Hello Seniors and Parents,
The end of the year is rapidly approaching, and the senior team wanted to communicate with you some important upcoming events and information.The senior schedule will undergo some changes after Spring Break, as seniors gear up for embarking on their Action Project portion of Senior Project.
Now through April 1: Senior Project Thesis Papers
Seniors have been working hard on the research and outline process, and have just begun the rough draft phase. Rough drafts are due on March 11, and we’re encouraging students to aim to complete their refinements and submit their final drafts by Monday, March 29 so that they can start their Action Projects that week. However, the final deadline is Thursday, April 1.
March 23 through May 4: Senior Project Action Project
Beginning on March 23, seniors will be assigned one of four Senior Project Cohort groups with a corresponding senior teacher directing the group. We are dividing seniors based on their topic and senior teacher expertise.
Goals of Senior Project Cohorts include:
- Regular individual check-ins with cohort leader
- Group/cohort critiques of senior projects in process
- Structure and support
- Accountability!
- Problem-solving
- Time for documentation of project process/reflection space
- Exhibition planning crews
Weekly Schedule after Spring Break:
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Statistics will meet online and in person through March 30.
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Mondays, 10:10am-12:10pm: Online Humanities Class On Mondays, Sara and Ashley will meet with their regular Humanities students to go over goals for the week, have students sign up for conferences with their action project cohort teacher, and cover other nuts and bolts to ensure students are prepared for their action projects and, later on, TED Talks.
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Mondays and Tuesdays, times vary: Online Conference Students will conference one-on-one with their cohort leader. During this conference, we will review each student’s last week’s progress, set new goals for this week, and go over any questions or concerns about their projects.
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Wednesdays: Online Electives We’ll stick with the current online elective schedule as students will continue to attend electives until the end of the school year
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Thursdays and Fridays, 8:25am-12:25pm, In-person at AHS In-person days will consist of more individual check-ins with cohort advisor. Half of seniors will meet on Thursday to check-in with their advisor, the other half will meet on Friday. On the day that seniors are not scheduled for their check-in, they are expected to work on their senior project at school, as well as engage in project tunes and brainstorm sessions with their fellow cohort members. For students who need to work on their action projects off-campus, they should plan to do so after 12:25pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays or Fridays. Any student who needs an exception to be made to this rule should speak directly with their assigned cohort advisor.
May 5 through 13: Senior Project TED Talk Prep
During this week, we will help seniors prepare for their TED Talks, in which they will defend their senior thesis research/conclusions as well as celebrate their action project accomplishments!
May 14 through 21: Senior Project TED Talks
Seniors classes will be transformed into TED Talk stages (or if COVID requires, the stage will be a virtual one). Seniors will be scheduled for a 30 minute time slot to deliver their TED Talks sometime during this week and a half. In addition to delivering a TED Talk on their research topic, they will need to serve as panelists for 6 of their peers. All other classes will continue as normal and seniors are expected to attend their elective classes. Most TED Talks are open to the public.
WHAT ABOUT ELECTIVES?
Students are required to attend their electives for as long as that elective is running. For some electives, this means students will attend through the end of the year. For others, only through the end of April. Students should check with their individual elective teachers for this information.
Thank you all for supporting us and your student through this busy and inspiring last year of high school—they are doing some amazing work, and we can’t wait to see what they produce for their Senior Project.
As always, please reach out with questions.
The Senior Team,
Ashley, Sara, Kyle and Britt
