Explore: Y8, S1, W1

See pictures from Session 1 here.

What does it take to turn a group of learners into a tribe?

That question sat underneath much of Explore’s first week. Learners spent time getting to know their Fellow Travelers, revisiting the Hero’s Journey, and beginning to wrestle with this year’s Question of the Year: Where does a Hero find Purpose? They also began making promises about the kind of studio they want to build together and what it means to care for a shared space.

Our biggest challenge of the week brought Discovery and Explore together for the International Acton Network Lip Dub Competition. Thirty-six learners had to turn High Hopes into one shared production: memorizing lyrics, studying examples, developing a rubric for excellence, planning choreography, rehearsing, filming, critiquing, and trying again. Sixth-year Explorers took on an additional leadership challenge, helping create the storyboard and route that would guide both studios.

As you might imagine, the process brought plenty of energy and plenty of opportunities to practice listening, patience, leadership, and perseverance. It also gave learners an early experience of a principle that will matter throughout the year: in a learner-driven community, freedom and responsibility travel together.

Between the high-energy challenges, Explorers also began D.E.A.R., Studio Maintenance, and our Friday tradition of Character Callouts, small rhythms that will become part of the life of the studio in the weeks ahead.