The M5 Personal Project is the final project of our most senior students at Somersfield Academy. It is our capstone project, which is a reflection of who we are and what we believe about education. Each M5 student commits to a long-term assignment of sustained inquiry into a topic of deep personal interest culminating in some meaningful experience, product or event. The MYP Personal Project gives Somersfield graduating students the opportunity to explore a passion.

A considerable amount of time, commitment, research, and reflection go into the completion of this project with the realization that the students will not be the same people they were when they originally embarked on this journey.

We do many wonderful things at Somersfield Academy but it is our belief that this is our shining moment where we celebrate each student’s individual interests, an experience essential to our communal identity. These projects represent the best of our students and in turn represent the best in all of us.

Frankie Arnold

Create re-creations of Mount Fuji using the traditional method of woodblock printing and 3 short stories telling the stories of each painting.

For my Personal Project, I made three woodblock prints and accompanied each with a short story. The first woodblock is a folktale about a little girl found inside of a bamboo shoot, who realizes she is a goddess, and the short story describes this folktale. The second print depicts an image of a bridge with a cart crossing it. In the short story that goes with the print, readers discover the everyday life of an individual during the Edo period. My third and final print depicts an image of an artist working on a woodblock print, and the short story describes this process.

Emilie Boucher

Write a 32-chapter novella about 4 girls stranded on a deserted island.

My book is about an airplane crash that forces four very different girls to collaborate with each other: one with a dark past, one with a violent upbringing, one with a burden she has to live with and one with a life-changing disease. They are faced with many challenges that teens should not be subjected to. Forced to be together in a cave to be safe, they snap at each other, pushing one another to the brink. These girls all have different struggles that they have to face, and they are being tested in extremely stressful situations.

Lily Crofts

Create songs through the lens of social justice.

For my Personal Project, I chose to write and perform three songs through the lens of social justice. Each of these songs targets and brings awareness to a certain social justice related issue. I wrote lyrics and a melody for songs about the inter-social treatment issues: sexism, racism, and classism. The aim of my MYP Personal Project is to influence and encourage the social justice movement. I chose to do this because music is my passion and I find social justice a very interesting topic. Combining these two loves, I have discovered that music psychologically impacts our actions and thoughts; therefore I decided it was a beneficial way to spread awareness.

Alessio Dane-Pinardi

Create a diet and gym program to help athletes improve their football skills.

The goal of my Personal Project was to create a video of myself coaching a younger group of students on improving football skills including proper warm-ups and drills, culminating in a football game.

In addition to this, I have also created a nutritional program which was advertised to younger footballers. I talk about the importance of nutrition for athletes, the impacts of the marketing of fast food restaurants, such as McDonald’s, and how a healthier diet will benefit not just an athlete’s game but also your everyday life.

Tyler DoCouto

Create a 6 song EP (African Percussions).

My Personal Project is the product of my passion and determination to take my first steps into what the music industry has to offer. My goal for this project was to create 4-6 Hip-hop/Rap compositions, tackling a range of themes and topics such as love, deception, regret, making it big in the music industry, confidence, money, drug usage and its negative implications, and how some artists may influence teens into doing drugs. I am composing the melodies, mixing and mastering, and writing the lyrics on my own. The EP will be uploaded and available for anyone to enjoy on platforms such as Soundcloud, YouTube, and Apple Music.

Matthew Elliott

Write a detailed diary of a Liberian child during the Liberian civil war (1989-1997).

The goal of my project was to write a detailed published diary of a Liberian child in 1999, during the second Liberian Civil War, recounting his struggles to escape becoming a child soldier. Furthermore, this child wants to pursue his dream of becoming a footballer. All of the unsold books and funds from the sold books will go to the reputable Liberian charity called, ‘Child Soldiers International’. In order to complete my project, I utilized my I.B. Learner Profile of being a thinker. I needed to use this skill to complete my full report and efficiently write and publish my novel entitled, DREAM. It took me four months of focused and dedicated work to complete my novel and the entire school year to effectively finish my report. This journey has played a key part in my improvement as a principled learner. Furthermore, I feel fulfilled and content in the idea that this project bettered me as a caring, global citizen.

