Grades 9 & 10

Kana speaks about her Personal Project on the illegal trade of the endangered animal, the slow loris. Her digital book, Dr. Slow Loris Got It!, is being used
by the NGO Little Fireface Project to educate the local population in Indonesia, and by the Japan Wildlife Conservation Society since Japan is the largest market for slow lorises. 
 

For our Grade 10 students, the Personal Project (PP) is the opportunity to conduct  an independent inquiry into an area of personal interest. Students are given time and are assigned a teacher-mentor to allow them to truly learn about something that is meaningful to them. Over the four months of the project, the students take full advantage of this chance to study a whole range of topics that will assist them in researching, understanding and presenting their topic of interest. 
 
It is truly encouraging to see the breadth of interests that our students have. Examples of topics from the past included: 

• Create a video raising awareness about the issue of female safety on public transport.
• Make an architectural model of some of our new campus.
• Build a large battlefield of Warcraft miniatures to show time management skills.
• Make a eco-friendly travel guide that motivates people to explore the world.
• Learn about the future of cockpit automation in commercial aviation.
• Write and perform a song that helps increase concentration.
• Gain an understanding of how early monitor systems are being implemented to effectively diagnose dementia.

In addition to being an opportunity to study something outside of the normal classroom material, the PP also develops the skills to communicate, create, and share their ideas. Students create action plans, success criteria and reflect on what skills they use to achieve their goals. Reflection is an integral component of the PP as it is through reflection that students are able to identify what they have learned and how they can take that learning into other areas of school life. So when students submit their final report and project, they had plenty to celebrate. 

At YIS, students are provided with opportunities to craft a flourishing school life that is unique to their passions and interests. Through our extensive clubs and activities offerings, an enriching service learning program that allows students to make a difference locally and internationally, an array of performing and visual arts at all school levels, and through our diverse Expeditions program, students live, learn and lead beyond the classroom setting.

The Global Citizen Diploma (GCD) is a high school diploma designed to complement the rigor of the DP  by recognizing a student’s whole education and accomplishments – learning that has taken place inside the classroom, within the larger context of school and in the world beyond. There are three levels of certification for the GCD - the GCD Certificate, the GCD Diploma and the GCD Diploma with Distinction. Students begin to work towards one of these certifications in Grade 9. In addition to other curriculum requirements, a minimum of the GCD Certificate is required for graduation from Grade 12.