The Discovery heroes were hard at work this week preparing for this session’s Exhibition of Learning! The focus of this session’s exhibition was sharing with parents more about core skills, Acton systems and processes, hero boards, and collaborative artwork the heroes created together.
Core Skills
The heroes had a core skills “open house” where they were able to show respective parent(s) all they are doing in core skills. This included a tour of the applications they use, the challenge books they have chosen, and a walkthrough of their badge plan either in their badge binder or on Journey Tracker, Acton’s bespoke learning management system. In preparation for the exhibition, the learners developed a checklist for themselves so they would remember everything they want to show off!
Hero Boards
During the session, the each learner created a “hero board” to answer the questions: who am I? and who am I becoming? Their boards included family photos, artwork and inspirational quotes. Hero boards are quickly becoming a favorite annual tradition that the children enjoy immensely.
Contract Signing
One of the things that makes this session’s exhibition so special and significant, is the contract-signing ceremony. The children have spent the last five weeks developing and workshopping their promises to each other. The contract includes promises like, “I will speak with kindness and respect,” “There is no ‘I can’t,’ only ‘I can’t yet,” or “I will do my best work in the studio.” The contract signing represents a public commitment by the heroes to uphold their promises to each other.
The children also signed the “Rules of Engagement” they developed for Socratic discussions.
The contract signing was followed by a toast of sparkling water to celebrate!
Artwork
Finally, the heroes were thrilled to share their collaborative pieces with their families. They worked on a large recycled art project as well as a collaborative stitching project. They also presented their individual hero art!
Looking Forward
After a the upcoming break, the heroes will embark on the E-ship Quest. E-ship is short for, “entrepreneurship.” During this quest, the children will run a start-up lemonade and snack stand. They will also explore a number of communications challenges, including conflict resolution, how to write an apology, and write their own six-word memoir.
