Chicago Day 11

Today was our last day at Ridgewood High School, and our last day for the students to finish their prototypes and the final day to rehearse their pitch to Apple tomorrow.

This morning we started by breaking off into pods where teams took turns to present their app prototypes to Apple Campus Leaders and received feedback to make some last minute changes to their designs. Students then continued to work on their app designs in Keynote and complete their video documentaries in iMovie.

This afternoon, everyone came together and presented their final app designs with a time limit of only 3 minutes. This was such a rewarding moment. We had all 10 teams stand up and present to all staff and students. Everyone did fantastically well and even the students who we thought would never stand up and present really blew us away. A proud moment.

This evening we went out for a pizza dinner and ten pin bowling and we were joined by the students from Ridgewood. It was quite emotional to watch the students pair up with their new Chicagoan friends and laughing and hugging and taking selfies. Once again, I must say that it is seeing these friendships form that has been as much a reward as all the other amazing successes of the trip.

I must finish today’s blog by saying a huge THANK YOU to all the staff and students at Ridgewood for welcoming us and their huge generosity. It’s been such an amazing experience to work with them and the students have bonded so much. They have clearly made friendships they will keep long after we head back to the UK.

So, next up, back to Apple HQ in the centre of the city where we have the final app showcase and present the awards for:

Best Innovation
Best Design
Best Pitch
Best Documentary

Whatever the results, which are voted by leaders at Apple, each and every student is a winner because of the journey they’ve been on and what they’ve achieved on this incredible adventure.