Revel Recap: April 14 - 17, 2025
Spark Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
We are so excited to be back for Session Six! We started our week by introducing ourselves to a new friend who has joined the Spark Studio and completed a bumblebee breathing exercise. We then worked on illustrating, writing, and sharing three things we did over the sessional break. It sounds like everyone had a lot of fun! We read a lift-the-flap insect book on Tuesday and worked with partners to create sticker-by-number bug art. Wednesday began with a yoga story about Arnold the Ant, followed by loose parts play. The learners used the materials to create habitats and enjoyed using our toy insects to create stories together! For our last day of the week, we gathered to listen to the story The Great Eggscape, and then the learners enjoyed colouring mindful art posters with an Easter theme. Afterward, they had the option of creating cards for their families for the upcoming holiday or Perler bead egg creations!
Quest
Welcome, entomologists, to the exciting world of bugs! On Monday, we learned how to define an insect. We read a National Geographic book where we learned that to be classified as an insect, it must have three body sections, six legs, two antennae, a hard outer skeleton, lay eggs, and may have wings. We then played a game where we looked at pictures and had to decide whether the photo was of an insect. The Sparks did a great job using their knowledge to place them in the right categories. Using everything they learned, they completed an insect fact sheet, writing four characteristics and drawing examples of insects.
On Tuesday, we continued to learn more by reading On Beyond Bugs: All About Insects. We learned some fun facts, such as how ants can lift things ten times their weight, why flies buzz, and how bees communicate by dancing! We then looked at what the parts of an insect are called. We read about the abdomen, thorax, head, antennae, and legs and identified these parts in pictures of various insects. The learners then labelled their own diagrams. From here, they split into groups and created a large-scale diagram on cardboard of a beetle, bee, fly, butterfly, ant, and grasshopper. They took their time to make their drawings accurate and label the parts they had learned about!
To start our afternoon on Wednesday, we read the book Junebug: No Life Too Small. This book talked about the importance of being kind and respecting insects. The girl in the book, June, gave examples of ways that we can help keep insects out of harm's way—for instance, not stomping on ant hills or squishing bugs, putting earthworms back in the grass after the rain, and not tearing down spiderwebs. The Sparks then broke into research groups to dig deeper into various insects over the next two days. The Sparks worked to read an informational text on insects such as a praying mantis, a moth, a grasshopper, a ladybug, or a firefly. They then illustrated their insect and wrote three interesting facts. They coloured in a cover page and completed an insect craft to go along with it.
Our last day of Quest was an exciting one! We read, Are You a Ladybug? which taught us some very interesting facts about this insect! Did you know that it does not look like a ladybug when it hatches and moults several times before transforming into an adult? It was then time to observe some real-life bugs! The Sparks were delighted to welcome dairy cow isopods, silkworms, and crickets into our studio! The learners created habitats for them and observed them using our magnifying glasses. We also looked under a microscope at a preserved cicada that we found at the park earlier this year. We could identify the parts of this insect and even see its eyes! We are looking forward to keeping an eye on these creatures throughout the session!
Math Lab
This week, Group One was introduced to multiplication. We defined multiplication as finding the total of equal-sized groups. We learned that multiplication is represented by the symbol that looks like the letter x and that when we see that symbol, we say times. Together, we solved multiplication problems by looking at 'groups of' and how many objects were in each group. For example, we looked at 4 X 3. We made four circles and placed three objects in each group. As we figured out how many objects we had all together, the Sparks saw the relationship between addition and multiplication and how practicing their skip-counting skills would help them find their answers. From here, the Sparks used our golden beads to practice multiplication equations using our concrete and visual tools. Lastly, they worked independently to complete multiplication questions on paper to practice everything they had learned. We will continue our exploration throughout this session.
Group Two partnered up to work on a variety of Montessori math materials. The pairs who were designated to the counting chain completed either the 5 or 6 chains, read the numbers to the guides, and then wrote each number in their math workbooks. Another group worked on numbers 1-10 using the sandpaper letters and salt bin. They took turns tracing the sandpaper number and making the number in the salt bin. Lastly, they used the chalkboard to write the numbers down. Another group worked with the guides one-on-one, using numbers 1 through 10. They had a scavenger hunt to find specific colours and the number of pieces of Lego. Lastly, a few other learners were introduced to the addition board!
