Genius Hour 2

Presentations, demonstrations, conversations and plenty of admiration; This Thursday saw the culmination of Genius Hour: Episode 2. The children of the senior syndicate have been working hard on their individual projects and the fair saw the opportunity to share with their peers, parents and other children from HSS.

Another vibrant feel throughout the syndicate as pride was on show throughout. Spirits were high, and Questions flowed as children were proud to present their latest projects.

Genius hour is an independent project that works on 3 simple rules:

- The project must make a difference to someone or something in a positive way. It might educate, inform or improve someone's life.

- you must research and explore your driving question to find a solution.

- it must be shared.

This terms projects demonstrated the diverse range of interests throughout the syndicate. It was lovely to see people exploring a driving question that intrigued them... Dinosaurs, natural disasters, ores and gems, how fish breathe underwater. There were projects that help those in need: publicising tourism in areas hit be natural disasters, supporting charities like 'CanTeen', the coastguard or SPCA. Many people had learnt new skills: tiedying, making your own lip balm, coding a game, building a model boat, making your own musical instruments out of recycled materials. There was also the tutorial projects: teaching someone a skill: dance, fitness, rugby, guitar. Such a diverse range of creative, thought provoking tasks.

Overall, another very productive genius hour. It's great to see the progress from term 1, and how the children are learn key skills such as planning, creative thinking, problem solving and reflection throughout. Using their own initiative and risk-taking has been two of the more obvious skills that have been on show, but is great to see the continued progress in their confidence in tasks.