This week was filled with celebrations! Three Eagles had their birthdays within the span of 7 days. They celebrated with stories, interesting facts, laughter, and lots of good memories!
Highlights this week:
- Birthday Madness
- Revisiting the Honor Code
- Core Skill Changes
- Realization of deadlines
- Orienteering: Drawing Taman Zaaba
- Moving back to PE
- Travel the World Quests: Going deeper om their travel plans
- ES and MS Interactions
Birthdays madness
Last week, Eagles celebrated Brien’s 13th birthday. This week, they celebrated Katelynn’s and Hadiya’s birthday. In addition to stories and facts of them growing up, the birthday Eagle brought food. As you would expect from Malaysia, there were plenty of food!
Usually, parents share stories as Eagle move through the sun candle. But this time, it’s by my dear brother.
Ice cream mix Birthday cake
Revisiting the Honor Code
Any visitor will find that Eagles express themselves naturally at Acton. The very reason for that is that we take community trust very seriously.
The standards are upheld by the Honor Code. Basically, Eagles have to apologize in writing or give a speech to the community. Few violations will result in strikes and eventually rejection from the community.
Lately, some Eagles have made inappropriate comments and cheated in their work. It was time to revisit the Honor Code contract and discussed various forms of cheating and bullying.
Giving a 360 rating with no comments, especially a low one. Do you consider that bullying? Eagles discovered deeper ethics through discussions around the Honor Code.
A community that sets a high standard in trust and honor is the foundation for everything else, especially learning and self-governance.
Core Skill Measure Changes
Previously, Eagles measured their Core Skill efforts through the amount of time spent. This week, we moved towards a result-based effort. While it is still early days, some Eagles thrived by earning badges in ReadTheory, a comprehension learning tool. They gave each other advice: “Focus, patience, and study through the mistakes carefully…”
Our aim is to develop learning habits based on finding a state of flow and deliberate practice. Such habits take time. But Eagles are finding a more focused rhythm as they mature week by week.
Some Eagles also changed their work environments. E.g. working in the library.
Realization of Deadlines
Last week, Eagles were first introduced to Civilization (the history/ geography component at Acton). They needed to complete ticket questions to watch a documentary about explorers. There were stressful times, even tears, as many Eagles started their work in the last hour to the deadline.
But this week, many of the Eagles realized a better plan was to look ahead to the deadline requirements. They planned ahead, delivered an hour before the deadline, and then concentrated back to other Core Skill goals. The result—higher quality work, less stressful and a happier Civilization sessions (with Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta)!
Their time management skills extended further. Some Eagles even managed to do extra work, and complete deadlines despite taking time out of school.
Many more Eagles getting their work done, on time!
Orienteering: Drawing Taman Zaaba
In Civilization, Eagles were exposed to various old maps. On Tuesday, Eagles were challenged to draw the map of Taman Zaaba, our neighborhood park. First, they did it by hand. This involved walking one round around the park to have a feel of the shape.
Is it a square, an oval, or some other shape?
Next, they did it with detailed estimation using compass and counting footsteps. Converting estimation proved to be really hard. Many Eagles found the second challenge overwhelming. At least, Eagles had a taste of the early explorers’ work of mapping entire continents using similar methods.
Moving back to PE
Some Eagles asked: “Why are we doing orienteering during PE time?” They discussed further and made their voice heard. Feedbacks are taken seriously in the learner-driven community. On Thursday, PE involved physical challenges and touch rugby.
Come on, you can do it!
Touch rugby
Travel the World Quest: Going Deeper in their Travel Plans
Eagles spend their mornings in PE & Core Skills. In the afternoons, project work takes place. They continue building their itinerary by making decisions on accommodation, transport, food, insurance, souvenirs, etc.
The challenges are real. Some Eagles had to juggle with constraints by their fellow travelers, requests, budget, and so on. They learned that sometimes, it is impossible to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Some wants seafood, others vegetarian… how can I make a decision?
In two weeks time, Eagles will be presenting their travel plans, in the form of a travel brochure and a detailed plan. In addition to presenting to their fellow travelers, the exhibition is open to the public. We upped the challenge by offering “consulting tickets” during exhibitions. If a visitor finds an Eagle’s plan interesting, they can book a time slot to consult further, for cash.
Imagine young travel agents for hire 🙂
ES and MS Interactions
We noticed a lot more interactions between the Elementary and Middle School studios. With Elementary School’s entomology quest, they attracted a certain following from the Middle Schoolers on their insect lab. This week, their pupae had blossomed into butterflies.
“Look, it’s transforming!”
On Friday, some of them joined the younger Eagles to learn more through Dr. Heo, a forensic entomologist.
Besides exposing to entomology, the MS Eagles and ES Eagles interacted formally through PE, safety briefings, and guiding the younger Eagles in setting SMART goals and informally, through games. The current Elementary School trend—capturing a Middle Schooler with robot made up of blocks 😛
Setting SMART goals on the Big Board
“Big car crossing… having fun simulating a busy road”
“Save me!” Elementary School game.
How will this young community evolve as these two studios grow closer together? Stay tune ahead!
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