ES - Guides
Middle School - American Independence Quest - Session Three 2025.
“Are your strongest beliefs worth dying for or are you willing to compromise?”
In this session, the Middle School Eagles will be working on The American Independence Quest which includes a “King George Simulation.” This is an experiential based project that places the Eagles in the shoes of frustrated colonists being ruled by King George. The objectives of this experience are for studio members to:
Feel the resentment and frustration of having to obey a distant and seemingly unfair ruler who knows little about their way of life.
Understand the need to compromise and join as one to have any hope for winning a war against a larger power.
Weigh the possible outcomes of two choices and make a decision with real-life consequences.
In addition, they also learned about the components associated with crafting maps, flags, and delivering persuasive speeches such as those that paved the path to the American Revolution.
The Middle School Eagles are also exploring the art of persuasion through the composition and analysis of letter-writing. Eagles will draft, edit and revise two persuasive letters of their own this session. One of those letters will be included in a fun activity they have prepared for you to experience during the Exhibition.
Exhibition will include a timeline of the American Independence, a showcase and activity with their persuasive letters and a debate in which the Eagles will discuss specific points such as those experienced by the Patriots and Loyalists during colonial times. We cannot wait for you to see their hard work!
Joey & Preston - MS/HS Guides
High School - Networking Quest - Session Three 2025
“Your network is the people who want to help you, and you want to help them.”
— Reid Hoffman
In this Quest, High School Eagles explored how relationships, storytelling, and presence create opportunity. The Eagles will be covering the following topics:
Understanding Relationship Styles
Eagles identified whether they tend to be Givers, Takers, or Matchers and reflected on how their tendencies can help, or hurt, their ability to build strong relationships. They studied ideas like the Strength of Weak Ties and how social capital grows through trust and generosity.Telling Clear, Compelling Stories
Eagles explored multiple storytelling frameworks and practiced using them in scenarios by role-playing: approaching a potential mentor, interviewing, and explaining their goals.Communicating Without Words
Eagles will record themselves in mock conversations and interviews, then review the videos with no audio. Peer and self-feedback helped them understand what their body language communicates before they ever speak.Building a Digital First Impression
Eagles created a professional digital presence using LinkedIn or a Google Site. Each profile was designed to clearly communicate who they are, what they’re learning, and the value they bring.
Choosing the Right Path Forward
Eagles compared Mentorship and Stars & Stepping Stones badges and reflected on which experience would best support their growth this year, and their writer’s workshop helped guide them to write letters to people that could be their mentors and people they could interview for their stars and stepping stones interviews.
Joey & Preston - MS/HS Guides
Middle & High School The Game of Life: Personal Finance Quest - Session Two 2025
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin
What if you had to plan your financial future, land your dream job, navigate sudden setbacks, and build wealth all before turning 18? That’s exactly what our High School and Middle School Eagles are tackling this session in our Personal Finance Quest: The Game of Life.
The quest begins with a deep dive into what money means to each Hero. Through this self-reflection they will start to understand how to manage money and how money plays within their lives. Then, the Eagles will pitch their careers to fellow Eagles. Once their career is approved, they will choose a path, backed with investments, expenses, family, and TAXES!!! Of course, life throws curveballs. Heroes face surprise events like medical bills, home repairs, and MORE TAXES!!! Planning (or failing to plan) for these realities highlights just how consequential financial foresight can be.
The High School is also stepping into the world of investing. Using the STAX simulation platform, our Heroes learn to navigate risk, valuation, black swans, and Nassim Taleb's barbell strategy. They're diving into everything from gold to growth stocks, hedge funds to real estate, and even exploring speculative strategies like options and arbitrage. Sahlman's Four Rules guide them in assessing real investment decisions, bridging theory with real-world wisdom.
Writer’s Workshop: Rhetorical Devices
Alongside their financial quest, our Middle and High School Eagles are sharpening their pens in a Rhetorical Devices Writer’s Workshop. From punchy similes to playful alliteration, students are mastering the art of language. They’re learning how a single metaphor can evoke emotion, how foreshadowing adds depth, and how irony can twist a tale in just the right way. It’s about telling a story that resonates. These tools will not only serve them in essays and storytelling, but also in job interviews, pitches, and persuasive conversations throughout life.
Exhibition Preview
At the end of the session, our Middle and High Schoolers will showcase their personal and financial journeys during our exhibition. Families will get a front-row seat to the ambitions, plans, and investments that Heroes have thoughtfully crafted. This isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet, it’s about seeing their thoughts behind each plan, the passions fueling career choices, and the preparation for life's uncertainties.
