Session 4 Opens: Year 5 - Week 15 In Review
flipping the script
Check out this week’s updates below…
spark studio
Who are we?
Let’s break bread together. This session we are melting our differences (cultures, beliefs, passions, music, clothing, language, etc.) together in order to thrive beautifully in peace and harmony. What joy it brings us to learn more about each other. If you have not had a chance to sign-up to share your family history with us, please do so here.
Exhibition will be Thursday, December 15, beginning at 8:30 am. We will gather together to share a light snack from each of our cultures. It will be pot luck style, and learners will guide you every step of the way. We may even sing a song or two. The challenge is for you and your learner to prepare a light dish that has meaning to your specific household to share at Exhibition. Keep in mind that your dish does not have to be a breakfast dish.
“Culture opens the sense of beauty” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
elementary studio
Our last 2022 session is underway! This session, heroes are finalizing their newspaper articles. We are looking forward to sending them to print next week. We can't wait to read our very first school newspaper. Look for a copy of "The Cool School News" coming your way soon!
This session's Civilization falls right in line with our character trait of the session: Civility. Heroes take a trip around the world, create their own country, and must figure out how to create a civil society! We are focusing heavily on geography, as they grapple with what will make up their country's culture based on where they decide to locate it.
Finally, as we wrap 2022, heroes will spend lots of time reflecting on their work from the past three sessions, as well as the health of the Studio. Where do we need to make changes and improvements, and how can we get to the goal we've set for ourselves? At our Exhibition, heroes will have the opportunity to share their reflections with their Dream Teams. This session, while short, will be a fun-filled session with lots to look forward to.
middle school studio
Welcome back! We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Break and had lots of turkey. Now that we are back in our Studio, heroes are three-quarters way through the year! That’s awesome!
This is Session 4, and Apprenticeships and Core Skills/makeup work is the focus. Each learner should have an Apprenticeship, working 40 hours in a field of their choice. Some learners haven’t secured them yet, but they still have time to finish it. The goal is to get it done this session so they won't be behind throughout the rest of the year with their work.
The word of the session is Civility. As a school, we want the heroes to know the importance of civility they need to uphold as a Forest learner. The heroes have come up with a detailed plan for how to get more work done at school than at home with no distractions. Learners are ready to stay focused and put the work in to become more self-directed and resist distractions.
The Studio is preparing for Exhibition where learners will participate in the first-ever Spelling Bee. This Spelling Bee is to help learners gain confidence in their word choice and know different words around their grade level. Exhibition will be very rewarding for them once a winner is chosen. The top three winners will be entered into the statewide Spelling Bee, which is a part of the National Spelling Bee!
Also, this session CCRA testing will take place during the final week of the session. Please ensure your learner is back at school on Tuesday, December 13 for testing. Let Brittney know if they will be unable to attend on that specific day so that make-ups can be arranged!
high school studio
“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirits.” Jewaharlal Nehru
This session we are truly immersing ourselves in other cultures via Civilization and various apprenticeships. Many heroes are completing an apprenticeship this session, and the industries range from entertainment to curating. Some are taking advantage of the opportunity and completing more than one, which is admirable.
This session's Exhibition will be centered around Civilization, another dive into various cultures. Heroes will choose a minority group in America to research, identify a major issue that group faces, and create a solution. They will demonstrate mastery of their learning through a mock town hall meeting created and led by the learners themselves! Exhibition will be on Wednesday, December 14 from 7:00-8:00pm.
For the next three weeks, the Studio is getting a makeover! We are “flipping the script.” Many changes have been discussed, voted on, and will soon be implemented to ensure a learning environment where learners feel more comfortable getting work done here at school than at home. So far, so good! We’re hoping all changes will be made by the end of this session so that we can start the top of 2023 with a great flow!