Last week was a Chinese New Year holiday week, and we are changing our week-to-week naming convention from the first week of Sprint. So this is Week 4 rather than Week 3!

Weekly Updates

Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update

Rooftop Open!

Yay! The Eagles were so excited this week because … they finally got to go upstairs to play! Some were impressed by the size of the space: “It’s so big and there is so much to play with!” while others loved the equipment on offer: “I like the trampoline and the building things.”

We’re creating our own playground! Give the Eagles some basic materials and they will create their own entertainment.

Creating an obstacle course takes planning and execution.

We’re not just jumping around, we’re exercising! Trampolining has so many benefits from core strength development to balance and coordination.

How fast and straight can you roll a tyre? Balancing a big heavy tyre and keeping it on a straight course isn’t easy!

Outdoor Play with Anji Play Equipment

The Eagles were introduced to a new set of wooden play equipment this week. They engaged in play straight away and used the different parts available to build things. One Eagle started a playground building project and that lasted the whole week through.

The Eagles practised good grace and courtesy while playing with the equipment. They used words such as, “Can you help me please?” and “I need some help, please help me.” Two Eagles discovered how the materials fit together and they were delighted and proud to say, “I figured it out!” as they shared the discovery with their peers. All in, it was a good avenue for them to practice positive communication.

The equipment was also a good way to introduce the Eagles to a planning process to plan their own play. The majority of the Eagles managed to fulfil their plans – a good first step towards Weekly Smart Goals.

We made it, we play with it. Then we can redesign for endless fun! Separate play materials represent infinite chance for fun, learning and exploration.

Now how do we make this into a slide? When the Eagles have to figure things out for themselves, they will appreciate the results more and feel proud of their efforts.

Many hands make for light work and good camaraderie.

Let’s build it as high as we can! When the Eagles challenge themselves, they are amazed at the results.

Testing phase … are the structures sturdy? If not … back to the drawing board!

What shall we make with this? Decisions are made, worked towards, analysed and tweaked, if necessary.

Studio Maintenance

On Wednesday, the Eagles didn’t manage to clean up their studio in time, so the studio was left unkempt. During circle time the next day, the Eagles were challenged to come up with a solution for this issue. The Eagles shared their ideas and followed through on things like using less toys, putting back some toys while using others and using their super-speed and super-strength during clean up time. Subsequently, cleanup was a breeze on Thursday and Friday!

More space to play means more space to mess up. The Eagles decided that a little bit of tidying up along the way is much better than spending a long time doing the chore.

Elementary Studio (ES) Update

Art Project

The artist in focus this week was Vincent van Gogh, and the Eagles discovered that his Hero’s Journey was a very sad and interesting one. Despite, or maybe because of this, he is now one of the most beloved artists in history.

In squads, the Eagles practised the KWL research model to consolidate and organise their knowledge of the artist before creating a timeline of his life and works. This was many Eagles’ first introduction to the timeline model and they appreciated seeing history in such a visual and easily digestible way.

This time around, the Guides stepped back and the Eagle squads worked independently. The personality of each Eagle emerged as they worked together within their squads: some Eagles led and gave instructions as they oversaw the project, some stepped up to glue the information onto the timeline and some did the support work of checking the result.

This piece of information goes here and that goes there. Creating a timeline really brings the unfolding of events in history to life.

Time to check the work. Double-checking after completing a piece of work is a crucial physical self-reflection exercise.

Writer’s Workshop

As they are discovering visual art, the Eagles are also learning about the lyrical art of poetry and this week they explored the fun mediums of lyrical free-verse poetry and limericks.

The Eagles relished the challenge of expressing their emotions and feelings through a lyrical poem, especially finding the most appropriate descriptive words to get their thoughts across. Some Eagles were still wrapping their heads about writing about mundane everyday things: “Can I write about my favourite food?”

With the limerick, they had a chance to be silly and funny, which they ran with! “Everyone laughed at my poem!” Even in such a seemingly silly medium, however, there are very strict structures and rules which the Eagles found tricky to fit their ideas around. “What rhymes with feet?”

How do you paint a picture with words? Lyrical poetry. Is this the style I want to express myself with?

Or do I prefer the funny, silly limerick? The Eagles are exposed to a wide variety of poetry so that they can experiment around with them and discover their favourite form of expression.

Visit to Ilham Gallery

Learning at Acton is not dead learning. Everything the Eagles discover is practical and applicable to their lives and the world around them. So how is art applicable and practical besides being pretty to look at? The Eagles went to Ilham Gallery to explore this question through the gallery’s current exhibition “The Body Politic and the Body.”

The trip was a first to an art gallery for some of the Eagles, and they were excited about experiencing artwork in real life – being able to experience the colours, sizes and impact of the pieces in relation to where they stood and their frame of mind.

The Eagles saw how much you can learn about yourself and the world around you through art including self-reflection, history, politics, geography and socio-economical concerns and enjoyed drawing their own conclusions about the works they saw. An Eagle reflected about Wong Hoy Cheong’s ‘A Tapestry for Justice’: “All those fingerprints make me wonder about the people.”

