I doubt that I will be disciplined enough to write a post every week, and more than likely, there will be some weeks where we plod along and get stuff done, but there is little new to report.  In some respects, week 1 is just one of those weeks.  After such a great start to the year at our retreat last week (week 0?), week 1 simply seemed like an "OK, let's get to work" kind of week, with little time to actually get much work done.  All three teachers, Ms. Holmen, Mr Forseth and myself noticed a strong sense of team and positive outlook from the group.  This underlined the need for some sort of retreat with a strong emphasis on getting to know each other for future years.

In Math and Science, the boys were hit with their first assessment.  The purpose of this assessment is to get a read on what they already know in relation to the curriculum that they are supposed to address through the year.  Our hope is that there will be some areas that will need little time to address, other areas that will serve our purpose to go much deeper than the prescribed curriculum and yet others that will need to be addressed at a level comparable to any other course at the same level.  Theses assessments are not for marks and it is expected that every student will not be able to complete aspects of them.  It is simply for them and us to get an accurate read on their starting point.

In Fusion, we completed a survey debrief on the retreat and began to build our eportfolios.  Once the last of the surveys is completed, I can report out the general observations on the strengths and weaknesses of that experiences.  The discussion around eportfolios started with a brief discussion about the concept of academic rigour and thus, the need to document process and reflection throughout the year.  You will see a list of the student portfolios on the right sidebar of the home page of this blog.  There are many reasons for having students document their work publicly.  Some of them include:

• the potential for connection with others doing similar work, whether that be other students or experts in the field around the world.
• the ability for parents, teachers, and other students to follow the progress and thinking of each student.
• the production of an eportfolio/online resume that will help with future university and job applications

We're hoping that anyone that is interested in reading the posts in the general Fusion blog will follow up and start dialogues with the students in their own spaces.

The final thing that has been fun to watch is the students who are starting to build their skills on our digital fabrication/prototyping machines.  While many of the things that are being made right now are simple, seemingly inconsequential and sometimes downright silly, the fact that they are getting their feet wet and building skills will pay off in spades when their assignments ask them to put these tools to a more practical use.  All students should be encouraged to play at this point!