Senior Project

Senior Project Syllabus

Table of Contents

• Senior Project Handbook
• Introduction
• The Four Phases of the Senior Project
• Requirements for Successful Completion of Senior Project

Senior Project Handbook

• Natomas Charter Senior Project Handbook (PDF File)
   

Introduction

The Senior Project at Natomas Charter School Individual Learning Program provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and how to show their achievement. Senior Project has been proven successful in many high schools across the country. It is a fitting conclusion to your high school education. Through this project, you are able to demonstrate accumulated skills in time-management, research, problem solving, human interaction, organization, and public speaking. This is appropriate as the culmination of your k-12 education because these are the very skills and abilities you will be expected to demonstrate as college students and/or entry level employees.

The Four Phases of the Senior Project

• The first phase is a research paper.You must research and document information on a subject of your choice -- a subject in which you have an interest, but are not already an expert. Your research must be a stretch beyond what you already know. As part of your research and product creation, you must obtain a mentor to assist in advising you throughout the project. Your mentor cannot be a Natomas Charter School Individualized Learning Program Teacher or a teacher from the Performing and Fine Arts Academy, a family member, or anyone under 21 years of age. Your mentor must be someone who is knowledgeable or a professional in the area of your interest. Your mentor will be evaluating you and grading your finished product.
• The second phase requires you to apply the information you have gained from your research to manufacture a "product". Your product may be an actual physical product, a performance or demonstration and must be a service or reach outside the NCS community. There must be a clear relationship between your research and your product. Select a product within your financial budget, keeping in mind that you are not expected to spend money in order to complete the Senior Project.
• The third phase of the Project is the portfolio, ESLR Statements, and reflective essay. You must keep good records of your progress and preserve everything in a portfolio that demonstrates your journey throughout the entire Senior Project. These documents include personal notes, photographs, and time logs with your mentor, journal entries, receipts, letters, your research paper, ect. Although components of the portfolio will be graded throughout the year, your teacher will grade the entire portfolio for completeness and aesthetics at the end of the semester.
• The final phase of the project will be the presentation. This will be a speech of between eight to ten minutes, given before a panel of judges. You will be assigned a date and time for your panel well in advance.
   

All information is included in your Course planner or given to you by your teacher at the beginning of your senior year. It is imperative that you maintain good attendance at the workshops so that you can be aware of any date changes or other vital information that becomes necessary as you move through the year. For the latest updates on information, consult your teacher or one of the Senior Project Teachers. Mrs. Bariel can be of great help in this area!

Requirements for Successful Completion of Senior Project

Weekly Journal

1. Write a half to a full-page entry discussing progress made that week and plans for the future. These entries should be kept in a bound journal together.

Research Paper

1. Two copies of final paper(one for grading, one for portfolio).
2. Five sources minimum. A personal interview counts as a source.
3. Modern Language Association documentation.
4. Seven to ten typed, double-spaced pages in 12 point font.
5. One inch margins
6. Works cited page( See NCS Writer's Guide for format)
7. Mixture of writer's words, quotes, paraphrases
8. Free from plagiarism and turned in on or before due date.

Product

1. Minimum of ten contact hours with mentor
2. Mentor time log required, with mentor's signature for each contact
3. Product may be tangible, or skill-based and must be service oriented
4. Product must present a learning stretch, taking you beyond what you have ever done before
5. Product must be related to research
6. Product must be completed by student...NOT by mentor or parent

Portfolio

1. Title page
2. Table of contents
3. Weekly Journals
4. Letter to the Judges
5. Topic Proposal
6. Clean copy of Research Paper
7. ESLR Statements
8. Resume
9. Thank-you note to mentor
10. Reflective essay
11. Mentor Final Verification of Product Form
12. Supplemental items including pictures, letters, plans, receipts, mentor evaluation form

Presentation

1. Between 10 and 20 minutes long
2. Judged on content and delivery
3. Appropriate business-style dress
4. Visual to enhance understanding of product (poster, outline on flip chart, photo collage, Powerpoint, costume, tangible product)
5. Portfolio available to panel

There are deadlines to each part of the senior project. Consequences to meet the deadlines are set and provided in your Course planner. Try to meet all your deadlines to avoid consequences.