Revel Recap: September 13 - 17, 2021
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
We completed two breathing exercises from our Breathe Like a Bear activity cards for our first Meditation Monday. First, we practiced three quick bunny sniffs through our noses and one long, slow exhale out through our noses. We then continued our deep breathing while also clapping and rubbing our hands together, which helped everyone settle and focus their energy and get ready for the day! Tuesday and Thursday, we enjoyed some mindful colouring, while on Wednesday, we returned to our Yoga Spinner game and our gratitude journals on Friday.
Quest
During Quest, we continued to build our studio culture and get better acquainted with each community member. This week was full of many interesting books that helped guide us and reflect on some big questions for our Identity Inquiry. At the beginning of the week, we read The Family Book by Todd Parr. This book celebrates and explores all the different types of families and reminds us that every family is special and unique. We then shared who is in our family and drew some beautiful family portraits that we framed in popsicle stick houses. On Tuesday, we read Me and My Family Tree, which sparked the conversation about other family members. After this discussion, we drew some extended family members that we didn’t include in our original drawings the day before. We then talked about where we live with our family and drew a picture of the outside. Our next activity was to create our houses out of Lego or Duplo. The Sparks showed a lot of creativity in their designs as some added furniture, pools, trees, boats, driveways and cars to their houses. Wednesday, we discussed making our studio a safe and fun place to be every day. We read Our Class is a Family, a beautiful book that speaks about how our studio is a place where “it’s safe to be ourselves, it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s important to be a friend to others, and we are all a part of a special family.” We then created some beautiful pictures of ourselves, which we made into a friendship banner to display in the studio. This discussion led perfectly into our introduction to our studio contract. We read I Promise and then reflected on the promises we wanted to make to ourselves and our studio family. The Sparks talked about the importance of walking, working hard, never giving up, being safe, washing our hands, cleaning up our activities when finished, and of course, having fun! On Friday, we read The Day You Begin and reflected on what we are most proud of about ourselves. The Sparks had wonderful and thoughtful responses. We then wrote what we were proud of and used clay to create ourselves.
French
This week, the French focus was saying the date. We began each day with a quick routine around the days of the week. We recited the days, talked about which days are today, tomorrow, and yesterday, and counted the days in September. Then, we took a quick look at the weather. On Tuesday, we read Pat le Chat - J’adore aller à l’école by Eric Litwin and James Dean. On Wednesday, we played around with the alphabet and sang the alphabet song. Finally, on Thursday, we talked about colours!
Additional Highlights
Wow, we sure had a lot of highlights in the studio this week! We began incorporating our morning and afternoon work periods. Learners began to explore materials on the shelves, and we started our letter and sight words of the week (Aa, the).
We spent a lot of time enjoying and exploring the outdoors, and we were so excited to find four baby bunnies snuggled up together near the community garden. The Sparks were very careful not to disturb the bunnies but enjoyed getting up close and observing them. This discovery sparked some great questions. We wondered where the mom was, what they liked to eat and how old they were. We were also happy to meet one of the Spark’s very adorable puppy!
On Wednesday, our studio celebrated International Dot Day. We started by reading The Dot and then talked about how we are all artists and sometimes we need to “make a mark and see where it takes us!” The learners had the opportunity to create some of their own beautiful dot creations! Our music time this week was also a lot of fun. We played a Hot Potato question game. We passed an egg shaker around, and when the music stopped and you had the egg shaker, you answered a question about yourself. Next up was follow the leader, where we saw some pretty awesome dance moves. We ended by exploring with our musical instruments. As we continue to get to know each other in the studio, we participated in a fun team-building challenge. We divided ourselves into two groups, and each group had two pieces of construction paper, one pair of scissors and one roll of tape. The objective was to cut the paper into strips to make the longest possible paper chain. There was a lot of communication, sharing of ideas, and encouragement heard from both groups. Way to work as a team, Sparks! We also showed great teamwork and determination to build a Keva Plank tower so tall that Ms. Kaitlin had to stand on a stool to complete it!
