Driving Question: How can I use fictional/non-fictional storytelling to create a meaningful experience about Greek society (ancient/ contemporary)?

Project Description: During the online COVID term, our module focused on fictional/non-fictional storytelling to create a meaningful experience about society, and we were given the option to write a script or a podcast. For those of us who chose to write a script, we were given free rein regarding the topic; however, we had to stick to a ten-minute timeline.

The topics that people came up with were quite varied. Some of us chose to write about the current COVID-19 situation, some of us decided to talk about other aspects of society such as poaching or the LGBT+ community. Below you can read scripts by CM2 students Bella and Giulia, who highlight the effects of social media and a young girl’s battle with cystic fibrosis and COVID-19.

Bella

If you’ve ever thought about what Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok would be like as people, you’ll love reading this. In my own work, I’ve combined elements of fiction with exaggerated reflections of reality by personifying social media apps.

The inspiration for this piece came from the Nosedive episode from Black Mirror. The episode is set in a world where people’s entire lives depend on their “rating” based on social interactions. The setting shapes a tragically social media-obsessed society—no doubt a critique of how people interact with each other online. I wanted to reflect a similar message but in a more light-hearted, comedic way. In my play, I wanted to demonstrate our modern dependence on social media and the negative impacts it can have on our well being and relationships. My hope is that the audience learns to examine their own relationship with social media, and decide for themselves if they could benefit from a break like my main character, Logan.

Giulia

My work shows a young girl’s battle with cystic fibrosis and COVID-19. It is meant to give you a glimpse of what people with pre-existing illnesses are going through at this time.

The inspiration for this came from my own surroundings back at home in Denmark. I was noticing that not all people were sticking to the rules effectively putting those of us who are at risk. I think that some people don’t realise the danger they could be putting someone else in, especially as you don’t know what other people are dealing with at the moment. My hope is that the audience starts looking a little more closely at how careful they are being in these tough times.

Driving Question: Is there life on Mars?

My goals with this project have been to get people thinking about astrobiology and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and work towards the general democratization of scientific thinking and knowledge. It is my belief that every member of society should have the tools and ability to conduct scientific investigations if they so wish, and to engage critically with new scientific discoveries and current events. Science isn’t something that should only be available to people who have a four year degree and a lab!

This is why I created a kit that can be used anywhere, by anyone, and bring the study of extraterrestrial life to their own home. I designed/adapted three experiments and activities to inspire critical thinking, scientific inquiry, and knowledge building surrounding biology, astronomy, and alien life. I also took a deeper look in my capstone paper at the reasons why there is so much misinformation about aliens in the media and amongst the general public, and along the way discovered a surprising love for science communication! The conversations I had that this kit inspired are the biggest proof that I met my goal of democratizing science; maybe if we all spent a little more time talking about life outside of earth, we’d be able to make life a little better inside of earth too!

What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of the fact that even in the face of hardship, and people telling me that I couldn’t make this work, I chose to listen to all of the amazing people encouraging me to keep going and try another strategy. This project started out looking very differently, but I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. In fact, this product aligns far more with my original goals than the experiment I was planning from the start!

It was so worth it to stay true to my original intention, and put in the extra detail work to make this something I could be really proud of leaving as my TGS legacy.

What are the biggest lessons you learnt through the process of your mastery project?

I learned that the two keys to a successful project are a lot more subtle than you might think: logistics, and a whole lot of feedback. The biggest mistake I made at the outset of my Mastery was not leaving enough time for certain logistical processes to take place, meaning that eventually, I didn’t get the things I needed in time to do the experiment I had planned. Preparation is really nine-tenths of it, and is an essential part of making all the fun showy stuff a possibility!

Feedback is the other big piece of the puzzle. It’s so easy to get caught in your own little Mastery project bubble and forget that the reason you’re doing all this work is to create something other people will be able to interact with and enjoy! It’s essential to keep that factor in mind every step of the way and appreciate every pair of eyes you can get on your project whenever possible.

Driving Question: What is a meaningful community project that I can provide to meet the needs of my local community?

