Over the past couple of months, the 10th graders have been working hard to complete their personal projects. From creating the product/outcome itself to completing a process journal, and writing the report, they’ve had a lot of work on their hands. Finally, just before the sports break, they got the opportunity to showcase their projects to the other students, teachers and parents.

There were a variety of unique projects set up for display, which definitely conveyed the creativity of the 10th graders this year. Mr. Hume, MYP coordinator, said,  “It always varies, but this year there was a very high standard.” As was shown by this year’s products, it is clear that technology plays a large role in our society today and that the amount of electronic projects continues to grow every year.

Felix B. created an app for his project, seeing as he is interested in programming. “My mom had runner’s knee, so I decided to focus it on runner’s knee recovery.” He felt that the hardest part of the process was learning how to make the app, as he had no prior experience using programming language, yet his favourite aspect was actually creating the app itself. “I’ve gained a lot of great experience. Before this I had no idea how to design a simple accessible app. I’ve enriched my programming, research, and ATL skills,” he said.

For his project, Raman W. created a solar panel, which he pointed out was able to charge his phone to 14% in a matter of only 10 minutes. He was inspired to make this project, particularly for LEDC countries, after visiting a village in Northern India where there was no electricity –  only sun and wind. He told us that one of his major difficulties was that his initial 5-foot solar panel broke only a week before the exhibition, so he had to build a new, smaller one, which he was able to do in only 2 days. In the end, the project was a success, and he said, “I was very happy it worked, as that was my main criteria”.

Marta R.’s project was a website displaying body art that she had created.  She was inspired by the desire to show people that there are other ways to express their feelings other than hurting themselves. She mentioned that this was her first time doing this big of a project and, although it did improve her art skills, she felt that it didn’t have a significant impact on her life as a whole. However, overall, she was able to create some unique art, some of which was also representative of different cultures.

John W.’s project was a collection of short stories that he wrote and consists of  true stories and personal experiences. This idea was inspired by his interest in reading and the fact that he found himself to be very productive when coming up with different stories. Overall, he felt that the project allowed him to improve both his writing skills as well as his ability to work under stress due to the amount of pressure he experienced whilst doing the project.

Maya M., who has an interest for baking, chose to design a baking website as her project. It consists of recipes from 2 different continents. Of course, her favourite part of the project was the baking. She said that once the personal project was finished, it was nice to finally see what she had made. By doing this project,  “I was able to improve my time management and planning skills,” she said.

“In the beginning I was certain I would make an online store, but there are already a lot of online stores around the world so I thought that it would be more interesting to make a second hand online store,” Sebastian F. said, with regards to how he decided what to do for his project. As expected, he came across some issues throughout the creation process, such as not being able to get the necessary functions to create his website as they either required money or professional skills. However, he still said, “Once I started I couldn’t stop and I kept adding more and more”. 

All of the students were relieved to have completed their projects, and when asked about what advice they had for next year’s 10th graders, they had a lot to say. Speaking from their personal experiences, they constantly mentioned “good time management”, “being organized” and “choosing a hobby” as the keys to doing a successful project.  John W. recommended, “Don’t do it like I did –  in the last 3 days.” Mr. Hume gave similar advice, saying, “You need to start thinking early. Choose something you’re passionate about. The students that choose something that they’re interested in will keep their interest going over a long period of time”.

Congratulations on a successful exhibition, and good luck to all of next year’s 10th graders!