Year 2. Session 2. Weeks 1 & 2.

The Eagles started this Session by welcoming three new heroes to their tribe. New squads were formed to equip each Eagle with a core group of Fellow Travelers to assist them on their journey throughout the session. The new squads began bonding by creating names for their group during Squad Game Time, resulting in: The Falcons, The Koalas, The Red Pandas, The Eagles and The Seahawks!

What makes a great story? This question guides the overarching theme for Session 2 as the Eagles dive into creating and communicating their unique stories. The learners debated this theme in the very first socratic discussion of the session with the question: Why is storytelling so important to humans? Is it because it helps us learn new things, because it helps us feel understood and not alone, because it’s fun and entertaining, or something else? Storytelling is woven into the projects and challenges that are taking place this session.

Learners’ own Hero’s Journey stories are being highlighted throughout the session as well. Each week, a learner will be invited to bring an item to school and tell the story of that item. One learner courageously volunteered to be the first to share her story of being diagnosed and living with Type 1 Diabetes. She shared what her typical day looks like, her past experiences , as well as the advocacy efforts she is part of to bring awareness to those living with T1D and raising money to fund studies in search of a cure. She clearly explained the science behind her diagnosis with such clarity, weaving in details of her life so far, in order to educate her Fellow Travelers. Eagles are looking forward to hearing stories from more Eagles as the session continues on!

The storytelling theme continues as the studio tackles their first art project of the school year as well! Together with a local artist, the heroes will be creating a unique mural on campus depicting the path of the Hero’s Journey. While the Discovery Eagles will be leading the charge, the Spark Eagles will be brought into the project as well to collaborate on an art installation that will live for many years!

This session’s Quest challenges the learners to develop survival skills that could serve them should they ever wind up in an unforeseen situation. Each Survivor Quest challenge places them in an “imagine-if” story where they need to utilize minimal equipment to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Throughout the session they’ll learn to forage for food and the nutritional benefits of various edible foods found in the wild. They will study the water cycle, identifying water sources and ways to collect water if a nearby source isn’t available before filtering the water so it’s ready for consumption. They will also learn the importance of fire and shelter to survival in the outdoors, creating each of these in various ways and first aid should an accident occur along the way. Finally, they will learn more about themselves as individuals- their strengths, personality traits and love languages that will help them identify their needs in life.

Writers’ Workshop highlights the lives of these young heroes through the crafting of memoirs. Mentor texts are studied to help each Eagle learn ways to communicate their unique story to the world. Each memoir will highlight four areas of their life so far:

A time when nothing happened.
A time when they ate something unusual.
A time in their favorite place.
A special day that they remember.

After drafting each of these stories, the Eagles will collaborate to revise and edit their work as they prepare their final products for publication.

Week 2 saw the introduction of IOWA Testing. This is a unique event in that the Eagles don’t typically take tests at Ascent. This test is offered once per year as an opportunity to show the hard work and progress they have made in areas such as mathematics, reading and language arts. The Eagles worked hard on their individual tests while showing incredible respect for their peers by working or reading silently offering a quiet environment for others to focus as they finished their testing sessions.

The week wrapped up with a self-organized Halloween celebration! Take a look at the costumes of those who participated in the event: