February 1-5

After 4 weeks of learning and practicing coding, the Eagles were finally able to apply their new skills. They built a go-cart, catapult, a duck hunt game, and a dancing robot.  Then they were given various challenges to program their creations.  

     

Eagles are putting the final touches on their hero letters as they meet with peers to revise.  In order to earn credit for this Writer's Workshop, Eagles must meet with 3 peers to receive warm and cool feedback, then make the needed changes.  Next week they will have the opprunity to edit with a group and an older Writing Buddy. 

During a morning launch, Eagles were challenged to work with their team to move a tennis ball without touching it!  They were given a round disk with strings attached for each Eagle to hold.  The challenge was very difficult, but many Eagles pushed through the frustration to find a way to move the ball further each time.  

After the challenge we reflected back to the beginning of the year. We remember Eagles yelling at one another, using unkind words with their teammates, and giving up.  We have made so much growth since then! 

  

With our Quest in the morning, the Eagles have spent a huge chunk of time outside in the afternoons.  We have loved the beautiful weather to run through the sprinklers, explore the mud pit, and play freeze tag on the playground.  We also experienced some real-life consequences of soaking our clothes and covering our arms in mud. ;) 

  

In drama, the Eagles practiced reading scripts with expression. They also practiced using expressions and emotions with a game of “Get on the Bus”.  The Eagles rotated through the bus seats and acted out various scenes; such as being late for school, being pulled over by cops, and rushing to the hospital. 

 

  

January 25-29th

 In order to follow through with their promise to "hold Eagles accountable" the Eagles created Eagle Bucks.  Every Monday each Eagle recieves 3 Eagle Bucks.  If an Eagle is observed breaking the studio contract (a list of promises the Eagles created together), they will be asked to make a choice...to follow the contract or give up an Eagle Buck. 

They can choose to save or spend their remaining Eagle Bucks on Friday at the Eagle Buck Store. The store has snacks, gum, fun erasers, squishy balls, and many other items for purchase.  This is one step the Eagles have made to take ownership of their studio and uphold the Contract they created. 

 

Last sesssion in Writer's Workshop, August won the Pitch a Field Trip challenge.  So on Tuesday, we all gathered our money, loaded up in cars, and spent some time at Unique Toys.  The Eagles had a blast and brought home all kinds of goodies!

  

Many Eagles have completed their work in Code.org for this session's Quest! It took 4 weeks of hard work, dedication, and some help from their peers.  Next week, Eagles will move to the next phase of this quest; programming real robots! 

Eagles have been setting their eyes on excellence in Writer's Workshop.  They have focused on ways to improve their piece and assure it meets the critieria of a formal letter.  Next week, Eagles will begin the process of revising and editing before mailing their letter. 

  

This week in Drama, the Eagles started with a game of Human Knot- where they made a circle, grabbed a fellow Eagle's hand, then worked together to unravel themselves.  They learned about props and how to use them when acting, then finished with a game of Statue. 

 

Wednesday, the Eagles were challenged to work with a group to create the tallest structure using marshmallows, toothpicks, and wooden skewers.  We then had a Socratic Discussion about what aspects of teamwork helped or hurt their group to build the tallest structure. 

  

We ended the week celebrating the hard work of following the Rules of Engagment on the carpet.  Many Eagles relaxed by finding a comfy spot, a snack and watching Wall-E.  It was a perfect end to the week as we move on to coding robots on Monday.  

January 18-22

This week, Eagles completed their research and began drafting letters to their heroes.  We placed ourselves in our hero's shoes and discussed what would motivate them to write back to a fan.  The Eagles found the most important aspects to include in their letters were stories from their own lives, praise for their hero's accomplishments, and questions to prompt a response. 

Eagles are hard at work during Core Skills with the added incentive of earning Game Time. For every 10% of measurable progress reached, Eagles can prove their work to a buddy and guide to earn 20 minutes of computer game time.  This has been a huge motivation for some Eagles to stay focused and make progress on their goals. 

  

As always, drama was a total hit this week! The Eagles played a game of Clap Clap Clap Snap, then buddied up and created their own 30second skit to match their floor plan from last week.  Groups pretended to play Fortnite, have a pillow fight, and be attacked by a zombie.

 

Thursday was a beautiful day for outside PE! The Eagles competed in 2 teams to see who could complete a frisbee relay the fastest.  An eagle stood at the start position, threw the frisbee as many times as needed to make it in the goal, then ran the frisbee to the next teammate in line. 

  

On Wednesdays (based on an Eagle's fabulous Town Hall idea), we end the day with Show and Tell.  After Studio Maintenance, the Eagles have the remaining time to share items they bring.  They look forward to this every week! 

 

For Friday Celebration, the Eagles were challenged to split into groups of their choosing to build the best Lego creation.  The Rules of the Game were- stay with the group you chose and use only the legos in your area.  They created some pretty awesome architectural designs. 

Our 3rd Eagle earned a badge! Congratulations August on your hard work earning your Level 2 Math Badge!! 

Every Friday, we end our week together with Character Callouts.  A time when Eagles recognize one another for the words and actions they noticed had a positive impact on our community.  This week, we introduced Character Callout Cards for the Eagles to write their callouts on.  Look at our board full of the fabulous character traits seen in our studio! 

 

January 11-15

 Two weeks in a row we have welcomed new Eagles to our studio! We have loved growing our community and bringing other learners into our hero's journey. 

This week in Writer's Workshop, Eagles researched information about their hero and the art of letter writing.  They were placed in groups and asked to create a poster displaying the parts of a formal letter.  They determined there were 7 pieces- a heading, address, date, greeting, body, closing, and signature. 

 

Twice this week, Eagles were challenged to work in a group to complete as many levels in IXL (our Language Arts program) as possible.  Eagles work at their own level, on their own computer, but have access to their entire group for help. 

 Together on Wednesday, the studio completed a total of *FORTY* IXL levels! On Friday, 38 levels! That is a lot of hard work!  SO impressive! 

  

Drama has become a fast favorite this session!  The Eagles played a game of Shipwreck, where they practiced following directions quickly.  Then created a scene of their own house to share with the group and finished with a game of charades. 

D.E.A.R (Drop Everything And Read) is another studio favorite! Three times a week, Eagles spend 40 minutes reading books independently.  Twice a week, Eagles have the opportunity to read with a buddy or listen to books read aloud on Epic. 

 

 

We ended the week with Friday Celebration.  The Eagles who followed the Rules of Engagement (rules for discussions on the carpet) celebrated their hard work with a fake snowball fight.  They were given a bag of plastic cups, a room full of chairs, and a box of stuffed snowballs.  The rest was up to them....they built a fortress, attacked with snowballs and built awesome towers to knock over.