Cabrillo High School Senior Project Handbook FALL
Cabrillo High School Senior Project – Overview and Description
Each twelfth-grade student participates in the Senior Project, and must complete all four parts: Paper, Product, Portfolio, and Presentation(‘The Four P’s’).
1)paper: A comprehensive research paper, ideally related to the student’s project.
2)product: Tangible evidence of the hours the student has spent on their project.
3)portfolio: Documentation of the time, processes, and skills used on the project.
4)presentation: Finally, a formal presentation made to a community review panel.
Components of the Senior Project (‘The Four P’s)
I. First Semester – PAPER:
Your research paper will be part of your English class. The Final Draft counts for 20% of your first semester English grade, and is part of your overall Senior Project grade. The topic of your paper ideally relates to your project, hopefully preparing you with knowledgethat helps in your project, enhances the experience, and helps you in your presentation.
II. Second Semester – PROJECT:
The project consists of at least 40 hours of fieldwork.The project must be the student’s ownindependenteffort, it may not be done by someone else. If it is an extension of the student’s high school coursework, or a school sport, the 40 hours must beabove and beyond class time, class work and/or practice and competition.
A mentor should be chosen who has the expertise to guide the student in the project. This may mean expertise in the area of the project, or it may mean expertise in the student.
Most importantly, the project must reflect a significant learning stretchfor the student. It should clearly reflect new skills the student develops in carrying out the project, or basic skills the student already has, and takes to a higher level.This is a major commitment, so the student should choose a project that interests her or him.
While part of the project may include job shadowing, it may not be solely passive. This means the student must also actively do something that results in aproduct.
product / realia / visual display (Not to be confused with the Presentation’s Slide Show):
Theproduct must be tangible and self-explanatoryevidence of the project, including the process of completing the project. It may include whatever the student has made and/or earned (i.e., a certification, a license, a grade in a class outside of CHS), or documentation of what they have actively done. The projects’ visual displays will be on display to the public in May at the CHS Open House, along with the students’ portfolios.The visual display may be an additionalslide show, a photo album, a video, a tri-fold poster board display, etc.
portfolio:
The portfolio will contain printed and writtendocumentation of the year-long course of the
project, including, but not limited to:
Semester One / Semester Two- Integrity Commitment Form
- Project Time Requirement
- Approved Contract
- Mentor Commitment Form
- Research Paper
- Cover Sheet & Title Page
- Letter of Introduction
- Senior Project Log Requirements
- Senior Project Log Forms (1 – 20) & Summary
- Project & Presentation Acknowledgement
- Mentor Evaluation Form
- Thank You Letter to Mentor(s)
- Print-out of your Presentation Slide Show
If the portfolio requirements undergo any changes, you will be given adequate notification and explanation to meet those requirements.
Each student’s senior English teacher, as well as the community judges, will assess the portfolios prior to the presentations. The portfolio is something studentswill be able to show to future prospective employers, interview committees, or college entrance committees. Students: Includingthe completion of your Senior Project on college applications can BENEFIT YOU!
presentation:
Students, you will deliver a 15-minute presentation with slides [i.e., Power Pointor Prezi] to a panel of judges, consisting of CHS faculty, as well as members of the community. In your presentation you will describe the process of your project from inception to completion, demonstrate your personal learning stretch,and reveal your personal development and future plans. The required slide showaccompanies your presentation to illustrate and enhance it, but it does not to take the place of your presentation. There may be some overlap between your visual display and your presentation’s slide show, but remember, the judges will examine them both. The display should be self-explanatory, and the presentation slide show should enhance your presentation.
Remember, to aid the judges in scoring the overall quality and integrity of your project, before they watch your presentation they will examine both your portfolio and yourvisualdisplay. This way, once you start your presentation, they will have some idea of your entire project, from inception to completion. The portfolio and visual display together should visually verify and document all the work you have done, and what you have accomplished and/or created. For your presentation you must dress professionally, in formal business attire, as you would for a professional job interview.
Sample Project Categories and Topics
These are suggestions only, don’t limit yourself, and aim high!
Career: Research and experience a career interest in depth.
- Teacher aide in a junior high science classroom
- Intern at a local police station
- Study fashion design at an art institute and stage a fashion show
- Teach sculpture at an elementary school
- Intern with a local physician
- Provide technical support for local organization/business
- 4-H project
- Landscape project
Service: Identify and research a need in the community; develop and implement a plan to meet the need.
