A Week of Exhibitions, Reflection, and End-of-Year Celebrations

spark studio

We Made It to the Finish Line!

We are tying up a few loose ends before we officially close out the year. Congratulations to all of the heroes for mastering so many important skills! Proving mastery to the Guides has created such meaningful and fun one-on-one time throughout this final stretch of the year.

The Lost & Found cabinet has been a huge hit, and heroes are finally being reunited with their missing items. We are so happy to know that together, we solved a school-wide problem. This Quest was truly “Monet”zing!

Upcoming Events

Tuesday

We will walk to the splash pad and enjoy a picnic lunch together.
If anyone would like to volunteer to help walk over and stay for lunch, we would be very grateful!
Don’t forget sunscreen, a swimsuit, and a towel.

Wednesday

Clean-up and Studio closing day!
Please bring an extra bag so heroes can pack up their final belongings and projects to take home.

Thank you to everyone for helping make this year so beautiful, joyful, and wholesome. We are incredibly grateful for this amazing community and all of the memories made along the way!

lower elementary studio

Exhibition was a success!

Guests had the opportunity to watch six Greenlit science videos and hear thoughtful presentations from six Yellow Light and Red Light teams. The Greenlit teams earned the opportunity to have their videos edited and perform their science experiments on camera, while the Yellow Light and Red Light teams clearly explained why their videos were not Greenlit, what they learned, and what they would do differently next time.

A huge shoutout to Christy Meeks for generously giving her time and talent to beautifully edit the Greenlit teams’ videos. If any of the videos qualify as Next Level Lit, they may be featured on the school’s YouTube page, so be on the lookout! Another special shoutout to Taylour, a chemical engineer, who joined us at Exhibition to see the learners’ final products and provide meaningful feedback. We are grateful for the expertise, encouragement, and real-world perspective she shared with our young scientists.

On Reflection Day, each learner reviewed their 360 feedback, journaled their thoughts and feelings, and participated in a metacognitive discussion during Circles. This gave learners space to reflect on their teamwork, communication, persistence, and growth throughout the process.

Only two days remain in the school year! On the final day, May 27, Council members have planned an end-of-year party to celebrate. Please check with your learner to see what they signed up to bring.

This school year has been full of surprises, failures, unexpected challenges, growth, and celebrations. We look forward to seeing everyone for the final two days of school, May 26 and May 27, as we close the year with joy, reflection, and gratitude.

Please remember that May 28–29 are Virtual Days. Use this link to view the plans for both days:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11BhKgd7K2EeBfx565z7vEWTq3qsbM_b2oqsHA_cxHog/edit?usp=sharing

Summer Question:
What is one way you want to grow yourself up this summer, and what will persistence look like as you work toward that goal?

upper elementary studio

We had a fantastic time seeing everyone at Exhibition and beta testing the learners’ Story of the World game!

Learners showcased their 3D-printed game pieces and gathered written feedback from our expert, Akhari Breland. Thank you for all the thoughtful feedback—we are excited to see where this game goes next! Several heroes suggested sharing copies with each Studio so more learners can play, and one parent even offered to help continue developing the game in the future. This may become a project we keep building on for years to come!

Learners are also continuing to finish up badge plans and practicals. There has been a huge flurry of focused work lately, especially from our fifth graders, who are eager to take the next step into Middle School!

We also wrapped up our podcasts this week and look forward to sharing them online with all of you soon.

Finally, we said an emotional farewell to Layla, who left for Japan on Thursday. We held a special round of Shout Outs just for her, celebrating all the ways she has been such a caring, loving, and thoughtful learner in our community. She will be deeply missed.

There are still two more days of school next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we are looking forward to making the most of those final days together! After that, learners will transition to Virtual Days. During that time, all learners are expected to meet with their Dream Team, virtually or in person, to walk them through their After Action Review (AAR).

middle school studio

Exhibition, Reflection, and Finishing Strong

This week, Middle School heroes moved from creating to presenting, reflecting, and celebrating a full Session of hard work.

After weeks of designing, revising, budgeting, modeling, and preparing, heroes presented their interior design proposals at Exhibition. They shared floor plans, 3D models, budgets, layout decisions, safety considerations, and ideas for how the space could serve the Trilith community. Guests and experts, such as Dr. Tyler, Johnny, and Jake Pittman of Trilith, offered thoughtful feedback, asking real-world questions about operations, bathrooms, cleaning, setup and turnover time, revenue, safety, and how the space would actually be managed.

