Year 10 students transformed by their passion projects
Year 10 students transformed by their passion projects
Every student in Year 10 at St Andrew’s Cathedral School is tasked with completing a ‘Personal Project’, which offers students complete freedom to choose a project that is achievable, captures their interest, and utilises learnt skills.
The result is a diverse range of projects that reflect the convictions, interests and questions of Year 10 students. Every project is a window into a student’s inner world and provides parents and teachers with an opportunity to understand and even celebrate a student’s character.
By Ethan Crosweller
“It is exciting for young people to be given a choice about investing time in a project that is driven by their personal interests. Often families learn about new passions that their child has and, as a family, share in their child’s learning journey throughout the project,” says Personal Project Coordinator, Mrs Jenny Kemp.
Developed over three terms, the project gives every student the chance to shine and also helps students build a sense of identity and understanding of who they are and what makes them tick.
“As teachers, we always discover incredible areas of expertise that students have developed outside School and it is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these skills. I take much joy from seeing students who perhaps aren’t always academic stars in the classroom being highly successful in a project that reflects their own interests,” Mrs Kemp explains.
“As teachers, we always discover incredible areas of expertise that students have developed outside School and it is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these skills. I take much joy from seeing students who perhaps aren’t always academic stars in the classroom being highly successful in a project that reflects their own interests,” Mrs Kemp explains.
Year 10 student Joseph Kennedy made the most of his freedom to choose by learning more about his father’s unique experiences as a young man living in Japan. He decided to tell his father’s story in the form of a picture book.
“My favourite part of the whole project was sitting down with him and discussing what happened, what he did, and just learning all these new things about him. I was able to craft my project in a way that showed him how much I appreciate him,” Joseph says.
While the project proved more challenging than Joseph initially anticipated, he also felt equipped to handle its largeness thanks to what he had learnt about himself through the Middle Years Programme (MYP), an educational framework that is taught to every student from Year 7 to Year 10.
“The MYP promotes individuality and independence. So, when I started my project, I felt confident about starting something from scratch and being able to build towards completing something significant,” he says.
The MYP teaches students how they learn and gives them eyes to see the connections between their otherwise disconnected subjects – skills that are essential for completing a self-guided project that transcends typical subject boundaries.
This learning bears fruit in the senior years once students tackle the Higher School Certificate or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, however, the fruit is evident as early as Year 10, once a student begins working on their Personal Project.
“The Personal Project is the culmination of the Middle Years Programme. This means that the project is a showcase of the skills and knowledge students have developed during their Middle School years. And thanks to the MYP, students are ready to tackle a project of significant scale and take on the challenge,” Mrs Kemp says.
For Joseph, the project has also helped him to establish a healthy pattern of self-talk – crucial to navigating the final and more pressured years of schooling.
“The MYP promotes individuality and independence. So, when I started my project, I felt confident about starting something from scratch and being able to build towards completing something significant.”
Year 10 student Joseph Kennedy
“By doing the Personal Project I’ve learnt how to stay positive through the ups and downs. There are moments when you realise your ability is not where you’d like it to be, but then as you work on the project, you change,” he says. “It’s satisfying to look back on where you were at the beginning and where you are at by the end.”
Some more Personal Projects …
Asha Beale
My project is a historical magazine about life during the war years in the Allied countries. I think a lot of what people learn about history is simplified down to major periods and key events. It’s not often pitched at a micro level where people can actually connect with something. I wanted to create something that you could casually browse through and make history digestible for people.
What did you learn from doing the project?
I learnt a lot more about digital drawing. I realised it was quite hard and I had to redo a lot of the drawings. I needed to find the most efficient way of doing things in an aesthetic that I really liked. I enjoyed the challenge of finding the middle ground between historical accuracy and modern design.
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Calvin Newling
My project was to compose, arrange and then, at the exhibition, perform a piece of original jazz music for solo piano. I have a lot of interest in music and composition especially. I had been working on jazz music with my piano tutor at the time and I thought I could combine these two aspects to make something that I would really enjoy playing.
What did you learn from doing the project?
It taught me a lot about time management and also about myself and how I deal with the creative process, which was very useful because I was able to apply the time management and reflective skills into further creative works.
Joe Kennedy
My project is a biography about my dad’s time in Japan in the form of a picture book. I wanted to learn more about my family history. I’ve always been intrigued about his time in Japan but I didn’t know anything about it. I also wanted to express my artistic creativity and I did that through a picture book.
What did you learn from doing the project?
I learnt a lot about independence and taking initiative. I learned how to make a project plan and how to structure time to work on things independently.
Marco Cole
My project is a collage of bird photography from all around Australia. I planned out different locations after doing some research and then I went to the locations and looked for the birds. I’ve always loved birds and photography so I put the two together.
What did you learn from doing the project?
It helped me to discover my passions a little more and also how to achieve goals. It takes time to get to a certain place with your work. It takes research and time management. I can now be more realistic about how long something’s going to take me.
Thomas Pesman
My project is a Roman Castra (or fort) from the Roman Empire. As the Roman legions marched on their enemies, soldiers carried enough materials to build this fort in one day to protect themselves from raiders. I chose to build this as I have a huge passion for history and I also like to bring history to life with modelling.
What did you learn from doing the project?
I gained a lot of experience working with tools and I worked out shortcuts to build the fort more effectively and efficiently. I also learnt how to bounce back from procrastinating, which I struggled with during the project.