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For my capstone project I taught a mini-course to freshmen at SLA about basic bicycle maintenance skills. We met once weekly for a total of seven classes, and over the duration of the course the students learned everything from the names of individual bike parts, to doing mechanical repairs or maintenance on complete bikes with industry tools. Each student is now capable of doing any basic maintenance they could need at home, like fixing flat tires, installing brake pads, or tuning their shifting.

I chose this project because it made valuable use of one of my most developed skillsets. I am very passionate about bikes - I donate kids bikes in my neighbourhood, I fix those bikes for free, and I’ve turned bikes into a means of entrepreneurship for myself selling and repairing bikes. To me, being able to help these students become more confident working on their bikes is an important part of continuing to use my abilities to help my community.

Example of lesson slideshow and pictures of demo-frames shown above.

See my Annotated Bibliography here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MbPHnKCZSaiJzPaFViC6rMdwzfERfaWRRypNDX6keSg/edit?usp=sharing

This capstone project is a sculptural flower box constructed entirely from discarded materials collected within SLA’s own building. The project began with the placement of four repurposed trash cans, sourced for free from Facebook Marketplace, in four high-traffic locations throughout the school: the art room, the engineering room, the main office, and the Commons. Each bin was labeled with a brief introduction explaining the project’s purpose and inviting students and staff to donate their disposables rather than throw them away. Over several months, materials were collected from these bins every two to three days. Donations ranged from colorful paper scraps, paint tubes, and stickers from the art room, to graph paper, wooden sticks, and screws from the engineering room, to printer boxes and mechanical parts from the office. Once collecting was complete, all materials were laid out and evaluated before construction began. Using online tutorials alongside personal creative instinct, the materials were transformed into an abstract sculptural flower box. A printer box from the main office served as the base, painted and shaped into a clean white planter. From there, flowers and decorative elements were built piece by piece from donated scraps, each component reimagined into something entirely new. At its core, this project is a statement about consumerism and waste. It challenges the idea that disposed items are without value, arguing that with creativity and intention, trash can become art. Because the materials came exclusively from within SLA, the piece directly reflects the consumption habits of the school community, making it both personal and communal.

My SLA senior capstone project is a field guide to the shorebirds of the New Jersey shore. My guide, titled “Down the Shorebirds”, includes the 12 most common Sandpipers, Plovers, and Oystercatchers found on the shore with a focus on their conservation and threats to their populations. The goal in making this guide was to promote interest, in casual or fist time birdwatchers, in conservation and bring awareness to the imminent threat faced by coastline dependent species. My book will be distributed in the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Birding Backpacks as well as at SLA and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Throughout the project I learned not only about the birds I was studying but also how to pace myself when writing a research heavy, and relatively long, piece of writing.

Down the Shorebirds Field Guide

For my capstone for the year, I built bird homes. It was a way to not only give the sidewalk of SLA a small touch of decoration but also to try and help build a better environment for the animals as well. My motive for this capstone arose when I first noticed that there were many bird carcasses on the ground, and it was an upsetting sight to see coming to and from school. So I began thinking of ways to help find a solution. This project was fun to do, and it was fun working with my local and school communities, and I got to learn more about how to use certain tools, thanks to my mentor. I also learned more about the materials needed for my projects and how to incorporate safety in almost everything I did. There were obstacles throughout this process that made it difficult at times to meet the self-made checkpoints, and I learned that it is crucial to be prepared for everything or to at least be mentally prepared to think clearly on how to overcome the challenges. Thankfully, I had a lot of support to be able to push through those obstacles and was able to create something that I am proud of. And while from an outside perspective it may have been something simple to do, for me it was a way to immerse myself and expand my knowledge on something I would like to do again. 

(Bibliography below image)

For my capstone, I worked with Josh to build and test an open-source off-grid communication system. We call this system Ski Net. It is based on an ESP32 board called a Heltec V3 and V4. We created this system as a replacement or an addition to any skier, outdoorsman, hunter, fisherman, or first responder’s personal carry. It allows users to communicate with a network of other users completely independent of any preexisting infrastructure. It doesn’t need internet, cell service, or satellite to communicate; the device does every aspect of the end-to-end encrypted communication. So for people who are outdoors, like hunters or skiers, it lets them talk and send their location when they have no cell service. However, for the first responders, it allows them to establish a critical communication infrastructure in a worst-case scenario when that preexisting network has been knocked out due to a natural disaster.