This week we welcomed a lot of Rebel visitors to our studio. We are always so grateful to spend time with the Discovery and Exploration learners during elective, fun Friday and reading buddies! We also enjoyed a presentation learning about the voting process and political parties and took part in the school-wide vote on Friday!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Monday’s Mindfulness period was a more formal discussion around the concept of mindfulness and how we can best utilize our sessions each morning. Rebels made a list of mindful activities they thought were appropriate options moving forward. We also created a “Positive Affirmation Station,” where Rebels could recite positive affirmations to themselves and encourage them to use positive self-talk. Tuesday and Thursday yoga classes focused on different balancing poses, emphasizing learning to become more comfortable and forgiving with our bodies as they fall in and out of poses. On Wednesday and Friday, Rebels had the opportunity to dive into their Mindful Activity list created on Monday. Some chose to continue colouring and drawing, others read quietly, some worked on their finger knitting, and some wrote down positive affirmations to add to our “Affirmation Station” mirror.
Launches
Monday’s Launch kicked off with a discussion around the word “Adversity”. As we embarked on our first whole week of a new schedule and routines, we wanted Rebels to remember that adversity and challenge is inevitable in their learning journey. We listened to an excerpt from a podcast with Lebron James and discussed some of the key quotes and phrases he highlighted when talking about the adversities he grew up with and how hardships can bring some of the most valuable learning experiences. On Tuesday morning, the Rebels watched a video from Sal Khan on how to outline SMART goals. They were then given a series of scenarios related to Core Skills to reflect on whether or not the goal was SMART. We had a great conversation about revising goals to be more specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely. Wednesday and Thursday, launches and closings were dedicated to the Canadian Federal Election and presented to us by the talented and informative Exploration Rebels. They created wonderful presentations that helped Discovery Rebels learn more about Canada’s election process and the party members running for election this year. A very big thank you to the Exploration Team for your hard work! Friday’s Current Events featured discussions on Space X’s first all civilian mission; an F1 accident turned debate with two of the sport’s top drivers, and how US Soccer is attempting to close the wage gap.
French
This week, Discovery Rebels reviewed the vocabulary from last week and searched for even more words to describe everyday school items. After reviewing the vocabulary through an online matching game, Rebels teamed up and picked three words to describe their assigned item. Then, they used those keywords to get other teams to guess their item. Group 1 also watched an episode of The Magic School Bus (in French, of course!), and Group 2 tested their listening skills with a video about a school on the island of Trinidad.
Reader/Writer
Aim and Release Rebels crushed their first week of Reader Writer workshops! Rebels were introduced to the new flow of the badge plan, completed a writers survey, and began their first novel study all about the “Hero’s Journey” called Endling; The Last by Katherine Applegate. Rebels will be working on chapters each week so that they can participate in our end-of-session Book Club Cafe during Week 5. Draw and Anchor Rebels got to meet some mystical creatures of the Night Zoo as they explored our new creative writing app, The Night Zookeeper! Rebels had an absolute blast creating characters and storylines to go with each animal. We read our first mentor text of the session in a reading circle called What’s My Superpower by Aviaq Johnston and listened to each other’s interpretations of the story. We discussed how our strengths and areas for growth both equally contribute to what makes us each truly super powerful.
Math Lab
This week the Draw and Anchor team had their first Math Lab of the year and they immediately dove into a great conversation about the brain and the importance of the Growth Mindset. They know that EVERY Rebel can learn math and that every time they practice math, their brain changes! They also spent some time setting up a portfolio where they will house math artifacts from each session, reflecting on their strengths and next steps as young mathematicians throughout the year. Their weekly problem-solving menu included three questions to choose from, each involving a different aspect of number sense and operations. At the end of the workshop, they gathered for congress and shared some excellent advice for each other when working through these challenges: work together, write down clues, try finger counting, split up the number, and line up big numbers when you want to add or subtract. In Wednesday’s Aim and Release lab, Rebels narrowed in on what they need to do to earn their session badge and what showing your work or thinking might look like on paper. As they continued to refine their problem-solving on the How much is your height worth? Challenge, Rebels used the checklist they had created in last week’s congress to ensure their solutions were detailed and responded to all parts of the investigation: use a ruler or metre stick, find and use the length or diameter of a quarter, measure your height, try a calculator, determine the value of the coins involved. The teamwork and idea-sharing in both groups are fantastic! Next week we will keep building on these routines and layer in each team’s norms for a positive math community.
Physical Development
On Monday, all of the Discovery and Exploration Rebels went outside for our first physical development session of the week. After breaking into two groups based on birthday months, Rebels played games such as Octopus, Rob the Nest, Freeze/Melt Tag, and Oh, Deer! It was a gorgeous day, and the Rebels ran like crazy. Wednesday, Rebels voted for some outdoor play and enjoyed a Kickball/Soccer Baseball game at the park. Rebels will be doing some track training in anticipation of the Terry Fox and Revel Pumpkin runs in the coming weeks.
