International Baccalaureate Program

At Lakeside Academy, the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme offers an opportunity for students to broaden their scope of intellectual pursuits with opportunities to explore social and global issues.

We have posted samples of personal projects from our Secondary MYP 5 students that were submitted as a requirements for the IB MYP Certificate.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the students, the staff and the administration of Lakeside Academy for their continued support of our IB Programme. United we are committed to planning, presenting and supporting activities that reflect the values, traditions and multiculturalism of our school.

Please take a few moments of your time and enjoy some of our "crowning jewels" of Lakeside Academy's IB Middle Years Programme.

Michelle Harper

Principal

Lydia Landori

Vice Principal

Jane Preston

IB MYP Coordinator

The personal project is a significant body of work produced over an extended period. It is a product of the student's own initiative and should reflect his/her experience of the MYP. The personal project holds a very important place in the programme. It provides an excellent opportunity for students to produce a truly creative piece of work of their choice and to demonstrate the skills they have learnt in approaches to learning.

As shown on the MYP curriculum model, and exemplified in the subject group guides and other MYP documents, the five Areas of Interaction form the core of the programme: they are addressed through the subjects; they bind various disciplines together, they are the basis of varied learning experiences through project work, interdisciplinary activities, and 'real-life' community involvement. Although the Areas of Interaction are not directly assessed or awarded individual grades, they are central to the experience of the personal project which is intended to be the culmination of the student's involvement with the five areas; the project is thus normally completed in the last year of the student's participation in the MYP.

The IB organization places great importance on the expression of the student's personality and potential as measured by means of a personal project. It provides an opportunity for students to select a topic or theme about which they are enthusiastic, and to show commitment to the completion of their own project. It is designed to assess their ability to organize and create, and thus must not be part of the coursework for any other subject. Grades are awarded for the personal project in the same way as for the eight subject groups of the MYP curriculum. In addition, for schools requiring IB certification, candidates must have completed a personal project that is at least worthy of a grade 3 in order to be eligible for the MYP Certificate.

The personal project may take many forms, such as:

• an original work of art (visual, dramatic, performance, etc.)

• a written piece of work on a special topic (literary, social, psychological, anthropological, etc.)

• a piece of literary fiction (creative writing)

• an original science experiment

• an invention or specially-designed object or system

• the presentation of a developed business, management, or organizational plan. i.e. for an entrepreneurial business or project, a special event, or the development of a new student or community organization.

Whatever form the personal project takes, as agreed between the student and the supervisor, the finished product must include a personal statement in the form of a piece of structured writing.

The personal project should use a combination of skills developed in the various subjects and through Approaches to Learning. It must not be limited to one specific subject but rather be inspired by the Areas of Interaction, and must demonstrate the student's understanding of the chosen areas.

The students start their Personal Project journey in the spring of Sec 4. The Personal Project coordinators and IB coordinator will go into the classrooms to discuss the process and requirements of the Personal Project. Every student will receive a Personal Project basket and all the necessary paperwork. They then choose a supervisor to help them on their journey. The supervisor will meet with the student on regular intervals until the Personal Project is handed in in January.

The student will produce a product and a written paper (no more than 4,000 words) to explain the steps behind their product. In this paper, they will include the following elements:

• Information on the choice of product and how they are going to proceed;

• information on the production steps;

• the inspiration, research and influence guiding their work;

• review of the process they went through, which includes any challenges they encountered and solutions chosen;

• a self-assessment of both the process and the product with regards to the initial goal and area of interaction chosen.

Supervision of the Personal Project

It is the school's responsibility to ensure that each student engaged in the project is under the direct supervision of a qualified person in the school, who can provide appropriate guidance and vouch for the authenticity of the work submitted. This teacher or other professional within the school is termed the supervisor.

Although the supervisor does not need any specialist knowledge in the area selected by the student, outside help may be requested in some instances.

In all cases, students should be guided in the planning, research and completion of their projects. They should receive formative feedback on their work and be encouraged to test and develop their own ideas and to respect established deadlines.