What School Can Be—Year 2 Week 14 in Review

 

2nd home, it’s chemistry, + Hawaii

Elementary Update

"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." -Maya Angelou


The Forest School and Elementary Studio is our home away from home. Our approach is to guide each child to flourish, enable kids to safely explore, and understand the world around them and how they can make it better.

We’ve worked extremely hard in Elementary to foster an environment of safety and the freedom to be exactly who you are. During our "Published Author Quest", heroes were able to realize and experience this firsthand. Writing their books provided the opportunity for them to explore their imaginations, write about their experiences, and even broach topics that may have been fearful or uncomfortable for them to talk about personally. They were able to discover and create a world beyond their own, which led to fantastic finished products. We are very proud of the commitment and bravery it took to present their work to the world.

We are looking forward to celebrating the adding these published books to our library!

Middle School Update

Whew. What a session!

Over the past six weeks, middle school heroes have:

  • Jumped into a deeper-than-basic dive of chemistry (check out some hero-made chemistry explanations here). 

  • Prepared for TWO cooking-related Exhibitions!

  • Written their own summaries of and created visual aids for the U.S. Constitution (ask your hero to see these).

  • Visited local restaurants and wrote their own food reviews (you can peruse their reviews here),

  • Read and reviewed over 30 Deep Books.

  • Made progress on e-learning platforms like Khan Academy and No Red Ink.

  • And perhaps, most importantly, continued to learn how to live together - navigating friendships, teamwork, disappointment, and obstacles. 

This group has shown tremendous grit and growth this session as they've tackled all of this and more! They're ready for a well-deserved week off. Happy Thanksgiving!

High School Update

“Every task, goal, race and year comes to an end… Therefore, make it a habit to finish strong.” -Gary Ryan Blair


This week heroes hunkered down and completed "passions narratives" in which they explored a topic of their own interests. For reflection, heroes began their Mid Action Reviews (MAR) which they plan to share with you on or before December 5th. As many of you saw, heroes also executed their Exhibition while showcasing their planned luxury trip itinerary to Hawaii. Heroes received feedback from writer, entrepreneur, and travel expert Michael Albanese (who recently published in Forbes). In an effort to fundraise $40,000, heroes have begun the push with their first Spirit Night on December 11th, 2019, at Chick-fil-A (Truett's Luau) from 5-8pm. If you attend, please inform staff that you are with The Forest School to ensure proceeds go to the high school trip.

Since the start of this school year, heroes have built a museum showcasing a new version of what high school can be, apprenticed at 11 different businesses, and learned to plan a study abroad program. Stay tuned for the Session 4 Quest to see what is in store! 

-Onward

Enjoy your Thanksgiving break!

banner image via

 
Tyler Thigpen