Civilizations
Our first Civilizations session was off to a fabulous start! We kicked off with big questions on the topic of history. What IS history? How and why do we learn about things from the past? How can learning about history affect our present/future? Rebels shared dialogue around the importance of exploring various perspectives to understand different cultures and their experiences throughout history. We then dove into our study beginning with the “first people” and talked about life as a nomad. Rebels capped off our class with a fun Five Second Rule challenge to review some of the key takeaways. Some juicy vocabulary words learned this week were: Nomad, Irrigation, Shaduf and the Fertile Crescent.
Quest
Rebels ventured further into their Hero’s Journey narratives as they finished their first Exhibition Piece: The Hero Trading Card. They joined their League of Heroes and brainstormed names for their league, logos, and group costumes. We discussed and began planning the concept for their REBEL-CON movie trailer and put their teamwork skills to the test as they created a unique mechanism to help a Lego hero get from one building to another. Rebels also continued to develop their Rules of Engagement and Covenant contracts, explored studio systems like Studio Maintenance in more depth, and created specific job outlines for when it comes time to clean up each studio area. Rebels gained a better idea of the Rebel Buck System and what can help us earn or lose bucks during the school year. Next week, Rebels will focus on producing and filming their movie trailers and collaborating with Exploration and Launchpad Rebels for the editing process.
Additional Highlights
Reading Buddies has quickly become a highlight of the week! This Friday, Rebels expanded their leadership roles in Reading Buddies by creating “Letter of the Week” and Sight Word activities to play with their Spark Buddies. The groups enjoyed some time reading together and seeing just how well the Sparks know their letter “Aa” and using the sight word “THE”.
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness and Launches
This week we began each day with either yoga, a body scan, peaceful meditation, or colouring before heading into our daily Launch. Monday’s Launch with Mme Marie introduced her “Trucs et astuces,” tips and tricks for learning French. We discussed whether French is difficult to learn, what makes it difficult for some, and what other languages may be even trickier to master. As we ease into the schedule, more of the week’s launches will be run by the Exploration Rebels. On Tuesday, we made a plan for the remainder of the session of when each learner will run a launch. Wednesday, one learner ran a launch on the logistics of how to vote, and on Thursday, another Rebel explained the different parties’ platforms. We finished off the week watching a recap of the leaders debate right before our vote.
French
This week, Exploration Rebels dug into some vocabulary related to school and the studio by drawing and labelling their workspace. Then, we practiced using the question “Est-ce que tu aimes…?” to ask each other about our likes and dislikes. On Wednesday, after a vocabulary review, Rebels listened closely to a video about a girl named Kemba who lives on the island of Trinidad. We answered questions about her school as well as the history and culture of the island. Did you know that close to half of the population of Trinidad has ancestors from India?
Math Lab
This week we began our exploration of fractals! After learning what a fractal is and identifying a few we commonly see in nature, we learned about a Polish mathematician named Waclaw Sierpinkski and his special triangle. After identifying the patterns, Rebels had time to create their own Sierpinski triangle this week before we try our hand at creating a Sierpinski pyramid next week as a group!
Documentary
Due to our interview with the Liberal candidate, Anita Vanderbeld, we only had one documentary session this week. However, we made the most of this week’s session, as each learner created the criteria for a successful pitch and presented a model of excellence. Now that we know how to give a fantastic pitch, it’s brainstorming time! Learners have three weeks to come up with and pitch their number 1 documentary proposal. Some learners chose to use their example pitch from this week as a chance to do an initial pitch of their actual documentary. Two learners may be making a mockumentary, pretending the guides are the features of a nature doc!
Quest
What a week! The week's highlight was definitely Friday, when our studio facilitated the student vote for the whole school. Each learner had a different responsibility, from poll clerks to organizing each studio to vote, to name a couple of jobs from the voting day! Each learner also had researched and spent time preparing themselves and the school to make an informed vote. Many learners were summarizing platforms and introducing learners in all the different studios to party leaders and candidates. Other than the individual projects that the learners were working on, we had many other learning opportunities. We were able to get the Liberal and Green party candidates from the Ottawa-West Nepean Riding to Zoom into the school for an exclusive interview! Each learner had the opportunity to ask a question of the candidates, who shed light on many different aspects of political life.