- Create an informational video for a nonprofit organization
- Assist immigrants with their preparation for US citizenship
- Help organize a major fundraising event with an established organization
- Work with the National Wildlife Refuge to do a bird count
- Work at an animal shelter
Academic: Conduct a research project: literature review, original research or applied research.
- Investigate the environmental impact on paper recycling techniques and make recommendations based on findings. (Applied research)
- Research the impact of the Link Program on student behaviors and feelings of
connectedness. (Originalresearch)
Creative: Apply personal creativity skills to generate a product.
- Write short stories, poems, a novel for publication
- Redesign the body of a car
- Build a kit car
- Build a wooden canoe
- Work at a glass art studio and gallery
- Direct a play
- Write and film a screenplay
- Create a photography portfolio of a specific subject matter
Education/Self Improvement: Challenge yourself by learning new skills
- Earn a diving certificate, and go on a dive, or dives
- Earn a pilot’s license
It must be stated that projects that entail any items or activity prohibited by LUSD:
Will not be approved.
INTEGRITY COMMITMENT
Cabrillo High School believes that academic honesty and personal integrity are fundamental components of a student’s education and character development. We strive to enforce these components throughout the Senior Research Paper and Project. While we fervently hope we will not need to apply administrative consequences, we wish to be very clear about the result of and cheating/plagiarizing/ falsifying on the Cabrillo High School Senior Paper and Project.
Examples of cheating are defined as, but not limited to:
- Unauthorized use of, or close imitation of, the language, thoughts, or work of another person, and the representation of them as one’s own original work, without crediting the work of others.
- Lying, or exaggerating the quality and/or quantity of the time spend working on the project.
- Falsifying, or exaggerating, a mentor relationship.
Students, parents/guardians, staff, and administrators shall be responsible for creating and maintaining a positive school climate that encourages honesty. Students found to have committed an act of academic dishonesty (cheating) shall be subject to school-site and district discipline rules.
(Board Policy5131.9 October 2008)
If any of these violations should occur, you will have removed yourself from eligibility to submit your Senior Research Paper, or to present your Senior Project for scores, and may receive a failing grade in a class required for graduation.
Unethical behavior must not be tolerated in education, and therefore, must have severe consequences.
PRINT NAMES NEATLY BELOW:
I, (student), commit to honesty and integrity regarding all aspects of work while completing the Senior Project. I understand the consequences of cheating/dishonesty/plagiarism.
I/We (parents/guardians), commit to honesty and integrity regarding all aspects of work while completing the Senior Project. I/We understand the consequences of cheating/dishonesty/plagiarism.
SIGN BELOW:
Student Signature: Date
Parent/Guardian Signature: Date
Parent/Guardian Signature: Date
Below is a copy of the Senior Project Proposal, without the spaces for responses or the signature lines. You will have a worksheet to work out exactly what your project will entail. When designing your project, make sure that it will not only take a minimum of 40 hours of work to complete outside of classes and sports, but that it will not require more time to complete than you are able to commit to.
This will become your Senior Project Contract once it has passed through the rigorous review and approval process, and acquired all of the required signatures and initials.
1)Filled out and signed by you.
2)Approved and signed by a parent/guardian.
3)Reviewed by your Senior English teacher, and if approved, initialed.
4)Reviewed by the Senior Project Committee, and if approved, initialed by a member.
5)Finally, reviewed by a member of Cabrillo High School’s Administration. This review often includes personal interviews with CHS Administration, where the student should be well prepared to explain and defend their project.
Cabrillo High School
Senior Project Proposal and Contract
Student Name:
Last, First
Senior English Teacher: Period:
What is the proposed ProjectTopic?
What is the project’s general Field of Study?
Describe your Senior Project in detail; include approximate costs. Explain exactly what you plan to do, where you plan to do it, and when. (You must attach current photographs of restoration or fix-up projects.)
What prior school, work and/or life experiences relate to, or lead you to choose this project?
What are your goals? be specific!
How will you spend your 40 hands-on hours?Be as specific as possible. Discuss the number of hours you expect to spend for each type of activity you will do.
(This may NOT include time spent in, or for, classes you are enrolled in at Cabrillo High School)
How will the hands-on experience you have planned help you with your goals,the goals you listed above?
How will this project be a new and significant learning stretch for you? Being specific, describe your learning stretch. How will your participation take you beyond your current knowledge? Explain what skills you expect to acquire, and what you expect to learn by completing this project.
What EVIDENCEorPRODUCTwill you have to show for your work at the end of this project?
If it is a product, be very specific about what it will look like, how many components, or pages, it will have, etc.
If it is an experience, what documentation and evidence (photographs, video, documents, etc.) will you collect? All projects require a product to display at Cabrillo’s Open House in May, and to show to the judges during their presentation.
