Dear Discovery Parents, This week was full of exciting milestones, celebrations, and hands-on learning experiences in Discovery Studio. We focused on completing and logging our Writers Workshop Milestones, where learners created podcasts. We are excited to announce the winners of the 2026 AABC Podcast Competition: 3rd Place:  Aviya, Emma C., and Yahli 2nd Place (tie):  Maya and Livia 1st Place:  Ella E., Ofri, and Emmy Congratulations to all participants for their creativity

Hello Discovery Families, I hope everyone has been doing great! Here’s a look at our exciting week in the Discovery Studio: Let’s start with Art! We have been learning about the Seven Elements of Art, and this week we focused on value. Learners created artwork using dark subjects on light backgrounds or light subjects on dark backgrounds to explore contrast and depth. Everyone created such unique and impressive pieces! In CIV, we learned about the thirteen colonies, including

Hello parents, learners, and family members, This week was full of exciting learning across Quest, Writers’ Workshop, Civ, and Art. We explored new ideas, collaborated in groups, and created some amazing projects! Let’s start with Quest. In Quest, we continued working on our weather experiment challenges in groups. As always, we tracked and measured the weather using our instruments. This week’s highlight was creating a weather map. Each group chose a location around the worl

Hello parents, learners, and family members, This week was full of fun and meaningful learning across all areas! In our Podcast Writer’s Workshop, learners began developing their own podcasts. They completed a brainstorm sheet to generate ideas and explored different podcast formats, including topic-based discussions, debates, and interviews. After brainstorming, learners moved on to planning their podcasts and making final decisions before beginning their scripts. In this se

Hello parents, learners, and family members, This week was filled with exciting learning experiences, creative projects, and hands-on activities across Writer’s Workshop, Quest, and collaborative learning time. In this session’s Podcast Writer’s Workshop, learners explored different types of podcasts and began developing their own ideas. They listened critically to podcasts and completed research papers analyzing what they liked, what they would improve, and why. The number o

Hello parents, learners, family members, and friends, We’ve reached the final week of the session—and while it’s exciting, it’s also bittersweet! With the Exhibition approaching, learners had many important responsibilities. They prepared presentations, elected new squad leaders, deep cleaned the studio, and celebrated together at a festive Valentine’s Day party. Our Exhibition Hosts worked incredibly hard all week to prepare a meaningful and engaging experience. They practic

Hello Parents, Learners, and Family Members, This week was full of creativity, collaboration, and exciting progress across Writer’s Workshop, Quest, Art, and Civics. Writer’s Workshop: Field Trip Pitch Presentations Learners continued developing their “Pitch a Field Trip” persuasive speeches . This week, they focused on giving and receiving meaningful feedback. Learners presented their pitches to peers, who evaluated them using structured feedback forms. On Friday, learners g

Hello Parents, Learners, and Family Members, This week was full of exciting learning across multiple subjects! From persuasive writing and game design to studying the Lenape language and exploring 3D form in art, our learners stayed curious and engaged. Writer’s Workshop In Writer’s Workshop, students continued working on their “Pitch a Field Trip” persuasive writing project . We learned about persuasive techniques such as ethos (credibility), addressing objections and rebutt

Hello parents, learners, and family members, This week was full of creativity, thoughtful discussions, and exciting projects at Discovery! We kicked things off with Writer’s Workshop , where learners began working on persuasive writing by crafting pitches for a potential field trip. Using a planning sheet to help launch their ideas, learners explored how to convince others through strong arguments and creativity. The field trip ideas were incredibly diverse—ranging from museu

Hello parents, learners, and family members, This week was so exciting! Let’s start with Writers Workshop. Writers Workshop As you know, this session’s focus is Persuasive Writing. This week, we began brainstorming pitches for a Field Trip Challenge. Learners had to choose a place they wanted to visit while staying within a $800 budget. They researched how much the trip would cost and explained why it would be a fun and worthwhile destination. On the second day, most learners

Hello parents, learners, family members, and friends, This week was exciting and full of new beginnings—it was the first week of Session 3! We started a brand-new Quest, a new Writer’s Workshop, and many other activities across the studio. Let’s start with Writer’s Workshop. This session, our focus is Persuasive Writing. On the first day, we worked on writing and presenting debates. We chose partners and teamed up with another group to prepare a debate. One team represented t

Hello parents, learners, families, and friends, I can’t believe the session is already over! Let’s start with everything we accomplished in Writer’s Workshop and Quest this session. Because it was the final week, we spent extra time on what we call “Whatever You Need Time.” This gave learners the opportunity to catch up on unfinished work and focus on personal goals. Many learners reached their Writer’s Workshop milestones and even completed a full writing badge this session!

Hello parents, learners, families, and friends, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed the break. Let’s jump into our weekly update, starting with WW. Theatrical Writing Writers Workshop This week in Writers Workshop, we continued working on our theatrical writing scenes. Most learners completed their scenes, and once finished, they participated in a table read. For the table read, learners partnered with another group—one group read their scene aloud while

Hello parents, learners, families, and friends, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and a restful break. Let’s jump into this week’s highlights—starting with Writer’s Workshop! As you know, we’ve been learning about theatrical writing, and this week we began writing our own scenes. First, we read and memorized sample scripts. There were two person scenes: one dramatic and one comedic, and two four person scenes with the same mix. They were so interesting and fun to perfor

Hello parents, learners, and family members, We’re going to start with Writers Workshop. As you all know, WW is Theatrical Writing. This week was a very wonky week—we only had two full days and one half-day because of Thanksgiving, so we only had WW once. For WW this week, learners used the time to catch up on past challenges or take on bonus challenges. Some created new monologues, while others worked on Core Skills if they had already finished their writing. One group in So

Hello parents and guardians, Welcome to the Session 2, Week 3 newsletter! This week was a bit unusual because we had a surprise day off on Monday and a trip to Alpine on Friday. With the shorter week, our schedule shifted—we only had Writers Workshop once, but we enjoyed two full days of Quest. 🌍 Quest – Africa, Geography Bee & Map Skills This week in Quest, we prepared for our second geography bee , which took place on Thursday. The geography bee challenges us to answer que

Hello parents and learners, It has been a fun and exciting week in the Discovery Studio! Writer’s Workshop As you know, this session we are focusing on theatrical writing.This week, learners wrote a monologue from the perspective of a character who shares a secret. The secret could be personal or completely fictional—either choice led to creative and thoughtful writing. Learners worked hard, and so many wanted to share their monologues during circle time that we ran out of ti

Hello parents, learners, families, and friends!I hope you all had a wonderful break—it felt long, didn’t it? We’re excited to jump right into everything we explored this week. Let’s start with Writer’s Workshop. Writer’s Workshop This session, we are diving into theatrical writing. In Writer’s Workshop, we’re doing so many exciting things!On the first day, learners memorized a monologue and performed it for the studio. We were blown away—so many talented learners were able to

Hello parents, this is what we did during week 7. Monday: We held our first Exhibition Sharing and Feedback session. Exhibition hosts presented their plans and progress so far, and their peers offered thoughtful feedback to help make our upcoming exhibition even stronger. It was a great opportunity to practice presenting, listening, and refining ideas. Tuesday: We welcomed a Hero’s Visit ! Ella D’s parents joined us to share how they combined their love of dance with their ca

What a week it’s been for the Discovery learners! The studio has been buzzing with excitement as we near the end of the session, with projects wrapping up and new experiences unfolding every day. Writer’s Workshop: This week, learners continued working on their interviews. The main challenge throughout this project has been learning how to hold meaningful conversations and ask thoughtful questions. Many of the topics discussed included plans for the future, favorite things ab