Next week we will be starting our new Quest: Creating The Culture. The learners will be learning about themselves, each other, and the entire studio as they set their covenants and ultimately plan an event for you, our Revel community!
Physical Development
On Monday, all of the Discovery and Exploration Rebels went outside for our first physical development session of the week. After breaking into two groups based on birthday months, Rebels played games such as Octopus, Rob the Nest, Freeze/Melt Tag, and Oh, Deer! It was a gorgeous day, and the Rebels ran like crazy. Wednesday, Rebels voted for some outdoor play and enjoyed a Kickball/Soccer Baseball game at the park. Rebels will be doing some track training in anticipation of the Terry Fox and Revel Pumpkin runs in the coming weeks.
Apprenticeship Prep
At Revel, the learners have the opportunity to participate in multiple apprenticeships. Since each learner is responsible for finding their own position, this week, we drafted emails to send out to our network soliciting any leads on a potential apprenticeship. Ask your Rebel about how their apprenticeship hunt is going!
A Note on Waste
Here in the Exploration Studio, we have decided to become a waste-free studio to be more conscious about waste and ultimately reduce our carbon footprint. We will be spending a considerable amount of time developing proper recycling habits and knowledge of what is actually recyclable. If garbage is brought to school, we will be sending the garbage home. Thank you for your participation in helping us in reducing our carbon footprint!
Launchpad
Each morning we began with either a walk or meditation this week. Afterward, each Rebel wrote down their number one priority for the day, made their goals, and wrote in their gratitude journal. The next 45 minutes were spent working on independent projects, news consumption, reading, or world-building.
Launches
How do you define success? Our Launchpad Rebels chose to define a successful person as having flexibility, financial security, happiness, and a sense of purpose and accomplishment. We then watched a quick talk by Richard St. John, who spoke about his research and analysis of successful people's eight traits (passion, work, focus, push, ideas, improve, serve, and persist). Rebels then force ranked the traits and reflected on the characteristics they feel will be most influential on their journey. Tuesday, we read about the reparations for Australia's aboriginal people who experienced many of the same horrors the Indigenous witnessed in Canada and were disappointed with all of the awful similarities. How do you take rejection? To become more comfortable with rejection, Jia Jiang came up with 100 different ways for people to tell him no with the guidelines that the requests were ethical, legal, and did not defy the laws of physics. Rebels enjoyed watching Jia get denied for his "burger refill" request; however, it was his video asking for a complex, specialized donut at Krispy Kreme that warmed our hearts. The employee went out of her way to make his request come true and even paid for the doughnuts herself! The video was an incredible reminder of how great people can be and that it never hurts to ask! We finished up our week of launches watching a commercial about even though sitting down and respectfully discussing polarizing topics may not change someone's mind, it can change the way we view humanity.
Project X
Reading, analyzing, and understanding data is a much-needed critical thinking skill. Project X uses historical data to predict the future and offer solutions to some of humanity's biggest challenges! On Monday, we used a guide to review some of the basic charts concepts such as the x-axis and y-axis and different types of charts, including map charts, line graphs, and bubble charts. From ice cream consumption to climate change to Nicolas Cage and deadly pools, Rebels learned multiple strategies for reading the images, figuring out which questions to ask, and the difference between correlation and causation. We also learned the common ways people use charts to manipulate the truth and how we as consumers need to critically analyze what is being shown, including the bias in the scale and what information is being withheld.
Indigenous Canada
This week, Launchpad Rebels began the University of Alberta's Indigenous Canada course. Starting with the worldview, Rebels learned the significance of stories and storytelling in Indigenous societies. Learners explored history that comes from Indigenous worldviews, including worldviews from the Inuit, Nehiyawak, Kanien: keha'ka and Tlingit peoples. We then discussed pre-contact trading systems between Indigenous peoples of North America with a focus on the geographical region of Canada. We also further examined the chronological contact events with Europeans and the events leading up to and during the Fur Trade. A significant take-home was the long-lasting social, political, and economic ramifications of the fur trade on Indigenous peoples. On Wednesday, Launchpad Rebels also took part in a Walk for Wenjack webinar to learn more about the organization and how they can take part in ReconciliACTION throughout the school year.