You will also get a chance to see all the wonderful stories that the Eagles have put together by diving deep into each of the Rhetorical Devices they have been working through.
Elementary - Entomology Quest -Session Two 2025
Welcome to the Entomology Quest! In this fun quest, the Acton West ES Eagles will explore the fascinating world of bugs. There’s a lot to learn -- did you know that insects make up 80-90% of all known living species?!
In this six week session, the Eagles will begin by identifying the common bugs that live all around us. They will learn about the life cycles, habitats, and anatomy of different bugs. They will study helpful bugs and “dangerous” bugs, and they will learn about how bugs are essential to our ecosystem.
In this quest we’ll also get into the nitty-gritty: what is a bug? Are bees and spiders bugs? Is a crab a kind of bug?!
For the Exhibition, each Eagle will dive deep on one bug and present their findings.
We’re excited to learn about the bugs that make up our world!!
Middle and High School - Community Building, Conflict Resolution and WW Quest - 2025
Community Building & Contracts
Building the community through team building activities is one of the most fun and enriching experiences of the year. These activities will create the bond that carries these Eagles through their middle and high school years with a genuine appreciation and respect for one another. Per Acton tradition, the Eagles are putting their big-picture thinking, project management skills, and team building into practice by planning and organizing a Lip Dub! The Lip Dub is a full-length music video that dubs over a well-known song. Eagles are responsible for 100% of the process. They plan choreography, filming, editing & publishing.
Throughout this session the MS and HS Eagles will also be creating one of the most important fundamental annual documents, the Student Contract and the Rules of Engagement Contract and the high school in addition to, the Honor Code Contract. These are the contracts that they will abide by throughout the rest of the year. Through this process, an elected committee will gather data from the community about the rules they want to set into place, lead the votes and put together their final product. This process will end with a sacred ceremony in which everyone in the community signs the contract, thus taking the plunge into their Hero's Journey!
Conflict Resolution Quest
“Conflict is inevitable — growth is optional.”
This session, Eagles will take on a Conflict Resolution Quest inspired by HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict. The goal is to transform conflict from something to fear or avoid into an opportunity for growth, understanding, and stronger relationships.
Explore common causes of conflict and share personal experiences. Introduce strategies from the book such as active listening and staying calm under pressure.
Practice empathy and de-escalation through role-plays. Students learn how to acknowledge emotions while keeping conversations productive.
Focus on negotiation skills—identifying interests, finding common ground, and practicing assertiveness without aggression.
Apply everything learned by designing a Conflict Resolution Plan for a real or hypothetical situation.
At the exhibition, Eagles will present their Conflict Resolution Plans. Each plan will:
Describe the conflict being addressed,
Highlight strategies from the book that could change the outcome,
Demonstrate, through role-play, how constructive approaches transform tension into resolution.
Writer’s Workshop
"The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory." — Chinese Proverb
This session, our Eagles are discovering the power of bullet journaling—a system that blends planner, diary, and creative space into one. It’s not just about staying organized; it’s about building real-world skills in focus, reflection, and decluttering the mind to help them not be overwhelmed by all the tasks that need to be done.
Eagles are designing journals to track assignments, habits, and personal goals, learning responsibility and time management along the way. High Schoolers are pushing further by connecting their journals to long-term goals and their “Next Great Adventure.” They’re practicing prioritization and self-motivation as they plan for college essays, internships, and life after Acton.
At the exhibition, families will get a window into each Eagle’s process. Eagles will share their ups and downs and how their journals reflect both personality and discipline.
Joey & Preston -MS/HS Guides
Elementary - Call to Adventure Quest - 2025-2026
On the Hero's Journey, the Call to Adventure is the moment when a hero is invited to a life challenge. When the Hero answers that call, the journey begins.
This quest will focus on team-building, working within the studio community, and developing habits and skills that will last a lifetime.
Per Acton tradition, the Eagles are putting their big-picture thinking, project management skills, and team building into practice by planning and organizing a Lip Dub! The Lip Dub is a full-length music video that dubs over a well-known song. Eagles are responsible for 100% of the process. They plan choreography, filming, editing & publishing.
The Eagles are also creating new student contracts and rules of engagement this session. By developing new rules at the beginning of each year, the Eagles take ownership of the studio so that they can become confident, effective leaders in the space.
