Session 1: Year 6, Week 2 In Review
some new studio procedures
Check out this week’s updates…
spark studio
Build the Tribe/Sparkwood Derby is off to the races.
Let’s begin with Badge Plans. This is a term you will hear often throughout your journey at The Forest School. In traditional settings, tests are viewed as the only way to show if something has been mastered. But here at The Forest School, we measure mastery through badges instead of grades. Mastery can be shown through the ability to apply knowledge in real-world experiences.
For instance, a five-year-old could “show” mastery by practicing a work that is based on addition and subtraction knowledge. This could be being able to complete a full sentence with the Waseca reading program. This could look like a learner mastering a new level in a spelling challenge.
Each learner is responsible for the completion of set badges during each session. These badges are full of a variety of tasks and activities that require mastery in order to complete them. Badges range from Core Skills (math, reading, writing), practical life skills (learning how to take care of yourself and your space), Civilization badges (History and learning about the world), “Learning to Be” badges (developing character) and so many others!
Keep in mind, badges aren’t a simple, one time task. They consist of a compilation of activities and work that takes planning and practice and mastery to complete! Everyone is eager to accomplish the tasks set before them in a purposely prepared environment. To make it come to life we create flowers on the wall. Once a learner gains a badge they receive a petal to decorate and add to the disc floret, in turn, creating the whole flower. Each flower is labeled to identify the work that has been mastered. Guides check-in with learners individually as they maneuver through their work. Our days end with a highlight, an accomplishment and/or a character call-out. We are beginning to bloom.
Our Quest challenges are always fun. We learned about force and motion. One learner sat in a large bin, while their partner pushed or pulled them to the finish line. So many variables were discovered. Was it easier to push or pull? Why? Did weight have anything to do with it? What about height? What about the surface we were racing on? Onward we went to discover who’s the tallest, shortest, heaviest, lightest, youngest, and oldest.
Ms. Brooke, our Wellness Coordinator, joined us to share her expertise in journaling, guided meditation, and overall wellness care of our minds, bodies, and spirits. We are thankful for her presence in our lives.
“No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.” Isaac Newton
elementary studio
“Speed. I am speed.” - Lightening McQueen
Preparations for the “Phoenix 500” are underway! This week, the Elementary heroes learned all about Friction and Aerodynamics, particularly as it relates to Hot Wheels cars. They also learned a bit about the history of the Pinewood Derby, so they could use their newfound knowledge to begin thinking about what the design of their official Phoenix 500 derby car may look like.
Our learners hit the road this week (figuratively) in Civilization as they embarked on an exciting “road trip” across America! They began learning about the various symbols of Georgia and then formed “tour groups” to explore the United States one section at a time.
Story Arts started with the heroes inviting a special houseguest into their home for a couple of weeks. Mrs. Anita has had an awesome time building forts, helping with chores, cooking, playing basketball, learning to skateboard, and more!
All of the Elementary heroes are working on creating their own flat versions of themselves, and they will be practicing their email and letter-writing skills to contact family members and/or friends who live in another state or country (or who may be traveling soon) to act as hosts for their flat heroes for a couple of weeks.
Wellness with Mrs. Brooke began this week. She is teaching them the art of mindfulness and the joy of journaling. Also, the heroes participated in an awesome art project with Mrs. Shelly on Wednesday. Their masterpiece will be unveiled at “A Night Out” later this month. Finally, in PE, Coach Austin and Mrs. Fantasia are reminding the heroes that it is important to keep our bodies healthy.
Our heroes got their Chromebooks and began to dive into their core skills. 1-1 check-ins will start next week, and guides will share badge plans and help heroes set goals for the sessions ahead. This year we will be making those check-ins more transparent. For Lower Elementary, you will receive a Google Doc check-in for each hero. Upper Elementary heroes will send an email with their updated goals and progress on their badge plan.
Enjoy your weekend!
middle school studio
The Middle School Studio was abuzz this week with lots of culture-building discussions, brainstorming, figuring out how to best get into flow in Core Skills, and enjoying some active team-building games.