Reader/Writer
Group One worked on the letters B, P & M this week. Using our whiteboards, they practiced writing each letter and spelled words that start with each. We reviewed our alphabet tubs with these letters to observe and practice the sound with the items in each bin together. Following this, we used our phonics cards to build more words with each letter. For extra practice at home, have your learner find items in the house that start with B, P & M.
Group Two started our workshop working with partners on UFLI roll and read activities. They would roll a die and read the word found under the number they rolled. Each group was working with words that contained different phonological rules. Next, we worked on reading sentences and identifying and correcting the mistakes they found. They noticed sentences that had misspelled words, improper use of capital letters, and missing punctuation.
In this session, we also incorporated a second group literacy time. This week, we focused on learning about digraphs, which are two letters that come together to make a single sound. We looked at the letters C and H and talked about the phonetic sounds they each make. We then put them together to form the CH sound. We read a story called Chimp and Chick's Lunch. Throughout the story, we heard words with the CH sound at the beginning and end. Anytime the Sparks heard a CH sound, they would raise their hand. We identified many words in the story: cherries, cheese, chips, couch, chat, chess, lunch, chocolate, crunch, sandwich, and more! The learners then worked with a partner to write the letters ch and draw words with this sound.
Art
With many learners sharing their traditions and excitement around celebrating Easter this weekend, our art activity this week had a bunny theme! The learners drew flowers and polka dots on the outlines of rabbits using bright colours to represent the happiness of spring. They then created beautiful backgrounds to glue their artwork onto. Check out some of the pictures here for their fantastic creations!
French
This week, the Rebels began learning some of the most common action verbs in French: jouer (to play), lire (to read), manger (to eat), boire (to drink), dormir (to sleep), etc. We used colouring and matching activities to help us remember and practice these new words. Group 1 also started learning vocabulary related to the weather, while Group 2 reviewed clothing vocabulary through a fun board game. As usual, on Thursday, we reinforced everything we have been learning throughout the week with movement and vocabulary games in the gym!
Additional Highlights
This week marked the return of our Rhyme Time Show and Tell. Thank you to our first presenters, who helped us guess some tricky hidden rhyming objects. We had a cup/pup, train/plane, and rock/block!
On Thursday afternoon, the Sparks were very excited to head outside for an Easter egg hunt! They had so much fun searching for eggs and trading their finds for a special treat. A huge thank you to our Exploration friends for putting on this event! Afterwards, Spark and Discovery stayed in the sun to enjoy Duck, Duck, Goose and Freeze Tag!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
For our first mindfulness block of Session 6, Rebels were able to try a special Movement Monday challenge! They tried to follow a deceptively simple forward-side-side hop combination, followed by a clap, moving in two directions towards each other in time with music. Rebels could not complete the combo immediately but kept trying throughout the week! For Launch, we discussed our Personal and Studio Maintenance systems and voted on several issues the Rebels identified during Town Halls last session. They made some changes to their lunchtime maintenance expectations, and the time of the week when the maintenance managers will make their reports. On Tuesday, for Mindfulness, we followed an Art Hub to draw a picture of a bee and a butterfly. For Launch, we met again to try and raise intentionality in the studios with a Freedom Levels review team challenge! Rebels worked collectively to recall the details of the three freedom levels to ensure all Rebels, whether at Base Camp, Peak or Summit, know what is expected throughout our daily routine. For Mindfulness on Wednesday, we played the daily New York Times Connections puzzle. Rebels saw many potential connections and were able to solve all four correctly with no lives to spare! At Wednesday's Launch, we continued working on determining how we can achieve our Question of the Year, "How can we use our time, energy and talents to experience more joy?" The Rebels have been connecting what they are good at with what they enjoy doing, to what the world needs. This week, we discussed their Joy projects and what they need to complete them! On Thursday morning, the Rebels chose yoga with Ms. Mel or meditation with Ms. Amy. We then continued our series of Launches on friendship. The learners were invited to participate in role-playing activities to explore different social situations. We discussed how to respond when a friend feels jealous about our other friendships and when a friend gives us too much attention that we don't want. These activities helped the learners practice empathy, respectful communication, and how to set healthy boundaries.
Math Lab
This week, Rebels met to discuss their new project for this session: an infographic all about an arthropod species of their choice! We read some pages from our mentor text: Animals by the Numbers, by Steve Jenkins, to get a sense of what an arthropod is and how mathematicians visualize numbers differently to communicate essential data about populations. After our Launch, Rebels worked together on a team challenge to define (in their own words) special terms related to this session's Math Lab theme. For example, Aim and Release defined the difference between a primary and secondary source as well as qualitative and quantitative data. Draw and Anchor learners discussed the difference between mean and mode. Then, we started to use our developing understanding of these to outline the requirements for their infographics and make sure they knew how to earn this session's badge.
