Weekly Updates
Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update
Studio Contract Signing
The PS Studio Contract has been signed! The PS Eagles are now bound together in their promise to uphold the promises they have made to themselves, each other, and their Studio. Kudos to the PS Studio for setting the bar high for yourselves!
Taking Initiative
Clean-up had been a struggle for many weeks for the PS Eagles – the unclean Play or Art Areas often remained closed until the next Clean-up Times. For weeks, they had been putting up with inventing games and activities that did not involve the Play and Art Areas.
This Thursday, however, a couple of Eagles requested if they could open the Play Area to clean. They then gathered the rest of the Eagles to have an informal circle and they all decided to ask the Area Managers to open the Play and Art Areas so that they could clean. Five minutes later, they were enjoying the use of the Areas. On Friday, however, the clean-up struggle persisted. Struggling, however, is proof of learning at ActonKL.
Harm Incidents
There were 2 harm incidents in the PS Studio this week. The Eagles involved were praised for being patient with each other and being honest in retelling what had happened. Promises to never harm other Eagles again were made.
Quotes of the Week
Overheard during Work Time:
IA: Hey, AY, you have finished 4 works already. Why are you still working?
AY: Because I want to finish all of them. (There are 7 Work Cards on the list on the wall.)
SO: Me too! (SO rushed to complete her last piece of work right before Clean-Up time.)
Weekly Elementary Studio (ES) Update
Studio Crises
This week the Studio was in crisis. On Monday morning, the Studio’s Work Area was closed.
At the end of each week, the ES Eagles reward themselves with a Fun Friday activity for the hard work that they have put in throughout the week. The process of qualifying for the rewards, which are voted on amongst the Studio each week, is governed by the Eagles.
On Friday, there were signs of non-qualifying Eagles participating in the Fun Friday activities and Eagle buddies and leaders not keeping each other up to standards that they had set for themselves.
There are different levels of escalation in the Studio when a problem arises. The Guide trusts the different levels of the process within the Studio to keep the Eagles on track, so they do not engage unless it’s a health and safety issue even when they notice issues happening within the Studio. In this case the Guide stepped back, trusting the process and the Eagles to keep each other accountable. The Eagles, however, were seen to be struggling. Eventually, the problem surpassed the Eagle governing level and reached a point where the Guide had to step in.
The Work Area of the Studio was, therefore, closed, and the Eagles were challenged to complete 2 tasks as Squads. The Eagles who didn’t qualify for the Fun Friday activity but still took part bravely owned up to their transgression.
Being honest is one of the guardrails of the Studio and violating it is severe. The Eagles who stepped forward were taken through the steps of the owning up process from crafting an email to calling their parents to pick them up from school. They were asked to reset at home, and return on Wednesday with their recommitment to the Studio.
On Wednesday, the Eagles returned with their recommitment to the Studio and their fellow Eagles accepted their promises and welcomed them back to the Studio.
The Studio was also experiencing another crisis at the same time – a high level of fines were being issued and the majority of the Eagles had negative Eagle Bucks. This meant that they were on Strike, and Eagles on Strike have some of their freedom removed while working on maintaining their Studio responsibilities.
It has been a challenging week for the Eagles, but a necessary one. They are learning and growing as they work their way through these challenges. We believe in them, and know what they are capable of.
A parent said:
”Thank you for doing this and holding the line. She will need to learn from this process, if not the processes will be abused.”
From Mr. Aaron, as a parent.
”When your child is going through a crisis, as a parent, we should just love our child unconditionally and not be too carried away with the ‘getting it right’. Love them, hold them, listen, and ask, “How can I help?” And sometimes they don’t need our help, they just need us to be there.”