Senior Culminating Project The Senior Culminating Project is pass/fail, and the ten hours of volunteer time are mandated for graduating from Tenino High School and by the State of Washington. The Requirement Every year each senior must plan, develop and execute a community service project benefiting the community. Those benefiting from the project must be a non-profit organization or people outside of your immediate family. Your mentor, parent or guardian and Senior Project Advisor must approve the project idea. The purpose of this project is to create, provide and establish a link between students and their communities. The participants will, like anything else in life, only get out of the project what they put into it. Although it isn t required, projects that relate to the field of study the students intend to pursue are highly recommended. Research Paper Students must find a topic interesting to them to research. The research paper and project are directly related. If a student already has a project idea, they can choose a topic that relates. If the student doesn t have a project idea in mind, they should chose to research a topic that they are passionate about and then develop a project idea directly relating to the paper. Paper requirements are as follows: One book resource (must be nonfiction, a biography or an autobiography). The book can be an e-book. Four online resources. Paper will be 5-6 pages in length, Times New Roman font, size 12 type, double-spaced and a works cited page (in MLA format). Paper will be written at the beginning of the school year in the students senior English class unless in Running Start. Running Start students are still required to complete the research paper. The paper will be completed by the end of September. Specific due dates will be announced in senior English class. If a student is in Running Start, they need to contact Mrs. Munsell for a due date. Size There are few specific requirements; basically, the project must be helpful to the community. The absolute minimum time requirement is ten hours. While ten hours is the minimum, we hope that worthwhile projects will go beyond this hourly requirement. The project, in simplest terms, is this: 1. Volunteer time: The hours spent will be monitored and logged by a pre-approved mentor who is over 21 and working in the related field. The minimum is 10 hours of volunteer time. The required 2 hours freshman year, 4 hours sophomore year and 6 hours junior year not previously performed may be added to the Senior Project to meet the 22 hours required for graduation. You must have documentation for all 22 hours. Hours will be checked by the senior advisor before a pass/fail for senior projects are 1
issued. Any senior, who doesn t have 12 previous completed hours and 10 hours for the senior project (total of 22), will not receive a pass on the senior projects. Once you have committed to a mentor and project, it cannot be changed! 2. Presentation: Will be presented to a panel in the spring. This will be a reflective presentation to a panel made of teachers, administrators and community members where you talk about what you did, what you got out of it, what others got/get out of it, etc. The explanation for this presentation will be in plenty of time to put together a solid presentation and guided in senior English. Originality Does the senior service project for graduation have to be original, perhaps something you dream up that has never been done before? The answer: No, but it certainly could be. You may pick a project that has been done before, but you must accept responsibility for planning, directing and following it through to its successful completion. Limitations No routine labor Can t be conducted during school hours No profit earned by the student Before You Start Your parent, mentor and senior project committee must approve your service project idea before the project is started. Working on school grounds does not count for senior projects. You must turn in the following forms to Munsell by October 31, 2014: 1. Pink Project Proposal 2. Yellow Parent Approval 3. Blue Mentor Agreement Upon completion of all three forms and approval, you will then receive your green time log. If you want to work with a partner, you must submit a proposal (one paragraph explanation) describing: 1. What you want to do 2. Why you want to do it 3. Why you need more than one person During the Project Your service and the hours spent must be documented on your time log by your mentor. Take ample pictures before, during and after your project is completed. Any expenses accrued for your project are the responsibility of the student and/or parent. Time logs will be checked prior to: 1. Winter Break 2. Valentine s Day 3. Total Hours due for senior project: March 27th. After Completion The following is a general list of the things that will be looked for in your final presentation: In what ways did you demonstrate service to others? 2