Project Description: In collaboration with a Belgian, a Kosovar and a Macedonian NGO, my friends and I turned an abandoned building into a socio-cultural space. We transformed a potential threat for a neighborhood and a city at large into an opportunity for personal and community development. This project aims to reinforce existing local initiatives of young people and to guide that sense of initiative into concrete results.

The building was transformed in a matter of two weeks, and although there are still quite a few basic necessities missing, we’ve been able to start projects, keep it open during warm days, and organize events. The center is located in the suburbs of Tirana, which is not ideal as it is far away from the center, however it really provides insight into the aim of this space as it directly faces the reality of a marginalized community.

Uzina is a socio-cultural space with the aim of empowering the local community to transform ideas into action. We hope to bring about a Decentralized Renaissance in art, the politics of life, and culture. The goal of Uzina is to cultivate and encourage empathy, compassion, altruism and prosocial engagement. We continuously work (and play) to promote love for people, nature, culture and learning.

What were your goals for this project? We wanted to bring to life an old industrial building and build a connection amongst different organizations/groups of people who share a common goal.

By bringing together a diverse group of young people from different countries, and by working together to build this new space, we wanted to create an educational and social dynamic. Through collaborative project management, the participants gained and shared skills, deepened their understanding of other cultures, and felt part of a bigger whole.
By practicing collective group processes, participants had the opportunity to express themselves, and to experiment with ways of decision-making and executing them in joint cooperation.

What are you most proud of? I am proud to have persisted through unimaginable challenges while managing to adapt the project to different circumstances without changing the primary purpose.

The project was initially going to take place as a community program in a socio-cultural center, but then there was a risk of the social-center being shut down. I decided to transform the program into an after-school module that would take place in a classroom setting. COVID-19 occurred, which meant the module couldn’t be implemented during that timespan. And that led to the creation of a creativity module handbook, which can be used to design and facilitate an after-school creativity module for students 10-12 years old.

Driving Question: How can we help the students at the Hagunoy East Central School internalize the importance of healthy food choices?

Project Description: For this project, I wanted to answer the question, “How can we help the students at the Hagunoy East Central School internalize the importance of healthy food choices?” My sister (fellow TGS student Gigi) and I organized a garden planting event at the Hagunoy Elementary School. We also created an illustrated story book centered around the theme of healthy eating. The second part of the book featured simple recipes to show the students how to incorporate fresh veggies and fruits into their meals.

Project Overview: Throughout the school year, Arora and I developed our understanding of deaf culture and sign language through using American Sign Language Center classes and the use of ASL University lesson plans, and other resources found on youtube and online. Our consistent efforts allowed me to continuously improve which we hope to continue doing after graduation. The goals at the beginning of the year were focused on vocabulary and conversational skills which were practiced between Arora and myself. It was very helpful to have a partner that was at the same level so we could learn together. We used many sources to aid in our learning but one of the most fun was learning songs. We learned multiple songs to work on our vocabulary and we wanted to share one of them with you!

Driving Question: How can we create a board game that represents peoples personal experience with privilege?

Project Overview: Privilege Perusal fuses game design and social justice into what hopes to provide an education while being an enjoyable and engaging activity for people of all ages.

The premise of the game surrounds the idea of privilege. Players embody real life characters for the game which are created through interviews and investigations conducted. These players, which are chosen by a spinner at the beginning of the game, encounter scenarios throughout the game which will showcase different ending points that show the different privileges of people.

Through the project, we aimed to learn about privilege through firsthand experiences and hone our interview and communication skills. In addition, we wanted to use our creativity and art skills to make the game as beautiful as it can be.

Driving Question: How can I use non-fictional storytelling to convey a meaningful message about sustainable living?

Project Description: The “Green Leaf” podcast is a 10 minutes podcast. It discusses some aspects of sustainable living. I talk about overconsumption, environmental concerns, fast fashion and how they could all fit into a sustainable lifestyle.

Our remote learning module has been a fun getaway during this quarantine. Fast fashion represents a big part of everyone’s life as most of us dress with it, so it was really interesting to look more into its effects on the environment and how we can reduce them.