Year 5 of Acton Academy Kuala Lumpur! We’re back in full force, so watch out, world! Exciting changes herald in this new school year, one of which is that the Quests will now be Academy-wide throughout the MS, ES and PS Studios from Sprint to Sprint. This will facilitate an Academy-wide symbiosis of energies and ideas and a more immersive experience for the Quests. How exciting!
Weekly Updates
Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update
Back Into the Workflow
The PS Eagles launched back into work with high levels of excitement. They were very happy to tackle new Montessori materials like the nuts and bolts for eye-hand coordination, and worked diligently throughout the week to complete their work.
They were also excited about the new addition to their daily schedule – D.E.A.R., which stands for Drop Everything and Read. This is a ‘sacred’ time during which they do nothing but read. They can read any book they’d like, as long as they are reading. Mr. Daniel started the first-ever PS D.E.A.R. session with a story.
Quest
The challenge this Sprint is to Build a Tribe – create a community – over the next 5 weeks. This will be achieved through a series of challenges.
On Friday, A volunteered to read out Challenge 1, which was to draft a Studio Contract that everyone agrees upon. The Contract will be signed at the Exhibition – a solemn ceremony to seal the PS Eagles’ commitment to themselves, the declarations that they made, their fellow Eagles, and their Studio.
The PS Eagles took the task of drafting their Contract very seriously. They decided what promises were to go into the Contract and wrote down each promise. They did their best, but needed help with spelling, so Mr. Daniel took over the compilation of the Contract so that they could maintain the high energy as they generated ideas for promises. They came up with as many as 19 promises! Some of the promises were:
A: No fighting.
M: Be kind.
Al: No tearing books.
Hello, Playground!
The PS Eagles missed their rooftop playground and greeted the wooden play materials happily on Monday. It was straight back into creating, building and role playing.
Elementary Studio (ES) Update
First Circle of the Sprint
The guides welcomed the ES Eagles back to the Studio and discussed the overarching question of the year: “Does the past determine the future?”
Prior to the discussion, the ES Eagles agreed that it was important to set the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for all future discussions so that each one will be productive. The Studio agreed to try out 3 to begin with:
- Listening with the whole body.
- Do not say irrelevant things.
- Do not repeat points already made.
Subsequently, the Guide presented the ES Eagles with the overarching question of the year. The ES Eagles all agreed that our actions today can determine our future. With this, the Guide asked the Studio to think about what they could do today to achieve their dream life in the future.
This is what some of the ES Eagles’ dreams are:
“In 20 years, I will have a family and a successful job!”
“In 20 years, I want to have a job in a nice office.”
“In 20 years, I want to travel the world.”
Team Building
This week, as part of building the tribe in the Studio, the ES Eagles had fun with some team building games. The energy at the beginning was low, but as the days progressed the energy and engagement during the games began to increase.
The ES Eagles particularly enjoyed the Strike a Pose game. The challenge was for each ES Eagle to introduce themself and strike a pose. To up the challenge, the ES Eagles stood in a circle and took turns saying their name and striking a pose. The second ES Eagle repeated the previous Eagle’s name and pose before doing their own, and the third Eagle had to repeat the first and second Eagle’s name and pose, and so on. The last Eagle had to repeat everybody’s name and pose! The Guides participated in the game too and everyone had good fun working together remembering the order of the names and poses.
Another game that challenged the ES Eagles was Chocolate River. The challenge was to cross from one side of the ‘chocolate riverbank’ to the other side using only ‘marshmallows’ (represented by paper plates). The ES Eagles initially thought it was easy, but soon discovered that it had its challenges. ‘Marshmallows’ left untouched by an Eagle would be swept away by the ‘chocolate river’ so that subsequent Eagles had fewer ‘marshmallows’ to balance on. Everyone was shouting and sharing their ideas and Eagles were losing their balance and falling into the ‘river’ (which resulted in the game restarting again) – the whole Studio was alive with energy. After more than a handful of tries and losing ‘marshmallows’ along the way, the Eagles all managed to cross the ‘river’.
The ES Eagles shared their challenges and lessons learned as they cooled down after the activity:
Challenges
- “Everyone was talking loudly and some were shouting and nobody was listening.”
- “I had trouble sharing my ideas. I had an idea in my head, but I couldn’t say it out.”
- “Repeating so many times, finally we manage to get across.”
Will you get on the boat? Depends on your answer to the questions in this getting to know you game.
The Web of Yarn game encouraged the ES Eagles to self-reflect and observe their fellow Eagles’ self-reflections.
Strike a Pose – Watching the video was a good laugh.
The Chocolate River looks delicious … but don’t fall in!
Organise Your Own / Group Project
To encourage the ES Eagles to step up, they were challenged to do a project during their free time. This project was completely Eagle-led and they were free to choose anything of their choice. Some chose to read, some chose to play with their friends, and Z, J and A chose to work on a self-organised group project – the Simpsons! This Sprint is about building the tribe and yes, we did see good teamwork going on!
Fun Friday
Celebration is very important. In Acton, we make time to celebrate our daily achievement by having character callouts and weekly celebrations – Fun Friday celebrations! The ES Eagles need to know their hard work is appreciated. This not only makes them feel good but also creates a sense of pride for the ES Eagles who qualified.
Most of the ES Eagles enjoyed the milkshake Fun Friday. The challenging part was using the food processor. We are glad the ES Eagles are working in a team – helping one another to use the machine.
“Make sure everyone has your cup!”
“I need help!”
“I can help you. Come over!”
“Woah, it is so yummy! It’s better than the one selling downstairs!”
“Clara! I need your Chinese reading skills!”
Middle Studio & Launchpad (MSLP) Update
Six Eagles. And we started this Studio with 13-14 Eagles in the July 2016 Design Thinking Program. As a Guide, I admit that it is hard to swallow.
Yet, looking back, most of the Eagles who moved out of the Middle School have flourished as they enter new environments, both locally and in foreign lands. And the current six Eagles are charting their paths on the Next Great Adventure – ranging from college, lucrative opportunities, or a deep passion that is becoming ever more concrete.
This small, mature group will remain so until a new batch of Eagles join in January 2021. The coming four months mean more flexibility – to serve the mission of Finding a Calling. The Eagles were given open challenges to design their own Quest and shape their own Studio Design and a checklist while they work on hot desk mode.
Well, everything starts with cleaning up the Studio space. A pristine Studio to start the day.
The MS Eagles then gathered with the other Studiomates, as a special greeting ceremony to start the year. One MS Eagle greeted by offering push ups on the younger Eagles’ request. Much amusement abound!
The highlight of the Studio remained uncaptured by pictures. They are thorough plans, questions and conversations around their future. Focused work ranging from rich books, ivy league online courses, and navigating future waters using tools such as Stanford’s Design Your Life. These plans are shared with their parents for accountability.
The Launchpad, albeit small, is coming to fruition.