Dearest Parental Readers,

As your Lady of Communication of the Acton kingdom happenings I would like to share with you a question posed by her honorable Queen that most perplexed the members of the House of Spark and Discovery this week. The Queen sent an owl post with the sentiment of “Do you posture yourself as serious or silly?” Her royal majesty declared that there was far too much seriousness in her kingdom and she wished to be entertained. She desired dance and a joyful display of merriment for her amusement and thus the houses were tested.

On this day of the 20th of October of 1560 in the Acton kingdom there is much news to report about the noble household happenings. I as your Lady of Communication would like to provide you, our regular parental readers, with some astute insight into my recent tours of the households of Spark and Discovery. Both households recently experienced a hiring of new peasant staff and as they began their positions of house operation this week there were many gems of peasant productivity and a twinge of rebellion!

The words “I promise” are powerful. These words have honest intention, hope, and most importantly they are a pact between people. Promises often followed by a pinky, handshake, hug, or serious wide-eyed nod seal the commitment to a specific dream for yourself and to others, to follow through.

At Acton every first session of the year learners create their contract of promises. Promises are different than rules and language at Acton is important, there are no studio rules only promises.

Every time I share our unique Acton school model of child-led governance with adults I typically get a raised eye brow and this comment, “How is that possible? They can’t run school by themselves.” This doubt is our Acton fuel! YES, they can do hard things! Children when encouraged and equipped to work as a team with kindness and grit can 100% govern and lead the charge of their education. This session is proof as every day learners are stepping up and rising as heroes by leading discussions, managing jobs, and inspiring one another to make mindful changes for their school community.

My son loves treasure, he is like a dragon that is attracted to small shiny objects and he can’t resist the pull of the precious. He always has a coin, rock, or something curious in his pockets and often we find his stash under his pillow at bedtime or more often than not in our washing machine. Treasure is this magical thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pile of coins, a pack of gum, or a book that we love, treasure is anything greatly valued or highly prized.

Have you ever witnessed a pack of runners? A few years ago I was picking up my kids at daycare and I saw them—the pack running with energetic strides, palpable rhythm, oozing joy. As I sat in my car I witnessed 15 UW Oshkosh runners in a variety of yellowish gold and black clothing run. As I watched I was mesmerized and I’m sure my thought was “look at them go!". This memory is stuck in my brain as a slow-mo moment where time shifted. I remember watching leaders show the way and I’ll never forget the encouragement the middle crew showed to the runners in the rear. As I watched for probably way too long the pack shifted and although the front leaders forged on the group as a whole organically morphed and changed as if their movements were choreographed.

“The most fantastic magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish.” —Pinocchio

The first day of school, the nerves, the excitement, the fear, the thrill is memorable. Maybe you don’t remember every detail such as the taco socks you wore or the name fact you shared but you definitely remember the feeling, that “first” feeling. This first week there were so many emotions that crossed the Acton threshold for learners, Guides, and even myself however at the end of the first day one feeling had a palpable consensus, the feeling of joy.

Think back to September, think back to the challenges, the goals, and the style of your learner. Now think of your learner today. How have they stayed the same and how have they changed? Think of yourself and your family. How have you stayed the same, how have you changed? As I look back on this past year I am filled to the brim with surprise and awe. For some reason the year 3 that I envisioned developed to be a year of transformation that I never could have predicted. In the words of an overwhelming majority of parents the growth this year at Acton is overflowing, blossoming! The “G” word is all encompassing.

During this Wednesday’s final Parent Lunch Meeting of the year I posed a session theme question: What is the difference between passion and interest? One father passionately answered “passion is love.” His passion caught the parent community on fire and honestly his words and the emotion behind his words are now beautifully cemented in my being. After hearing his simple yet poignant definition many parents passionately agreed and with great conversation quickly posed intricacies and connections of how passion and interest are different and orderly. One mom helped us all reframe “Interest is a great way to start and then when your interest grows then hopefully passion develops.” When I asked learners this same question one wise learner shared “passion is the thing that you love doing that is you, interest is something you like but don’t have to do, it’s just ok.”

When you turn on a light everything is illuminated, you can see clearly. As an educator I have always hungered to turn a learner’s light on with ideas, knowledge, and AHA’s. Watching the light turn on in a learner’s eyes is what nourishes my creative drive for education. Recently I had my own light bulb moment at Acton when I realized the need for sharing a colored light metaphor to connect emotional identification and promote emotional regulation.