Chemistry
This year, we will be focusing on chemistry through a year-long experimental chemistry course and two chemistry-based Quests. This week went over the course expectations and reflected on what chemistry is and why we should study this science. After reading over the syllabus and some tips to succeed in the course, Rebels researched how ancient cultures used chemistry to enhance their lives, including the creation of toothpaste. Each learner was responsible for coming up with a recipe that included an abrasive, humectant, flavour, thickener/binder, and if they wanted a foaming agent and/or sweetener. Next week we will make and test our toothpaste recipes to see which ingredients did the best job!
World Building
This week Rebels used their world-building time to write songs, develop characters, and write in their World Building workbook. They also had a great session with William, where they began completing a Pathfinder character sheet using a character from their worlds.
Additional Highlights - Archery and Leadership
Launchpad Rebels enjoyed their first archery lesson at the RA Centre this Friday. The learners are being coached by Bruce Malmberg, who represented Canada as a member of the Men's Compound National Team for nine years!
One Rebel led our first Exploration Current Events closing, where they chose to highlight the Taliban's restrictions on women's clothing and the response around the world. Based on the request of a fellow Rebel, they also taught us about the world's smallest frog!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark: What is one studio promise you feel should be included in the Spark contract?
Spark: What do you love to do together as a family?
Spark: What about yourself are you most proud of?
Spark French: What does the word "rouge" mean? Can you think of something that is "rouge"?
Discovery (Aim and Release):
What does "adversity" mean, and why can it be important to experience some hardships in life?
How do you like Endling: The Last? What do you think will happen to Byx in the coming chapters?
Would you rather have your height in quarters or nickels (assuming you want the most money), and how do you know?
What is a shaduf? How did it help nomads and farmers in ancient times?
What is your movie concept for your Quest Superhero movie trailer?
Discovery (Draw & Anchor):
What did you create on Night Zookeeper this week? Can you explain how it works?
How does your brain change every time you practice math?
What is a nomad?
What is your movie concept for your Quest Superhero movie trailer?
Discovery French: Which common school item were you assigned? What are some keywords you used to describe it?
Exploration: What factors influenced your vote?
Exploration French: What are some elements of the video about school in Trinidad that you found interesting/surprising?
Launchpad: What ingredients have you requested for your homemade toothpaste?
Launchpad: What types of things should you look at when it comes to a graph’s scale?
DATES OF INTEREST
Terry Fox Run - Monday, September 20 during Physical Development
IOWA Testing - Each fall, Rebels take part in a standardized test that helps us to identify areas that we would like to focus on in our learning design and find ways to help challenge and support each learner. Testing is not mandatory. If you would rather your learner not take the test, please let us know!
Discovery Studio: Week 3 (September 20 - 24)
Exploration Studio: Week 4 (September 27 - October 1)
Launchpad Studio: Week 5 (October 4 - October 7)
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day - September 30
Exhibitions
Discovery: Tuesday, October 5 at 4:30 pm
Spark: Wednesday, October 6 at 4:15 pm
Exploration: Thursday, October 7 at 4:30 pm
Launchpad: Meetings with Family - Date TBD
Full School Field Trip to Flying Squirrel - Friday, October 8
October Camp (October 12 - 15) - For those interested or who need care during the October Break, a camp will be provided by Little Medical School. https://www.littlemedicalschool.com/ottawa/events/ (Password: Revel1550)
9-12 year-olds: Sports Medicine and Nutrition
During this camp, Revel Academy students will explore the fields of Nutrition and Sports medicine. They will learn how to adopt a healthy lifestyle of a balanced diet and physical activity.
In the morning sessions, students will explore the roles of an athletic trainer and orthopedic surgeon and learn how to diagnose and treat common sports injuries such as sprains, strains, and athlete's feet. These future healthcare professionals will explore the famous Tommy John (arm & elbow) surgery and make models of a hand, joint, and tendon.
In the afternoon sessions, these future dietitians will learn about healthy eating habits, the food pyramid, and global foods. Students will create tasty recipes and snack combinations.
4-8 year-olds: Equine Camp
Children and horses have a unique and special bond. Now students can learn all about horses and their care from the newest Little Medical School Equine program. After adopting and naming their horse, students will learn practical information includes a brief overview of horses (breeds, categories, names), the ideal horse farm, and many other basics. Moreover, students will learn anatomy and how to maintain a healthy horse and horse nutrition. Students will also learn about preparing their horses to ride and much more.