Opening Ceremony, Lip Dub Prep & First Quests at Acton Academy Bergen County (Session 1, Week 1)

Welcome to the very first Launchpad Newsletter of the year!

Although Tuesday marked our first official day back, the year began with Monday’s Opening Ceremony, where all learners gathered together. As always, we celebrated with graduation speeches and the traditional walk down the ramp to kick off the year. This year also included a new element—learners were sorted into their Houses: Neptune, Pluto, Earth, Saturn, Mars, and Mercury. After house meetings, Launchpad and Journey learners came together to sign the Promises Contract, setting the tone for the year.

Leadership & Planning

On Tuesday, Launchpad learners reflected on their leadership roles—deciding how they wanted to guide their squads and houses throughout the year. They discussed meeting frequency, team-building activities, and strategies to strengthen collaboration with younger studios.

Quest: Poker & Lip Dub Prep

This session’s Quest began with learning (or relearning) how to play poker. Returning Launchpad learners helped teach the newcomers, and by week’s end, everyone was confidently playing—and having fun! Alongside poker, learners also began preparing for the annual Lip Dub competition, brainstorming, planning, and finalizing their performance. By Friday, the Launchpad team had a strong vision and is aiming for victory against the other Acton studios.

NGA Challenges & Genre Work

While Genre writing will begin later, the first two weeks are focused on NGA (Next Great Adventure) challenges. This week included exploring three business models—The Bootstrap Tortoise, The Asset Fox, and The MBA Hare—followed by reflections on Gifts, Flow, and Deliberate Practice, and finally a discussion on Givers, Matchers, and Takers. These exercises challenged learners to reflect on their strengths, motivations, and approaches to growth.

Drafting Studio Contracts

Equally important, Launchpad learners began drafting their Studio Contracts. Divided into committees—Honor Code, LP Vision & Mission, Guides & Falcons Contract, Rules of Engagement, Governance Plan, and Outing Contract—each group worked on creating clear commitments for the year. Next week, they’ll give and receive feedback before signing the final contracts on Friday.

It was an exciting, productive, and fun first week in Launchpad.

We’re looking forward to carrying this energy into the rest of the session!

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Located in Closter, NJ, Acton Academy Bergen County offers an immersive, studio-based learning experience.

Learn about our learner-driven approach and how we guide real-world growth through mastery-based education.