Greetings Discovery Families,
Welcome back to AABC! Somehow this week was only two days long, but there were MANY different activities. As this is the first newsletter of the year it is written by a guide (Marie). Stay tuned for when Newsletter becomes a learner job and you will get to enjoy a weekly newsletter written by a Discovery Learner.
On day one learners explored the studio and saw all of the changes made over the summer. Quite a few learners mentioned in circle that they loved the way the school looked. Learners explored and figured out if they were in North or South, and saw their home rooms and who their squad leaders were.
For the beginning of Session 1 learners discussed customs, traditions and ways of doing things in other countries- the favorite was a tradition in the UK where a giant wheel of cheese is rolled down a hill and people race after it by… also rolling down the hill. The winner gets the cheese, and many people get injuries, but overall it is a beloved tradition. We then talked about the traditions, customs, and ways of doing things that are unique to Discovery. These topics will be presented by experienced members of the tribe and Learners will then ‘explore’ these topics with their Discovery Passports. Every time they explore a topic they will receive a sticker on that page of their passport. It will be a fun experience for the learners to ‘explore’ together.
We also began our discussion of meditation and mindfulness. Fifteen minutes of meditation is part of the daily schedule in Discovery, and over the next few weeks learners will decide what that means to them and how to get the most out of that time. We also looked at mindfulness and how a glitter jar can be a metaphor for when we are overwhelmed by emotions and sometimes the only thing to do is to wait for the glitter to settle before we can think clearly. The learners made glitter jars for their squads and for other studios in the school. Everyone enjoyed this process and the beautiful blend of colors.
Of course, we played many team-building games and worked to get to know one another better. Next week we will continue to build our tribe and we will also begin our work in Core Skills.
All in all it was a super full two days and Ashley and I are so excited for the year ahead and thrilled to be part of your children’s journey.
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