Session 3 Week 1 in Review

Elementary Studio

Our theme this year at The Forest School Online is “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” - Rabbi Hillel. This week learners participated in a momentous event called Contract Signing. Leading up to this event, learners worked diligently to create and finalize an Elementary Studio Contract of Promises. During this experience, these learners encountered difficulties agreeing with one another and didn’t think they’d be able to come to a consensus! Instead of giving up, they persevered and enforced rules and strategies that would allow them to collaborate effectively. As a result of their resilience, they were able to sign a contract they were proud of. Throughout the week of contract signing, learners engaged in various team-building activities that strengthened their bond.In Civilization, learners and their alien scientist travel to Africa! The first challenge was to research the language, religion, rights of passage, clothing, cultural heritage, and much more to learn about Swahili culture. After conducting research in groups of four, they entered random breakout rooms to share their findings with peers from different groups.In Quest, they began thinking like detectives by cracking codes to find missing library books from a virtual library! To build on the team-building experience, learners worked independently first, next with a partner, and then with a group to crack different codes. Each round, they received less time and the hidden messages got harder and longer! It was a challenge for sure but learners displayed great determination! The next challenge consisted of them creating their own mystery activity for their peers to solve! Learners had the option to create an escape room, fictional unsolved crime, mystery story, hidden code, or a different type of mystery. After completing their mystery activity, they had the opportunity to complete each others. Lastly, they provided feedback to each other to help them improve their skills.

Middle School Studio

Welcome back! Session 3 started with so much fun and excitement with two days of team building both in-person and online and our Contract Signing events! It was a beautiful experience to watch learners sign their names as a symbol of their commitment to uphold the Contract of Promises they drafted together as a Studio. It was also lovely having parents join us for this special event.The Middle and High School Studios met together this week for the first week of our joint Quest: Crime Scene Forensics. Mrs. Kat led the socratic discussions about the differences between TV forensics, real life forensics, and how a clouded view of forensics can impact real cases. Learners shared their opinions and examples of real cases. Our discussions were both intriguing and disturbing! To build a solid foundation for the coming challenges, learners completed an independent web quest in which they used various websites and online resources to research, and then consolidate their findings and understanding through a web quest “worksheet”. To conclude their challenge this week, learners grouped up for Share Outs to discuss their individual findings and their thoughts on what they’ve learned so far.For Story Arts, the Middle School Studio embarked on a new storytelling adventure called YouTube Creator. We started off the session by watching a clip of a video by a famous YouTuber, and discussed what we noticed, what we liked, and what we didn’t like. We also looked at World Class Examples of YouTube channel branding to get inspiration for creating our own channels. Learners completed a brainstorm challenge in which they came up with a theme for their channel, a name for their channel, as well as some ideas for video topics they may use for their first video. Then, it was time to get into the YouTube platform and create channels! Learners experienced the process of creating and setting up their very own YouTube channel, as well as adding some custom branding (which they learned about last session!) to their channel page. Their pages are looking great and ready for some video content to be added in future weeks!

High School Studio

With the start of Session 3, it officially feels like we are deep into the school year! The first week of this session in the High School Studio focused on creating a fresh start, getting all of our systems and structures back in order, celebrating the community we have developed in the past few months, and setting goals for the remainder of the calendar year. The first two days of the week were self-directed learning days that began with school-wide morning launches focusing on fun and team-building. We enjoyed games like charades, two truths and a lie, bingo, and more! During the afternoons, learners had a chance to catch up on any work from Sessions 1 and 2, continue their core skills, and begin setting goals for the session.In Quest this session, we are learning about Forensics alongside the Middle School Studio; Mrs. Chrissy and I will switch off with facilitation, and middle school and high school learners will be able to collaborate together on a variety of challenges involving forensic science. We began this week with a Myth Busting video about CSI Forensics on fictional TV shows versus real life, and learners were sent on a Webquest to acquaint themselves with the field of forensics.Our Story Arts session on Public Speaking and crafting inspirational speeches, with expert Joseph Sojourner, began this week as well. We started off with a brainstorming session about topics we care about and love, as well as topics that bother us and we would like to change in the world. Learners chose a final topic that they will be working off of for the remainder of the session, crafting an inspiring speech that begins with the phrase “I have something to say”. This unit will provide learners with practice in public speaking, persuasion, communication, writing, and more. Learners will even have a chance to give their speech at the live Story Arts event, if they so choose.Throughout the week, learners met with their new running partners, reviewed their 360 feedback and reflected on any changes they hope to make in session 3, and completed any parent conferences that weren’t done over the break. They were also prompted to update their badge plans going into next week, so that everyone has a clear understanding of what badges they have earned so far this year, and what work still needs to be turned in to receive a badge. Friday morning’s Contract Signing event was a proud moment in which our studio officially signed the Contract of Promises that they developed, which will set up our expectations for one another for the remainder of the school year. I’m looking forward to an exciting session ahead, and continuing to work with our incredible learners.