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My goal for the capstone was to pick 3-5 diseases that I wanted to go in depth with. The diseases had to be common and something that I can acquire a lot of information about. My final product is this website/blog. This blog includes everything that I have learned through out my research. It is all facts. The diseases that I studied are Diabetes, Tuberculosis, Schizophrenia, and HIV/AIDs. Each site includes statistics, what it is/what it does to the patient, whether it is curable or not, what can a person do to prevent it, its' symptoms, current researches, caring tips, what that person's diet should look like, and whether it is contagious or not, etc.

Student Name:
 Mathew Walker

In school mentor’s name:
 Mark Miles

Topic Summary:

 The goal of this project was to help me develop a better understanding of my future major, and also to show my current knowledge on the topic of computer science to see where I am going to be when I enter college. What I did was I created a game via the program processing which is a coding program that codes on java. What I learned during this process is that it is not always easy to stick to your original idea. As I went through the project I was learning a bunch of new coding material that I did not know and trying to take all that and apply all in one year was a little difficult. So I created a game that was not like my original idea but I did this because the game that I was able to produce in the end took some of the new knowledge that I learned and apply it. My original idea was to make a side scrolling adventure game such as the game Zelda but a lot of things such as drawing the maps and writing different coding functions for changing the map were slightly difficult. So in my end product, which was a maze, I was able to take the drawing maps and apply it. I also learned that you do not need fancy graphics to make a game fun because when I let my friends test it out everybody surrounded my computer trying to beat the game, which I am proud of.

and Processing

Ruben Burenstein

Mentor: 

Mark Bey

Summary:

The goal of this project is to provide extra help for students who seemed to be having trouble in a Spanish 2 class. 

Abstract

 I was inspired to make this my capstone because wavering interest in education. Since I started learning Spanish I liked it, and decided that if I were to teach a subject it would be Spanish. During freshman and sophomore year I thought that I wanted to be a teacher, but then during junior year my opinion changed. After finding out that I would be the SAT for a Spanish 2 class I thought that this would be a good opportunity to see what teaching a small group of kids would be like. I soon realized that I would not just help the students on their work, but also help reinforce their core understanding. To do this I had to re acquaint myself with the topics that they were learning, as well as research teaching techniques. For the project I did small activities, and created worksheets with the intent of improving the understanding of the Spanish language. Researching how to be an effective teacher has given be a better understanding of what I should do in teaching situations, and given me methods on how to clearly display information to students. 

In the beginning of my senior year, with the help of a few teachers, I was matched up with a non-profit organization by the name of Palms Solutions. In the rectory of a small West Philadelphia community church, Palms Solutions hosts an after school program called TIMBA that caters to helping African American children connect back to their African roots while also helping the young students to practice and develop their math and reading skills. My connection with Palms Solutions consisted of volunteering as a tutor for TIMBA. In addition to tutoring in math, it was my intention to also bring science to the learning environment and even perform a few experiments with the children all the while incorporating the math that they were reviewing in their tutoring sessions. However, through a few scheduling difficulties I was unable to accomplish all of the goals that I had set for my partnership with the program. Despite this, I did manage to perform one experiment with the children that worked petri plates and culturing bacteria. Overall, over the course of my capstone I gained volunteer, tutoring, teaching, and coordinating experience that I had not previously had. 

Student Name:

Matthew Ferry

In school mentors’ names:

Brad Latimer, Jeremy Spry

Out-of-school mentor’s name and affiliation:

Fred Brown, Assistant Track and Field/XC Coach at Germantown Friends School

Topic Summary:

The goal of this project was to develop a deeper understanding of long-distance running plans and athlete development, blending these together to provide athletes training plans unique to their needs.

Project Abstract:

This project was inspired by my senior year cross country season, when I was responsible for creating training plans for myself and several other athletes. Although I have created training plans for myself in the past, this was the first time I was responsible for creating training plans for others. This not only required me to research the fundamentals of training, but also to learn each athlete’s unique strengths and weaknesses. I worked with Fred Brown, an assistant-coach at Germantown Friends School, whose program has been very successful (having one or more national qualifier every season). Working with Coach Brown I learned the importance of communication and inquiry in creating athlete specific training. As a result of this project, I was able to further my understanding of individualized coaching methods. I hope to continue this work both as an aspiring coach and by sharing my findings with the runners at SLA. 

http://ferryrunning.weebly.com/index.html

Greene, L., & Pate, R. (2004). Training for young distance runners. (2nd ed.). Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics.

Daniels, J. (2007). Daniels' running formula. (2nd ed.). Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics.

Cabral, D. (n.d.). Donn cabral training plan [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.running2win.com/community/DonnCabral.asp?m=dbhc8996&k=donnstraining

Flotrack. (n.d.). Workout wednesday [Theater]. Available from http://www.flotrack.org/page/workout-Videos

Horwill, F. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/crash-training-can-be-applied-to-all-sports-where-fitness-is-a-major-factor-743?

Marquardt, C. (2012). Workout log: cmarqq [Web]. Retrieved from http://merv.stanford.edu/Workouts?name=cmarqq

Salazar, A. (Performer) (2013). Alberto salazar on galen's 3:50 mile race at bu [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/250010-2013-BU-Terrier-Invitational/video/685963-Alberto-Salazar-on-Galens-350-mile-race-at-BU

Fritzius, J. (2012, December 31). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.flotrack.org/blog/44207-My-12-running-reflections-of-2012

Bloom, M. (2011, August 27). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.runnersworld.com/high-school-training/5k-confidential

Barker, S. (2012, March 29). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.runnersworld.com/high-school-training/filly-funk

OldPost. (2002, October 14). Pure speed(finishing kick)- the best way to improve it read more: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=27488&thread=27488

Wejo. (2003, June 21). How does wejo run 7:00 miles all day, then run 28:06??? [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=152890&thread=152890

Gaudette, J. (2012, July 05). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/speed-base

McMillan, G. (n.d.). Training paces. Retrieved from http://www.mcmillanrunning.com

Cacciola, S. (2012, September 20). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444032404578006274010745406.html

Mentor: Mr. Sunil Reddy

Capstone Summary:

The goal of this project was to organize a drive where students were able to donate old items that would be sent directly to a No Kill Animal Shelter in New Jersey in order to enhance the living environment of neglected and sickly animals.

Project Abstract:

There were two experiences that truly inspired this project which included volunteering at the Philadelphia Zoo for four years and completing my ILP at the Philadelphia Animal Hospital. These involvements intensified my interest for not improving the lives of animals through cleaning and enrichment. I decided to do this capstone because it revolves around my particular career interest and shows my dedication to strengthening animals’ lives. My main goal was to make my event well known throughout the city of Philadelphia so that the final result is exceeding initial expectations. Obviously, I really had to push myself past the difficulties I encountered each quarter in order to make sure I was staying on track with completely my project. As a result of this project, I was able to understand the issue of animal homelessness and ways to reduce the number of animals that enter shelters each year. I gained a deeper understanding on how the No-Kill Animal Shelter operates and its desperate need for donations in order to continue providing medical assistance and housing to innocent animals. Thankfully with the help of Stanton Elementary School, I was able to receive a vast majority of the items I requested to be donated. This makes me smile because I know that from this drive I was able to make a huge difference to the lives of those animals suffering. Additionally, by holding a few bake sales in school I was able to utilize the money earned and buy any extra items at the local PetSmart in South Philadelphia. One thing I am truly disappointed by was the amount of donations I received from SLA students. There was definitely a lack of help from my peers which hurts considering I have been attending school with them since freshman year.

Click HERE to view my process paper and annotated bibliography as well.

