Week 4 Year 1 in Review: A Quest is born!

 

Great week! 

From the Middle School Studio:

During a launch this week, Heroes were reflecting on their Labor Day adventures when the conversation veered toward the culture they are building at The Forest School.

One hero started us off. "My grandparents kept asking me about school, and I didn't know how to put everything in words."

"Yeah!" another jumped in. "It's impossible to describe what we do here!"

"Well," I said, "Try. If you could describe the school in one sentence, what would you say?"

Without missing a beat, a hero responded: "Well, we're not robots."

After other students joined into the conversation, we circled back to our dilemma: "How do we showcase the culture we are building to others, especially your friends and family?"

"We make videos," two others chimed in.

"We invite visitors," another added.

"What about a reenactment or demonstration?" queried another hero.

"What about an art exhibit to display our culture?" prompted another.

And, just like that, a new Quest is born.

Over the next three weeks, Middle School Heroes will be creating a variety of "cultural exhibits" to highlight the unique learning environment they are creating here, culminating in our first public exhibition on Thursday, September 27, 2018, from 4:45-6:15pm. 

Welcome to The Forest School Museum!

 

From the Elementary Studio: 

ES Victories:

  • Studio Contract is in its final phase: ideas have been curated and experimented and final votes are to be submitted by the end of today!

  • Mrs. Joan joined ES as the reading expert this week, helping Level 3, 4 and 5 heroes choose books that are engaging and in their appropriate challenge zone.
  • Journey Tracker was tentatively launched; heroes logged in, creating a SMART goal and experienced the satisfaction of working towards point gains. (Parents will gain access to Journey Tracker soon)
  • Civilization was rolling, and heroes are hungry for more! We’ve visited the first nomadic people, traveled to early Egypt, and discussed the value of writing vs artifact discovery in terms of learning about the past.
  • Guides entered the “Guides Don’t Answer Question” Acton network challenge and are holding their own against guides from around the world!

ES Challenges:

  • Heroes are learning, sometimes awkwardly, when and how to hold each other accountable. Tough minded but warm hearted can and should coexist, but finding our way there has sometimes gotten a little messy.
  • Studio Maintenance continues to challenge heroes. We wonder how far into the grips of entropy will the studio fall before heroes take a stand against grime?!

 

Enjoy your weekend!


banner image via

 
Tyler Thigpen