The Piedmont Highlander

The Student News Site of Piedmont High School

The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

I Search Night highlights freshman work

I+Search+Night+highlights+freshman+work

A student wanders around, glancing at the unique I Search covers, when one title catches her eye. Whether the topic is drumming, gender inequality in sports, driverless cars or communism versus socialism, the student is soon captivated by the writing created by one of her peers.

On May 3, I Search Night gave students, parents and teachers a chance to browse through the hundreds of research projects crafted by freshman over the past quarter.

Freshman Olivia Wiebe spent the nine weeks of third quarter researching and interviewing experts on how culture influences animation and felt satisfied seeing the final product, she said.

FullSizeRender (7)“It was cool to see other people appreciating what we have spent so much time on,” Wiebe said. “It’s nice to know that we weren’t working on this project for months for nothing.”

This year was the first time English teacher Amy Moorhead has taught the I Search and she was highly impressed with how many great topics had been explored, she said.

“I Search Night provides a sense of community around the project and connects students to their peers, family and teachers,” Moorhead said.

English teacher Debbi Hill said that after the grueling grind of completing the project, it is important to have a public celebration.

“By teaching the I Search, I always learn a lot about individual students as learners and writers because it stretches them,” Hill said.

Hill also said that sometimes students research similar topics, but because the project is so in-depth, students end up taking their project in unique directions.

Freshman Ella Lee said it is important that the I Search is taught freshman year because the skills gained from the extensive research and synthesis of that information will be helpful in the future.

Wiebe agrees that she gained valuable tools and also learned that it is important to take the project one step at a time, focusing on what you want to learn.

After spending a quarter on the I Search, seeing the final projects made Moorhead proud of her students. She got chills when the first student, beaming, turned in their project, Moorhead said.

“I hope that the freshman walk away from the I Search experience with a positive mindset,” Moorhead said.

Donate to The Piedmont Highlander

Your donation will support the student journalists of Piedmont High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Piedmont Highlander