SENIOR PROJECT

SENIOR PROJECT- WHAT IS IT? It is a year long project which allows you to demonstrate your years of educational experience and knowledge It will showcase your reading, writing, speaking, thinking, self-discipline, problem solving, and research skills It consists of: a project/product, a research paper, a portfolio, and a final presentation

EXPECTATIONS This is a student driven and student initiated project Must demonstrate a learning stretch Must remain in contact with Academic Mentor and maintain all due dates Will require research, communication skills, and hands on approach to learning Must have a benefit to the larger community- some aspect of your project must be community based No plagiarism or falsified records

THE PROJECT/PRODUCT This is the heart of the experience It’s what you are doing/creating Parental permission is required for all projects Field work must be meaningful and connected to the topic you choose Create/do something meaningful End product should show some type of learning stretch or growth

THE RESEARCH PAPER With approval, you will choose a research paper topic that connects with your project Need at least six sources- one must be an interview with an expert in the field Paper will be at least five, no more than seven, pages long in MLA format Must have a works cited page in MLA format The final research paper is due Friday November 13 th

THE PRESENTATION At end of the year, you will present your project to a panel of teachers, administrators, parents and other community members Include pictures and information about your field work in your Power Point Presentation No reading or memorizing- you will speak freely for the entire 7-10 minute presentation Be prepared for a five minute question and answer session at the end of your presentation You are encouraged to attend the presentations of your fellow students

THE PORTFOLIO You are expected to work on your Senior Project for a minimum of 25 hours You will need to keep accurate records of all work you do on your project You will keep a portfolio of notes, logs, artifacts, other forms, etc throughout the year Must remain up to date at all times Will be checked on checkpoint days

ACADEMIC MENTOR Once your project proposal is approved, you will choose an AAEC staff member as your Academic Mentor Staff Members will have a limit of 5 senior projects to mentor- it will be on a first come first serve basis Choose an academic mentor that you feel comfortable working with You will be required to meet with your Academic Mentor at least once a month (at least 8 times total) You will document these meetings using the Academic Mentor Conference Rubric and keep these in your portfolio Must write a letter of intent to give to your Academic Mentor before your first meeting These meetings should be led by you, not your mentor Your mentor will help keep you on track and help with any academic issues you may have including research strategies

SENIOR PROJECT EXAMPLES Organize a health fair, career day, Ag day Start an AAEC Newspaper Help support Amakala Game Reserve Craft Store and Classes in South Africa Train/Coach a Special Olympics participant Plan and implement a charity event Design and produce an Elizabethan garment Design and implement a Red Ribbon or Prom Promise campaign Create a working solar panel

UNACCEPTABLE PROJECTS Illegal activities Group Projects Unfinished work- choose something you can complete by the end of March Projects with no stretch or challenge (building a dog house, painting a room, babysitting your nephew, etc)

APPROVED PROJECTS Once your project and research paper topics are approved, you may NOT change it Think about what you want to do and remember that you will be working on this until April Choose something that INTERESTS you!!!

TIPS FOR SUCCESS Procrastination is your worst enemy! Backward Planning is necessary Schedule your Academic Mentor meetings for the entire semester (or even year) at your first meeting If you run into problems talk to me or your Academic Mentor ASAP Remember-You will get out of this project what you put into it!