasked with creating an experiment and offering an incentive if the studio successfully completed the goal. After reviewing the differences between external and internal motivation, the learners agreed to earn a total of 7,500 Journey Tracker points by Friday. They ended up smashing their goal and achieving a hot chocolate and movie party for the next week, thanks largely to the Rebel's consistent encouragement!
Launchpad Studio
During their personalized Core Skills, one learner worked on covered borders combined with div tags this week, as well as fixed vs absolute elements and how they display on a loaded page in their coding course. The LP also worked on mastering the content in their math programs, studying Japanese, French, and Russian, and improving their typing speed. They also practiced piano, participated in band, and worked on digital art commissions.
AP Biology
This week, our learner continued their unit on Energy and Metabolism, starting with a lab testing photosynthesis and cellular respiration, highlighting the constant cycle between the two. They used their remaining time to study for the unit test on Sunday.
AP Language and Composition
This week, our learner began Unit 8 with a reading on several rhetorical choices that had not yet been expanded upon, including but not limited to idioms, oxymorons, meiosis, and imagery. This aided in writing a piece similar in rhetorical choices to previous assignments on ways students may disagree or rebel against specific school policies.
AP Literature and Composition
Our learner finished reading Jane Eyre and wrote an essay unrelated to the previous one, linking the major themes of love and autonomy to Jane's inner conflict of conscience and passion.
Communication and Literature
Now that the learners have finished reading The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, they spent this week drafting an analysis essay. Next week, they will give one another feedback before submitting it for approval.
Two LP Rebels also helped the Exploration learners edit their character profiles and backstories for their Reader/Writer badge
Archaeology
Our learner began the third course in the Introduction to Archaeology specialization. As a reconstruction of the past, they are learning about how the agency of enslaved people could be expressed through everyday tasks like cooking and eating and how food remnants (often called the food way) shape our understanding of past identities.
Additional Highlights
On Monday, the LP learners helped with a research trip to a couple of thrift stores the Exploration learners may visit for their Session 5 Sustainable Entrepreneurship Quest. It was fun to get out of the studio with these fun teens!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark Studio
What was your favourite game to play during morning mindfulness this week?
Geography: How many countries are in North America? What colours are on the Jamaican flag?
Which Picasso artwork did you enjoy making the most? (Self-portrait, Cubism heart, collage)
Group 2 Reader/Writer: What is a noun?
What did you like most about the field trip: the workshop or the galley tour?
Discovery Studio
What workshop are you helping to create for Exhibition next week? What do you hope people will learn by coming to it?
What gives you the feeling of self-actualization? What's an example of a fact family?
How do you solve a math equation when there is an unknown part?
What piece did you enjoy most at the Ottawa Art Gallery?
Exploration Studio
What parts of a graph can be misleading?
When you see graphs or infographics in the world, what should you look for when trying to decide if you can trust the data presented?
What will you do when emailing someone regarding a potential apprenticeship or job? What will you avoid?
Have you been using your Quest time wisely? What is challenging about open-ended projects? What do you enjoy about having choices in your assessments?
Launchpad Studio
What is your biggest priority for the last week of the session?
Which piece of writing are you most proud of so far this year?
What MTC credits do you feel you've earned? Which one(s) are you working toward?
Important Upcoming Dates
Session 4 Exhibitions
Discovery Studio - Tuesday, February 11th at 4:15 pm
Spark Studio - Wednesday, February 12th at 4:15 pm
Exploration Studio - Thursday, February 13th at 4:15 pm
Valentine's Day & Dance - Friday, February 14th
Sessional Break and Camp: February 18th - 21st