Friday, March 25, 2022

March 21 - 25

The Eagles are working hard on their Quest builds this week. They had the opportunity to purchase materials with their Quest Bucks, and toward the end of the week, they were able to rummage through the Garage Sale of remaining supplies to add to their game. Thanks to everyone who donated supplies. Our heroes are excited to show off their Arcade games next week! The competition is going to be exciting for everyone. Our teams also worked on their Quest poster this week highlighting the 3 simple machines they’ve included in their game, their company name and logo, game name, and advertising the cost to play their game. They have used a ton of imagination throughout this Quest!

 


To inspire heroes this week, we took a look at a couple of real-life heroes at Launch: Stephen Hawking and Nivay Anandarajah from a Day in the life of a Mechanical Engineer. We discussed what those two heroes accomplish day to day and what inspires them to work hard and persevere. Some Eagles are interested in mechanical engineering and others are still thinking about that career path.

Despite having a Snow Day this week, we were able to spend some time outside for Free Time and P.E. This week our leaders had the group work through warm-ups and a workout before playing Capture the Flag. We finally had sunshine on Friday and enjoyed the warm weather.

Writing Buddies came to Acton this week to help our Eagles working on their Technical Writing Writer’s Workshop badge. The writing buddies gave our writing heroes valuable feedback that they used to improve their writing. The Eagles have several sets of instructions we will be able to publish to share with all Eagles in the future in our Big Book of Instructions. Our heroes also decided on a Community of Editors to offer feedback to our writers. This is another step in the editing process that helps Eagles learn to write excellently.

The Eagles voted to have a Journalism Committee beginning this session. The three members are responsible for taking photos and videos during Quest, P.E., Art/Drama, Exhibition, and Writers Workshop in the Studio. We discussed technology and journalism guidelines as a group. The Eagles chose 3 members (they have to take a week off) and each member must be in Flying or Soaring levels, and working in Level 3 Math and Language Arts. We are excited to see what the journalists record as we work together in the Studio.





As a Fun Friday reward this week, our heroes had to work together to get a total number of 75 points in Lexia, with everyone earning at least 7 points each. The Eagles accomplished this goal even while missing one day for our Snow Day. The hard work and collaboration in the studio has inspired everyone to work hard, help each other overcome challenges, and discover winning together as a group. We took our computers to the Auditorium to enjoy computer game time on Friday. The friends who worked the hardest in Core Skills found their motivation and earned the most computer game time.







Friday, March 18, 2022

Mar 14 - Mar 18

We are working hard preparing our Technical Writing instructions in Writer’s Workshop for next week’s Writing Buddy and Community of Editors reviews. Our Eagles took time to test out each other’s instructions using real-world tests (using the software, making the object, learning a game) and gave feedback. Some heroes admitted that they are not strong writers or they struggle with spelling, but they are being brave and trying something new or asking friends for help. We are looking forward to feedback from our Writing Buddies!


      


This week in Quest, the Eagles developed their arcade game plan, including budgeting for their supplies, were able to shop for tape, boxes, cardboard tubes, marbles, ping pong balls, hot glue, and many other options so that they can customize their game. The energy level while building was high! Eagles are having a great time using their imagination and creating the 3 simple machines their games must include. Everyone is looking forward to the competition and displaying their hard work. 


            


We’ve seen “Spring of Deception” this week during Free Time, from icy winds, to warm, sunny days. Everyone has been enjoying the good days and making the most of the not-so-good days. We’ve adjusted the schedule to include other fun activities, like more time for drama and extra time during DEAR for Fun Friday!  



Our P.E. leaders had a great time introducing us to new games (one indoors) and everyone seem to be building stamina and strength during our new workout and warm-up options. Several friends have worked really hard to advance up Freedom Levels and are getting voted into leadership positions for the first time - including leading P.E. It’s really exciting to see the Eagles working hard and earning new freedoms.  




The Drama performances were voted on this week in preparation for the Exhibition in a couple of weeks. Heroes are thinking through costumes, and the plays that didn’t win absorbed the other teams so they can have extras, stage hands, and understudies for the big event. This session has been full of creativity and imagination as they’ve worked through several drafts of scripts, worked on their characters, and are now considering props and sets. 


  

Studio Maintenance is an essential part of Acton and the Eagles have been demonstrating hard work, dedication, and responsibility this week. They decided that Studio Maintenance worked best when everyone had their own task. Each hero has been responsible for one task this week, and they have even worked together to accomplish tasks for absent friends all week. The studio is full of pride and is demonstrating to everyone that sees it that Eagles care deeply about hard work and responsibility. 


During Friday’s Town Hall, several big issues were presented to the group. After discussion and voting, each member of the group was able to feel heard and understood. The conversations ranged from starting an “Emergency Town Hall” to address urgent weekly issues that can’t wait until Friday, to working through conflict regarding holding each other accountable. The Eagles were respectful, thoughtful contributors, and excellent listeners. When they vote, even those who vote against the proposal keep their friends’ feelings in mind and the studio maintains integrity and cooperation. 

 

Friday, March 11, 2022

Mar 7 - Mar 11

 Mar 7-Mar 11

In this week’s Writer’s Workshop, our Eagles are editing their drafts and getting feedback from other Eagles about their instructions. To begin this week they watched a silly video using very confusing instructions and worked with a friend to get feedback on their own instructions. They were introduced to sentence clarity with a fun game and they played it excellently! The task was to remove unnecessary words from the sentence to write one that was clearer for the reader, simplifying their writing. Most of the Eagles are making their way through the editing process and are excited to get more feedback and testing done next week. 



In Quest, we learned about the wheel and axle simple machine, created two wheeled vehicles, and did some testing and observation. Again, they had the opportunity to decide whether or not they would include that simple machine in their arcade game(s). We discussed what possibilities exist using a combination of three simple machines and many of the teams are already working on ideas. Some teams completed bonus challenges that taught them to think about how gravity may impact their arcade game. They are seeing their options for supplies in the Quest Store and the prices for each supply. Eagles have earned Quest Bucks for each challenge and they will have to budget for their supplies, even renting some materials for a day. Next week they will start planning and building! 


 


On Friday the Eagles took a field trip to DISCO Inc's Fabrication Shop to learn about mechanical engineering and machines! The Eagles saw the process of making a design on the computer and then bringing that design to life with the plasma cutter.They met a welder, who shared his Heroes Journey, and showed them an example of welding metal. They saw different tools, and spotted different machines throughout the studio. The machinists made a giant Acton Academy eagle sign, and made individual signs for each eagle! Such a fun day.

  

 


 

The Eagles were disappointed to have to spend time inside again this week for Free Time and PE, but as always, they had a lot of fun. We had a Fun Friday challenge with Math Skills earning a special reward for the whole studio. Our Eagles have continued to work hard in Core Skills and earn higher Freedom Levels that allow them to choose where they want to work during the day. We have some new bean bag chairs that are very popular! 

 

Our teams are working hard to finalize their scripts and will soon present their plays to the group. They are all working hard to practice and make their plays excellent. Some teams are ready to start building props, have plans for costumes, and are working together to present the best plays at Exhibition. 

 

On Tuesday we braved the cold and went outside for PE! The Eagles love having ownership of PE time, choosing the warm up, workout and game for the day. We are all ready for spring weather though!

  





























































June 6 - 10

In our Growing Curiosity Quest, Justin from  Avant Garde Brazilian Jiu Jitsu shared with us the art of his sport.  Eagles learned how to cre...