For my Capstone project, I decided to create a webcomic that aims to explain my time in SLA via art and writing about it. I wanted to be able to create something that was shown by art but had struggled to find a way to express it, originally by a mural, making drawings that would be in place of the mural, and then the final product of the Webcomic. A lot of it took time, it was pretty tedious in figuring out how to make the pages, and what to really say as it was being created. I found it somewhat difficult to find the time to handle it alongside the obvious assignments and other challenges of school, where eventually things began to piece together. I made this to not only explain the process of high school for me and how despite its difficulties it wasn’t as bad, but also as a thanks to all the SLA staff who have supported and helped me get through high school and to my eventual graduation. I wanted to show my gratitude and appreciation of SLA in the form of this webcomic, and to also tell other students either starting high school at SLA, or approaching graduation and becoming seniors that there may be a lot of difficulties, but the staff here truly do want to do what they can to help you succeed and get through it all. I hope that this final webcomic aims to help people out and to at least tell people that the high school process isn’t gonna be as bad, especially going to a school like SLA.

link to the webcomic!

bibliography

Hi. I developed an iOS app that helps people capture life’s smallest, fleeting moments. I believe though social media may have a positive impact like creating curated content or learning something new, it has negatively impacted most Gen Zs and even me. Addiction, comparison, FOMO, our opinions constantly changing, being un-present, the need to fit in, external validation, …

I hope that my app limits people off of social media and help them start to value the small moments of their lives. A calm walk in the park after an intense gym session, an awkward but interesting conversation with a stranger, noticing a beautiful view you’d usually pass by, playing one part of a song you couldn’t with your guitar before, or a genuine 1-1 conversation with a close friend talking about their futures.

Maybe it really wasn’t about the big things. It wasn’t about the parties, following social media trends, or pretending like you had everything figured out.

My app’s main core feature is capturing a moment. When you capture a moment, you can type specifically what the moment was, journal upon it, add your emotions (how you felt), the people you were with, the location, and photos and videos. Alongside, you can view your moments in a timeline or calendar, and organize it into albums. Simple and boring, but that’s the point.

So for those who love to journal, be introspective about themselves, grow as a person, or struggle with getting off of social media, feel free to use my app.

For my capstone I designed and created a storage shelf for the weight room at my school. I chose this project because I am intending to major in architecture in college. I wanted to do something related to design, where I got to work in Vectorworks (a computer software for drafting), in order to give myself some extra practice with the program before I go off into the real world and am required to use it in my field. Since freshman year I have been a part of the athletics at SLA. I knew going into my senior year that I wanted my capstone to integrate not only my love for creating, but for sports as well. I started off by being curious about woodworking and ended up with a final fully standing piece of furniture that I could not be more proud of. I had to utilize every core value to satisfy my curiosity and complete something not only functional but beautiful as well.

Annotated Bibliography:

My name is Jaiel Lapp Yoder and my Capstone Project explores why voter turnout is so much lower among younger people and what can be done about it. I wrote a paper exploring this problem and created a website that will help new voters. Confusing registration rules, lack of civic education, and financial stress are all contributing factors to the discrepancies in voter turnout between age groups. Many new voters can find the task of registering much harder than they had expected. My free website breaks down this process. It also troubleshoots common problems that people have and provides access to resources to help new voters, or even to students not yet old enough but who still want to get involved in their community. Finally, it lists dates and upcoming events such as registration deadlines and election dates. I want to make sure I leave a positive impact on SLA, and how I did that is encouraging people to get involved and cast their ballots.

Here is the link to my research paper!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wFqol-UP26kqUNorvzzLZvdkCUFRnuZfZqzYYVrjC4g/edit?tab=t.0

Here is the link to my website!

https://votetodayphilly.wixstudio.com/mysite

My name is Yun Zhang, and my capstone is The Art Show: Beauty & the Brain.

