Weekly Updates

Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update

Blast Off!

The PS Eagles are called to the adventure of making Rockets in Sprint 4’s Quest, Rocket Science! On Friday, they made their own Straw Rocket and had a Rocket Launch. AN was the champion Rocketeer in both rounds. When asked how AN’s rocket flew further, the PS Eagles showed their understanding of cause and effect behind the rocket’s flight. AY said that it is because AN blew harder into his straw, which pushed the rocket further. Many Eagles also noted that AN’s rocket did not have any fins.

In the second round, many Eagles’ rockets actually flew further compared to the first round, but once again AN’s rocket flew the furthest, winning first place yet again.

Choices

Some PS Eagles took a long time to clean up during Clean-Up Time. Instead of cleaning up during the allotted time, they continued to work/play and, as a result, had less time for activities they enjoy like Snack Time, Lunch Time, Circle Time and Eagle Buck Store. When the observed the Eagles who had finished cleaning up their area eating lunch or seated down ready for the next session, they realised how late it was and furied to clean/pack up.

The PS Eagles are struggling as a Studio to regulate themselves with clean-up time. The PS Guides will reintroduce roles such as Studio Maintenance Manager and Time Keeper to spark the ideas of leadership roles and overall responsibility among the PS Eagles.

No amount of exterior reminders will ‘click’ like a self-learnt lesson.

Time management is a big challenge that Eagles need to work with, young and old.

The ‘reward’ is enough time to do other things they enjoy.

Quest: Rocket Science

Observation Booklet – The PS Eagles expressed their understanding of the cause and effect in the Straw Rockets experiment by drawing it into the Observation Booklets.

What did you observe from the experiment?

Observation is a form of self-reflection.

Quotes of the Week

I want to buy the Access Card for 1 Eagle Buck so I can have extra playtime.

Gardening is fun, educational and rewarding.

Elementary Studio (ES) Update

5…4…3…2…1

Welcome back to a new Sprint! In this Sprint, the ES Eagles are working on building rockets.

How far will a balloon propel my rocket?

Part 1 – Do the experiment. Part 2 – Film it.

This week, the Eagles worked on 3 different types of rockets. 2 were successful, while the third failed! Some failure rates were higher than others, which was food for much thought.

Some lessons learned by the Eagles:

“My friends and I tried but we failed miserably because the lid of the container was too hard to put on.”

“I think that I put the cap on too late and when it was fizzing, it didn’t work because the pressure in the container thing had been released.”

“We slowed down the process by wrapping the baking soda in tissue paper.”

Failing plays a big part in the Elementary Studio, and it is recognized as being a part of the process of learning and the Hero’s Journey. Even so, failing can be tough and moving forward from there can be challenging. In this scenario, the Eagles found the whole process of experimenting and failing fun, even as it was disappointing.

In the Studio, we practise:

Acknowledging the failure
Empathising
Asking
– What lessons have I learned from this?
– What would I do differently the next time?
– What is my plan moving forward?

Additionally, depending on the scenario, Eagles are offered choices and tools to support them for their plans ahead.

Gratitude and Hope

We ended the week by sharing what we were grateful for and our hopes for the future.

“I’m grateful for my friend for helping me whenever I don’t understand something.”

“I hope that this Coronavirus would end soon.”

“I’m grateful for my best friend for being there for me.”

“I hope that we can all meet up soon, to play and have fun.”

“I hope to meet everyone and to be friends.”

Looking forward to Week 2! GO EAGLES!