Give examples of how you directed the project and worked with others. In what way did the community/group benefit from the project? Did the project follow your original plan? If changes to the plan were made, explain why the changes were necessary. How has your project personally changed you? Presentations to a panel will be April 22nd. To review: The basics: 2. Research Paper 3. Proposal 4. Ten hours of volunteer senior time (22 cumulative high school hours) 5. Project complete by March 27th. 6. A presentation to a panel on April 22 nd. 7. One senior per topic, unless approved by the Senior Project Advisor (Munsell) 8. Volunteer time cannot earn profit for the student 9. Volunteer time cannot benefit a family member or any relation of any kind or profitable business GET STARTED! Step one: Choose a research topic Step two: Research your topic and write your paper Step three: Choose a community service topic (pink paper) Step four: Find a mentor (blue paper) Step five: Get parent permission (yellow paper) Step six: Get approval from senior project committee Step seven: Attain green time log from advisor Step eight: Begin logging in time as a volunteer and take pictures! Step nine: Complete hours, get log sheet signed and turned in Step ten: Create Power Point and present to a panel Step eleven: Write the reflection paper 3
Senior Project Volunteer Ideas These are list of suggestions; other ideas are subject to approval! 1. Wolf Haven 2. Machine shop 3. Coach or become an assistant coach for a kid s sports team 4. Sports camp 5. Benefit Concert 6. Cultural Power Point to children 7. Tenino Library 8. Fix up a house 9. Kid s bike rodeo 10. Hospital help 11. Tutor little kids 12. Work with the City of Tenino 13. Build for the handicapped or misfortunate 14. Work with animals at the shelter 15. Help the homeless 16. Soldier care package drive 17. Mock car crash 18. Work at a cemetery 19. Presentation on a disease or illness 20. Help a church 21. Salvation Army 22. Big Brother/ Big Sister time 23. Lattin s Cider Mill holiday activities 24. Holiday activities at tree farms 25. Clothing, food, book drive 26. Recycling drive 27. Spend time with patients at a nursing home or retirement home 28. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 29. Cancer Foundation 30. Help with a political campaign (democrat, republican, etc.). 4
STUDENT NAME Senior Project Proposal Sheet 1. Topic/Area of Interest 2. What will you be doing? List anything and everything. 3. Why are you choosing that? Be honest and thorough. 4. Who will benefit from this project? How will they benefit? 5. How much time will your project require? When do you plan to complete this time? (Saturdays? Specific dates? When?) Best guess of total time when completed: Specific planned dates to complete it: 5
6. Who will serve as the mentor? Who will supervise your work and/or verify your 10 hours? Name(s) Phone number(s) Email 7. Why is this person qualified to serve as a mentor for this type of project? (List all related skills and/or career experience.) 8. I hereby affirm that the above information is true and complete. I furthermore agree to meet with my mentor as needed, the times necessary, and/or agreed upon, to pursue this project with the most sincere and necessary effort. Student signature Parent/Guardian approval Mentor approval Senior Project Advisor 6
Parent Approval Form As the parent/guardian of (name of student), I am aware that he/she is engaged in completing a Senior Project as part of the graduation requirements for Tenino High School. I know that my student has proposed to work as a volunteer to Furthermore, I am aware that my son/daughter has chosen the following mentor who has agreed to be his/her mentor: I understand the requirements for the THS Senior Project of 10 hours (22 cumulative hours throughout high school) of volunteer time and a final presentation. If I have any questions, I will contact Senior Project Advisor, Mrs. Munsell, at 264-3500. Parent/Guardian Signature 7
STUDENT NAME DATE Mentor Agreement High school seniors are required to fulfill a minimum of 10 hours of service learning. This can be in a non-profit volunteer capacity. As part of this requirement, seniors need a mentor to verify time spent and hopefully, additionally serve as a guide or tutor for learning and growth in an area of interest. Mentors must be chosen with great care. Seniors are asked to choose a mature adult mentor who has expertise or background in a chosen topic of the project. This mentor must be willing to, at a minimum, observe and verify time spent volunteering. The mentor must be present during time logged. For example, a student can t sit outside a business asking for donations without the mentor present. The only exception would be to get a signed letter from the manager, stating the dates and hours of collection by the student. It is hoped that the mentor would do more than be a witness and would encourage, guide, support and evaluate a student as he/she/they work through the Senior Project. A mentor can NOT be a parent, relative, peer or fellow student. A mentor must read and sign this form, as well as the Senior Project Proposal Sheet. Mentors are expected to sign the Time Log in blue or black ink upon student completion. Mentors are to fill out the time log, not the students. Fill in the date, time and the action the student performed for those hours. In addition, we strongly advise parents/guardians to help arrange meetings and work time with the mentor(s). Parents/guardians should support and encourage seniors with projects and should be in regular contact with any mentor. Mentor NAME Signature Title/Expertise Phone Number ( ) Please do NOT sign the student s log sheet until the project is complete. 8