The Art Show is an annual event at Science Leadership Academy that celebrates the creativity innate in every person. It is the culmination of every dream, experience, and knowledge I have acquired throughout my years at SLA. This year’s art show was made possible by the hard work of my incredible art teacher, Ms. Angeles; my friend and partner, Jay Vilchis; and the countless amazing volunteers, including students, staff, and other community members. Together, we put on the 2026 Art Show, Beauty and the Brain!

Our shared goal for the Art Show is to show an elevated exhibition of student artwork; Beauty & the Brain invites the greater SLA community into the magic unleashed in the mind when we create and experience art.

Through the process of this project, I’ve learned so much about what it means to plan events, what it means to be a gallery, and the ways of facilitating engagement with art.

✦ Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rzy2DBtX2daXJ_LmkoKIkbyzR_t8rV_poUkLXL07ao0/edit?tab=t.0

My capstone is 12 handmade stuffed animals based on fourth grader’s drawings from Waring Elementary School. I taught a 30 minute art class with activities. The activity included three sections where students were asked to draw animals native to PA for 30 seconds, 3 minutes, and 10 minutes. I decided on this activity because a lot of these kids have trouble focusing and I wanted them to be able to engage. After the presentation I hand-sewed stuffed animals that each included unique colors, hair, eyes, and mouths. This project took months to complete and was extremely challenging. I worked countless hours on sewing the main shapes in the drawings, limbs, and eyes/other features. This capstone took lots of time and effort to complete.

Annotated Bibliography:

“Stuffed Animal Sewing Patterns: Squishy-Cute DesignsHow to Do the Ladder Stitch | Hidden Stitch | Squishy-Cute.” Squishycutedesigns.com, 2024, www.squishycutedesigns.com/ladder-stitch/.

This source is a journal style website. It contains different types of hand sewn stitches such as: The ladder stitch (for attaching or closing an opening), the backstitch (for line stitching details), and the whipstitch (for sewing the sides of the fabric). I will use all of these techniques for my different types of stuffed animals depending on their design. I will use the whipstitch for all of my pieces because it is the best stitch to use to make the seams secure on a stuffed animal. Other stitches are optional like the backstitch which is for extra details that may or may not be in the kids drawings.

“6 Tips for Effective School Visits.” Open-Book.ca, 2022, open-book.ca/Columnists/6-Tips-for-Effective-School-Visits. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.

This source is highly valuable to me. It is stock full with resources on how to present to kids depending on their grade using scientific research. They give advice to do small hands on examples of what you’re trying to teach, short tasks (not ones that take the entire period) and to ask their teacher what tasks/topics are challenging for the students. Other tips include waiting to answer questions till the end, and leading with an example activity and then letting them do it with my supervision. This source is an educational resource for teachers, scientists, or other presenters that teach students short term lessons.

VanDerMolen, Mariana. “6 Fantastic One-Day Art Lessons to Engage Your Elementary Students.” The Art of Education, 24 Jan. 2024, theartofeducation.edu/2024/01/jan-6-fantastic-one-day-art-lessons-to-engage-your-elementary-students/.

Though this source is less formal, it is definitely valuable. Since I need the kids to create something fast but authentic so I can recreate it this source gives me some tips. A few of the tips are to give multiple different options for sensory art tools to use like googly eyes, cut out pieces of paper, and other 3D features. Borsellino, Regina. “How to Write an Email That Gets the Results You Want.” The Muse, 3 Feb. 2021, www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-write-professional-email-examples. This source was sort of a “just because” source to mainly help with my anxiety to email. For my capstone I have to reach out to a school’s principal and ask for permission to teach an art class. I want to make sure I can sound trustworthy and serious in my email to them. This source gives tips on the basic format as well as other tips like whether it is the appropriate format to discuss my topic or if I need to request an in-person meeting.

“Hand Embroidery for Beginners - Back Stitch Tutorial.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkXhtkO0zK0.

This youtube video is a great source to clear up some confusion I have with the backstitch. I know how to do two stitches, one proficient. This slow, clear, and easy resource allows me to better understand how to do the backstitch. Since this resource is less than a minute long and only shows one stitch this resource was just for my confusion.

