All School Lane students grades 7-10 are members of the IB Middle Years Program. They are all IB students, something which is recognized and respected by colleges around the world. In 10th grade, students are required to submit a Personal Project. This is an opportunity to learn about something that is of interest to the student.
On Tuesday March 14, all 10th grade students presented their projects to the community. Examples of their work included writing a children’s book, building a chicken coup, developing an operating system, building a computer, creating a video of skateboard moves, writing a 20 chapter novel, creating a kitten foster kit, writing a storybook about astronauts, and creating a recipe book of traditional Arabic baking. The Exhibition was very well attended by families, old School Lane students, and staff members. The line of students presenting snaked through the library, the gym, the hallways and the Cafe.
The Personal Project Exhibition allowed the community to tell our young people that their ideas and their work matters. Students practiced their public speaking skills as they presented to their families and friends. The Personal Project’s emphasis on process, setting criteria and reflecting is cleverly designed to help the students take themselves seriously. All the steps in this process help students become more independent in their learning. They have to come up with the idea. They have to plan their time over the course of a few months. They had to find their way past obstacles.