Under the guidance of Mrs. O’Brien and Mr. Litowitz, six ninth graders conceived, completed, and presented independent projects that allowed them to dive deeply into a topic of their choosing. This year, students designed iPhone apps, dancers’ costumes, and jewelry, created original songs and cartoons, and analyzed the differences between digital and film photography. The students took the stage to present their creative projects at the ISP Expo on April 20.

Mrs. O’Brien introduced the presenters with the following words:
“The Independent Study Project is a true hallmark of IMS, and one of the excellent and unique opportunities afforded to ninth graders at Indian Mountain. It is rare for students at this grade level to be given the necessary time and support needed to pursue a personal passion through the development and completion of an original, independent project, which goes above and beyond the traditional framework of school life.
“The presentations by six ISP students represent the culmination of several months of creative and determined work. Beginning in the fall, these students wrote detailed proposals, researched their topics, wrote, built, rehearsed, designed, and continually made revisions to their projects during X-Blocks, on weekends, and over school breaks. But that’s not all; this was all done while maintaining high academic standing in the rest of their coursework.

“Over the past five years, we have seen the creation of a new sport, computer animation, photography exhibits, several original films and songs, all types of writing–plays, poems, short stories, as well as cookbooks and coffee tables! You name it; our ninth graders have done it. This year was no different.”

The presentations represented a fascinating range of topics and highlighted the exciting diversity and creativity of the IMS community. Congratulations to Talia Bush, Kelly Yu, Helena Seo, June Leigh, Janessa Cheung, and Zane Acord for their terrific work.