Creative Pursuit of Personal Projects
Personal project due dates are coming up and some of the 10th graders shared their plans and ambitions.
More stories from Emma V.
Every year, the students in MYP 5 complete the “personal project”. This project includes a product, a process journal, and a report. The project spans from September until March and requires hard and dedicated work. Some of the projects this year include a digital guide for athletes, a website on why startups is a good career choice, short stories on genocide, the production of rap songs, photographing different couture dresses in Thailand, a painting inspired by PTSD, and many more. The large range of creative products has led to a really interesting personal project exhibition, in which they presented their products to parents, staff, and other students.
The students each have individual goals, for example, the digital guide for athletes by Carlo was created with the goal of helping athletes with injury prevention. The website on why startups are a good career choice by Kris was created with the goal of helping people decide on their career choice. Nick created the short stories on genocide with the goal of researching 3 cases of genocide and inquiring how individuals and relationships can affect and be affected by these genocides. Akos set out to produce 3 different rap songs to exhibit and explore the different styles of rap, and Oliver’s goal with his photography was to compare the different couture dresses around Thailand through photography. The student that created the oil painting on PTSD had the goal of creating a painting portraying the analysis and reflection of research about the psychological brain chemistry and development in PTSD patients.
All students had different ambitions and reasons that made them choose their individual topics. Their reasons for choosing their topics ranged from prior knowledge, to their own passions, their future goals, or simply their ambition for obtaining new skills and new knowledge. Although most students don’t plan on continuing working with the topics they chose in the future after the personal projects are over, some of them have discovered a passion for this topic and do plan on exploring it more in the future.
The personal project is an amazing experience for the 10th graders, allowing them to explore a topic of their choice, and perhaps discover a new passion. Some advice to all the 9th graders that will be picking a topic for their personal project in a few months: choose a topic you are passionate about so that you will be motivated to do research and create your product! Hopefully, the personal project has prepared the students for the bigger challenges they will face during the DP…