For our first exhibition, the Eagles will screen their Lip Dub that will demonstrate their hard work and team building in this session. They will also showcase their interpretation of the Hero’s Journey through a story, video, or game. The Eagles have the freedom to choose how they would like to tell a story of a hero on the 12 steps of their journey.
We are so excited for this year, and we’re so honored that you’ve chosen Acton Academy West for your young heroes. Let’s begin the adventure!
Elementary Guides - Ms. Cat & Ms. Maya
Elementary - High School Session - Two United Studios of Acton Quest - 2024
In this session, we will be transforming all three studios in the United Studios Of Acton!
Yep, we are going to try and navigate the minefield of government and politics! We have worked hard to make it a fun interactive experience, a “grand experiment”, for our whole campus to put the Eagles in the shoes of political roles.
The Eagles will be assigned to a political party (Ethical Party, Moral Party, or Independent).
Each party will be given a platform (see the attached as the example of the platform). Independents will have a combination of each platform.
Each platform topic will be given specific points (points correspond to voter importance).
The party that passes the most bills (line items) that support their platform will win!!!
Each studio is going to elect congresspeople and senators that will represent them in the United Studios Of Acton Government.
Each studio will have two senators and one congressperson per 4 Eagles.
Here is a general session schedule (very much subject to change):
Week 1 - Government Basics (What are the responsibilities of each branch.)
Week 2 - Preparing Campaigns & Stump Speeches
Week 3 - Primaries, Voting (November 5th), Creating Bills, & “Horse Trading”
Week 4 - Voting On Bills, Creating Re-election Campaign Materials For Candidates
Week 5 - Campaign Candidates, Re-Election,
Week 6 - Exhibition
Our goals for this quest are for ES, MS, & HS Eagles to understand:
The responsibility of each branch of government.
The checks and balances of each branch.
The process of getting a bill passed.
The motivation of political figures and why they make the decisions.
In addition to the goals above the HS and MS will be exploring:
The role of committees.
The role of the media.
A separate experience to take a deep dive into the Supreme Court.
OUR COMMITMENTS TO YOU:
We will not bring up any political topics in the studio that are being discussed by any of the political candidates.
We will only focus on the process and procedures of how the government currently functions and the logic of why those were put into place.
We have asked that all Eagles only discuss United Studios Of Acton politics in the studio. All external politics to be discussed outside of school with their parents.
We encourage you to have conversations with your Eagles and talk about your experience and knowledge about government. Hopefully, you can start to have deep conversations about politics outside of The United Studios Of Acton.
Our roles as owners and guides (as always), are to stay Socratic. We understand that we do not have all the “right” answers. We understand and are committed to making sure that we are giving Eagles tools to think for themselves, and to NEVER tell them what to think.
GENERAL GOVERNMENT GAME RULES
Each studio, ES MS and HS, will act as a state in the United Studios Of Acton.
Each “state” will get two senators.
There will be one congressperson per four students in each studio.
Each Eagle will be assigned to one of three parties (Ethical Party, Moral Party, or Independents).
Each party will be GIVEN a platform (see platforms below). Independents are given, randomly, a mixture of each platform.
Each platform issue is given a set number of points (importance to the voters).
There will be an election on November 5th to elect the representatives from each studio.
The ES studio will not be able to run for president or vice president because they are not of the minimum age.
Eagles can run for the House or Senate and the presidency/vice presidency at the same time.
If they are elected president /vice president, the second place person in the Senate Race
EXAMPLE PLATFORMS
Party Platform A
Party Platform B
Sand
Snow
Ocean
Mountains
Building w/ Wood
Building w/ Metal
Legos
Furbies
Marine Life
Land Animals
Sunset
Sunrise
Fairies
Unicorns
Beans
Corn
Tile
Carpet
Super Glue
Duct Tape
Push-Ups
Sit-Ups
Mild Cheddar
Sharp Cheddar
Love Seats
Recliners
Pronounce Gif as "gif"
Pronounce Gif as "jif"
Mechanical Pencil
Standard Pencil
Stratus Clouds
Cumulus Clouds
Hardcover
Paperback
Saturn
Jupiter
Topo Chico
San Pellegrino
Curtains
Blinds
EXAMPLE LAUNCHE
WHEN DO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO YOUR IDEALS OVERRIDE YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY?
Watch this clip of Paul Harvey talking about the founders of this country.
The founders of the United States were wealthy people and had little to gain financially or personally to go against England. They knew they were putting their lives and their families lives on the line for an ideal they had.
Question:
Would you be willing to put your life on the line for one of your ideals?
Would you be willing to put your family’s lives on the line for one of your ideals?
