The second week of the Academic Year saw many Eagles getting back into the rhythm of school. Some Eagles stepped up to take charge of our young learning community. In the Cooking & Chemistry Quest this week, Eagles explored the world of atoms and elements, ending with a Friday cookout freeze-out—making ice cream in a bag!
Like any good Acton KL week, there are plenty of happenings. Here is the breakdown:
- Launching with Trust
- Self-regulation & Eagles-led PE
- Cooking & Chemistry: Atomic Models
- Water and Boiling Points
- Celebrations of Eagles: Maker Fest, Birthdays, Yoga & Mindfulness Exercise
- Freeze-out Friday!
Launching with Trust
The Elementary School (ES) Eagles kicked off the week with Circle Time at the park! The Eagles explored what it meant to rely on each other in a Trust Walk activity.
Each step that our Eagles take belongs to them, representing the pursuit of their Hero’s Journey, and is also an exercise to build trust with their fellow travelers. Through the activity, we reflected on when we rely on each other, why we do so and what we can do to earn trust from our friends. But ultimately, how do we stay true to ourselves and others?
Meanwhile, the Middle School (MS) Eagles explored the concept of trust with food. They debated whether “Soylent” is a good meal replacement. Would you trust on it as your only source of energy?
Self-regulation in the Studios
The trust expands across both studios. The ES Eagles have been unintentional and chaotic. As a result, the MS Eagles refused to have a joint Physical Exercise session as the older Eagles found it rather challenging and distracting to work with them. Here comes the most important question in a Hero’s Journey, “What would you do?”
The young Eagles decided that they would take charge of the situation! Max and Naomi volunteered to plan P.E. for the day. After a 15-minute discussion with the whole studio, they came up with a plan.
“I don’t like football.” “I don’t want to do warm up.” “More dodgeball.” “Even though it is difficult, we must exercise. We cannot sit all day, guys.”
Easier said than done. The true challenge is the execution of the grand plan.
It is no different for the MS Eagles. On Tuesday morning, they were introduced to Chi Running by the guides. It was definitely not the most fun day at Acton. But again, the important question, “What would you do?”
After that, the Eagles decided to come together, discussed, researched and organized themselves. No more running! We may be having Dodgeball next week instead.
On Wednesday, the ES Eagles demonstrated another “self-governance upgrade”! They were playing tennis balls during free-time and had a few incidents of balls rolling out of the gate. By the third time of asking for keys, Naomi stepped up. She gathered the rest of the Eagles and led a discussion with everyone in an organized manner to come up with solutions.
Over the week, Miss Caryn had a few tricks up her sleeve to empower our young Eagles.
These are part and parcel of the broader goal for Eagles to take charge of their own learning. For the Middle School Eagles, this means having a Personal Learning Plan published and approved by their parents. Eagles can have full flexibility to learn and explore what they are interested in, provided they show their plans concretely, with clear milestones of progress such as exhibitions, portfolios and real-world apprenticeships.
The true challenge lies in the practice of executing, gaining feedback, adjusting, re-planning and then, it repeats. That is Acton Academy’s curriculum, in a nutshell—personalization with excellence.
Cooking & Chemistry: Atomic Models
When the great American physicist, Richard Feynman, was asked to think of a single sentence that would convey the most important scientific knowledge we possess, he simply answered, “Everything is made of atoms.”
The Eagles imagined themselves as atoms. Abhi and Chucky hugged each other really, really tightly. “Everyone, now try to pull them away from each other. Look you can’t pull them apart. That’s a compound!”
There were many Ninjago examples and definitely lots of laughter! 🙂
The older ES Eagles, Max and Apsie took over and led the rest of Project Time. They successfully taught the studio atoms, elements, mixtures, and compounds! Thank you, Max and Apsie for taking on the challenge.
In the other studio, the MS Eagles have to take their learning much more rigorously. They explored the skill of note taking on important concepts of atoms and molecular bonds. After that, they presented their learnings to the other Eagles for feedback and critique.
We do not have particle accelerators or powerful electron microscopes which allow us to truly investigate the atomic world. But, our Eagles have their own imagination and their hands. Much like the early Scientists, they visualize atomic models on plasticine and drawings!
How do all these relate to cooking? After that, Eagles played with the most important material in food and the most abundant molecule in Planet Earth, water!
Water and Boiling Points
Eagles experimented with water, investigating their boiling points and other properties. What if it is salt water?
Some of the challenges were taken to random extremes, courtesy of Dr. Ewe’s fascination with Maggi noodles :P!
Celebrations of Eagles: Maker Fest, Celebrations, Birthdays, Yoga & Mindfulness
There were plenty of happenings and celebrations throughout this week too.
Maker Fest on Monday: Few of our Eagles had set up booths in a homeschooling Maker Fest. The ES Eagles visited them, gained inspiration and had lots of fun!
Lava Cake on Monday: Last week, Eagles chose their favorite recipes and explained the Chemistry behind them. The winner was an elegantly plated, yummy Lava Cake. Thank you Katelynn, for sharing the yummy dessert!
Pizza Birthday on Wednesday: Andre turned 13! His family decided to celebrate it by buying pizzas for all of us. Thank you, Andre!
Yoga on Thursday: Auntie Ii Ling led the ES Eagles at our first weekly yoga session. The Eagles stretched themselves with their imagination.
Mindfulness on Thursday: As part of the Tribe Building Quest, Eagles had a 2-hour session of Mindfulness with GloWithin. Mindfulness is not just about being calm, breathing and meditating. The GloWithin team made it fun and interactive for our Eagles. They explored the connections with their dreams, observation of the moment and their inner selves by painting face masks!
Freeze-out Friday!
The second cookout challenge for the Cooking & Chemistry Quest is… ice cream!
With more than 50 kg of ice, the Eagles embarked on a quest to make the yummiest and “bestest” looking ice cream. But before they could start, they must complete their work for the week.
Yes, some Eagles had to sit out from the activity. It wasn’t fun at all. But, the big question remained, “What are you going to do about it?”
Not only did the Eagles have to present their ice creams, but they also had to explain the process. How did the crystallization, emulsifiers, and flavors all come together to give us that joy in our mouths?
Through this experience, Eagles did not just learn how to make an ice cream. More importantly, they saw how their creations change through the different states of matter and energy levels to finally come up with something that they enjoyed together. This will slowly help Eagles develop an intuitive sense of the world around them.
But that wasn’t the end… There was one more crazy experiment before we ended the week.
Eagles explored the phenomenon of freezing water in one hit!
What do you mean by ice in one hit? Here’s a video:
Our Eagles have worked really hard this week. We look forward to the next week as Eagles step into the mysterious world of fermentation and baking!
Parents, keep piquing that curiosity and have fun exploring in the kitchen with the Eagles. 🙂
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