News Hub

Alaina Brown (left) and Kaitlyn Miller (right) share their displays. Alaina learned American Sign Language (ASL) while Kaitlyn raised money for a camp for children with Celiac Disease.

MARCH 17, 2025— Imagine a place where a true crime podcast could be shared under the same roof as a homemade bake shop or a musical composition performance. The High School made this scenario a reality during its annual International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) Personal Project Showcase.

The evening is the culmination of years of learning, and months of planning and designing.

Each student in the showcase picked a specific area of study, whether it be learning a new skill, taking part in some form of community service, or creating something new.

We spoke to several students who were eager to share their experiences, including Rhett Engels, who built his own cajon. A cajon is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru.

“It took some time, but it’s been fun,” Engels said.

Engels pictured with his cajon

Another student, Dylan Becker, learned how to play all four major saxophones ( Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone) plus altissimo on alto saxophone.

She performed a song on each instrument and graded herself on a NYSSMA level 5 and 6 grading sheet.

"My goal was to score a above an 80 on all parts, which I did," Becker said.

Becker (left) showcases her display 

While some students like Becker and Engels built instruments, others built devices, or even launched their own TikTok or YouTube channels. One student, Ian Ryan, successfully launched his own business selling trading cards.

But for a few students, the showcase was a chance to build community, primarily through fundraisers to a cause they care about.

Grant pictured with her display

Annabelle Grant was one of those students. She decided to raise money for the enCourage Kids Foundation, a New York City-based nonprofit that helps hospitalized children. Grant raised roughly $600, which she used to purchase toys for the children. 

She traveled to NYC to personally drop off the toys, which marked her first trip to the city.

“The feeling of giving back and just knowing that I am helping somebody, especially kids and those in need, is just the best feeling that anybody could ever feel,” Grant said.

Lily Cooley, whose display was set up down the hall from Grant, also gave back to children. She orchestrated a stuffed animal drive for the Society for the Protection and Care of Children (SPCC) of Rochester, which assists children experiencing abuse or neglect.

Cooley speaks to some visitors to her table

Cooley started her drive in October and was able to acquire roughly 80 stuffed animals, which she dropped off to the organization in early December, just in time for Christmas.

“It definitely feels great,” Cooley said “It’s something that’s small, but it has a big impact on them.”

As mentioned, the projects themselves took up roughly two to three months of development before the showcase. But the actual process behind the showcase starts in the Spring of their freshman years.

Students first learned about the project itself and then started crafting a specific topic to research and present. 

Their work is broken down into three pieces:

 

1. Learning Goal: students set a learning goal based on something they find interesting.
2. Product or Outcome: this can be a physical object (e.g., model, invention, etc.) an event (e.g., fundraiser, awareness play, etc.), or a creative piece (e.g., video, artwork, etc.).
3. Report: a detailed analysis of the entire project and process of development. The report may be written or recorded orally or visually.

The entire process wrapped up shortly before the showcase. For student JJ Tome, his goal was to build an automatic tennis ball launcher. He also said he wanted to learn more about the safe handling and construction of the launcher itself.

Elsewhere, Ameilia West outlined her plan to organize a donation campaign for the Second Hand Dog Rescue in Rochester. This included learning more about the promotional process in order to get the word out about the fundraiser.

More pictures can be found by clicking here.

Several students received awards for their projects: