As is the tradition at Cedarwood, these students have been working hard since the spring of 2020 to research, study, design, build, and create a plethora of amazing projects.

We are so proud to share their thoughtful work here, and invite you to watch their project presentations below.

Adeline was inspired to research this topic after becoming vegan. She has loved baking and wanted to learn more about vegan baking so she could continue! As for her report, she was inspired because she has always loved animals, which was the main reason she became vegan. While researching the benefits of veganism, Adeline learned that eating a plant-based diet is not only helpful to animals, but to the environment, our physical health, and it’s delicious as well.

Over the past months, Orion has been working on making an electronic engineering / computer programming project mastering the use of a breadboard, soldering iron, arduino uno board, motion detectors, sensors, and much more. He learned how to create a remote control car that he can control with just a lever and a joystick.

Luca dove into learning about how the stock market works in an unusual way: finding out how it runs and how it can be manipulated. He took stock market classes and did research. Then the pandemic crashed the market and he began to pay more attention to how stocks rise and fall, which led him to Bernie Madoff, a stock market con artist, and then to the impact of computers on the stock exchange. Luca built his own computer to track his own stocks.

Over the past year, Hain has digitally drawn a 40-page comic capturing the struggles teenagers face and how to look on the bright side of them. She researched and learned many aspects of adolescent development in order to fully understand and make the best of negative moments.

You can read Hain’s comic, “On the Bright Side,” here.

Over the past year, Zella has researched and experimented with ancient skincare methods and created several recipes inspired by what she learned. Zella has always loved skincare, especially face masks, and when the pandemic hit, making DIY skincare products became a lighthearted distraction from everything going on in the world. Zella has expanded on a passion and gained knowledge on ancient civilizations, while improving the health of her skin and gaining confidence in creating and sharing ideas.

Riley was inspired to learn about drone technology because he sees it as an integral part of the future. For his project, Riley built and learned to fly a first-person view drone. In his research, Riley learned about a multitude of topics relating to drones, from how video gets transmitted via an analog signal to the intricacies of soldering electrical components.

Duncan was inspired to explore his passion for music through his eighth grade project, and made a guitar pedal from scratch! He had to find all of the minuscule pieces for this project, including: resistors, transistors, and capacitors. Once Duncan gathered all the materials, he created an astounding distortion pedal for his electric guitar and bass.

Rose chose to study equine therapy for both the horse and human. She was inspired to do this because of her lifelong love of horses, and wanted to learn more about how to help them, as well as how they help us. She researched equine therapy facilities, different aspects of care, and many other things. For the physical part of her project, she designed a cross country course in the back field of a property her family bought, and created to-scale blueprints. She learned how to draft, got to do volunteer work at two different equine facilities, and read incredible books. For her, it was an amazing experience, and one she will never forget.

Meara has been working on her eighth grade project for a year. She chose to do her project on anxiety and depression in teens because she wanted to bring awareness to what is happening. She wanted to be part of the process of people being able to get help without all the stigmas surrounding mental health. Meara did lots of research to make sure all the facts were correct for her report and project. For her physical project, she made a website that parents and teens can visit to get more information and ways to get help. It was very important to her that she brought awareness to this issue especially during the COVID pandemic, when it has become more of a big deal.

You can visit Meara’s website here.

Ada has been working hard the last year on building a rowing shell and learning much more about the art of rowing. She has thoroughly enjoyed researching all about the history of rowing and how it has evolved over the years.

Alluki has spent over a year researching Russian aristocracy. They have written a 2900 word essay on the end of the Romanov dynasty, as well as sewn a fashionable evening gown of the era. They were inspired by the decadence & drama of this time period, and spent hours poring over personal correspondences, autobiographies, biographies, and first-hand accounts.

Esti has been researching the numerous problems with the fast fashion industry over the past year. She has always had a love for fashion, but wondered where her clothes came from, who made them, and what this not-so-glamorous side of the fashion industry really looked like. That’s why she created, designed, styled, photographed, and edited a 100% ethically sourced fashion magazine for her project.

Marina has been learning about climate change and animation for the past year. They chose this project as an act of educating themselves about the earth and the effect humans have had on it. Marina has studied online animation and drawing from the perspective of a deer, bringing their love of art to this world problem. Working with different tools than they were used to, they created storyboards and templates for their project and discovered through trial and error what their pen could achieve.

Chloe has been learning about the essential roles pollinators play in our survival and the health and wellbeing of our planet, as well as the many ways in which they are endangered. She researched ways in which she could help support them, and planted her own garden with the purpose being to provide pollinators with sufficient and continuous food resources.

Evan chose to focus on ping pong for his final project because he was in an argument about the rules and wanted to learn more about it. He researched the history, rules, and techniques of ping pong over the past year.

Elsa has been interested in taking good photographs of her friends and family for a long time, so she decided to research it for her eighth grade project. She learned about the history behind the first printed image, and how to take portraits. For her project, she took photographs of her friends and nature.

Over the course of the past year, Fiona has worked to create a calendar with twelve gorgeous photos of her dancing in scenic areas. She also researched Misty Copeland, the first Black American principal ballerina to join a prestigious company like ABT and talk about racism in the ballet world. Fiona was inspired to research dance because, as of quarantine, it has become a haven from all the struggles that life can throw at you, and she wants to share the beauty of it with those who don’t dance. To create her project, she learned about photo editing and calendar construction, and strengthened her creativity and boldness through dance in the photos.

Ann has studied the production of cacao in Africa. For her report, Ann decided to research how cacao is farmed and how the workers, including children, are treated. She has made many chocolate creations, including chocolate-covered pretzels and chocolate bars for her physical project.

Quinn shares this video of their project on fantasy worlds.

For her project, Adeline created a documentary about the journey to becoming a modern day ballerina. To create the documentary, she researched three different professional dancers from around the world. In this documentary, she interviews many dancers of various ages about their journey and their art form.

Adeline chose this project because she is interested in film and very passionate about dance. She felt this was a perfect way to express her love for dance and learn something new in the process.

You can view her website here.

Bailey chose to write and record her own music for her Eighth Grade Project. She worked with her mentor to learn how to play guitar and how to express herself and her emotions through song-writing. She researched music psychology and how music affects us.

You can listen to Bailey’s recording below.