Students Learn To Take The Initiative In Their Senior Projects

By Tanjua Damon

The anxiety and nervousness could be seen on many of the seniors’ faces as they waited their turn to present their Senior Project to a panel which was evaluating their work.

Thirteen seniors took part in the first semester Senior Project Program at Newtown High School. On Wednesday and Thursday, January 10 and 11, they made final presentations of about 20 minutes. They were judged on their preparation, explanation of the project, benefits to the community, and knowledge of the topic.

“We are very proud of our students and the accomplishments they have made here tonight,” said Peggy Ragaini, program advisor.

Superintendent of Schools John R. Reed explained that the Senior Project Program fits into the district’s model well and that a student’s senior year should support a sampling of what to expect in college.

“One of the aspects of the model is self-directed learning,” Dr Reed said. “It’s given to the students. It’s out there. We don’t do a lot of recruiting for this. In a sense you are pioneers. I think there is a consensus that senior year has to change. Being totally on your own in a college setting to being at Newtown High School, I’d like to see more of a transition.”

The 13 projects covered different areas, from art therapy to animation, to play writing, to film making, to inventions.

Adam Bagger produced a film entitled Unknown Soldier. It was just over six minutes. Although he found the project uplifting and motivating, he had some personal challenges to overcome.

“Balancing my time was definitely most challenging. I actually learned from it,” Adam said. “The self-motivation factor, you make it happen. You’re not under the guidance of teachers. Start early. Get yourself together. Don’t procrastinate.”

Tyler Stowell’s project involved graphic design. He worked on the design of a BIC pen, entitled “BIC Vibro.” Tyler wanted to gain professional experience from the senior project. He learned a valuable lesson about keeping your files in multiple places on your computer since he lost much of his material off his disk.

“Getting hands-on experience with my desired profession. I figured I would be able to work with a professional,” Tyler said. “I was lucky to hook up with the guy from BIC. Time management. Be aware of dates. Set goals by certain dates.  Save your files in more than one place.”

Jared Nathanson gave the Senior Project Program a corporate identity by designing letterhead, invitations, thank you cards, and other materials using skills in graphic design along with marketing and advertising.

“Before I started, I did not think it would be much work,” Jared said. “But I spent more time on this than other classes”

Deirdre Dougherty further developed a one-act play she has been working on. She embarked on her love of writing and passion for acting for her Senior Project. Her biggest challenge was finding the voices to fit multiple characters coming from the mind of one person.

“Getting a perspective because you are one person writing about more than one character. It was all pretty easy,” Deirdre said. “I liked it all. I want to write. I like writing.”

The Senior Project Program is a self-directed project that concentrates on an area the seniors have dealt with before their senior year, but in which they are able to expand and work with professionals in the particular area. There are three advisors, Mrs Ragaini, Jeanetta Miller, and Allison Zmuda, who meet with the students and set them up with professionals.

Ms Miller and Mrs Zmuda worked on putting together the documents that helped name Newtown High School a National Blue Ribbon school. The Senior Project has opened Ms Miller’s eyes to the students’ interests and their accomplishments.

“We had the opportunity to do two things. One was to look pretty deeply into what is an outstanding high school. The second was to look very closely at Newtown High School, what it is we are doing here, to recognize our strengths and weaknesses. We’re very proud of the work done here,” Ms Miller said. “What an important piece the senior project is. It opens those doors into the big world. It is a challenge but it is refreshing. I’m really excited about the program we have here. It is such a thrill to me to see the accomplishments of these students, to see their passions. I have learned so much from both the process and the presentations.”

A lot of time and work go into the Senior Project that helps show who these students are and what they are about.

“This has been a semester-long course. It is tremendous amounts of work over a period of time. The work they do is rooted earlier than their senior year,” Mrs Zmuda said. “We really are building on who they are. Each project they create has to leave a legacy on a community. It has to be some kind of tangible benefit to other people. It’s another important lesson that adds to their work.”

More seniors will take on the challenge of the Senior Project Program in the spring, developing a passion they have and taking the opportunity to gain experience in an area they may choose to be a future career.

Denise Griffin will be participating in the Senior Project Program. Although she has not pinpointed her project she knows it will deal with the law since she wants to be an attorney. She knows the presentation part of the project will be challenging for her.

“The public speaking, you always think you can go up and just do it, but it’s hard and nerve wracking,” she said. “I’ll have to work on not using verbal fillers.”

Dave DosSantos knows his project will involve a percussion ensemble. He looks forward to using his project as a teaching tool for people who do not know as much about percussion. He is not as worried about the presentation, but how the final project is perceived

“The challenge has nothing to do with the presentation. It has to do with the outcome of the project,” Dave said. “I want to expand my horizons. It will be a good experience to expand my knowledge to people who have never played drums before.”