In the Spark Studio… the first part of Exhibition week isn’t too much different from any other week. Heroes continue to enjoy outside time.

Heroes continue to work hard on their works. We saw so many heroes giving presentations to one another this week. And heard such an increase in growth mindset language. Truly these heroes are like sponges, soaking in their learning!

Heroes continue to enjoy turtle time with Miss Carrie. It is a favorite time of the day for many. They often take turns leading the different yoga poses.

Heroes continue to enjoy story time. Which is sometimes now done by the heroes themselves!!!

On Thursday, energy is high! The heroes know today is the day their parents and grandparents are coming. It is so fun to see how excited they are to share what they have been doing over the session. As heroes put finishing touches on whatever they are presenting for the exhibition, it is hard to contain all the excitement and energy they feel!

In the Fire Studio… it is a different kind of energy. On Tuesday and Wednesday there is an absolute rush of work and focus as the heroes recognize they will soon be held accountable. As guides we often talk of what could happen if heroes could harness this focus and use it throughout the entire session. Part of the journey!

At the exhibition itself, there are various emotions.

There are different purposes of an exhibition. One of the purposes is to hold the heroes accountable for what they have or have not done throughout the semester. For some heroes, not all of the exhibition is a happy time. They are forced to come face to face and recognize where they haven’t been putting in effort and focus. Thank you to parents for having the difficult conversations when effort is lacking. This is part of the journey and absolutely essential to creating self-driven, life-long learners.

The day after exhibition is a day of reflection. It is the landing of the learning arc. Reflection is an essential component of learning and much of that happens on Thursday. We take time to reflect on the exhibition, the session question, and what they each hero learned about themselves this session. This session’s question was “How does an environment influence an individual?” We looked at how the sea environment influences sea creatures, but more importantly, how does the CHOICE environment affects each hero. The heroes brought up environmental factors like noise, hard and messy floors, computers, and good books, as well as the presence of friends and growth-mindset language, all as factors that can contribute to or diminish their growth.

No less important is a time to celebrate together! And Thursday afternoon (after the exhibition), whether its an outing or simply making suckers and watching a movie – the heroes enjoy celebrating together!

Exhibition week is a unique week at an Acton Academy. It is a time when heroes step up. A time when heroes have to own their choices. A chance to share with those they love most. Throughout the school it is a whirlwind of excitement and energy and the perfect way to end each session!