Welcome to Year One of Acton KL! This exciting journey for Miss Caryn and our eight curious Eagles launched with a look 20 years into the future. There were endless possibilities – inventors, YouTubers, veterinarians, chefs, coaches and more.
Eagles’ first topic of discussion – “How can we find out if something is true?”
“Each of you is a hero. Each of you is destined to change the world. This journey will not always be easy. There will be times of joy, fun, and success, but you will also face many challenges, moments when you don’t know what to do and moments when you want to give up. You will discover new things about yourself and about your friends. You will create new ideas and you will debate the truth. The truth is something we will explore all together this year with our Overarching Question of the Year: Is Truth Discovered or Created?” – Week 1 Launch
Day 1 started with a bang with Eagles and guides arriving in their costumes
The first week was spent Building the Tribe – getting to know one another, playing team building games and solving tough challenges together. Our first challenge of the year, Lip Dub Challenge, began on Day 1! After much debate, discussions, trials and voting of multiple songs, our Eagles finally selected “Firework” by Katy Perry as the soundtrack for this year. They began a Memorization Challenge to memorize the lyrics together on Monday and Tuesday, choreographed some cool dance moves on Wednesday, started filming on Thursday and reflected on their work on Friday. Throughout the week, there were many ups and downs but the Eagles persevered through their conflicts and completed the first draft of filming as a team!
The Lip Dub Challenge serves as an opportunity for our new Eagles to get to know one another, find ways to work hard together and start their journey on the right foot as a community.
Eagles dancing to “Firework” by Katy Perry with much zest!
This week, the Eagles were also introduced to several Acton values, systems and processes such as D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read), Studio Promises, Hero’s Journey, Growth Mindset and Challenge Donut.
Eagles deep in their reading during D.E.A.R time
Our Superheroes with their Super Protector badges after the Safety Talk
Another highlight of the week was the introduction of Studio Promises. Our young Eagles came up with three promises which will remain in place until we are committed and ready to sign a Covenant/ Contract. The three promises were:
- Raise your hand when you want to speak
- Be kind to one another
- Focus and do not distract others
Throughout the week, we practiced and reflected upon these promises. We thanked each other when we kept our promises and reminded one another when we forgot them.
I was very touched by how much our Eagles emphasized on being kind in our community. Of course, there were days when squabbles and fights happened and our promises were conveniently forgotten but at the end of day, they always choose kindness when they reflected upon their actions and decisions.
During Day 2 launch, we chose a promise to focus on for the day together
Studio Maintenance time! As a group, we brainstormed and came up with a list of cleaning tasks which we commit ourselves to for fifteen minutes every day to keep our studio clean and happy. Over the past week, our Eagles absolutely enjoyed cleaning time and did a pretty good job. Dear parents, feel free to challenge them for Home Maintenance! 🙂
List of cleaning areas and tasks
Eagles hard at work!
Not only that, we also celebrated our first birthday of the year. Our special Eagle’s Dad shared significant milestones in his life with us and we started an Acton tradition by writing a personal message to the birthday boy as a gift.
Everyone eyeing the homemade hamburger cake as we sang Happy Birthday
We ended the week with our Eagles’ favorite activity – gardening and spending time outdoors! One of our Eagles’ mom who is an experienced gardener, Auntie Pat, shared with them how to start an edible garden by preparing nutritious soil and planting little seeds and cuttings together.
Eagles with their edible plants
As our last Closing circle time for the week, each of us shared how we felt. Like in our Challenge Donut, have we been in our Comfort Zone, Challenge Zone or Panic Zone for Week 1? It was very heartwarming to hear our Eagles talk about how they felt challenged during the week and how that had helped them grow. To reward ourselves after the long week, we each enjoyed a Donut before going home! 🙂
I hope our Eagles got some well-deserved rest this weekend and I can’t wait to see everyone at school on Monday!
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