The culminating learning exercise for our 8th graders was to work in a group and choose a local wellness issue they were passionate about. Each group reflected on their priorities and then used their self-direction skills to propose ways to locally resolve the issue. The fields of study centered on wellness included:
Mental, Physical, Social, Emotional, Education/Work, Community, and Environmental Wellness.
Why it matters: Profile Projects are where students explicitly show their progress towards our Profile of a Ramsey Graduate Competencies. In this project, they:
Thought critically about how the problem should be framed to a group of panelists (teachers, administrators, Saddle River and Ramsey Board members, and even Mayor Dillon!).
Creatively identified workable solutions.
Collaborated on constructing measurable solutions
Communicated all of that information in an 8-10 minute presentation to our esteemed panelists.
What they’re saying: We want to thank our Smith School teachers and Profile Project panelists for supporting our students. The smiles on the students’ faces showed how proud they were of their hard work and dedication. We could not have had such a special day without your support and participation. Our students were able to showcase their skills as collaborators, creative and critical thinkers, and effective communicators. Giving our students the opportunity to pursue their passions for making a positive change in the world and demonstrating what it means to be a Ramsey student is unlike any other experience. - Christine Larsen and Brittany Perrotti, 2022-2023 Profile Project Co-Leaders
Go deeper: This project is one of our key culminating experiences students have as they grow through Ramsey Schools.
In 3rd Grade, students work to have an impact here, near, or far.
In 5th Grade, students share a passion via a Dater Ted-Style Talk.
In 12th Grade, students create a project and then defend their learning by analyzing how they apply and transfer the profile competencies.