French
In this French session, the Rebels will prepare a presentation about themselves and one of their friends. To get ready, we reviewed vocabulary related to physical descriptions and personality adjectives like shy, generous, hard-working, and more. We also organized an Easter egg hunt in French, where the Rebels were divided into three teams based on their level. Each team received a list of riddles to help them find the eggs hidden around the school.
Civilizations
This week, Rebels followed a story about significant developments between Great Britain and the North American colonies in the late 1700s CE. There were two major revolutions during this time: the American and French. Rebels mapped a large arrow from Great Britain to the colonies, labelled it taxes, and labelled a return arrow money. Then, they drew a teacup next to Boston to signify what they had learned about the Boston Tea Party. Rebels compared the events that occurred in America with what happened in France, where the French were upset with their monarchy. Thinking about everything together: Does freedom come with the responsibility to actively help others, or simply the responsibility to do no actual harm to others?
Reader/Writer
For Reader/Writer this session, learners will complete a deep dive about a specific insect of the learner's choice and create a non-fiction book. Draw and Anchor Rebels learned the difference between fiction and non-fiction books and reviewed what different parts of books are, such as titles, images, illustrations, authors, bolded words, italics and more. Then, we practiced our learning with a quick game of Blooket. The learners then had to choose an insect or bug and begin their research.
For Aim and Release, the Rebels started debating the differences between fiction and non-fiction. They were then challenged to learn about non-fiction text features by completing a scavenger hunt, finding features such as the title, table of contents, bolded words, and more using different insect books on Epic Books. Then, we reviewed the features of non-fiction text with a game of Blooket.
QUEST
For Quest, in this session, the Rebels have become entomologists, experts in the branch of zoology concerned with insects! Upon arrival on Monday, the learners discovered that a UFO crashed into Revel Academy over the break, and 20 different aliens had invaded. Our scientists gathered, sorted, and classified the aliens based on their characteristics. On Tuesday, we discussed how some animals, such as giraffes and deer, are similar because they both have hair/fur, four legs, ears, and live babies, to which a Rebel quickly told us that they are also both mammals. Then, we started to discuss if a snake is a mammal. Another learner mentioned that snakes are reptiles because they are cold-blooded, have scales, and lay eggs. The Rebels were then challenged to learn about taxonomy - the animal classification system - such as the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates and how we determine whether an animal is an arthropod or an insect. On Wednesday, we compared and contrasted bugs, insects, and arachnids. Then, the Rebels were challenged to learn more about insects, labelling their body parts and exploring with real pictures which species are bugs or insects based on their parts. On Thursday, we wrapped up our week by finishing our work, investigating our new Dairy Cow isopods, silkworms, and crickets before playing some bug-themed games.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
For PE on Tuesday, the options were kickboxing or Sharks and Minnows. In Sharks and Minnows, the sharks tag the minnows and freeze them until another two other minnows high-five them. The learners debated and tried different ways of playing, tinkering with how many sharks were allowed to maximize the fun. On Thursday, the Exploration Rebels set up an outdoor egg hunt for the Sparks and Discovery Rebels. We had a blast searching for eggs. When the Rebels found them all, we played a round of Duck, Duck, Goose, Freeze Tag and Manhunt.
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
In DEAR, we started a new Read Aloud called "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, which the learners voted on.
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
For Monday Mindfulness, the learners all worked on a "reverse colouring" page with a sheet with colours and various shapes that they doodled on, outlined, or created defined pictures with Sharpie. They turned out beautifully! We then brainstormed ideas for a t-shirt for our trip to Quebec City, including ideal colours and phrases! After their Tuesday neighbourhood walk, we spoke about procrastination and learned some strategies to help us when putting off a goal or project. We started our Rights, Respect, Responsibility lessons Wednesday morning with a Climate Setting session. After recognizing that some topics may be awkward, we set our ground rules and expectations, emphasizing respect for differences and personal values. Learners then participated in an activity where the Guide read a statement, and the learners went to the side of the room that reflected their beliefs. The Rebels did a great job respecting each other's differences of opinion and explaining why they chose "agree" or "disagree" for the various statements. Lastly, Rebels were made aware that there is an anonymous Google Form they could fill out if they have any questions or topics they would like to discuss that they may not feel comfortable asking in front of the studio. Thursday's yoga flow featured some neck hygiene, a few seated stretches for our legs, and ended with tree pose! Rebels practiced focusing on their breath and finding ease through these sometimes challenging balance poses. Due to our four-day week, Rebels then got right to work on their Core Skills or read their novel for Reader/Writer.