As a founder, coach, and choreographer of SLA’s first Pep Squad, I can gladly say it was all worth it. I have been working on this team for my capstone, and own interest purposes. It’s been 2 years working on this club, and I have gained many exposure such as responsibility and patience. In order to be successful in an time consuming club you also learn how to manage time with school work and your personal life. These were just a few skills that I can for sure say better me to help me mature as a young women. 

During these two years of conducting pep squad we have became very successful. Both years were full of excitement with shows and contest. Especially, this year 2013 with the step team  and SLA first ever step show which happened to be more than a great success.  I have been preparing for this time for awhile, and the prepping was all worth it. Practices were held on Monday and Thursday or every day if we had a show coming up. They usually last for 2 hours. 

As a reflection to this I have created a strong sisterhood between each member and each member has created a sisterhood with each other. I was proud to see the eagerness, and the maturity developed that helped among all of us. I was glad to have brought girls from all ages, and grades from SLA to participate together in a positive youthful cub. I am thankful for all of my supporters, and mentors who were able to guide me while I was riding this road. I am excited to see what I have left here at SLA to become when I am gone.

For our 4th quarter statistics benchmark we read a book called How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff. After reading the book, we held insightful conversations which with discussed amongst each other and recorded as well. In our podcast you will not only get an overarching idea about what the book is about, but you will also get to hear our views and opinions on different topics that play a key role in the book. By reading this book and recorded the podcasts we learned a lot about how statistics can be misleading which can either hurt or help the point that the statistic is trying to get across. This project also made us view statistics in a different way than we have been viewing it in the past. We hope that you enjoy our podcast and that you learn a little something about the book and about tricks statistics can play on people.

- Sierra Dinvil, Prisilla Nieves, & Marina Pyfrom

For the last four chapters, we discussed more ways of deception and also how to deal with those deceptions. Chapter 7 was about finding statistics for something, but then actually using a statistic from something else, though none of it is actually wrong. Chapter 8 was about cause and effect and whether cause and effect can be reversed. Chapter 9 was about using visual diagrams, showing majorities, but not paying attention to the actual numbers. Chapter 10 is about how to deal with all of the misleading statistics and realizing what is wrong or missing. 

Group Members:

Chris Fichera

Chelsea Smith

Dayona Mcneil

Sophia Henninger

Group Members:

Chris Fichera

Chelsea Smith

Dayona Mcneil

Sophia Henninger

Discussion:

Today we discussed chapter nine and ten. This discussion was more about what we did and did not understand from the book. We tried to talk out the scenarios used to explain the concepts within the book. 

Chris Fichera

Chelsea Smith

Dayona Mcneil

Sophia Henninger

Discussion:

Today, we discussed chapter seven, eight. We talked about how the connections made between studies and what they're trying to prove did not make sense. We agreed on the fact that most studies do not depict an accurate picture of the people involved. 

The discussion itself was more like an actual conversation then trying to hit specific points. The only time we brought specific questions in were when we had already set up a situation from the book. 

The purpose of a Capstone project is to express them sum of information and experiences I’ve learned from being a student at Science Leadership Academy. I hoped to incorporate that in my project, the formation of a service community organization called SLA: Community Involvement Club. The reasoning behind this project is due to the personal impact that volunteer work has had on my life and a lack of opportunity inside of SLA. I chose to take initiative and combine my personal interest with my school community. I was starting off of a foundation made by a previous service club, meaning club meetings once a week to teach about global, local, and social issues; these were in addition to monthly weekend service projects in Philadelphia. My duties as president and coordinator involved a large amount of networking to get speakers, presentations, finding service opportunities and create education lessons to teach members. I also recorded member hours offering The Presidents Volunteer Service Award for 100 hours over the course of the year. In the end I learned a lot about the job of a coordinator and how to plan events. Through the lessons I learned to interpret information and then find an engaging way to share it with others. We ended the year with 4 members receiving the Presidential Service Award and club members completing over 500 hours of service. List of sources that I used to assist me in this project can be found here. My Process paper can be found here listing my process and how it relates to SLA core values.