Year 1 Session 1 (9/18/20)
Hello Aim Academy Families,
Yet another week of growth, laughter and learning.
On Monday, Lance and Erica had their new baby— Jake! We are so delighted for them and the rest of the Stewart family. Truly exciting times!
Mr. Vaughn stepped in for Mr. Lance on Monday and spent his second full day in the studio. The Eagles were excited to show Mr. Vaughn the progress they had made on the LEGO Masterpiece. After four weeks of hard work— it is really coming together! They can’t wait to show all of you at the upcoming Exhibition of Learning. If you haven’t already, please mark your calendars for this event on October 2nd at 12:00 PM. It will last approximately an hour.
On Tuesday, the Eagles doubled down on their commitment to the Rules of Engagement for socratic discussions. In doing so, they hotly debated three questions. The first— Would you rather go to the aquarium or the zoo? The second— Would you rather be a scientist who studies outer space or the deep sea? Lastly — Are people born with talent or is talent achieved through hard work? By raising their hands to be called on, saying “I agree” or “I disagree” to build upon the last person’s statement and listening with their whole body— the Eagles proved to themselves and each other that they are capable of meaningful and respectful discussion.
We also talked a lot about courage this week. Courage to try new things, courage to get back up when you fall, courage to hold yourself and others accountable. They were challenged to reflect on a time when they showed courage to get back up after falling. Nearly all of the Eagles shared, which in and of itself served as a powerful example of courage and vulnerability.
An exciting new development happened in the studio this week: the Eagles began organizing themselves and playing structured games during Free Time! Their current favorites are Capture the Flag and Kickball. It has happened every day since, which has prompted several important conversations about their promise “I will win with honor and lose with grace.” While there is progress with every game played, self-admittedly, they have said there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday saw Mr. Lance, Layna, Ethan and Hailey back in the studio. The other seven Eagles missed them and were visibly elated to have them back!
The Badge system was rolled out over the latter half of the week. While Eagles are motivated to earn points by completing missions during Core Skills to achieve Freedom Levels; Badges are what the Eagles orient themselves toward in the long term. Badges indicate when an Eagle has mastered a topic or goal. To earn a Badge, Eagles present evidence of their “excellent” work to peers and Guides for approval. Badges also provide accountability and transparency. Eagles and parents can use Badges to track major learning milestones and to see quality improve over time. So far, the studio has launched the "Math" and "Learning to Be" Badges. The rest of the badges will be posted next week.
On Friday, Town Hall was led by Lockhearte House Hero: Logan. In doing so, he completed a requirement for his Learning to Be Badge. A few of the topics discussed and debated were whether the “Soaring” freedom level should be bumped up to 60 points, creating a sign up sheet for the trampoline and scooting the cabinet so fewer clocks are dropped in the future.
Have a good weekend!
Kind regards,
Mr. Lance and Mr. Daniel
