Advisory Project:

P4: Past, Present, & "Phuture" Projects

During Advisory, students worked on a Personal Expression Project that somehow told their story: past, present, and "phuture." The expectations for this project were intentionally open-ended. Students were encouraged to utilize their identity exploration and learning from Humanities to create any product of their choosing as long as it covered their past (who they were), present (who they are), and future (who they want to be).

The goals of this project included:

  • Furthering students' exploration of their own identity

  • Strengthening relationships among peers and among students and teachers

  • Reflecting on goals for the future and thinking about how we can work toward those goals right now

  • Practicing the transferable skills needed for GHOSt projects in the second semester

Roll Out: Past, Present, & Phuture
(Above: We used this slideshow to introduce P4 to students.)

P4 Shareout

(Above: Examples of students' P4s)
(Above: Students shared their P4 on two occasions. First they shared with younger students in our school, and then they shared again with their families at our P4 evening event.)

After they were finished creating their projects, students had multiple opportunities to share their work with others. First, students in grades 1-4 visited in the afternoon to see the projects and hear about them from our 5th-8th graders. At that same time, the rest of the faculty and staff from OES was also able to see the projects and ask the middle schoolers about their work. It was a great chance for students to reconnect with adults that they don't get to spend much time with anymore, and their former teachers loved seeing how they have continued to grow and change!

In the evening, parents and family members were invited to come and see the projects as well. A group of students designed the invitation that went home to families. As the families browsed the projects, they were challenged to complete a scavenger hunt which was also designed by another group of students. If they were successful, they were entered to win a prize!

Families also gathered to enjoy some baked goods (prepared by students) and engage in conversations with each other. It was a very successful event, and we were very excited to see the positivity that filled our middle school throughout the evening.

This project is based on the "What's Your Story" project created by Marley Evans and Allan Miller at Charlotte Central School.