The Grade 11’s are busy working on a project of mammoth proportions. The Extended Essay is a 4000-word critical-research essay that is at the core of the Diploma Programme. Each student chooses a subject and topic of interest, and works with a supervisor to investigate, analyze, and communicate their findings. This university-level essay comes with the added challenge that it is completed outside of regular class time. To help the students progress, all the Grade 11s came together last week for a three-hour session, continuing their in-depth research using the wealth of online resources provided by the school library, and creating outlines for their essays.
Those students who chose a science-based essay also had the opportunity to come in on the May 20 Pro-D day to continue working on their experiments in the school labs. In the physics lab, one student was examining the relationship between the linear and angular velocities of a bouncing ball, while, in the fitness room, a biology student explored how listening to a faster tempo music increases heart rate and blood pressure during exercise.
Our students will continue their work over the summer break and return with a draft of their essay. This work will be some of the most challenging of their high school education, but also among the most rewarding. A full list of topics will be shared as part of the Grade 12 Capstone projects next year.