Welcome back to Sprint 2! I cannot believe we are already in our second sprint for the year. A very big thank you to our founding families
for embarking on this journey with us.
Our Eagles quickly got to work as they returned from the break. Right off the bat, they re-rooted themselves in the Acton tradition of morning greetings at our gate. On the first day of school, our young Eagles were not only greeted by Miss Caryn, but also by Mr. Jia and the Middle School Eagles. Middle School has officially started at Acton KL!
In our first sprint, new friendships were formed, teamwork was fostered, self-governance was practiced through the Studio Contract and Promises, SMART ways of working was introduced, Core Skills was completed using various software and the Excellence Project was accomplished with much zest.
We kicked off the sprint by revisiting our Studio Contract and recommitting ourselves to the promises. One Eagle very happily said, “I have forgotten some of the promises, thank goodness we are discussing about them again!” 🙂
Eagles taking turns to read the Contract and Promises out loud
Then, we introduced a point system for our Core Skills work which could be exchanged into Eagle Bucks on Fridays. The Eagles got really excited
because they could now collect more Eagle Bucks to shop at the school’s store at the end of the sprint. They even suggested to use their Eagle Bucks to buy movie outings!
Everyone’s on a mission to earn more Eagle Bucks!
In Core Skills, everyone was much more focused than they were in Sprint 1! Even our younger Eagles were very engaged in their work and were offering to help one another. Children are really more capable than we think when given the opportunity! I have seen much growth in the studio since 31st
of October but of course, it comes with topsy turvy days when nothing seems to be going right. I must admit it has been a really fun ride with our Eagles.
Helping one another through Core Skills
This sprint, we also started Literacy sessions for the younger Eagles with Ms. Wei Wen. They have been playing lots of games and doing
many fun worksheets to help them read and write.
Our young Eagles deep in concentration during Literacy
Eagles began their Writers Workshop this week. For this sprint, we will be introducing and practicing the Writing Process – Pre-write, Draft, Revise, Edit and Publish. Eagles are making journals and writing entries every other day to cultivate the love for writing. They are encouraged to draw
and write about anything and everything that they want. “What if children ruled the world?”, “If I were rich and famous, what would I do?”, “What would happen if I had superpowers?” “Why I love my cats”. They will be presenting their best piece of work during the exhibition at the end of this sprint.
5-Step Writing Process
Naomi busy making her journal
On Wednesday, we introduced “My Studio Economy”. There were roles like Banker, Police and Shopkeeper/ Rent Collector. Eagles need to earn “paychecks” and “bonuses” by completing their jobs well and keeping their promises. These ringgits would enable them to rent desks, laptops, bean bags, and also buy privileges to play games or listen to music. By bringing real-world scenarios into the classroom, we hope that Eagles can start to see the impact of their decisions to save, spend and budget.
Not only that, we also learned about what money is, why do we need money, what is a need versus a want, what are the different types of notes and coins, what are their value, etc. No matter their age, all of the Eagles absolutely loved counting money!
We had a shopping experience at the “Acton Supermarket”. Eagles designed their sandwiches with a budget, planned a shopping list and bought
items at the supermarket. It was a lot of fun. Thank you so much Dr. Ewe & Dr. Shien for shopping and counting with them! Parents, you now have a personal assistant for your next grocery shopping trip.:) Please do involve them as it helps bring the lesson alive.
“We are so hungry. We wish these were real food!” Nom nom nom
The dynamics of our Elementary and Middle School Eagles coming together have been really fascinating! Plenty of self-governance happened over
the week. The ES can now ask the MS for Eagle Bucks when they are too noisy or when they mess up the common areas and vice versa. After our young Eagles were fined twice in a day for being too noisy, they made a new rule to speak softly and reminded each other to keep to it. I have never seen our ES studio so quiet and focused before! This mixed studio checks are definitely helping them keep each other accountable and also raising the standards in both studios.
After summoning much courage, our 9-year-old Eagle went upstairs to fine the MS Studio
New rule for the day
Character Call-outs Friday! We ended the week in high spirits with the Eagles thanking one another for their friendship. 🙂
Dr. Ewe and Dr. Shien in action during Character Call-outs
Welcome back, Parents and great work, Eagles!!
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