DTP Week 6 Day 4 (Exhibition Day)!

The pressure is high. How does a hero prepare for an exhibition?

The day started with a launch in the MS Studio. We shared some stories of the founding of Acton Academy KL, with the key message of embracing failure and introducing deliberate practice. But there’s something far more important than preparing for the exhibition.

After six weeks of experimenting, debating on various promises of their Student Contract and Rules of Engagement, the heroes decided that this morning will be the signing ceremony.

With the music of courage playing, the heroes took their turns.

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Every hero read through the contract and signed it with the full intentionality. These words carry weight, and it felt like the Declaration of Independence.

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By 8.50 am, the heroes were ready to work. In preparation of exhibition, the heroes worked in pairs and took turns to video each other. They reviewed and critiqued each others’ presentation. The most diligent ones repeated this process multiple times, improving their presentation progressively more.

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First Dry Run with the guides.

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In case you are wondering… Yes, this tent has a dog inside 😛

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Second Dry Run.

This time, the heroes did a dry run with Isabella from Guatemala! She had a private tour with the heroes via Google hangout. One hero held a laptop and brought her to the exhibition. Here the heroes demonstrated their ushering.

“Welcome to Acton Academy!”

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The heroes showed her the edible garden. It was hard work under the hot noon sun.

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The heroes then worked extremely hard to get to “Exhibition Standards”. Clearing up. Cleaning up. Doing further preparations.

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At 2.00 p.m., the heroes were ready and some had 30 minutes of rest before the big event. It was a day that they pushed the hardest so far!

Some of the heroes had a business proposal: a lemonade stand!

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With the last check at 2.30pm, the First Acton KL Middle School Exhibition began!

Note: Everything here is work in progress. The Exhibition is not just a showcase of work. It is one way to put the heroes work into real world scenario: public demonstration and feedback. What’s more important is they take this feedback and make further improvement.

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Exhibition Time!

The heroes welcomed the guests with a hero handshake, followed by registration and invitation as a guest judge.

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The heroes were overwhelmed by the size of the crowd. Including children, and people who dropped in later… we reckoned there might be more than a hundred.

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The exhibition started with an introduction, a video of the heroes’ six weeks journey and a presentation of the learner-driven community through powerful stories.

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Then, the audiences were split into three groups going a tour around the various projects.

Scavenger Hunt. The challenge – how to keep these kids engaged for one whole hour?

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Mural Art:

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Edible Garden:

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Shoe Rack and Verandah Chillax area, fitted with cool headphones and eye masks to “get away from the disturbance”.

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The Gathering:

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Organizer Board:

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Sports Games Kit:

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Inspiration Stairs:

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Quiet Room. Psst… please be quiet.

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Tech Room, with a mini display of Arduino kits, Lego Mindstorms, electronic devices, and other cool stuff 🙂

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Middle School Studio:

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After the tour, the heroes gathered in front for a Q&A Session:

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The heroes ended the exhibition with their typical ritual—a single synchronous thunder clap!

The exhibition was a success, with crowd raving about the heroes effort and attitude. It was a challenge with the bigger than expected crowd.

Post Exhibition

Parents brought food and all the heroes spent the rest of the evening enjoying themselves with sports, food, and entertainment. A well deserved treat indeed!

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What a day!

 

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