Weekly Updates

Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update

Eagles in Flow

The PS Eagles are getting the hang of things now and were in flow from Day 1 of the new Sprint. They remembered their roles, systems and guardrails and kept each other on point – a good show of supporting each other to win! They also played well together, taking turns and following the rules of the games. Great job, PS Eagles!

Cooking Quest – Restaurant

The PS Eagles are super excited about their Cooking Quest and took to exploring the concept of restaurants this week. Role play throughout the week was restaurant-based – an Eagle even built a McDonalds during outdoor play and sold burgers and fries to their ‘customers’ (other Eagles). Masak-masak (cooking roleplay) will never be outdated.

“I’d like to buy this drink, please.” The PS Eagles learn maths, life skills and manners, among many other things, through play,

“Here’s your drink. That will be RM5, please!”

Cheers! Enjoying each other’s company over food is one of the best things!

Leadership in Action

At one point this week, some PS Eagles chose to sit out of playtime as they didn’t want to clean up after themselves. The lead Eagles took the time to convince them to join in, saying that it was their Studio and that they should all enjoy it and take care of it together. The lead Eagles also took it upon themselves to model the behaviour they expected from the Eagles by choosing team work over individual work.

A fantastic start to the new Sprint! Keep on keeping on, PS Eagles!

The PS Eagles understand why it is important to take turns on the trampoline.

Should we spin them, roll them or throw them? Such simple things have so much potential.

What shall we build today? The possibilities are endless.

What a cozy little space I’ve made for myself.

Happy friends play and work and grow together.

Elementary Studio (ES) Update

Beautiful Pollinator: The Butterfly Life Cycle

There are so many things to explore about gardens and gardening! The ES Eagles delved into a bit of biology while examining the different parts of a flower, pollination and the beautiful pollinators – the butterfly.

What better way to learn about butterflies than to raise them from caterpillars? The Eagles took charge of caring for some real-live caterpillars in the Studio. Many discussions about caterpillar care circulated around the Studio, including, “Do we need to clean the poop?” and “How much water do they need?”

The ES Eagles were fascinated by the amazing little creatures. “When will they be turning into butterflies?”, “Whys is it not moving?”, “It just can’t stop eating!”.

“We’re going to name the caterpillars, but how??? They keep moving around!!” The Eagles can learn so much by rearing a ‘pet’, including biology, empathy, and care of living creatures.

How does it stay on the leaf? A little bit of physics also comes into play.

Of course, gardening is at the forefront … isn’t it ironic how the caterpillar – destructive to the leaves of plants, grows into a butterfly – pollinator of the very same plants?

Bye, bye, butterfly! Fly free and be happy!

Project Time – Capillary Action

The ES Eagles observed the capillary action in plants – how do they absorb water through the roots and up the stems to the leaves and flower against the force of gravity?

The Eagles were amazed at how the dye was absorbed into the flower petals, transforming their colour. They really enjoyed mixing different colours together and watching the colours in the petals change. “Look! It’s changing colour!”, “This is so cool!”

Capillary action is so fascinating. Gardening is a lot about science.

Researching into capillary action. How does the water get sucked upwards??

Happy Birthday, Arjun!

Arjun turned 12 this week and celebrated in style with his friends! Happy birthday Arjun! Keep on shining your awesome light!

Birthday events in the ES Studio are now Eagle-led. One Eagle opened the door for Arjun’s mum and dad and then helped them set up the birthday celebration while another 2 Eagles led the circle time and made sure the Eagles walked quietly into the kitchen with their squads. After the celebration, the Eagles did the clean up.

The Eagles are maturing each day and can’t wait for the day when they can take over the Studio. How exciting!

A cake too amazing to eat! But eat it, they did!

Sufyan helped his friend cut and share out the cake. Everyone steps up to help each other out.

Middle Studio (MS) Update

Socratic Leadership Badge

Evan is working towards his Socratic Leadership Badge, so on an appointed day, he took charge of the 10.45am Morning Launch, the 12.40pm midday Launch as well as the 3.50pm Huddle. He successfully set the tone and direction of the entire day, and recapped/closed the day with a satisfied Huddle.

Evan also designed both the morning “Is Money Good or Bad?” and the midday “Defining ROE” launches. He called for his fellow Eagle’s support, “I would like us to recommit to the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for Discussion because my entire badge depends on everyone keeping ROE.”

After each launch, the MS Eagles gave Evan constructive points and feedback to support him in his pursuit for excellence. It’s great that the Eagles are really demanding higher standards from one another!

Evan steps up to earn his Socratic Leadership Badge. It take courage and intentionality to lead a team using the Socratic Method … kudos, Evan, for going for it!

Money, Money, Money

Money is a huge topic that everyone talks about. The MS Eagles did a web search for songs, poems, short stories and quotes about money and finance, afterwhich the met up as a Studio to pitch their findings.voting for the Studio’s favourite. Not all of the Eagles completed the challenge on time and not everyone turned up for the voting. Congratulations to Evan for having his quote chosen as the Studio favourite.

Morris initiated the Voting for the best Money quote in the Studio.

Quest Challenge: Choose 3 Careers

The MS Eagles took a career assessment quiz to choose 3 careers that the could do right after college with little experience. They posted the results on the wall by Friday and saw what a variety of choices they had between them.

Civilization Discussion – Adam Smith: Seeing the Invisible Hand

The MS Eagles missed out on the discussion on Thursday and attempted to make up for it in the evening, but were only able to get it done on Friday afternoon. Congratulations to the 4 MS Eagles who were able to catch up on their work before the week was through.

Civilization Discussion with Morris taking lead. These discussions allow the MS Eagles to analyze world history and socio-political issues on their own terms.

Money-based Board Games

Throughout Sprint 4, the MS Eagles will be exposed to many ideas about life and finance, so what better way to get into the mood than by playing money-based board games like Monopoly and Robert Kiyosaki’s Cash Flow board game?

The Game of Life, an oldie but goodie that has brought the awareness of personal finances to a countless many.

Scavenger Hunt … Again

Wednesday morning saw the MS Eagles on another Scavenger Hunt. The hunt was successful – the MS Eagles quickly gathered all the bits of rubbish and personal items that had been scattered around the Studio. A special Character Callout to all of the MS Eagles who participated as a team in the Hunt, which was completed in less than 5 minutes.

Gibran, the current Studio Maintenance Manager, renewed his promise to maintain high standards moving forward.

Sometimes making a chore fun kickstarts good habits. Sometimes good habits need more than a few kickstarts.

The MS boxing sessions have been reduced to once a week, so on Tuesdays, PE is managed by Andre, the elected PE Manager.

Football – a perennial favourite – was the first order of business on this week’s non-kickboxing Tuesday.

A great start to Sprint 4! We’re looking forward to further exploration and discovery!