Session 2, Week 1
The start of a new session brings new squads, new quests, a new session question, new councils for some studios and new Studio Maintenance zones for others. With only one session under their belt, the newness of Session 2, and many of their systems freshly created, we didn’t know how the heroes would start out Session 2. Wow! They hit the ground running! Heroes arrived the first day with high energy and high focus. Everyone was excited to get to work!
In the Spark Studio the systems and routines flowed naturally as we jumped into session 2. Heroes were on fire as they set challenging goals and then worked so hard challenging themselves to complete those goals during Montessori Work Cycle.
Setting challenging Language goals.
Working hard to complete a Montessori grammar work.
Working hard together.
A Spark hero helping another Spark hero with his handwriting. He even provided words of encouragement after: “Wow! Great job! You did it!”
Our Fire Studio and DELTA Studio mentors were in full swing this first week!
It takes patience listening to an emergent reader read, or mentoring a Spark hero through a work, but the bond both heroes feel by the end is priceless!
With a new session came new studio maintenance zones. You would think there would be a big learning curve, but these heroes hit the ground running.
Recess was magical with all studios playing together.
And when something wasn’t working, they worked together to figure out the problem and fix it.
flat tire
disconnected pipe
We started our geology quest with curiosity.
We are relating the rock cycle to the Hero’s Journey and are thinking about what helps us and rocks grow. Each time a hero competes the quest challenge, they will add to our sand jar to show us growing over time.
With a council elected, all the accountability systems in place, and weekly goals settling into a comfortable habit, the Fire Studio was on fire this first week of a new session. Heroes kicked off the week discussing the holiday celebrating Columbus and Indigenous Peoples. It made for an interesting debate about what makes a hero. Heroes also discovered their new squads and got to select their squad mascot mineral.
This week heroes discussed callings. That place where your passion overlaps with a need in the world is a potential place to find a passion and change the world! Heroes shared passions they have or want to develop, as well as world needs that might overlap with their passions.
This week was also the grand opening of the studio Explore Tables. Eight stations hold a variety of exploratory works in eight different topics. The works, always rotating out, will be a place to dive deeper into favorite passions, or explore new topics that might become a new passion! Some of the works this week included engineering a pumpkin harvester, replicating a spider web, constructing a skeleton, studying The Wright brothers and paper aircraft designs, and exploring Columbus’ journeys and Native American culture.
Heroes had their first hero-led Town Hall and their first Squad Meeting where they shared their weekly goals progress and determined their Freedom Level for next week. Setting challenge zone weekly goals with a parent each weekend will be a great help for heroes to self-regulate how to use their core skills time through the weeks, sessions, and year.
Kicking off the new Quest- Geology – is pretty exciting! Many Heroes are anxious to dig deep on the topic. The session question ties in so well to Geology: Does conflict help a culture or hurt a culture? This week we learned about the layers within the crust (we may be spending the entire session just on the Crust – there is so much to explore here!) The Heroes were blown away at how deep the crust is and that we humans have not drilled very far into it. Squads worked together to create a water-colored wall mural of layers within the earth for our Studio wall. They plan to keep adding to the mural as they keep learning.
Heroes also enjoyed simulating layers of the earth (bread) covering life (dye-free gummy worms) through years of floods, volcano eruptions, mudslides, etc. They learned over time this life under pressure formed coal (black licorice) and petroleum (jelly).
We began exploring the differences of Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and Igneous rock. Squads picked a rock and then observed, asked questions, discussed what they noticed, and some shared what it reminded them of. One rock reminded them of an Oreo cookie, while another squad saw a river flowing within the rock. Squads then worked to create a poem about their rock’s journey and presented it to the studio while munching popcorn. They were so respectful of each other while each squad shared what they were obviously very proud of! Creativity continues to manifest in many different ways.
The DELTA Studio came back with such high energy. Our challenges matched their energy… A challenge and discussion about how they would launch themselves into the new session by overcoming their monsters (Resistance, Distraction and Victimhood).
A hilarious challenge to find their new squad,
a squad challenge,
and a maybe even more hilarious studio challenge!
The delight came as we moved into Core Skills and their high energy instantly transferred to high focus! With all their systems and contracts in place, the heroes are now enjoying the time they crave for diving into their year-plans. Core Skills was delightfully focused this week. And heroes were even asking for more time (especially to work on their Ex Works!)
Heroes used their strengths to serve heroes in other studios through mentoring Fire Studio and Spark Studio heroes this week.
For quest, the DS heroes were sworn in by Governor Acton as mayors and city council members of model cities that they will be building and powering with all of the electrical knowledge they will be gaining this session. Learning the basics of batteries, voltage, current, resistance, circuits, and multimeters was the task of this past week, and they’ll be completing individual circuit projects on breadboards next week in order to apply their knowledge. City construction will begin after that, with judging at the exhibition in the categories of biggest city, the most aesthetic city, the most stable power grid, the most creative use of gadgets, and the most monuments built honoring great scientists from the past.
The DELTA Studio has learned quickly how to depend on their fellow-heroes when they have questions. When they had a guide out sick this week, they led their studio remarkably well! Think about what would have happened when you were in Junior High if a teacher was gone and left the classroom up to your class??? These young people are incredible!
Friday’s work was awesome to watch and provided opportunities for heroes to get out of their comfort zone and for different heroes to shine in their different capacities.
Just in case you are thinking CHOICE heroes are perfect after reading this post, please know that there are still lapses in judgement and times when brave heroes point out how others are being disrespectful. Heroes are realizing that their studios will be what they make it, and upholding contracts will be a core part of achieving their vision all through the year. There is still much work to be done. But these heroes came back for Session 2 ready to hit the ground running, get the work done and have a blast while doing it!