For Quest, our theme was “Relationships over Rankings.” We imagined scenarios in the heroes’ futures in which they would need to help facilitate a group with members that aren’t getting their work done on crucial days before a deadline. We wondered if having a resource that helped us know how best to reach the stragglers or how to help motivate their teammates would help them reach their deadline as a group. Or, more immediately, they pictured themselves in a group setting days before an Exhibition, struggling to figure out how to work together to pull off Exhibition.
In order to help them learn how one another works best, how to receive feedback, and how to help motivate one another, they created individual “user manuals” to share with the Studio as to how they work best. Then, the heroes did some relationship mapping and reflected on their connections and how they might increase and grow their social capital this year.
Heroes also experienced their first Wellness session with our new Wellness Guide, where they had a chance to journal individual health goals. We had some outdoor painting in Art and another active day in Physical Education. We tried out some team-building exercises in which heroes interviewed one another and then shared a common thread they had with someone else in the Studio.
This week, they crushed their flow goals in Core Skills. Last week, they set the goal of 15 minutes or less to get into a flow, and at least four times this week they met that goal in ten minutes or less! We also shouted out some heroes who went the extra mile by cleaning up the courtyard after Tyler’s big birthday celebration last week. They enjoyed their own mini pizza party during lunch Thursday.
We’re also pleased that heroes are starting to recognize the courage it takes to step up and keep one another accountable. We’ve had some honest talks this week about how challenging it can be to call out a peer and how each person can contribute to a negative or positive Studio culture, but we know that if we have these conversations early on, we can help establish clear tone, expectations, and positive direction for the year.
Lastly, we have begun individual check-ins! We talk through how heroes are feeling as a person, what’s working for them in Core Skills, the quality of their badge work, and much more. It is a vital part of tracking their progress. This year, we are guiding heroes to write their own email summary of the check-in immediately following our conversations so that it is fresh in their minds. Heroes copy their parent(s) and Guides so we can all be on the same page and help challenge and encourage them this year.
high school studio
Embarking on a journey through this week's adventures, we're about to dive into the vibrant rhythm of learning, growth, and exploration. Our week kicked off with crucial check-ins on Monday, ensuring everyone's on track. This year, we are guiding heroes to write their own email summary of the check-in immediately following our conversations so that it is fresh in their minds. Heroes copy their parent(s) and Guides so we can all be on the same page and help challenge and encourage them this year.
Moving forward, we rolled up our sleeves and leaped into Quest activities. Our heroes are stepping into the shoes of entry-level engineers, currently crafting boats. But before they even touch those tools, research takes the lead. They've been diving into boat-building concepts, from adhesives to joints and trust structures. Once they nailed down the theory, they created mini mock boats. After impressing our Guides, they got the green light to construct their final, human-sized boats. Get ready for an upcoming boat race to determine the ultimate builder!
Beyond Quest, artistic flair came alive in Mrs. Shelly's Art class, an enchanting surprise soon to be unveiled at "A Night Out." Our heroes also locked in apprenticeships, dabbled in the Learner Design Course, and immersed themselves in Story Arts. And oh, the highlight: Math lab on Friday! This week, the focus was on language and rewiring old problem-solving procedures.
Summing it up, our week was a whirlwind of activity, and now it's time for a well-deserved, relaxing weekend. Enjoy the downtime!
wellness update
Wellness workshops began this week in every studio as we started conversations about wellness and what it means across the spectrum (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual). We began each session with a quiet, guided relaxation. This time in each studio was a learner favorite as it was an opportunity to welcome stillness and clarity to their minds and bodies while they found a comfortable place in the room to listen to the meditation cues with their eyes closed. We followed the guided relaxation with a conversation about how the meditation made the learners feel and how cueing into the parasympathetic nervous system can help us in our wellness goals by giving our often over-stressed, over-stimulated bodies a moment to become grounded and give our adrenals a break.
Learners then received their Wellness journals which will be used for wellness goal setting and journaling throughout the year. We set goals ranging in expression from the youngest Spark learners’ colorful drawings to the high school learners’ deep, introspective, self-aware thoughts. This journal intends to provide a safe space to discuss wellness, our goals, and concerns we may have that we would like to share privately. We plan to journal at the start of each session to identify where we’ve grown, what we’ve learned, and where else we want to see our wellness initiatives reach.
In the coming weeks, we plan to welcome some fun experiments and experts as we dive into the topic for our first session: Basic Hygiene!