First-ever 8th Grade Capstone Showcase Celebrates Yearlong Work

Months of work blossomed at the first-ever 8th Grade Capstone Showcase May 12. The Capstone event served as a culmination of two major academic projects:  the Memoir Project and the Social Action Project.

“The intention for this event was to really showcase a culmination of work accomplished by each student over the course of the year, and in their middle school careers in general,” explains head of middle school Jamey Hein.

The Memoir Project was essentially a bound and polished portfolio of each student’s personal writing from throughout the year. Beginning in October, English teachers encouraged students to dig deep into their memory banks to recall childhood events and reflect on moments of growth, all while guiding them through the writing process of drafting, editing, revising and polishing. At the Capstone event, then, students read from their memoirs, which were both inspiring and downright laugh-out-loud funny.

“…I am so glad to have gone through this process, as I think it expanded upon both my knowledge and skills as a writer, and as a person,” reflects 8th grader Katie Lastoskie.

The other half of the Capstone event unveiled the Social Action Project (SAP), another yearlong project that originated from a public speaking unit in Civics class and continued throughout the year as a collaborate real-world problem solving and service learning project. Over the course of a few months, students probed into their selected topics, blogging like real journalists on topics ranging from the Muslim Mosque debate, homelessness and poverty, bullying in schools, alternative energy, texting while driving, dolphin protection, etc. After conducting their thorough research, students were required to design an action project that would elicit others’ awareness about their chosen issue. Projects ranged from interactive websites to movies to service projects.

“We did our SAP on childhood obesity because we really wanted to spread awareness about this important issue,” comments 8th grader Sloan Talbot. “In the end, we learned a lot, and it was a lot of fun.”

“Both capstone projects aimed to draw out the best in each student, allowing everyone to have a moment to shine and feel a deep of sense of pride,” concludes Hein. “This is exactly what vigorous and inspired 21st-century learning should look and feel like in the middle school years.”

Click here to see a slideshow of the Capstone event.