- Acton West Guides
High School Session One - Decision Making & Community Building - 2024
HIGH SCHOOL DECISION-MAKING QUEST
We make decisions, conscious or unconscious, almost every moment of our life. But, are we being intentional when we make decisions? Do we really know how to make hard decisions? What if there were processes, recipes, and algorithms to make better, more rational decisions? What if we could make life more fun, like a game?
Throughout the Decision Making Quest the High School Eagles will:
Play a series of games to help them categorize different types of decisions;
Discover powerful processes, recipes, and algorithms to help them make better “bets” at each stage of life; and
They will learn there are some types of decisions where considering a simple bet isn’t a good idea, for example:
Small investments in virtuous/good or evil/bad acts that compound over time or through habits, especially with regard to relationships, character, deliberate practice, or decisions you repeat over time.
Moral and cognitive blind spots that could cripple and destroy them;
High stakes decisions that are highly emotional or must be made in an instant;
Decisions to invest in story, celebration, ritual or a special place; or
Decisions that require buy-in or large scale mobilization over extended periods.
They will learn the following tools and explore when and when not to use them:
Basic Probability
Normal Distributions
Power Laws
System Dynamics
80/20
Ethical Frameworks
Monte Carlo Simulations
Utility Theory
And much much much more...
Community Building & Contracts Building
Building the community through team building activities is one of the most fun and enriching experiences of the year. These activities will create the bond that carries these Eagles through their high school years with a genuine appreciation and respect for one another. Per Acton tradition, the Eagles are putting their big-picture thinking, project management skills, and team building into practice by planning and organizing a Lip Dub! The Lip Dub is a full-length music video that dubs over a well-known song. Eagles are responsible for 100% of the process. They plan choreography, filming, editing & publishing.
Throughout this session, the HS Eagles will also be creating one of the most important fundamental annual documents, the Student Contract and the Rules of Engagement Contract. These are the contracts that they will abide by throughout the rest of the year. Through this process, an elected committee will gather data from the community about the rules they want to set into place, lead the votes and put together their final product. This process will end with a sacred ceremony in which everyone in the community signs the contract, thus taking the plunge into their High School journey this year!
AAWest High School Guides
Joey & Preston
Middle School Session One - Passion Projects & Community Building - 2024
Every year we like to start off our first quest with a passion project. We love learning more about our Eagles as we see what gets their creative juices flowing!
We were inspired by Google's Genius Hour idea, in which employees are empowered to explore their own passions for 20% of their day. Here at Acton West, our Eagles are exploring their own passions during project time for the rest of this session. In the beginning stages of Genius Hour, the Eagles will spend time thinking of the things that drive them, excite them and inspire them to gather more information. Some projects are made to solve a problem or satisfy a need. Projects will be planned through idea mapping, gathering supplies and sometimes, collaborating with others. While working alone or on teams, the Eagles will be spending their Genius Hour time researching their subjects, asking detailed questions and working on their end product. We encourage the Eagles to think deeply about the process of researching, editing, revising and creating.
Community Building & Contracts
Building the community through team building activities is one of the most fun and enriching experiences of the year. These activities will create the bond that carries these Eagles through their middle school years with a genuine appreciation and respect for one another. Per Acton tradition, the Eagles are putting their big-picture thinking, project management skills, and team building into practice by planning and organizing a Lip Dub! The Lip Dub is a full-length music video that dubs over a well-known song. Eagles are responsible for 100% of the process. They plan choreography, filming, editing & publishing.
Throughout this session the MS Eagles will also be creating one of the most important fundamental annual documents, the Student Contract and the Rules of Engagement Contract. These are the contracts that they will abide by throughout the rest of the year. Through this process, an elected committee will gather data from the community about the rules they want to set into place, lead the votes and put together their final product. This process will end with a sacred ceremony in which everyone in the community signs the contract, thus taking the plunge into their Hero's Journey!
AAWest Middle School Guides
Joey & Preston
Elementary Session One - Call to Adventure Quest - 2024
On the Hero's Journey, the Call to Adventure is the moment when a hero is invited to a life challenge. When the Hero answers that call, the journey begins.
This quest will focus on team-building, working within the studio community, and developing habits and skills that will last a lifetime.
Per Acton tradition, the Eagles are putting their big-picture thinking, project management skills, and team building into practice by planning and organizing a Lip Dub! The Lip Dub is a full-length music video that dubs over a well-known song. Eagles are responsible for 100% of the process. They plan choreography, filming, editing & publishing.
