Session 2 Week 1 in Review

Elementary Studio

Session 2 is in full effect! This week learners engaged in a school-wide Welcome Back Carousel and our first school-wide Town Hall! Some learners expressed a desire to meet school-wide so we made it happen! During our Welcome Back Carousel learners engaged in a scavenger hunt relating to each studios Quest. In mixed age breakout rooms, they were challenged to find something that could be found in the kitchen or is used in the kitchen. Next, they had to collaborate to create a story that included every item! "When you need to innovate, you need collaboration." -Marissa MayerIn the Elementary Studio we began our NutriLife Quest by discussing the digestive system. We started by researching the digestive system. More specifically, what the different types are, the major organs that make up the digestive system, and each learner had the opportunity to find at least two interesting facts about the digestive system. Next, they created and labeled a diagram of the digestive system. To end the week, learners used the knowledge they obtained throughout the week to research how long it takes their favorite food to digest in their body and how it digests!In Civilization, learners will create their Studio Contracts in preparation for contract signing next session. This week, they participated in a Nearpod discussing the US Constitution to help them start brainstorming about their Studio Contract. The challenge consisted of researching self-governance, explaining why contracts are necessary, and starting the thinking process about how they want the Elementary Studio Contract to look and feel. We will build on different components of the contract each week of this session. In Story Arts, learners began The Branding curriculum. This week, they reviewed a client brief descriptor that included a design project, client name, information about the client, a given explanation as to why the design project is needed, vision for the project, how the customers should feel with the new brand, where the logo will be used, and the targeted audience. After reviewing the client brief descriptor, they were challenged to create a mood board for the client using photos, different fonts, color schemes, words and phrases, and any other types of inspiration that would influence the client's mood for a logo!

Middle School Studio

Welcome to Session 2! The MS Studio enjoyed getting together with the other studios on Monday to welcome each other back to a new session and share the adventures we had during break. It was great to catch up with everyone and continue building school-wide connections and relationships! We also met for our first school-wide Town Hall this week, where learners got to hear from Max about the significance of democracy and the elected officials that will be voted in this session. Learners jumped right back into the swing of our daily rhythm for morning launches, SLE challenges, running partners, and weekly check-ins!MS learners began a new Quest badge this week called Mythbusters - Nutrition Edition. With only 4 weeks in Session 2, this is sure to be a faced paced Quest, so we hit the ground running with some fun introductory nutrition themed challenges this week! We began our Quest by trying to come up with a working definition of food; is food everything and anything we eat, is it substances that fuel our bodies, or should we define it as something else entirely? Learners also discussed and debated what foods should be considered “healthy” or “unhealthy” and what metrics or logic we use to decide, and they consolidated their thinking by completing a food sort to visually show their ideas of what is healthy and unhealthy. Next, learners examined food packaging labels and identified claims that were misleading or exaggerated. They read several articles about the prevalence of misleading labels and nutritional information and how it impacts consumers and their eating choices. They then used what they learned in their research to create an honest food label for a new food product or an existing food product. Learners were very creative and it was so fun to see cereal boxes with claims like, “It may not be healthy, but it sure is delicious!“. We wrapped up our Quest challenges this week by delving into macronutrients, and the ways these macronutrients impact our individual bodies. Learners developed a one day meal plan for their challenge, in which they had to create a day’s worth of nutritious meals that had a good balance of macronutrients.To help prepare ourselves for writing a studio contract that our learners will sign during the in-person Contract Signing event, we began a new Civ badge called Contracts & Covenants. This week we heard from Professor Charles Fried at Harvard in a video all about how contracts are a huge part of our daily lives in ways we don’t always think of, like eating at a restaurant; there’s an unspoken contract between the restaurant and the consumer that food will be offered and the check will be paid. We had an engaging conversation about the difference between a contract and a covenant, the repercussions of breaking a contract or covenant, and the role that both play in past and present societies. The learners completed a challenge in which they identified major contracts/covenants throughout history, and then chose one to research more in depth. During Share Outs, learners paired up to discuss the contracts/covenants they researched, their takeaways, and what they would change in that document to make it more effective based on the effects it had on its respective society.This session in Story Arts, we are learning all about Storytelling Through Branding with the help of guest expert Shivani Kapoor. Shivani shared her creative process for developing a company’s story through branding and logo design. This week, the learners were challenged to research the five different types of logos, describe the characteristics and features of each, and to find at least two world class examples of each logo type. This work helped inspire and prepare them for developing their own branded logos for a “client” in future challenges!

High School Studio

The first week of Session 2 was jam-packed in the High School Studio! It was great to be back with the learners, and I was thrilled with the energy and enthusiasm they brought to the studio in our first week back together. We spent some time dusting off the cobwebs from break, getting back into the swing of Check-Ins and weekly routines, and began some new and exciting badge topics.On Monday, we joined together with the Elementary and Middle School Studios for a Welcome Back Carousel, in which learners did speed rounds of getting-to-know-you questions with learners from across all three studios. Then, learners broke into three groups to create a “Mad Libs Style” story about a variety of kitchen items they scavenged from their home. In Quest in the afternoon, we began our Master Chef Quest unit, discussing the various culinary arts topics we will be covering, as well as introducing the variety of options that learners have for their final exhibition project.Tuesday saw us reflecting on the 360 Feedback and Parent Conferences that learners were assigned over the break; these forms of peer, self, and parent feedback are crucial to the FSO structure, and learners are encouraged to complete these items as soon as possible, if they haven’t yet. We also began our new Civilization unit on The History of Music. Tuesday’s lesson covered music through the ages, looking at how various technological and cultural changes throughout history have altered how people create and utilize music. Learners presented their challenge work on important pieces of historical and political music, as well as how various ancient civilizations created and interacted with music.On Wednesday and Friday we continued with our Master Chef Quest, covering important topics such as knife skills, kitchen safety, measurements and conversions, and how to read and follow recipes. By the end of the week, learners chose which final project they would be working on for their Master Chef Badge. On Wednesday morning, Max led all three studios in a morning launch about Town Halls, and introduced the studio-wide positions that learners can run for. This will create a new layer to our already-elected studio-only Town Hall positions (starting in Session 3, we will switch off each week between School-wide and Studio-only Town Halls).Thursday and Friday morning were all about wrapping up the Podcasting Story Arts unit from Session 1; on Thursday morning, we had a listening party to give feedback on one another’s podcasts, and on Friday morning, we attended the Live Story Arts event on Podcasting, led by expert Christy Todd. Lastly, we began a new Story Arts unit on Thursday, all about Branding. Learners discovered the various types of logos and began learning about the creative process behind creating a brand identity for clients. It was a busy first week back in the studio, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the learners on a variety of projects this month!