Reader/Writer
In this session in Reader/Writer, we are diving into a novel study, Thirst, by Varsha Bajaj. This week, Ms. Amy introduced the book and the author, and we asked questions about Mumbai. Then, we took a vocabulary quiz about different terms we will learn about in the book, some from Indian culture. We researched to answer our questions and found out that Mumbai is extremely hot and that the Mithi River is quite dirty. Next week, the learners must read Chapters 1-12 to be prepared to discuss.
French
Over the next two weeks, we will review travel-related vocabulary, preparing for our trip to Québec City. We'll focus on expressions/idioms, asking for directions, using polite vocabulary, and other essential phrases to help the Exploration learners feel more confident during their trip. This week, the Rebels worked on understanding Québécois expressions/idioms by trying to guess their meanings. Then, we had a treasure hunt where Mme. Marianne gave directions to find the hidden eggs. This activity helped the learners practice understanding and following geographic directions.
Math Lab
This session's theme is Geometry! In the lab this week, Rebels worked to explore the area of some curious polygons and then transferred this understanding when finding the volume of various buildings based on their "footprint." The teams used many effective area-finding strategies, from counting whole squares and estimating partial squares to decomposing shapes and adding smaller areas together, to using area relationships to calculate more precise areas of standard polygons. During the "Shards of a Shape" challenge, we came together to discuss too-low, just-right and too-high estimates and how we could reasonably determine this range. Rebels justified their thinking well, offering that the area of the total rectangular field was at least 1000 square units, and the wonky shards’ shape was more than half of this, so the real area must be between these.
Civilizations
By the end of this session, Rebels will present a display on a topic related to Quebec City and its history, architecture, flora and fauna, or culture! Their final project (tri-fold board, poster board, or slide show) should have a good mix of strong paragraphs and visuals (pictures, maps, etc.) in an organized format to inform and engage the audience. After learning about the expectations, learners were given a long list of potential topics. We will learn about Jacques Cartier, the Filles du Roi, Coureur de Bois, the Seigneurial system, The Seven Years War and the Treaty of Paris (1763), special celebrations, the local wildlife, and so much more! Once the Rebels chose their topics, we reviewed the importance of a properly formatted Works Cited page before beginning our research.
Quest
Welcome to the Rocket Quest! The Exploration Rebels have received a contract to build a series of rockets utilizing what they learn about Newton's Laws, chemical and physical reactions, propulsion, forces, and budgeting. On Monday, we began by reviewing the Safety Guardrails for the session and the Rebels each signed a contract promising to adhere to our safety rules. We then got organized for the Quest ahead by collecting and labelling our lab notebooks and team supply storage area. It was then time for teams to meet and come up with their team name and a contract for how they would ensure they remained accountable and carried their weight on group tasks. Lastly, we took notes on and reviewed Newton's Laws with the help of a great visual. On Tuesday, we learned about physical and chemical properties and changes and played a game in our teams to check our knowledge of the differences between the four. We then played a game of Kaboom! to review Newton's Laws, and the teams demonstrated excellent understanding! We ended the class by reviewing the Scientific Method, using the famous Diet Coke and Mentos experiment. We devised our experimental questions, chose our independent variable (number of Mentos added), discussed our dependent variables and constants, and then developed an "If, then, because" hypothesis. Once the weather is a bit nicer next week, we will conduct the experiment! On Wednesday, we explored how rockets are built and how the components interact. Rebels continued their research in their teams to learn how flight works, and the four forces involved: lift, drag, weight, and thrust. Lastly, Rebels learned about free-body diagrams and, once finished, tried their hand at a very challenging free-body simulator. We ended our week with a fun simulation developed by NASA called Marsbound! In their teams, Rebels chose a mission goal for a spacecraft that would land on Mars. They then had to build the spacecraft from a deck of components that would not only help them to succeed in their mission but also balance power needs and weight constraints within the given budget! We were really impressed with the discussion, reasoning, compromising and persistence!
