Did you know what you wanted to be in the eighth grade…what you wanted to do with the rest of your life? Maybe the better question is, were you even thinking about it? Well thanks to a unit in school, Robert Blue Middle School eighth graders are. They are thinking about what brings them joy and passion; who influences them; and what they would tell their future selves. They are thinking about what they want to be doing in a year, and what they hoped to have achieved in 10 years. They are thinking about professions, character, bucket lists, and more, thanks to a project they call a “Life Project.”
For the fourth year now (last year’s eighth graders were unable to show off their projects to the public due to the Coronavirus pandemic), Robert Blue Middle School teachers have been challenging eighth graders to create a Showcase tri-fold board that features specific items that are designated, and others they can choose from a list to do.
One of the things many students did for their Showcase board was create a Bucket List of 25 things they would like to do. They could be big or small dreams; in the near future or many years from now; they could be easy to achieve or take a lot of work; but they had to think about what it was they wanted to achieve, accomplish, and try at some point in their life. The ideas were as varied as the students themselves. Some of Dylan Beck’s dreams include graduating from high school and college, flying a plane, going scuba diving, building an entire truck himself, and working with his dad at Beck Performance Diesel. Jersey Willwerth wants to go to the Career Academy, convert a van into a mobile home and live on the road for a year, go to America’s Got Talent, live in Japan for two years, and go to a Lakers basketball game. Patrick Heaton would like to go to a Super Bowl game, visit every state in the U.S., go on a cruise ship, and visit the White House. These are only a small sampling of how big these kids dream…and that’s wonderful.
Other items the Class of 2025 had to include were a statement piece about something they believed in; a silhouette project that was decorated with images and words that represent them; and a road map of what they hope their life will look like.
From the following category, they had to do three:
• Graduation speech
• Figure me out math sheet
• Math about me poster
• Create a 3D object
• Make a digital presentation about a book that impacted them and why others should read it
• Write a song about themselves
• Write a thank you card to a historical person of influence
They had to choose four projects to complete from the following list:
• Their Bucket List
• A memory letter/poem
• What you value most
• Acrostic Poem
• Definition of their name
• Favorite Quotes
• Write a theme song
• Create a Wordal that describes themselves.
“I liked showing my creativity with this project,” said eighth grader Adam Champagne.
His favorite part of his display was the graduation speech he wrote that he thought his future self might say. He talked about all the good times he had, but he also wrote about how some people just take these school days for granted because they want to hurry and grow up.
“I was glad we were assigned this project because it helped put things into perspective for me,” said Champagne.
Kennedy Thacker used her board to share the story of how she was adopted and how important her family is to her.
“The hardest part of the assignment was just creating the idea of how I wanted to display everything on my board,” she said.
Thacker also had on her board that she hopes to be in medicine someday when she grows up, just like her mom.
Natalie Pedersen’s board was an obvious giveaway that she loves art. The board had paint splatters, there were canvas paintings, and she even chose to write her “Thank You” letter to Bob Ross…even non-artists know who he is – the gentleman who had the television show and taught anyone and everyone how to paint trees and beautiful landscapes. Pedersen shared on her board that her dream is to one day move back to Eagle Grove and be an art teacher.
The favorite parts of this project for Genesis Padilla was creating her self portrait and making the road map of her future.
“It was really fun to do,” she said of the assignment.
It was not surprising to learn that Gabriela Lobato shared on her board that she hopes to design clothes one day. The layout of her board featured a bag of buttons as a 3D object, symbolizing her passion and the fact that she already sews some of her own clothes. Sometimes she even takes two or three pieces of clothing and uses them to make one unique creation she can wear.
Lobato also showed her designer/creative side by how she did her bucket list. While most kids typed them out and pasted them to some type of paper, she put each list item on a popsicle stick and put them in a bucket that sat in front of her board.
Michelle Calles’s favorite part of her Life Project was the self portrait she made. She used this part of the assignment as a challenge to herself. She decided to make it using pastels, which she had never worked with before. She found out…she loves them. Other favorite parts of her board included the flowers she made out of tissue paper (which she had also never attempted before), and the quotes.
“They all mean so much to me,” she said about the quotes she chose to display on her board.
One of her two favorites was said by Coco Chanel – “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.”
She wrote on her board she likes that quote because “We live in a world that has changed. Everything is about beauty standards and life isn’t all about that. School can be very toxic regarding this, but beauty won’t take you far if that’s your only focus, so just be you.”
Her other favorite quote is from Lebron James who said “I like criticism. It makes me strong.”
She likes that one because “It comes from an athlete who gets a lot of hate. Him saying that makes you realize to take the criticism and have thick skin.”
The other part of Calles’s board that had many adults talking was her open and honest letter she wrote to her future self. She agreed to share it with our Eagle readers.
Most of the eighth graders agreed that the Life Project was fun to work on – a little challenging at times, having to really think about what it is that inspires them and makes them who they are…but fun. It was a great way for them to learn about who they are and what they stand for. It will also be fun for them to look back on as they graduate from high school in four short years – did they achieve some of their goals? Do they still have the same aspirations? Have they listened to their own advice? Students have been doing these projects for enough years now that they may start popping up at graduation parties. If you see one, take the time to really look them over carefully. They are absolutely amazing, and you just might be surprised, no matter how well you know someone, what you might learn about them from their displays.
