Students Use Break to Polish Personal Projects

January 14, 2022

Academics

GNS

The return from Winter Break is always met with mixed emotions. Many students are happy to see their peers, chatting up a storm in between classes—and sometimes during—while some students seem just as tired as they were before the break. Amongst the Grade 10s, one familiar phrase was repeated, over and over: Personal Project. Everywhere the Grade 10 populace goes, Personal Project follows.

When asked by friends what they did over the break, students would laugh and reply, “Personal Project.” Some students were very successful in their Personal Project endeavours as they used the Winter Break to complete a large chunk of their project.

The Personal Project is an extremely important part of the Middle Years Programme. Signalling the end of the Programme, this project celebrates the individual interests of each student by encouraging students to choose a topic that excites them. The projects are just as diverse as the students, with some choosing to explore their passion for the arts, athletics or sciences. With expectations to spend at least 25 hours on this project, completing it is no small feat and students are expected to face and overcome obstacles that will only serve to improve the end results. The exhibition—which will be held in March this year—is not just about showcasing the diverse interests and talents of each student, but also about celebrating the journey each student takes throughout the project. A journey that instills a sense of confidence, satisfaction and pride.

Delaney How ’24 chose to explore her family’s culinary history, collecting recipes and testing them out to create the perfect cookbook. Among her friends, Delaney is famous for her tasty treats and talent in cooking; she even made chocolate cookies for the sake of science for the Grade 9 Science Fair. This Winter Break, Delaney combed through her recipes, testing each of them out, and designing a layout that would best compliment her recipes.

“For my Personal Project, I’m making a family cookbook using recipes that are either staples in my household or that have been passed down throughout my family,” she says.

Delaney was gracious enough to share one of her favourite recipes that will appear in this cookbook.

“One of my favourite ones in there is probably Black-Bottom Cupcakes, which are a chocolate-base cupcake with a cream-cheese chocolate chip filling.”

Analee Obrocea ’24 is using her project to celebrate her talent of dance by creating and performing her very own choreography. She is looking to perform her piece on exhibition day, complete with a stage lighting plan.

The Personal Project was never meant to be easy, and has been extra challenging with the pandemic, as Analee has had to deal with more than a few obstacles. However, her dedication has shone through. She is happy that she is now able to take full advantage of a large space after practicing her choreography in close quarters.

“My studio was closed during Winter Break and I don’t have that much room in my house,” she says. “I couldn’t really go anywhere else to practice so I had to mark it a lot. And I just recently got to practice it in the full space.”

Reminder to all those Grade 10 students, it is strongly recommended that you schedule a meeting with your supervisor to meet the fast approaching completion date of January 24.