Ari Harrison

Create a Ted Talk on Kinetic Energy - Create a bike, powered by kinetic energy.

My Personal Project goal consisted of two main foci, each contributing to the other; if they were separate or alone my goal would not have been as challenging. The first focus was to educate my community and other students on the impact of electrically powered vehicles through the usage of a short film/documentary. The second focus was to build an electrically powered bike with cheap, affordable parts to show how easy it is to put together an E-bike and to show that people don’t have to waste thousands of dollars on buying a gas-powered bike or car. This is a highly challenging goal because it requires people to try to see the ‘bigger picture’ of how we are dependent on fossil fuels in our everyday lives. Many people are unaware of their carbon footprint which is particularly damaging in Bermuda because of our deep reliance on fossil fuels to produce energy.

Annalise Hunt

Create a series of short films exploring the lives of adolescents struggling with mental Health issues.

My project consisted of creating three short films with the duration of 15 minutes each. All short films will explore the life of adolescents and their struggle with mental health, specifically depression, anxiety and eating disorders. I will publicly present these films in a theatre with the purpose of enlightening my target audience: young adults, ages twelve to sixteen. To do this, I have gone through a process in which I researched, planned, and finally created the final product. The films will portrays teens and mental health struggles, how to cope with them, and how to confront their problems successfully, resulting in better self-worth and an overall a healthier lifestyle.

Mackenzie James

Create a mosaic of recycled plastic and seaglass.

For my project, I created a mosaic using plastic and sea glass that I have collected from the beaches around Bermuda. I decided to use plastic and glass to help the environment and to clean Bermuda’s beaches to better the environment for sea life and animals. The design of my mosaic is the Bermuda Gombeys. I have created their bodies and faces from sea glass and their hats from plastic. I wanted to do the Gombeys because I remember watching them as a young child and being fascinated with the color and spirit that they brought. Through the creation of my mosaic, I hope to inspire others to look further into their culture and use creativity to display it. I am planning for my mosaic to be displayed in the new Somersfield Diploma Programme building.

Darius Mills

Create a short documentary about hydroponic farming and make a model farming technique.

The goal for my Personal Project was to create a hydroponic farming garden and create an educational film and in the process, determine the feasibility of using hydroponics in today’s agriculture. Nowadays, people are highly focused on healthy diets and this is where hydroponics comes into play because you can grow microgreens, fruits, and vegetables. Microgreens are small, edible greens that are grown from the seeds of vegetables and herbs. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Plants grown hydroponically can grow 50% faster and use 90% less water.

Sakai Newman

Create a training program for middle distance athletes and train a group of young people in a gym.

My Personal Project discusses and evaluates the importance of health, nutrition, and fitness for athletes. Through this exploration, I established two goals to ensure the success of the project. My first goal was to develop a comprehensive training program for athletes, primarily running, which encompassed gym work and nutrition. My second goal was to coach student athletes from Somersfield Academy at the B.E.A.S.T gym, utilizing exercises from my training program. I aimed to educate athletes on the importance of nutrition, as it is usually not discussed equally as sports and gym work. By bridging the divide between health and sports, athletes will become more well-rounded and informed on both nutrition and fitness.

Samuel Resnik

To create an instructional baseball video and various fitness training programmes.

My Personal Project is focused on personal fitness to improve my skills in baseball. Through my project, I have created multiple workout programs aimed at gaining strength. In total, I have created three different workout programs since June of 2018, specifically used for different purposes and focus areas. In addition to creating and executing the programs, I have also regulated my diet paired with the programs to become healthier. I have been tracking my progress since the start of my project to see the areas of my improvement through a set of strenuous tests.

Paris Seymour

Create an hyper casual mobile game.

Through my work, I want others to understand that coding just scratches the surface when making an app. Yes, coding is a big part of it, but designing all of the backgrounds and creating characters takes just as much time than if you are coding it all. It takes a lot of patience and skill to code an app, and I know from experience that not everyone has those skills. However, Build Box lets you create a game that could be done in a day, which really piqued my interest and I’m hoping it will help pique others’ interest as well.

