This term, Odyssey students have overcome many obstacles in the pursuit of excellent education. We have taken a deep dive into our School Without Walls model through engaging in classes both outdoor and online. There is so much to celebrate! Explore with us as students reflected on their learning through inspired and inspiring work including research, art, and presentations!
“Einsteins Ethics was a class to learn about the ideas and opinions of Einstein, as well as some of his physics and his theories. For my project, I decided to do a visual metaphor to represent some of who Einstein was and his impact on the world. I realized, however, that there was no thesis statement or project to sum up a human’s life. So, instead I decided to use specific objects to represent key parts of his life, experiences, and thoughts. Instead of adding a specific meaning, I left it open ended so it encourages the viewers to empathize and try to understand. Though we can never fully understand Einstein himself, we can understand and find meaning in his experiences and his life.”
“I chose to do a portrait collage of Einstein using colorful paper. I chose to do this colorful portrait with his tongue sticking out because I feel Einstein has lost his human persona. I wanted to bring the attention back to Einstein as a human, rather than just a mindset.”
“My project is a riddle that Einstein proposed. This is a riddle he said that 97% of people would not be able to figure out. I chose this because Einstein was a man that struggled with the every day and the problems that it posed. My project takes ordinary concepts, mixing them up, and changing the language. That is kind of how math works, we just don’t really understand the language and that’s why it can be so difficult. In the riddle, the language is meant to distract you and take away from the obvious. Give it a try and have fun!”
“My project was about length contraction, and how an objects shape changes the faster it travels. This was inspired by a lesson where we studied length contractions and how, if you travel at the speed of light, the objects shape would change. The fast you go, the skinner an object becomes because the mass has to go somewhere.”
“My project is a face mask with Einstein’s face on it. The mask represents how Einstein was known to be a physicist. Yes, he liked physics, but when you take the mask off, he was a whole other person. Some of the most famous people, and some of your closest friends, might be wearing a metaphorical mask.”
“This year, I chose Einsteins Ethics for my first class of the year. In the class, we talked about Einstein and his life, and the physics he learned in his life. I enjoyed talking about Special Relativity during the class, so I based my project on that. I did a whiteboard animation video which explains special relativity, how Einstein discovered it, and what sparked his interest in it.”
“For my Celebrations project, I did a TedTalk style presentation over Einstein’s theory of time dilation.”
“My CoL for this term is about how we deal with corona virus. My project discusses how people are affected and have been impacted by corona virus. I was inspired by how I have lived through corona virus and how it has affected me and the people around me.”
“Given that we are in a pandemic right now, I thought it would be an amazing project to cover Covid19 and the effects that it has had on people. It is such a serious and mysterious disease that has affected so many people’s lives. I wanted my project to make people more aware.”
“I did my project over ecosystems and how ecology affects infectious diseases. I made two terrariums as small representations over the ecosystems I studied. One is a semi-arid and one wet-land ecosystem to see how those have an impact on human and animal life in terms of infectious diseases. I also made on that worked and one that failed, to show that if anything is off balance, the eco-system will fail. I thought it was super interesting how important ecosystems are to our life. Without them, humans would not be able to survive.”
“My final project was a game that went over biodiversity and how it was important to ecosystems and human health. I got to work with Dr. Kruck to build the fundamentals, then use the artistic design process to create my cards. My goal was to create a game that taught biodiversity in a non-traditional learning tool.”
“I chose to do an oil painting based on the 1982 Tylenol Killer. We talked about the forensic side of ecology in our class. I found this most interesting, the way that ecology affects everything in a case. My portrait represents that and the effects it has on a community.”
“For my project, I did a presentation over some facts and effects of Covid19.”
“My project is based on the plague in the 14th century. There have been three plague pandemics. This is the most famous one, referred to as the Black Death. I did a representation of the death toll in each country worldwide. I also made my representation of a plague mask that matches my project. I wanted to make it because the plague was very interesting to me. I took this class because worldwide disease was one of my biggest fears, and it was interesting to learn about.”
“My project is a video presentation about Covid19 as an infectious disease and the way that it has spread.”
“My project is a series of digital models of micro organisms, such as a corona virus and different parts of the human immune system. I am really fascinated by the immune system and how it works.”
“I chose to do a project about hereditary diseases and the diseases that are most affected and most vulnerable to the corona virus. I was inspired to do this project because in this class, we talked about genetics and the spread of diseases and I found that very interesting.”
