May 10-14

We have had an eventful, exciting week here at Acton Amarillo. 

Thursday, Eagles were visited by a paleontologist! Cal is passionate about paleontology and shared his knowledge and artifacts with us! Eagles saw fossils, replicas, seashells, and various rocks and teeth.  We even learned how to tell the difference between a real print or fossil from a replica. Such a cool experience! He even left us with some geodes and kits to find fossils and bones in! 

 

 

For our creative arts this week, the Eagles explored the African culture.  Three of our Eagles were born in Africa- in Uganda and the Congo!  The Eagles shared stories, made tea, tasted African snacks, listened to traditional African music, and showed treasures from their home country.   

 

We have so much to celebrate these last few week with 6 new badges being earned! Here at Acton, that is equivalent to an entire year of grade-level work! 

Paul and Lulu earned their Level 2 Math Badge and Layla and Jack earned their Level 1 Math Badge! We also handed out our first Writer's Worskhop Badge to Blakely, who completed Level 1 Writing! 

We are so proud of your hard work and persistance! Congratulations Eagles!! 

  

 Tuesday, for our Morning Launch, Eagles were split into teams and challenged to create the tallest tower using only newspapers and masking tape.  Afterwards, one group shared their team's secret of divying up jobs; one Eagle tore the tape, while another rolled newspaper, one held the papers together on the tower, while the last Eagle taped them together. 

    

Eagles are finishing up their Instructional writing by revising and editing their pieces.  Here at Acton, we do not have teachers who work with our learners to revise and edit.  Instead, the hard work is put on their peers.  For revising, Eagles pair up with a buddy to receive warm-cool-warm feedback based on the organization and wording of their piece.  For editing, Eagles form a Community of Editors to edit for punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and juicy words.  

 

We are wrapping up our Detective Science Quest this week.  Eagles have been challenged to earn points by completing 12 different detective challenges, solving deeper-learning bonuses, and writing Minute Mysteries.  Eagles who earned 380 points will celebrate their hard work with an ice cream party on Monday! 

   

Next week, Eagles will begin preparing for their Exhibition to showcase what they have learned.  They will be creating their very own crime scene for parents to solve! During this, the Eagles will have a real-life opportunity to teach their parents the skills detectives use in the field and lab.