Year 1. Session 5. Week 4.

While the school week may have ended prematurely, the Ascent Discovery Eagles sure made the most out of their time spent in the studio!  If the week had to be summed up in one word, it would have to be intentionality.  From their focus in Core Skills and Quest, to their hard work & fun during PD/Art, to washing their hands and keeping their studio clean, everything was done with a purpose.

This week, the studio collectively managed to have one of their strongest weeks of Core Skills thus far!  Out of a possible 130 hours (number of learners x number of hours) of dedicated Core Skills time scheduled, the Eagles logged over 110+ hours of time tracked on software programs.  That efficiency rate of 85% does not even take into account time spent reading Badge and Non-Badge books or working on the three new Discovery Badges introduced this session that are able to be worked on during Core Skills!  There were more than a few mentions of finding flow during takeaways throughout the week and it’s easy to see why.

Quest continued this week by journeying back from the depths and into the open ocean.  Observation skills were put to the test as the Eagles watched various live streams from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and recorded information they noticed about various fish before heading out to the patio to study similarities and differences of two different species in person!  A black drum and sardines were available for the learners to explore in order to sketch and label the various parts of the fish before wrapping up the day by further exploring the black drum through a group dissection.  Questions arose during the dissection and a few heroes stepped up to the plate to research and share their findings with the group.  Here’s a sample of the questions they are curious about:

  • Why are there teeth in the back of the fish’s mouth?
  • What is the green organ that looks similar to the heart?
  • What is the swim bladder for?

Looking forward to seeing what they found out!

Monster Ball Soccer resumed this week in what has been an amazing display of grit and sportsmanship.  This group is so focused on putting their best foot forward each time they step onto the field, yet their competitiveness never overshadows the grace and sportsmanship they exhibit each time they play.  They constantly and consistently lift each other up, shouting out players not only from their own team but from the opposing team after each and every game!

Tuesday was a special day as the Spark and Discovery studios came together for the  Celebration of Colors (Holi)!  This experience focused on the community bringing color into our lives! First, each member of the community made room for the color (the good) in their lives by identifying a habit they wished to leave behind in the past, writing it on a slip of paper and quietly reflecting by tossing the habit into a fire and ushering in a new day full of happiness, fun and COLOR!!!