What is your proposed Senior Paper Topic, and how do you think it will help you in your project?
Once all of the required signatures have been acquired, this becomes your:
CONTRACT for CABRILLO HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR PROJECT
To change your project, you must go through this entire process again. Neglecting to receive timely, official, and complete approval for project changes may result in failing the project.
Senior Project Mentor
The person you select to be your mentor can make a huge difference in the quality of you Senior Project. Your mentor can also make the process easier for you by helping you with planning, designing and implementing your project. It is important that you make your selection carefully.
Finding a Mentor
Although the following are tips to help you find the right mentor for your project, they will also assist you in finding additional field experts:
Networking
Make it known that you are looking for a mentor. Start by asking people you know (friends of the family, neighbors, your doctor, your mechanic, your friends' parents, etc.) if they have expertise in the area in which you are interested. If no one you know is able and willing to help you, ask him or her if they know anyone who might suit your needs.
CHS staff members have a wealth of information. If a particular staff member cannot be your mentor, they may know someone who can help. Your counselor may assist you in identifying a potential mentor.
Telephone Listings – Print or Digital
You may be able to find an expert that can help you by using the yellow pages of the telephone book. Look in the categories of businesses that would likely employ people in your area of interest. Look for a business that is close to your home or school. If there are no listings in your area, call one of the businesses listed and ask if the know anyone in your area who does what they do. Be sure you tell them why you are calling. Remember to refer to the government pages of the telephone book. This section has numbers of various federal, state, county, and city offices. Government agencies are involved in all kinds of activities including law enforcement, natural resources, financial services, social services, construction, recreation, and much more.
Education/Training Institutions
Teachers in other schools in the area may have ideas about potential mentors or may want to be mentors themselves.
Other Resources
You can check out books, magazines and some trade journals from the library. Try the Reference Desk at the public library.
Watch the newspaper for articles that relate to your project. Look for names and companies mentioned in the articles.
The Internet can be another resource for finding out about companies and people in the area that may be of help to you.
Professional organizations (such as Commercial and Investment Brokers Association or the
Washington State Dental Hygienists Association) may be able to lead you to a mentor.
The local Chamber of Commerce has contacts and information about area businesses.
Your Senior Project Coordinator has names of potential mentors.
Below is a copy of the Mentor Information and Commitment Form. It must be filled out and signed by both you and your mentor.Cabrillo High School Senior Project Mentor Information and Commitment Form
Mentoring a student through her or his senior project is an exciting and fulfilling experience, creating a unique relationship between the mentor and the participating senior. Some mentors act more or less as a ‘spotter’ who is available to the student when needed. Other mentors play a more active and integral role. Mentors must be 25 years of age or above. The specific role you decide to have is between you and your senior, but each requires guidance, commitment, and dedication.
In order to provide the necessary guidance throughout the project, a mentor ideally has expertise in the field the senior has chosen. The mentor must be available for collaboration, as well as to monitor the project’s progress, from inception through the presentation. The mentor must have realistically high expectations for the senior to succeed.
Each senior must have a mentor who will:
Give information to the student, especially on the relationship of the project to real world situations.
Help the student establish a realistic timeline.
Help the student deal with technical aspects of the project and offer advice.
Check the student’s progress at least once a month, and verify by signing the project logs second semester.
Help the senior narrow the focus to what is important and determine what steps to pursue.
Help push the senior’s limits to go beyond previous knowledge, experience or skill level.
Give support and encouragement.
Fill out an evaluation form (in April) regarding the work completed by the senior.
NOT do the project for the student.
If you have questions, please contact the senior’s English teacher. This information is on the student’s syllabus as well as on the school website.
MENTOR COMMITMENT FORM
I understand what is expected of me as a senior project mentor. I verify that I am knowledgeable in the field of study related to the senior’s project, 25 years of age or above, and will be available to the senior for the entire school year.
Mentor’s Name (Please Print Clearly):
Mentor’s Signature:
Student’s Name (Please Print Clearly):
Project Topic:
Mentor’s Phone Number:
Mentor’s E-mail Address:
Mentors:
The student should provide you with a copy of the mentor’s requirements and duties for you too keep. You may wish to add the student’s phone number to your copy, so you can contact her or him.
Below is a copy of the Project 40-Hour Time Requirement Acknowledgement, it must be signed by you, a parent/guardian, and any teacher or coach of a class or sport, which is closely aligned with your project.
Cabrillo High School Senior Project 40-Hour Requirement – Acknowledgement