Schlieren photography is a visual process that captures the flow of fluids and nonvisual gases of varying densities. The technique was created by German physicist August Toepler in 1864 for the purpose of studying supersonic motion. Utilizing this approach, my project illustrates the effectiveness of various masks. An open flame sits below the camera’s lens, and, with a light source shining through a magnifying glass and into the camera, the glass’ rainbow effect splits the high pressure from the low pressure distortions, effectively showing the imperceptible waves above the flame. I then attempt to blow out this flame. The amount that these attempts distort the image is an indicator of mask effectiveness, i.e. the amount of air able to pass through the mask and hit the candle.
My class–Ecology and Infectious Disease–encouraged me to create this project. The vehicle in which transmission occurs was a vocal point in the class. Direct transmission, like an individual coughing, is a form of transmission infectious diseases use. Although masks, regardless of effectiveness, are recommended, it is important to note the strength of each mask, and what works best. Visually seeing this demonstrates that any individual can test and verify these ideas. During the creation of this project, the set design went through many iterations. The first version involved a curved parabolic mirror, a LED light, camera, and trust. Unfortunately, the light source was not concentrated enough to efficiently divide the pressures, and the mirror’s optics were insufficient. The second version included a magnifying glass, iPhone spotlight, and a Canon Rebel T6. The camera was not strong enough to capture the glass’ rainbow effect - which resulted in a circular, bright, solid light that could not capture air distortions.
In the last version, which is the one presented, a Canon EOS 7D was used. This camera is capable of achieving a shutter speed of 1/8000, and an aperture of F16. This allowed the device to capture the rainbow effect, producing sufficient results. My project is meant to artfully and scientifically showcase the efficacy of different kinds of masks–and furthermore, it allowed me to engage in a new type of photography.
Enjoy this collection of poetry composed by the Freedom in Form poetry class.
“For my project, I chose to represent different women in Literature. Each frame represents a different woman, the poetry she wrote, and niche things that represent her brand. I chose to feature Emily Dickinson from the 1800’s, Sylvia Plath from the 1960’s, and Warsan Shire who is alive right now.”
“For my project, I did a book of poetry that features different poets, what they liked, and sample poems that they wrote.”
“My project is a poem I wrote about how I don’t know anything about my past or where I came from. I wrote the poem in Quatrain format and also included hints of nature in the poem. Along with the poem, I made a paper mache sculpture of a tree to represent my family tree.”
“For my project, I researched the tradition Korean form of poetry called Sijo. My project is an example of one of the houses people would usually write in. One example of who would write this type of poem was called a Kisaeng, essentially the Korean form of a Geisha. They were trained in literature, music, and arts.”
“For my Celebrations of Learning project, I composed two poems to perform. One is titled Form and the other is titled Chandler.”
“My project is about the expression of mental health in poetry and its correlation to the poet’s life. I made a visual of what depression might look like in one’s perspective. My painting is of a poet looking into a mirror and the reflection is filled with her poetry. As she looks, dark shadows seep in.”
“For my Celebrations project, I wrote and performed a speech about the effects of plastic and the consequences it is bringing.”
“For Celebrations, I wrote and performed a speech about the unjust systems of racism in our country.”
“For COL, I wrote and performed a speech to educate others on greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.”
“For my Celebrations project, I made a poster board that features a map showing all of the endangered species in the world. In my project, I highlighted what over population, over hunting, and over consumption does to the wildlife population.”
“For my Celebrations project, I studied LGBTQ civil rights. I did a map of the United States and put rainbow stickers where they support the LGBTQ community and black where they do not. I did this because a family member is a part of the LGBTQ community and it is important for me to support them.”
“My project is an oil painting based off of Martin Luther’s theology of glory, which talks about individual’s focus on something other than God at the center of their religion. I used this idea to place a veil over Jesus in my painting to represent how humanity and individuals as a whole place something at the center of their lives and feel guilt and shame for it and want to cover up and hide it. I wanted to represent that simply and invoke self-reflection.”
“For my Celebrations project, I did an oil painting inspired by Aaron Douglas. The purpose of the painting is to show the darkness in our world and also the light that’s in all of us. My hope is that we all have the light inside of us.”
“For my Celebrations project, I conducted a presentation about Christian values, the theology of the cross, and its relation to COVID19.”
“For Christian Thought, I wrote several poems called the Trialogue. The Trialogue is based in the trinity: Jesus, God, and Holy Spirit. This is based off of the dialogical theology of Walter Brueggemann. The general idea is that Christianity is a conversation between two opposing ideas, concepts, and entities. In this conversation, the Holy Spirit guides us to a middle understanding of proper placement. In interacting with the Trialogue, you are seeing the conversation between the Spirit, Jesus, and God.”
“In Christian Thought, we talked about the idea of faith and how every relationship begins with faith and trust. For my Celebrations project, I chose to do two paintings representing God’s view of true greatness vs. our view of true greatness.”