For the last few months at Acton we’ve been running a traffic light experiment.

There are 14 days left of school. Learners are excited but it’s not for the reason you may think. Yes, we all love a great vacation and although that sounds fun learners are more excited about the work they can accomplish by the last day. Can they meet their deadline, achieve their goal by the last day, surpass the goals they set? Time will tell! Officially learners are experiencing the FINAL PUSH and right now, especially during Core Skills, the buzz is palpable.

Really, we aren’t kidding, learners at Acton LOVE learning and we absolutely love being witness to the domino experience of mastery checks and badge earnings. Here’s an example of the latest Discovery Studio ripple effect. A learner pushed herself to complete the Math 2 badge which includes Khan Academy’s 2nd grade level. Her deadline was to complete this badge before the last day of school. She not only reached her goal but she reached it a few weeks early.

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” —Albert Einstein

How curious are you? Do you ask lots of questions? Do you actively try new foods, hobbies, explore new places? Do you wonder about life out loud and share your curious questions with your family?

Curiosity may have killed the cat but our curiosity meter here at Acton is certainly alive and well! This session’s Quest explores the process of being curious as learners try a smorgasbord of passions and learn from their peers as they discover who they are and what they love with vigorous and curious passion. The only requirement is give it a good try!

This session learners and Guides have caught the water pun wave. We’ve all enjoyed the challenge and the giggle of puns but most of all learners this week enjoyed reflecting on their water journey. Of-fish-ially I’d like to share their ex-squid-site thoughts on this session’s adventures.

This week splashed with a multitude of connections! The highlight was yesterday’s first Acton field trip to Menominee Park, Zoo, and The Waters Yacht Club to experience and spark a passion for marine life and sailing. Not only was the day beautiful but it was beautifully full of learners experiencing their community and connecting their studio learning to real life!

Acton has given me endless learning moments but the one golden nugget that repeatedly proves true is that children thrive when equipped and empowered to lead their peers. Throughout Acton these last few sessions and especially this sixth Session learners are stepping up more and more to the challenge of self governance. Slowly Guides and I have been equipping learners to manage and meddle with their systems, systems that they have master minded from the start, and learners are eager to take the reins and run!

Imagine this, you are in the Acton kitchen and hear yelling coming from the other side of the school in the coat room. You investigate and see one learner standing on a bench, shouting with her hands raised while a group of 8-10 learners put shoes away and pack backpacks with lunch boxes. You hear her shout “Come on team, we can do this! What do we need to do?” All learners in the room cheer “CLEAN!” She continues, “Who do we want to beat?” they reply “KITCHEN TEAM!” and she continues again “You got this guys, keep hustling, keep hustling, I believe in you!” She claps her hands, eyes up the room and continues giving personal pips of love and motivation. This is a true story of one learner and her team from the Spark Studio during week one this session. What’s even better is her sister was the rival kitchen Captain! Her loud cheers of leadership echoed throughout the school and inspired the kitchen Captain to put more pep in her step, inspired the kitchen team, inspired all school learners, and most definitely inspired our Guide team to trust that learners are ready to lead.

In reading last session’s survey results one message was consistent, Español was an immersive experience that the entire family enjoyed exploring. Latin dance, culture, food, and language were all fun but the best fun was going on this adventure together. As we straddle a session end and beginning I’d like to offer some ideas on how your family can deep dive into the world of Marine Science and go on a water adventure together.

After 6 weeks immersed in Acton Español the Quest journey must come to an end. Although the session focus is complete the love for Español and Latin culture has just begun. During yesterday’s afternoon Launch I led both studios in a Quest reflection and after this Launch and the Exhibition I am 100% certain that our young Owls are destined for a linguistic future and an intense interest in travel.

“We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” —Jimmy Carter

All session long Español Quest has had the anchoring of a mosaic image. The Quest map, each Studio’s window painting, and during daily discussion learners have explored Latin culture as a collection of beautiful tiles—a collection of beautiful people and places. Each country has its own identity and learners loved discovering the varieties of food, dance, and nature found in each new country of exploration.

Have you heard your learner mention the Acton curriculum of Writer’s Workshop? This session both Discovery and Spark Studios have been exploring the beauty of writing. Each studio’s lens is different but the wonder of the writing process is equally inspiring!