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Masterworks show abilities of today’s youth

On a recent Friday, Cates Hill Chapel was filled to capacity for a presentation on the production and distribution of music. It is not unusual on Bowen Island to get a good crowd for community events but this occasion was different.

On a recent Friday, Cates Hill Chapel was filled to capacity for a presentation on the production and distribution of music. It is not unusual on Bowen Island to get a good crowd for community events but this occasion was different. The presenter was Caelan Thomson, a Grade 9 student who had studied the topic in depth, produced a paper that rivaled a dissertation, lectured with confidence and answered questions with a skill that spoke of deep understanding and independent thought.

Caelan's presentation was the final requirement for his masterwork project, a self-directed, independent study that is compulsory for every Grade 9 student at IPS. This year, his class-mates spoke about scuba diving, the generation of power, fashion design, website creation, portraits, sports psychology, musical classics, video games and dreams.

Ted Spear, the founder of IPS and its returning head, started the masterwork program. He said, "Most of what is going on at schools seems to be superficial and there is a culture of low expectations. I believe that we don't challenge kids enough. But if we create the right conditions, they can achieve a lot. Another aspect of the masterworks program is that we get advisors from the community to guide the students. In today's peer culture, it is unusual for kids to discuss ideas with adults."

Spear was often amazed at the selection of the topics, the approach and level of commitment.

He said, "In terms of the presentation, it is nice to have the community involved but it is also important for the Grade 6, 7 and 8 students to see where they can go."

Masterwork presentations have a history of wowing the audience. This year was no exception. Ian Henley was in attendance. He said, "If you have ever thought, 'what's the matter with the kids today', you should go and spend a few hours at the masterworks presentation to see what is amazing about today's youth. These 14-or 15-year-old students have reached a level that most students don't reach in university. They have earned the respect of my wife and me. We go to see the masterworks nearly every year."

Henley was reluctant to identify a highlight but said "I was very impressed with Robyn Westcott's dissertation. At the end, I stood up and said, 'I have been inspired by your presentation about portrait painting. I am a sometime portrait painter and collector of Bowen art. My question is whether you are prepared to sell any of your work. I would like to buy it.'"

Henley went one step further. He recommended Robyn as a speaker to Jacqueline Massey of the Bowen Island Arts Council and to Ruth Payne who runs the Ferry Building Gallery in West Vancouver. Henley said, "I have no hesitation recommending her. The remarkable thing for these young people is to get up and speak in public. These students have triumphed and that will be good for them for their whole career."

Robyn thinks highly of the process. "It was amazing and definitely worth it. Each student picks a topic that they are genuinely interested in, which is why each presentation is so great even for people who don't have an interest in the particular subject."

On the question of whether she got tired of working on one project for nine months, she said, "Oh no, it got better. I've always been interested in art and portraits especially. I would say that I've always appreciated making art but I didn't necessarily appreciate art itself. I'd go into a museum but I didn't necessarily understand the paintings and I didn't appreciate them as much. But throughout this year, I've been forced to study and look at paintings and I was amazed how much my appreciation for art itself has grown."

Nicole Gibson decided to use her last year at IPS to design a clothing line. "It's one of the most amazing things I have done because I have never felt so proud of myself. Masterworks shows you what you are able to achieve and that sums up my experience at IPS. The best part was seeing the garments evolve with me and my style. My sewing skills became better as well as my designing skills. And I realized where I want to go with it and what my designing preference is."

From Caelan's presentation, the audience learned about the phonograph effect, auto-tune and concerts where fans cheer for holographic images.

In the end, he earned a standing ovation.