Vernon students display their passions at annual Scholarship Showcase

SD22 students with their projects at the Scholarship Showcase (photos by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

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A look at the projects at the Scholarship Showcase at the Vernon Rec Centre (video by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

“This is a fantastic display of our scholarships, our district project scholarship applicants,” Dr. Christine Perkins, Superintendent of School District 22 (SD22) told Vernon Matters.

“They’ve each put their passions on display for the community and judges to come and see, and most of them have post-secondary plans, so it’s an excellent transition piece to show the public ‘this is my passion’ and to have those great conversations about how they’re going to turn that either into a living or a hobby or something down the road.”

Perkins added she was impressed by the range of projects on display.

“From the young man who’s rebuilt his motorcycle, to a world-class artist who is already selling her art and doing [custom designs on] surfboards for her uncle down in California; to students who are choreographing the plays coming up at Seaton Secondary and other schools, and students who have passion for music who are going to become music teachers down the line,” the superintendent said.

“There’s every single theme under the sun. It’s fantastic.”

The projects were being judged by a panel, with the top 70 to be selected as winners of scholarships worth $12,50 each, provided by the Ministry of Education and Child Care.

“[There’s] lots of different criteria,” Luke Friesen, Director of Instruction for Learning at SD 22 and organizer of the Scholarship Showcase, told Vernon Matters.

“What’s important here is the process of learning that they’ve done getting to this actual showcase event, so they keep record of their whole process through a journal, and they journal about what’s working for them, things they’ve had to do to revise their project along the way. Really it’s a way of exposing their thinking and some of those pieces of learning that happen throughout the process,” Friesen said.

Friesen said there is a couple of things required of the students at the Rec Centre.

“There’s the presentation boards, putting together displays and that piece; and then there’s also their presentation and the communication piece, that they’re able to communicate and explain to the judges.”

Friesen added having students explore their passions is a key part of learning.

“What you’ll notice here, that’s really important, is that the learning that you see here really reflects our curriculum here in British Columbia, which is all about personalized learning,” Friesen explained.

“Personalized learning is about the kids, you’ll notice their identity really coming through in their projects and their skills, their passions, and it’s really that journey of having the opportunity to explore it, build on it, and then be able to communicate it and share it.”

The Director of Learning noted he has been organizing the Scholarship Showcase for the past five years, and remains very impressed by the range of projects the students create.

“The beautiful thing about this is that it’s unique every year because no two students are the same,” Friesen said.

“So the display of what these students want to share with us in terms of their learning, and of course, the final visual display and presentation, it’s a surprise every year, and it’s what we all look forward to because this is about that personalized piece for students.”

The scholarships will be awarded to the selected winners at their graduation ceremonies.

“It’s really exciting to students, and really helping them with their post secondary pursuits,” Friesen added.

by Liam Verster

Vernon students display their passions at annual Scholarship Showcase

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