Community Helpers, Ice Cream, and More: Year 5 - Week 9 In Review

 

Session 2 comes to a close!

Check out this week’s updates below…


spark studio

What can we say besides, “When Sparks Fly” it’s really fun! We hope you enjoyed Sparks’ World of Magic and were able to capture your own magic within. During this session we managed to focus on all four pillars that The Forest School is based upon.

  • Learn to Be: Who am I, who are they, and how do I fit in?

  • Learn to Live Together: We are all different yet the same, and we are all a work in progress.

  • Learn to learn: How do I do this? Let me “show” you … Now you explore.

  • Learn to Do: Once upon a time we created magic.

Do you remember last session when the heroes created a “Patience Badge”? It was so challenging but we all (Guides included) did it because we can do hard things. On to this session and guess what? They created another badge … it’s called “Bravery.” We are learning how to be brave! This is so exciting! (As Guides, this is a magical moment to witness.) We warned you, “When Sparks Fly” it’s bound to be fun and magical!


It now leaves us wondering, what will they think of next? Will they decide to “take the moon for a walk” or something else out of this world?


We are thankful for each and every one of you. Team work makes the dream work.


Now, we rest. Light a Candle for Peace, and let it shine!


elementary studio

The time has come... I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream! Elementary heroes have been working nonstop to have the best frozen treat! This week they have been preparing for the Exhibition to come out on top as the team with the best frozen dessert. Heroes created frozen treat flavors ranging from watermelon cherry sorbet to graham cracker gelato! Exhibition was a success with heroes diving deep the chemistry of making ice cream and having experts, community helpers, and families taste their delicious treats.

Story Arts letter writing aligned with our quest, where heroes wrote letters to community helpers and leaders thanking them for attending our exhibition. In Civilization, heroes grappled with the colonization of Africa and wrote a journal entry on how they would feel if a person who was not from their land took over. We wrapped the session up with 360 feedback from our peers and from the session as a whole.

We have the ball rolling in the school year as we come to the end of session 2. We are hoping everyone has a fun and safe break as we are excited to announce the quest for session 3. See you then!


middle school studio

Someone once said, “Life is a mirror and you see in it the reflection of your inner self.” We made it to the end of another successful session.

We started the week off by doing different writing prompts to get the learners pumped up to want to write different stories, that will enhance their writing skills such as citations. Each learner had the option of choosing which writing prompt they would like to elaborate more on. Furthermore, throughout the week we did Quest New Havan where heroes ran through their “Machine Learning Quest” to gain a better understanding of how to present and work on their speech delivery.

On Tuesday, Mayor Johnson came in and gave his feedback on how they can enhance their studio contracts. With that being said we are now ready for our Contract Signing October 18, 2022. On Reflection Day, learners discussed how they felt about the Machine Learning Quest initially, during, and at Exhibition. All learners felt different about the experience but the majority felt like it needed to be more clear, hands on, and fun. We want all heroes to enjoy their time here at The Forest School so as Guides we will try our best to make this experience better for the learners and parents.

To end this session we had Town Hall and Circles. Both continue to make learners feel like they belong and create a safe environment at all times. As we know, this is spooky season and the studio has decided to plan a Halloween Party filled with fun, games, and food. As a studio we are stoked for another time to reflect but also another opportunity to spend time with our family and friends for break.

Be safe, have fun, and see you all in 2 weeks to Rock Out Session 3!


high school studio

This session has ended with a bang!

On Monday, our heros started off the day meeting with their running partners and setting daily goals to ensure all work for Badges is completed before the end of the session. We also hosted "New Haven," which is a dry run for exhibition. We prepared and prepared again to ensure we captivated our audience with presence and comprehensive information. Considering exhibition was Tuesday, the morning and afternoon were a continuation of Monday-dry runs, and check-ins. The check-ins were more thorough on this day as we’re narrowing down to the end. After that, heros continued to collect and plug in data for their clients growing business, guaranteeing as much accuracy as possible for exhibition.

This session’s Quest required a lot of focus, collaboration, and hard work. All of the hard work the heroes completed over the session was completely worth it. Exhibition was a hit! A ton of praise, and great feedback from our parents, clients, and experts. Hooray! To top it off, earlier that day, we had a celebrity of sorts to pay the Studio a visit: the Mayor of Fayetteville! The heroes briefed him on their 2022-2023 Studio contract, explaining all of the promises made to one another, including their plan to hold each other accountable.

On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of having more visitors to the Studio. We welcomed two college admissions officers from Georgia MIlitary College inform our students as to what admissions officers look for when reviewing applications from many candidates. Our Story Arts challenge this session required students to write a draft college essay, which was perfect timing for our visitors. They were able to look over every hero’s essay that wanted feedback. Many of them walked away from the conversation feeling relieved and confident, thus mission accomplished!


 
Tyler Thigpen