The day after Exhibition, heroes took part in one of the most important parts of the Session: reflection. Instead of simply moving on, they analyzed their survey results and discussed what users noticed that their teams had not fully considered. Many realized that real-world design is not just about having a creative idea. It is about proving that the idea can work. They reflected on five major themes from the feedback: operations, numbers, safety and layout, flexibility, and presentation.

In Civilization, heroes continued working on their History of the World projects, thinking about the major people, events, conflicts, inventions, and turning points that have shaped human history. It has been exciting to watch them wrestle with big questions about what matters most, what gets remembered, and how history should be told.

Heroes also began their After Action Review, looking back on the Session as a whole. They considered what went well, what broke down, what they learned about themselves, and what they would do differently next time. This kind of honest reflection helps heroes build the habit of learning from both success and failure.

Finally, in Story Arts, heroes celebrated their creativity through a short film screening. After planning, filming, editing, and revising, they had the chance to watch one another’s work and see how their choices around story, pacing, sound, visuals, and performance came together on screen while soaking in feedback from Sam Druhora, a short film expert.

After six weeks of meaningful work, heroes are now making their final preparations to present their Practicals to Guides next week. These Practicals will focus on empathy, goal setting, and reflection, giving heroes the opportunity to show not only what they completed, but also how they have grown. We are proud of the way Middle School heroes stepped into real-world work, received feedback, and continued growing as designers, historians, storytellers, and self-directed learners.

high school studio

End of Year Reflection Week

This week in the High School Studio felt very different from the pace we have been running all year—and honestly, it was much needed and well deserved for our heroes. After months of deep work, deadlines, revisions, launches, exhibitions, badge submissions, and goal-setting, this week created space for reflection, celebration, honesty, and connection.

One of the biggest milestones this week was that all hero work has officially been submitted. Heroes spent time ensuring badges, revisions, and projects were finalized, approved, and turned in. Alongside this, transcript meetings took place all day, every day throughout the week. These meetings gave every hero clarity about where they currently stand academically, personally, and within the Studio culture. While transcript meetings can sometimes feel intimidating, they also create an important opportunity for honesty, ownership, and goal setting. Heroes walked away understanding both the progress they made this year and the areas where they still have room to grow moving forward.

We also completed an End-of-Year Reflection Project where heroes created personal documentaries reflecting on their year. These projects challenged heroes to look back on their experiences, struggles, wins, growth, relationships, habits, and mindset shifts throughout the year. It was powerful watching heroes put words to lessons they learned about themselves. Many reflected on resilience, leadership, accountability, communication, and the reality that growth often happens through discomfort. The documentaries became much more than assignments—they became personal time capsules of each hero’s journey this year.

Another major focus this week was simply bonding as a Studio. With the pressure of deadlines finally behind us, heroes had more opportunities to slow down and genuinely enjoy being together. We spent time doing team builders, participating in Socratic discussions, laughing together, and sharing ideas for how the Studio could continue improving next year. Some of the most meaningful conversations came from heroes openly discussing systems they believe would strengthen Studio culture, communication, accountability, and leadership moving forward. These discussions reminded us that the Studio works best when heroes feel ownership over the environment they are helping build.

Although this week may have looked “lighter” from the outside, it was still deeply meaningful work. Reflection, relationship-building, and honest conversation are just as important as completing projects and earning badges. This week allowed heroes to pause long enough to recognize how much they have grown this year—not just academically, but personally.

Important Reminders

Six Flags Trip — Tuesday

We are excited for our upcoming Six Flags trip this Tuesday! This is a well-earned celebration for the heroes after a long year of hard work and growth together.

Please make sure all contracts and forms sent out in the High School Parent Email are signed and submitted as soon as possible so your hero can attend.

Summer Badge Accelerator

We also want to remind families that there are still a few seats left for our Summer Badge Accelerator program! This is an incredible opportunity for heroes to:

Develop their badge plan
Accelerate ahead into next year
Build stronger systems and habits
Receive personalized support and accountability
Continue growing within the Forest model over the summer

Whether a hero needs extra support or simply wants to stay motivated and productive throughout the summer, this program is designed to help them succeed. Spots are limited and filling quickly.

As we move toward the final stretch of the year, we are incredibly proud of the perseverance, maturity, and self-awareness many heroes demonstrated this week. We are excited to finish strong together.

Session 7: Year 8, WeeK 35 In Review