What if K12 learners actually made the rules at their school?

This week, our heroes participated in our annual Contract Signing Ceremony. A public commitment to uphold promises they themselves created about how they want to treat one another and engage in learning over the course of the year.

Spark Studio

What a beautiful journey we are on. The signing of the Contract of Promises was a truly symbolic experience. The children are holding each other accountable and we are in the flow.

The next 4 weeks we will venture outdoors as we begin Sparking Curiosity in Nature. Each week will bring a different theme relating to nature. It’s for sure going to be a peaceful experience.

Strong evidence shows that time in nature has a rejuvenating effect on attention; relieves stress; boosts self-discipline; increases physical activity and fitness; and promotes student self-motivation, enjoyment, and engagement.

A child more than anyone else, is a spontaneous observer in nature. -Maria Montessori

Elementary Studio

2020 has been a year of great change, and many of us have had to learn to do things differently and discover new ways of completing normal activities. We often ask ourselves, what good can come from this pandemic and the lockdown that occurred earlier this year. I say to that, great things!

Did you know that Sir Issac Newton made some of his accomplishments while in quarantine during the Great Plague of London? He was able to help develop calculus, analyze the light spectrum, and most importantly for elementary, study gravity which helped him create his laws of motion. I would say having an uninterrupted environment to focus allowed his creativity to flow and time for Newton to surpass anything he thought possible.

This Session, Heroes are participating in the Newton’s Toy Workshop: Laws of Motion Quest. During our first session they were introduced to the basics of physics. On this quest, heroes use physics knowledge to become toy designers. They take on the title of “scientist” as they explore concepts in physics such as gravity, thrust, momentum, displacement, elasticity, and mechanical advantage. As toy designers, they take on different challenges each week that provide a tactile understanding of physics.

As the heroes complete a series of hands-on challenges, one per day, as well as fact-based reflections, they dive deeper into the basics of physics. The goals of this Quest for the heroes include:

Igniting a curiosity about the working of the universe- big and small
Providing them with a basic yet intuitive understanding of physics
Inspiring a strong, efficient work ethic

Heroes will cap this Quest with an Exhibition dedicated to creating a toy that uses some aspect of physics. When asked the question who makes a better toy designer, Adults or kids? The answer was a resounding KIDS!! I can't wait to see what they create.

Middle School Studio

How did you study science in school?

Probably some combination of text books and lectures, with the occasional experiment thrown in for good measure. At The Forest School, we do science, starting with a problem to solve, challenge to complete, or game to win. Then learners research the theories at play through research and experimentation. Science here has a practical use.

This Session, we are diving into the Physics Quest! Each week, learners will explore laws of motion and simple machines through challenges and games. Who can build the car that travels the furthest? Engineer the best pendulum? Correctly calculate how to use levers and pulleys to accomplish a task? Along the way, heroes will learn the theories of motion, grapple with aspects of general relativity and quantum physics in Launches, and learn the formulas needed to solve real world physics problems. All of this will culminate in our Exhibition, which will be a live demonstration of heroes' problem solving abilities.

Next week, learners will be completing a special performance task — the College and Work Readiness Assessment Plus (CWRA+) assessment. Unlike most standardized tests, this assessment presents learners with a scenario in which there is no correct answer, provides them an array of sources and data sets (some of which contain bias), and asks learners to make a compelling argument for a solution to the scenario based on the evidence provided. This is something we all have to do in our adult lives — make the best decisions with the information we have, as imperfect and incomplete as it may be. This will be a 90-minute task which we will undertake next Thursday, October 29th.

High School Studio

The designer does not begin with some preconceived idea. Rather, the idea is a result of careful study, observation, and the design of a product based on that idea. - Paul Rand

Welcome to the "Design Thinking Quest" where heroes learn what it means to give and receive gifts; alongside how and what it takes to be empathetic and use active listening skills. This Quest began with identifying what a “user” is and how to best determine their needs. Throughout the session, learners will learn to research and identify users' needs, challenge and know and unknown assumptions, create ideas, start to create solutions, and test their solutions out.

Just a few updates. CWRA+ testing for high and middle school will be taking place next week on Thursday morning. In addition, Parent and Guide Conferences are scheduled for November 3rd, Election Day. Due to the high school parents recently meeting with Brittney and Tyler at the beginning of the year, the high school conferences will be pushed back until December. Please look out for an email regarding those dates and let Brittney or Tyler know if you have any questions.

You are in for a treat! Stay tuned to see how learners show up for the challenge of finding and creating new solutions for new and old community and personal needs.

Have a great weekend!

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Contract Signing Ceremony—Year 3, Week Ten in Review