Can Learners Create Their Own Rules? - Year 4, Week 9
Contract Signing week is here! While it may have rained on our parade, the celebrations continued! What a wonderful way to finish session 3!
spark studio
This week was packed full of fun even though it rained on our parade.
Contract signing was super fun and super serious all at the same time. Making promises should never be taken lightly. Going through the experience gave us a strong sense of community. Many thanks go out to Zac Brown and Camp Southern Ground for providing us with awesome organized activities and Southside Church for hosting us in their lovely space.
The Lion’s Tail was an Exhibition to remember. During reflection time we watched a video of the performance and the learners talked about how they felt backstage, what they liked about performing, how they felt afterwards, and ways in which we can improve. It was unanimous that they wanted to try it again! The thrill of it all was captivating. One learner was walking around saying “I’m a star”. She definitely overcame her fear of performing in front of a crowd. Needless to say, we will perform again!
Details for our next Quest will be forthcoming. Have a joyful and restful week
elementary studio
Success is completion. Success is being able to complete what we set out to do - each individual action, each specific step, each desired experience whether a big project or a very small errand. -Susan Collins
Session 2 is in the books and what a session it was! Elementary heroes focused on teamwork and building throughout the session during all of our signature learning experiences. During storytelling heroes were challenged to create a video that showed someone losing something, then finding it. They worked through challenges with teammates that ranged from script decisions, acting, and final edits. They pushed to the finish line and were scheduled to present at an in studio film fest to watch and dissect their videos. This will happen when we return after break.
During Quest this session heroes worked in 2 different groups. This provided its own challenges because as soon as they were comfortable with their first group, they were changed to another. The first group focused on the science of Botany. Heroes learned all about plant parts, cycles, and plant stewards. They had to agree on a hypothesis, perform scientific experiments and calculate results with teammates. The second half of the session required heroes to work in teams to create a PSA about mitigating invasive plant species. They began to use some of the teamwork skills they had learned and worked together on during the session and were able to complete their task.
Finally, heroes honed their teamwork skills when finalizing and committing to the studio contracts they created together, at our contract signing ceremony. Our elementary are truly “Learning to Live Together” and getting plenty of practice in collaboration. As we continue to climb the mountain of success, completion is a key.
Enjoy this well deserved break!
middle school studio
That's a wrap!
As part of the Biomimicry Quest, learners presented plans for how the new Middle School building might look to nature for design inspiration. They received feedback from world-class experts in the field of biomimicry and had the experience to deeply reflect on the intersection between biology and engineering. How might we learn from nature how to solve problems?
Learners also wrapped up a unit on creating short films. Over the past few weeks, they've explored the concept of "binary tension" with Trilith Studios CEO Frank Patterson and experimented with building tension in their own films. Our film showcase had to be postponed to Session 3, but we look forward to seeing what stories learners produced!
It's been a fast and full few weeks. We're ready for a break to catch our breath and recharge.
We'll see y'all in Session 3!
high school studio
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time. -Thomas Edison
What another jam packed week at The Forest School! This week was full of twists and turns and ups and downs, all of it led to an amazing Exhibition! The week began at none other than camp southern ground leading our heroes and team building so that we may continue to build a culture around honoring I want another in our differences and similarities. In addition, heroes put the final touches on their contracts as they signed honoring the commitments they have pledged for one another. Later in the week heroes completed 3 New Haven’s where they practiced their overall pitch for Exhibition which included their theme, artisan statement, each piece and it’s meaning.
At the week we reflected on the entire session from quest, to civilization, to storytelling. This could possibly be one of the richest communication processes at the school. Heroes are able to give real time feedback and changes that they want to see happen in the studio for sessions moving forward. Below you will see some feedback from heroes that will be implemented throughout the remainder of the school year:
- Love making things with my hands and something tangible
- I didn't enjoy the ques, I want to learn more real life items and things that will apply to my life
- This quest aligned with my interests, but was very stressful
- I was able to express myself
- I enjoyed it because it was different than public school
- Would like to see the Quest start with the end goal in mind
- I got to show people what I could do
The best part about the session is that even when things become stressful, they never give up!
This session, seniors also had the opportunity to pitch their learner design courses which gets them one step closer to meeting their graduation requirements.
For civilization we wrapped up the week dissecting multiple conspiracy theories! For storytelling. Heroes finalized their short stories and submitted them to a publishing company of their choosing. Stay tuned to see their final results!
See you in session 3!
-Onward
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