It’s that time of year again: snow is in the air, Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and City High Middle 10th graders are turning in their Personal Projects. A milestone of the International Baccalaureate, the sophomore Personal Project marks the end of the Middle Years Programme and the beginning of the two year Diploma Programme. But what is it, and how do you do it? In this week’s special edition, City Voice staffers from 7th through 12th grades sit down to discuss all things Personal Project, with incoming students voicing their most pressing questions and 10th graders sharing everything they’ve learned along the way. Read on to find out everything they have to say, and join the conversation by posting your own Personal Project questions in the comments below.
Chloe Diehm
As a seventh grader, what is the personal project? How do you do it?
Sparsh Aiyar
The personal project is literally a personal project, you go off and do, basically, whatever you want. Just do whatever you feel you can put your time and effort into and make something cool. Like write a novel or something, and then write a report on it, reflecting on how you did it. You have to plan before you do it of course, but basically whatever Mr. Tindall tells you in his class, you want to follow that.
Chloe Diehm
When can we do it?
Sparsh Aiyar
When? 10th grade.
Luke Fann
How much time do you have to work on the personal project? Is the personal project part of the IB curriculum?
Ryan Yon
You are supposed to work on it for at least 25 hours, but there is no requirement. It’s a part of the Middle Years Programme and is seen as the “capstone” of MYP.
Lena Reeves
It’s supposed to be about 1 hour of work for each week leading up to the project. This excludes winter and thanksgiving breaks, and includes the 2 weeks to write the report. It is a part of IB and is required in order to complete the MYP program.
Declan
How difficult is the personal project?
Sparsh Aiyar
It really just depends on what you do. I gave guitar lessons, and that was fairly simple to get it all arranged, but I know a few of my friends are doing really big things. One of my friends, they made a mandolin, that took like months of work. It looks really nice though. I guess the only hard part that really stresses me out is the project report. The rest, you don’t really have to do an amazing personal project, as long as you have a really nice report, you’re golden.
Micaiah Lane
How long is the time frame for the Personal Project? (From assigned to due)
Lena Reeves
You have about five months Sept/Oct- February. Then in March is the Expo.
Ryan Yon
It is introduced to you at the very beginning of the year. You get a few weeks to declare your project, and you have until the beginning of February to work on it.
Micaiah Lane
How is the personal project graded?
Sparsh Aiyar
How is it graded? Again, you know, Mr. Tindall, you ever read his criteria? That’s how it’s graded.
Chloe Diehm
Is it an IB project?
Sparsh Aiyar
Yeah. It is an IB project. So this year, I think they’re sending it out across the world to get it graded. Which is super stressful, because when you grade stuff internationally, it’s scary.
Declan
What makes a good personal project report?
Sparsh Aiyar
IB loves reflections. Like if you show them you’ve grown, they love that, they eat it up. Ms. Emperor’s words, not mine.
Vishnu Mano
What have you learned from the personal project?
Romy McKellar
I’ve learned time management skills like never before — those 5 months go by so quickly. I also learned a lot about myself, like my skillsets and personal values. Lastly, I learned to not overschedule myself or set unrealistic expectations.
Lena Reeves
I learned that picking a project that is attainable in three months is important. Also if you want your project to be something outdoors or naturey, make sure to pay attention to weather.
Declan
What’s a strategy for getting the personal project done? How do you stay motivated?
Sparsh Aiyar
Ah, getting it done. There really isn’t any one way to stay motivated. I just wrote reminders, like really annoying reminders to myself until I decided, you know what I’ll do it. That and my parents really helped me out, but yeah it’s a lot of self motivation. Definitely a lot of self motivation.
Micaiah Lane
What class is it for? Is it for class?
Sparsh Aiyar
It’s not really for a class. It goes into core advisory, formerly called Epic. Technically it’s not supposed to be part of any class, but information about it is given in core advisory and I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be graded as a core advisory grade now.
Micaiah Lane
Is it part of the IB curriculum?
Sparsh Aiyar
Yes. You have to do it if you want to finish the MYP program.
Leander
What makes a good personal project?
Sparsh Aiyar
The ideal personal project is something that you enjoy and benefits others at the same time.