Additional Highlights
Exploration Rebels took on several leadership roles throughout the school this week. They helped plan some afternoon activities for the Sparks on Tuesday, with half playing Octopus in the gym and the other half playing Wax Museum in the Exploration Studio. On Thursday, they set up an egg hunt in the field for the Spark and Discovery Rebels and helped ensure everyone got a treat.
We also had a group of Rebels who took it upon themselves to use some of their PE and recess time to do a park clean-up now that the snow has melted!
Launchpad Studio
Launchpad Rebels met at the beginning of the week to reflect on what they've accomplished so far and make a plan for the last two sessions of the year. One of their priorities was doing a wheel pottery course, and we found an excellent option for Session 7 at Hintonburg Pottery!
Communication & Literature
We began reading this session's novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. On Monday, we met for an introduction to the author and the book, learning about Afghanistan, including a timeline from the last hundred years, the role of Islam in the novel, and a few differences between Sunnis and Shias. On Wednesday, we met to discuss the first three chapters, take dialectical notes, and discuss the two contrasting father-son relationships, Amir and Baba's wealth, Pashtuns vs. Hazaras, the role of Rahim Khan, and Baba's views of religion. Learners also contrasted the four main characters living in Amir's house and wrote three arguable claims explaining the importance of character contrast. While reading chapters four and five, learners took time to focus on diction, syntax, and perspective. We learn more about the character's perspective by analyzing the diction and syntax of a character's speech. Hence, Rebels analyzed selected quotes and highlighted some significant words or phrases. Rebels then prepared to discuss what they had learned about the Pashtuns vs. Hazaras, Amir the writer, Amir's mean streak, July 17th, 1973's bloodless coup, the character of Assef, the Hazarajat, and Hassan's surgery.
AP Language and Composition
Now that the Johns Hopkins AP Language course is over, our learner focused on finding and completing online practice tests and previous AP test essay prompts.
AP Literature and Composition
This week, our learner read the first half of The Great Gatsby and discussed how Fitzgerald reveals Gatsby's mystery. They also wrote the beginnings of an essay analyzing Fitzgerald's attitude toward the 'New Woman' concept and how he demonstrates this attitude.
AP Biology
This week, our learner began her review in preparation for the AP exam in May. She studied water, macromolecules, and cell structure and function. Her study methods consisted of reading carefully through the individual chapters in the AP biology textbook, taking the short test at the end, and then rereading some sections before moving on to flashcards.
Challenge and Change
Our learner produced a social change blueprint for how to create positive social change in their community. They then developed a presentation summarising this blueprint and wrote an essay discussing how this social change blueprint links to concepts and theories discussed in the rest of Unit One.
Children's Business Fair
This week, our learner finished sending acceptance and waitlist communication, worked on Entrepreneur Spotlights on social media for businesses who sent in information, and altered their slide show for this year's Kick-Off event!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark Studio
What are some characteristics of an insect?
Which insect did you research? Can you share two fun facts about it?
What are the three body sections of an insect called?
Which real bug did you like observing the most?
Can you tell me a word that has the sound CH in it?
French: How do you say "walk" in French? (marcher)
Discovery Studio
Math Lab: What kinds of data would you add to an infographic? What species of arthropod did you pick for your infographic project?
Which Freedom Level are you at? How do you move up to the next level by the end of this session?
French: Which adjectives do you find most helpful when describing your friend? Why?
Exploration Studio
How is your Quest team working together? How did you make the decisions when building your spacecraft in Marsbound?
Math Lab: What is the difference between perimeter, area and volume? How are they related?
What topic did you choose for your Civilizations project on Québec City?
French: What Québécois expressions did you find the most interesting or surprising? How do you think learning Québécois expressions will help you during our trip to Québec?
Launchpad Studio
The Kite Runner: What are your feelings about Amir? Hassan? Do you have predictions for what Amir feels guilty about?
When do you currently find yourself most in flow during the day?
Important Upcoming Dates
Easter Monday (No School) - Monday, April 21st
Guardian Book Club (The Anxious Generation) - Wednesday, April 23rd at 6:30 pm in the Exploration Studio of Revel
Exploration Field Trip to the Aviation and Space Museum - Friday, May 2nd
Spark and Discovery Field Trip to the Experimental Farm - Friday, May 9th
Session 6 Exhibitions
Discovery and Spark Exhibition - Wednesday, May 14th at 4:15 pm
Exploration Exhibition - Thursday, May 15th at 4:15 pm
Launchpad Field Trip to Room Escape - Friday, May 16th
Sessional Break and Camp - Tuesday, May 20th - Friday, May 23rd