Seventh grade Creators students have been learning about totems this term and the variety of ways that different cultures interpret these spiritual objects. Totems are sacred objects that represent a spiritual connection and are sometimes believed to have protective qualities. Students began by researching three different cultures that have a version of a totem. Then, they created slide presentations showing what the totems look like and how they are used, and they highlighted some ideas that might influence totem design.

To design their totems, students reflected on what is important to them and why. Design teacher Andrew Shirley pressed them to refine those ideas and dig for the meaning behind the object. "I wanted to get them to think beyond the surface level of the idea to see if there's something deeper there," he says. One student decided that her totem would be in the shape of a kitchen mixer. She enjoys cooking, but the object is meaningful because it represents something she and her best friend do together.

Students will be using the totem project to learn the basic making skills they will draw on throughout the Upper School Design curriculum. Over the course of the year, they will reinterpret their totem design three times using different techniques. Students used hinges and hand-making for their first iteration and learned various methods to combine and connect cardboard. During the winter term, Creators students will learn how to use the laser cutter and some laser cutting techniques, reinterpreting the totem to show what the laser cutter can do. Then, in the spring, they will repeat the process to demonstrate the 3D printing skills they have acquired.