At the end of the tour, the Eagles were treated to a fun diorama-making activity in which they used materials usually discarded from the household to recreate their own living rooms.

In viewing Bayu Utomo Radjikin’s ‘Lang Kacang’, the Eagles experience the anguish a tribal chief felt at not being able to protect his village. They reflected on how this sculpture that was relevant in it’s own time is still relevant today, leading them to the question, “How much have we really advanced?”

Wong Hoy Cheong’s ‘A Tapestry for Justice’ led to a discussion on the recent landslide elections that overturned Malaysian history – providing the Eagles an avenue to explore local history and politics.

‘HOL (Higher Order Love) Chapter 2.3, Wound: Environment of Naga and Doubt’ by Hasanul Isyraf Idris was created in 2017 when the onslaught of a ‘deadly’ virus might have brought back memories of past pandemics like SARS, but in this current situation the themes of this collection of works is suddenly relevant to the right here and now.

“Recreate my living room? Let me imagine what my living room looks like.” Tell me and I might forget, show me and I may remember, but involve me and I learn.

My living room in miniature. The Eagles practised the arts of visualisation and recreation, as well as the reimagining of cast-off materials to create something new.

Kickboxing

The Eagles chose kickboxing as part of their exercise regime this term and they were pumped to start on their self-defence journey this week. Although it was tough and new to the majority of the Eagles, they enjoyed it a lot and look forward to getting their punches and kicks onto the punching bag soon.

Celebrations

There was a nice surprise for Jun Hong when his mum brought in a cake to celebrate his birthday! Happy birthday Jun Hong! May you always be as passionate about life as you are!

It’s a special feeling when you celebrate your birthday with all your friends.

Middle Studio (MS) Update

What Do I Know About Poetry?

The MS Eagles had a KWL brainstorming exercise and pooled together all that they knew about poetry, then pinpointed what they wanted to learn more about it. Ra’ees stepped up to lead the brainstorming session and some preconceived notions were debated when Morris observed, “The brainstorming rules say that there are no silly ideas.”

When the Eagles brainstorm, they feed off each others’ knowledge and energy and things emerge that they didn’t even realise they knew.

The Eagles deep dive into what makes poetry poetry, as opposed to prose. Their analytical skills are applied, as are their debate skills when they meet a point of contention.

Hero Sharing

Dr. Tan Cheng Cheng visited the studio to share her experiences as an Anesthetist and Intensivist. The Eagles were curious to know about patients’ reactions as they went under anesthesia, what goes on in the ICU, what happens if a patient wakes up mid-surgery and so on. Dr. Tan opened their eyes to Intensive care terminology: “Do you know what it means by the term ‘brain dead’?”

Dr. Tan, who is currently an Associate Professor at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, enjoyed the high energy of the Eagles as they asked question after question and they came away from the session a bit more knowledgeable about the inner workings of an ICU.

Hero Sharing sessions are crucial for the Eagles to expand their knowledge and understanding of how things really are in various occupations. Armed with first-hand accounts, they go into the world understanding that not everything is as glitzy and glamorous as what they see on TV.

What Do I Know About Poetry? Pt. 2

This was similar to the first brainstorming session, but this time around the Eagles focused on poetry in eulogy. This session was also entirely organised and led by the Eagles themselves.

Deep dives into the mechanics of poetry help the Eagles to understand how they work. Once they have that understanding, they can get creative with the rules.

Independent brainstorming sessions can devolve into chat sessions, so the Eagles work hard to stay on point.

Brainstorming in a comfortable and spacious space allows the Eagles to relax and, in turn, open their minds.

The Eagles are preparing their own eulogies for the Exhibition. Here, they examined what a eulogy really means. Pertinent questions like ‘Can a eulogy be funny?’ will help them to break through what they think they know about a person’s last words to the world.

Town Council

Andre and Ra-ees stepped up to be the new council members this time around. The MS Eagles spent 30 minutes addressing studio governance issues for the week. Issues ranged from freedom to hold an access card that unlocks the front door to having one less duty of Timekeeper. Andre minuted the meeting and the requests and suggestions were sent to the Guides who are putting them under review.

Getting into the habit of round-table discussions sets the Eagles up for meetings later on in life. If they hone their skills of keeping meetings on point, bringing up pertinent issues confidently and agreeing to disagree now, it will greatly help them in the future.

Eulogy Poem Rubric

The culmination of the week’s researching, brainstorming and mind-mapping was for the Eagles to develop a Eulogy Poem Rubric which will be used to evaluate their Eulogy Poems next week. It was a huge challenge and the Guides would like to send a character call-out to Morris for leading the studio in the group work portion of the Genre Challenge, as well as to Haidan for recording the discussion and finalising the rubric at the end of the week.

In developing their own rubric to evaluate their own work, the Eagles are more invested in the outcome as they are the ones who decided what to look out for.

Muay Thai

Master Lee continues to guide the MS Eagles in their Muay Thai training in the rooftop workout area. The Eagles are appreciating the soft astroturf as they kick and punch.