Can a 14-year-old be expected to conduct a public presentation similar to a TED talk? Island Pacific School students have been doing so for 25 years through a program called Masterworks.
Watch our full program on our YouTube channel here.
Our middle school curriculum recognizes the importance of independent study. Self-selected, self-directed, and self-presented, this Masterworks independent study project is compulsory for every Grade 9 student and marks a significant academic achievement at IPS.
Masterworks projects include big, guiding questions such as, “Do YOU know what you’re eating? The Negative Effects of Food Additives and How to Avoid Them”, “Piece by Piece – the Process of Designing a LEGO set”, “Back to Nature — Teaching Youth the Benefits of Being Outdoors Through an Adventure Film”, “House on Wheels — The Process of Restoring a Boler Trailer” or “The Evolution of Mountain Bikes”.
| Date & Time | Presenter | Presentation | Faculty Advisor | External Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 7 9:00 am | Jonas Blanchard | Wyld Design - Creating a Clothing Brand | Andrea Earle | Wade Morissette, Javier Estebecorena |
| June 7 10:00 am | Beck Morissette | House on Wheels - The Process of Restoring a Boler Trailer | Adrian van Lidth de Jeude | Mike Shannon, Mike Benson |
| June 7 11:00 am | Owen Walker | The Evolution of Mountain Bikes | Jennifer Henrichsen | Colin Herrington |
| June 7 1:00 pm | Rosalie Hancock | A World Run on Illusion - A Conceptual and Historical Look at Currency | Andrea Earle | Bronwyn Churcher |
| June 7 2:00 pm | Jake Salomi | Motorbike Mechanics - Rebuilding A Yamaha YZ125 Dirt Bike Engine | Jennifer Henrichsen | Geoff Gagan, Corino Salomi |
| June 8 9:00 am | Gavin Burns | A Swing Through Time - The Development of Major League Baseball | Easton Rough | David Jan, Mark Pottie |
| June 8 10:00 am | James McDonald | It's not a Woman's World - A Look In How Colonization Affected Women's Rights | Kari Marentette | Alexa McLaren |
| June 8 11:00 am | Kate Purdy | Hanging by a Thread - The Environmental Impacts of the Fashion Industry | Kari Marentette | David Newson |
| June 8 1:00 pm | Rebecca Durand | From Behind the Camera — The Process of Filmmaking | Jennifer Zdril | Martin Wood |
| June 8 2:00 pm | Connor Wood | Market Manipulations - Using Marketing Strategies to Grow my Brand | Adrian van Lidth de Jeude | Rob McDonald, Tany Imhof |
| June 9 9:00 am | Wylie Stiver | Leave the Faucet Running - A Look Into Six Months Of Continuous Songwriting | Pam Matthews | Jesse Tucker, Ryan Hauschild |
| June 9 10:00 am | Malcolm Cormier | All Aboard - Trains in Canada | Amanda Szabo | Craig McDowall |
| June 9 11:00 am | Sydney Florin | Do YOU Know What You're Eating? The Negative Effects of Food Additives and How to Avoid Them | Pam Matthews | Ellie MacKay, Phil Day |
| June 9 1:00 pm | Freja Henrichsen | How to Shred Safely - Skiing in the Backcountry | Jennifer Henrichsen | David Suda, Joanna MacDonald |
| June 10 9:00 am | Roman Bicknell | Piece by Piece - the Process of Designing a LEGO set | Amanda Szabo | Melanie Greenaway |
| June 10 10:00 am | Sam Shanks | Deducing Information from a Graphic Crime Scene | Scott Herrington | Cprl Adam Koelhe |
| June 10 11:00 am | Phoebe MacLeod | Back to Nature - Teaching Youth the Benefits of Being Outdoors Through an Adventure Film | Easton Rough | Emmett Sparling |
Masterworks Project Requirements
The project requires that students:
+ Produce work that surpasses their previous accomplishments
+ Conduct in-depth research
+ Communicate their understanding to academic advisors and the general public in an oral presentation that also serves as a defense of their scholarly and creative pursuits
+ Critically reflect on input they receive throughout the school year by experts and mentors who serve as external committee members.
External Advisors
Students are mentored through the process by expert advisors—leaders in their respective fields—who act as external advisors.
Working collaboratively with IPS faculty, advisory committees guide Grade 9s through the Masterworks process that puts students at the centre of their learning and that provides a foundation for academic achievement.
Interested in becoming an external advisor? Contact us!
Project Topics
In past years, students have made documentary and animated films, created original works of art, written extensive research papers, written and published a novella, and built an actual boat. These middle school activities and projects reflect the uniqueness and interests of our individual students.
We love the diversity of projects the students come up with and, while each project is unique, what is common among them is that a highly focused level of scholarship, academic inquiry, and creativity underpin original questions asked by our students about the world in which they live. This diversity is reflected in our middle school curriculum.