2025-2026 Session 7 Newsletter

Session 7: Celebrating the Journey

Every school year tells a story.

It begins with uncertainty, new routines, and unfamiliar faces. Along the way come challenges that test perseverance, moments of discovery that spark curiosity, and friendships that grow through shared experiences.

By the final session, learners are no longer simply completing projects. They are reflecting on how those experiences have shaped them.

Across every studio, Eagles brought together the knowledge, skills, and habits they had developed throughout the year. Final exhibitions showcased months of learning while revealing something even deeper. Learners spoke with greater confidence, approached challenges with more independence, and took ownership of their work in ways that would have seemed difficult at the beginning of the year.

As another remarkable year comes to a close, Session 7 reminds us that the most meaningful part of the journey is not simply what learners create, but who they become along the way.

Sparks Elementary  Middle School / LaunchPad

Sparks Studio: Compassion Through Caring

As the school year came to a close, Sparks turned much of their attention toward what it means to care, not only for animals, but for one another and for themselves as learners.

Morning Launches invited conversations about responsibility, kindness, perseverance, and community through stories, games, puppets, and imaginative play. Along the way, learners also used SMART goals to think intentionally about the growth they hope to achieve both inside and outside the classroom.

Animal Rescue Quest quickly became the heart of the session. Inspired by their exploration of Australia, learners investigated endangered species while creating habitats that reflected the country's diverse ecosystems. Outback landscapes, eucalyptus forests, coastal wetlands, and grasslands slowly took shape as learners sculpted terrain, added wildlife, and even experimented with creating rain inside jars to better understand the weather systems that support these environments.

The Quest extended well beyond the classroom. Weekly nature walks encouraged learners to observe insects they discovered along the way, from pill bugs and beetles to crickets and ladybugs. Stuffed animal companions became part of everyday learning, inspiring imaginative play while reinforcing lessons about empathy and responsibility.

One of the defining moments of the session came during Sparks' visit to the East County Animal Shelter. Learners spent time reading stories to kittens and bunnies, providing comfort and socialization while strengthening their own confidence as readers. Many continued talking about the experience long after returning to campus.

Core work continued providing steady opportunities to strengthen foundational skills throughout the session. Learners expanded sentences into complete paragraphs, practiced multiplication and place value, built map-reading skills, strengthened phonics knowledge, and explored informational writing through studies of unique Australian animals like the platypus.

During Exhibition, families experienced the session alongside their learners. Sparks led Australian animal games, shared stories from their shelter visit, reflected on their Hero's Journeys, and celebrated a year filled with growth. As certificates were awarded and families gathered for the final ice cream social, the studio took time to recognize the kindness, curiosity, and confidence that had blossomed throughout the year.

Elementary Studio: Survive, Adapt, Thrive

The Elementary Studio spent much of Session 7 exploring what it takes to survive and thrive in the wild through hands-on challenges, teamwork, and resilience.

Survivor Quest introduced learners to essential outdoor skills like navigation, water purification, shelter building, emergency preparedness, and fire building. Rather than simply learning about these concepts, Eagles put them into practice by building solar stills and water filtration systems, constructing survival shelters, creating emergency kits, and learning different campfire structures. Along the way, they discovered that successful survival depends on observation, adaptability, and working together to solve problems.

One of the highlights of the session was a visit to Cayetano Park, where learners worked collaboratively to set up tents and apply many of the survival skills they had practiced in the studio. Throughout the quest, Eagles also explored edible plants and insects, gathered natural materials, and continually refined their strategies as each new challenge built upon the last.

Writer's Workshop remained closely connected to Quest throughout the session. Learners created personal Field Journals documenting their observations, discoveries, reflections, and adventures while strengthening their writing through descriptive details, dialogue, and research. Their journals captured not only what they learned, but also how they grew as explorers and writers.

During Exhibition, families joined the Eagles in celebrating the culmination of Survivor Quest as learners proudly shared their field journals, survival projects, and reflections from the session. More than displaying completed work, the exhibition highlighted a studio that spent five weeks learning that resilience, perseverance, and collaboration are often the most valuable survival skills of all.

Middle School & LaunchPad: Innovation With Purpose

Middle School and LaunchPad concluded the year by asking learners to look beyond simply understanding biology and instead consider how it can shape the future.

Building on months of studying evolution, anatomy, and medical science, Eagles entered a final Biology Quest centered on bioengineering and biomimicry. Nature became both the textbook and the inspiration. Learners observed biological systems during nature walks and microscope investigations before challenging themselves to design human solutions modeled after the natural world.

The process demanded far more than creativity alone. Prototypes were built, tested, revised, and pitched as learners wrestled with the realities of engineering. Cardboard, glue, straws, and other simple materials became functioning bionic hands capable of independent finger movement. Throughout the session, learners discovered that innovation often comes through careful observation, persistent revision, and a willingness to rethink an idea after it fails the first time.

Quest discussions also stretched beyond engineering as learners explored how brain chemistry influences decision-making and debated ethical questions surrounding emerging technologies like cultivated meat and mushroom-based materials. Rather than searching for easy answers, Eagles practiced defending their reasoning with evidence and curiosity.

Writer's Workshop remained closely connected to scientific thinking. Learners crafted original science fiction stories grounded in real biological principles, imagining creatures, ecosystems, and technologies that remained scientifically plausible while strengthening their revision skills and story structure.

The session also created opportunities to celebrate the micro-community they had formed over the year. A visit to the Livermore Library offered MSLP learners time to complete focused Core work before sharing conversation, games, and treats together.

During Exhibition, families stepped directly into the learning. Eagles confidently presented biomimicry prototypes, explained the biological systems that inspired their designs, and invited visitors to participate in hands-on investigations exploring waterproof materials and other natural adaptations. Their presentations reflected not only scientific understanding but also the confidence to communicate complex ideas and answer thoughtful questions.

Closing 2026 Chapter & Looking Ahead

As Session 7 brought another school year to a close, each studio took time to reflect on just how far its learners had traveled.

Across campus, growth looked different for every Eagle. Some found the confidence to share ideas they once kept to themselves. Others discovered that meaningful work often requires patience, revision, and perseverance. Along the way, friendships deepened, resilience grew, and each learner continued writing their own Hero's Journey.

That growth could be seen in countless moments: Sparks gently reading to shelter animals, Elementary Eagles rebuilding shelters and refining survival strategies, and Middle School and LaunchPad learners confidently defending innovative ideas inspired by the natural world.

The year concluded with one final celebration as Eagles gathered at the fair to enjoy rides, games, laughter, and time together before heading in separate directions for the summer. It was a joyful reminder that while projects eventually come to an end, the relationships and habits built along the way continue long after the school year is over.

Many of those adventures continue through our Summer@Acton camps, where new friendships, challenges, and discoveries are already underway. Before long, a new group of Eagles will return to campus ready to begin another year of Hero's Journeys.

To every learner, family, and member of our heroic tribe, thank you for making this school year one filled with courage, curiosity, and growth. We cannot wait to see where the next adventure leads.