The Eagles are also creating new student contracts and rules of engagement this session. By developing new rules at the beginning of each year, the Eagles take ownership of the studio so that they can become confident, effective leaders in the space.
For our first exhibition, the Eagles will screen their Lip Dub that will demonstrate their hard work and team building in this session. They will also showcase their interpretation of the Hero’s Journey through a studio-wide game that they create!
We are so excited for this year, and we’re so honored that you’ve chosen Acton Academy West for your young heroes. Let’s begin the adventure!
Elementary Guides - Ms. Cat & Ms. Maya
Middle & High School Session Seven- Documentary Quest & Poetry Writers Workshop 2024
This session the middle and high school are exploring different forms of art and storytelling.
Both of the studios are going to be working to make a five minute documentary. There are so many times that the Eagles have practiced the process of creating, editing, proofing, and crafting a compelling story. They will use the same process while this time doing it behind the lens. They will be using CapCut to piece together a compelling short video while also learning about how to ask interview questions, b-rolls, background music, etc.
The high school and middle school will also get to try their hand in poetry. Poetry is considered a unique language that combines and uses carefully chosen words to convey meaning and communicate ideas, feelings, sounds, gestures, signs, and symbols. For centuries, Poetry has been a tool for some of the most gifted minds because it relates the experiences and observations of human life and the universe around us. As the school year comes to an end, it only seems fitting that the Eagles reflect upon, and communicate, their successes and failures in a creative way.
In addition to the above, some of the high school Eagles are taking this session to explore their own interests in making animations in the software Blender, others will be taking macro-economics. Each of them will be showing their learning in the exhibition.
MS/HS Guides - Joey & Tyler
Elementary Session Seven Animation Quest - 2024
This session, the ES Eagles are exploring Stop Motion films! This last session of the year is the perfect time for them to dive deep into the many different aspects of creating a stop motion film.
Their first challenge is to create a lyric video for a song. They assign roles for their film crew, learn how to use the materials available to them, practice working together, and try out different stop motion techniques.
Next, they begin work on their major project! They will develop a professional film pitch deck designed to appeal to producers. Through this design process, they will determine the genre and aesthetic of their film. Next, they will create a storyboard outlining their film. This storyboard will serve as a scene-by-scene guide when they begin filming.
They will design and build their own characters, background, and set pieces. The studio is stocked with traditional claymation supplies -- clay, pipe cleaners, cardboard -- but the Eagles are also encouraged to experiment and develop their own unique style using all the materials available to them.
They will film their project, create Foley sound effects, and record voiceovers and dialogue. Finally, they will edit their piece into a cohesive short film that will be on display at the exhibition.
This quest challenges the Eagles to dive deep into the wide variety of both artistic and technical skills required for a stop motion film. It also encourages them to collaborate and learn from each other. They have spent this year making the studio their own -- now they’re ready to soar!
Elementary Guides - Ms. Maya & Ms. Cat
MS Session Six - Medical Biology Quest - 2024
This session, the Middle School Eagles are topping off their Biology experience with Medical Biology. In the first week they will be learning about the systems that make up the human body, as well as how to check a patient's vital functions. Next, they will learn how to assess and treat various traumatic injuries. Then, they will learn about common medical emergencies and how to treat them. Lastly, they will learn about environmental induced emergencies that can potentially threaten a life.
The entire Middle School will also have an opportunity to become certified in CPR & First Aid with the Expedition School!
At the Exhibition, parents will be handed a medical scenario to recreate. The Eagles will have to properly diagnose, assist, and treat the medical emergency they encounter. Providing timely assistance and effective treatment to the patient is essential. What would you do with someone's life in your hands?
MS/HS Writers Workshop - Short Stories
This session both the MS and HS studios will be focusing on creative writing. Each week the Eagles will be given a more than ambiguous prompt in the form of a photograph. They are then tasked with creating a one page story based around this photo. The difficulty is that they are not permitted to go beyond one page! This will challenge both creative, and efficiency in their writing techniques. The Eagles will act as both writers of their own stories and editors of each others, with one Eagle from each studio volunteering to act as the publisher for the final product at the end of the session!
Mr. Tyler & Mr. Joey - MS Guides
Elementary Session Six - Marine Science Quest - 2024
This session, the AAWest Elementary Eagles will dive into Marine Science! They will become Earth Explorers and take on the questions:
What is life like in the ocean and how is it interconnected?
Is it more important to explore or to invent?
What problems are facing our oceans, and what are the possible solutions?