?Jaden Smith

Create 2 authentic knives that follow the style of the American bowie knife and a traditional Scottish knife.

My Personal Project aims to explore my heritage through the creation of knives of my cultures, while expressing my cultural roots as a Bermudian and showing the intersection of my culture in Bermuda and my heritage as a descendent of the Irish and American people. Specifically, I am creating a bowie knife to represent my American roots and a sgian dubh for my Irish ones, whilst using Bermuda cedar wood for the handles.

Jacob Stephens

Construct a traditional Cedar blanket chest.

I’ve always been interested in woodworking. My father worked as a child with his father for hours on end in his woodshop, and now I have a chance to do the same. In fact, my father made his own Bermuda Cedar blanket chest when he was a teen, and so I’ve now completed the next generation in the set. It was a natural fit for my project to be centered around carpentry, and I was lucky enough to find a goal that reflected my family history, and Bermudian history, through using traditional Bermudian woodworking techniques.

Bradley Stewart

Create traditional Bermudian dishes and write a cook book.

My product is a cookbook that contains some of my own recipes as well as some traditional Bermudian ones. I also have a few recipes that have been adjusted from traditional Chesapeake Bay recipes. I have also included recipes that are close to my family members like my grandfather’s elementary school cookies and my great aunt’s curry from when she lived in Africa. As well as recipes, my cookbook includes a poem and pictures to accompany the recipes, and pictures of Bermuda, and other memories from when I was creating the recipes.

Marco Stirling

To construct an historically accurate English longbow.

Over the course of the last few months, I’ve been working to hand-craft an English longbow making use of authentic materials and traditional designs as the main component of an investigation of Personal and Cultural expression. The bow is a key component of not just a European, but global archer’s culture that has persisted in various forms for millennia. Having conducted a significant amount of research, I decided to undertake the challenge of producing one of these fine pieces of medieval craftsmanship, rekindling my childhood fascination with the sport of archery.

Kate Tobin

Plan and run a diversity and leadership conference with students and create a guiding handbook to run a conference.

I have always been passionate about social justice related issues and the MYP Personal Project gave me an opportunity to share my passion with others and spark much needed conversations. Elements of our identity can be somewhat controversial, and in order to have healthy conversations, we often have to re-examine our beliefs and values. This approach to discussion is universal as without an open mind, we can’t truly learn and grow. In my opinion, many of Bermuda’s societal problems stem from underlying tensions related to key identifiers such as race, religion, and sexual orientation. I believe it is important for us, as students and as the future leaders of Bermuda, to address these issues in order to move forward in a constructive and cooperative manner.

Leyli Walker

Create a four-foot balsa wood radio-controlled boat and create a video explaining the science behind boat sailing.

For this project I have made a thirty-inch radio-controlled sail boat out of balsa wood as well as an educational video about sailing. Building a radio-controlled sail boat enhanced my knowledge on the global context, scientific and technical innovation. I was able to deepen my understanding of the workings of the sail boat, and with that knowledge and additional research, I put together a video for young sailors. The video explains the basic physics of sailing and the different elements of sailing to make the boat move.

?Jesse Williams

Create a novel and use numerous methods to prevent animal cruelty.

My Personal Project is focusing on the historical significance of Bermuda cedar. I am aiming to create some products that represent that legacy. Cedar has been very important to Bermuda, because it has been frequently used in the history of the island and the original settlers used cedar to make the ships, Patience and Deliverance, which carried them on to Jamestown. It was primarily used for shipbuilding, the construction of old Bermudian homes, as furniture and in churches. I am using a Jet lathe, a machine that rotates a piece of wood at high speed and allows it to be shaped using chisels, to create my products. Some of my pieces include the traditional Bermudian hurricane lantern, a vital necessity during hurricanes, which are quite common due to Bermuda’s hurricane prone position in the Atlantic. One of my other products is the less traditional pen, but this is still good because when sold, tourists can still take a cedar piece of Bermuda home to treasure.

Cole Chiaore

Cover two songs (drums) - two songs (instrumental).