May 9-13

A new business has been created- ACME Cleaning Company.  This company services Amarillo Acton and works to keep the studio in prestine, excellent condition.  Job openings were posted Monday and many of our learners were excited to apply.  After being hired, each worker chose (by randomly drawing a stick) an area of the studio to clean.  If deemed excellent by the CEO at the end of the day, the worker earns 5 Eagle Bucks! Those who want to step up and take on another job can be paid an extra 3!  One learner took on 4 jobs, striving to earn a total of 14 Eagle Bucks in one day! The Cleaning Company's hard work was even recognized by a parent who stated this was the cleanest she has seen the studio all year!  

 

Completed challenges in Quest earned the Eagles a trip to explore at River Falls.  We walked about 30 minutes to a small river where the Eagles explored and ate their lunch.  Friends enjoyed the fresh air while skipping rocks, hunting for small creatures, and playing in the water. On the way back to Acton we cooled off with a sweet popsicle treat and Gatorades.  Such a fun way to celebrate their hard work! 

 

The final step in completing their Science-Based Fiction writing was to add 5 illustrations to their pieces.  Writers were challenged to integrate their illustrations into the story, just like we saw in the picture book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee.  Some writers even chose to split their story into multiple pages to resemble a picture book.  These published stories will be combined to create a storybook to add to the studio. 

 

Last semester, an Eagle brought up the idea of bringing her trained Reading Dog to the studio during DEAR time.  The Eagles unanimously voted yes and Olive came this week for her first reading day! Readers had the opportunity to sign up for a 20 minute session with Olive. 

Our Excellence Committee has been hard at work reviewing Badges.  These 3 Eagles, voted upon by their peers, have the tough job of approving and denying learner's work.  They meet together to look at the expecations and determine if an Eagle's submission is excellent based on the following criteria; is this the learner's best work, is it better than their previous work, and does it fit the standards? 

Thursday, Eagles prepared for their Exhibition.  They started the morning creating a plan for the day.  It was decided the Excellence Committee needed to meet, the scavenger hunt needed to be created, friends should finish their Super Bug and posters, while others should work to complete their writing badge.  The rest of the day was spent practicing for the Exhibition and completing a few run throughs. 

This session's Exhibition was all about insects! Eagles created a scavenger hunt for their visitors, challenging them to find the Eagles' Super Insects with various abilities and characteristics.  They were challenged to find the insects that can glow, self destruct, shoot venom out of their bottoms, breath underwater, and hide from predators on bigger insects. 

  

The Eagles even created their own Conundrum Dilemma, challenging parents to take a stance;  

"So. Here’s the thing. There’a a company researching a bug called Tiger Sight. Studying the fact that it can grow crystals out of it's teeth. Whenever you put a tooth in a certain liquid, it takes the form of a crystal. But three other companies also want to study this insect, because if they do they will earn lots of money. So, which team are you on? Team Dojo is the one who studies the insect currently. Team Madlab the one who makes the liquid to turn it into crystals. Team Archerlook the one who catches the bug and transports it to the science lab. Or Team Farmal the one that knows how to process it to the bank." Whose team would you choose?