“How to Sew the Ladder Stitch”, 2026, youtu.be/XOIywYsDT-c?si=ZxSMg-Frzq_kFZ96. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. This source was also used to teach me one of the more complicated stitches more clearly. This is also known as the invisible stitch which can be difficult to do. This is the number one stitch used by seamstresses and toy makers to design hidden strings in clothes and stuffed animals. This stitch will allow for a more concise look as well as a nicer finished look.

Youtu.be, 2026, youtu.be/oC2eKmtpAKg?si=D8DgeUb-kXZ7at5B. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. This youtube video looks as close as possible to how professional I hope my final product will be. Of course because of my limited supplies I won’t be able to achieve this exact look, but if I can achieve something slightly as clean I’ll be happy. Though this video is more challenging to understand it also helps for just the motivation for my final products.

Youtu.be, 2026, youtu.be/mhck8T249lU?si=CFdMVJPyqInPQ6Cv. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. Another issue I’ve run into is safety eyes and noses. These are small plastic screw-like sewing supplies that are seen on plushies for eyes and noses. In the past I’ve struggled to not tear the fabric, have them fall out, or keep them even. This video shed light on those issues pretty straightforwardly.

Mason, Barbara. “5 Strategies for Teaching Art in the Classroom.” Golden Road Arts, 12 Mar. 2024, www.goldenroadarts.org/art-resources/5-strategies-teaching-art-classroom/.

This source was less professional than I had hoped for but ended up providing lots of useful information. This article gives tips for long term teachers instead of visiting school teachers. A few that stuck with me were: make sure to make the lesson about the students and not just focus on getting it done. A lot of the time I struggle to “naturally” present presentations and not sound robotic. This article reminded me to definitely practice before presenting.

“How to Make Stuffed Animals More Sensory for Kids - Google Search.” Google.com, 2024, www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+stuffed+animals+more+senspry+for+kids&rlz=1CAKLUN_enUS1112&oq=how+to+make+stuffed+animals+more+senspry+for+kids&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTIzMjE3ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. This source is especially important to the goal of my project. Sensory details are important to me for these stuffed animals. Developing minds require lots of sensory input to process information, change, and emotions. This source suggest varying soft textures, adding weight, and consistency.

CTE Community Engagement: For my capstone, I provided digital media services to my community through photography and videography. I was the club photographer for SOCA (Student of Color Association), ran my own workshop for the April art show, filmed and edited staff interviews for incoming SLA students, and even helped my teacher on a music video gig for an upcoming rapper and much, much more. Considering I switched my capstone twice, I am proud of my work and all the activities I participated in this year, as it gave me the networking skills I need in order to thrive in whatever career path I take in the future.

I aided the following students’ capstones,

-Yun (Art show exhibition)

-Matthew Zematitis (Filmed and edited staff Interviews)

-Magda (Weekly SOCA photographer)

-Destiny Harris (Senior Signature film)

-Quincy (Filmed sports games)

-Reese (Documented & assisted classes)

-Abby (Assistant photographer for media day)

-Angel (Consulted Digvid equipment room additions)

Link to my Portfolio:

https://tinyurl.com/ys3pvh4h

For my capstone, I created a podcast focused on the importance of young voters, addressing how to engage students and debunking common misconceptions about why young adults avoid civic participation. Alongside the podcast, I built a website where visitors can listen to episodes, read brief summaries, and access voter registration resources. The goal was to create a dedicated platform for students who feel lost on the topic of voting, and a tool teachers can share in the classroom.I chose this project because, as a newly registered voter, I noticed my peers had the same questions but nowhere to turn for clear answers. I wanted to build something creative and genuinely useful because I personally learn better by listening than reading.The process was largely trial and error. Researching reliable data, recording interviews, stitching audio together, and building the website. My biggest challenge was teaching myself audio editing using WeVideo to combine recordings, add transitions, and clean up sound quality. Looking back, I’m most proud of the podcast itself. I went in nervous and came out satisfied with a product I believe fills a real gap for students my age. If I did it again, I’d skip the rigid script, conversation flows better when you aren’t following lines of writing. I would also explore better audio editing software.This project reflects everything SLA taught me, to ask questions, research deeply, collaborate openly, and create with purpose. I’m proud to leave something behind that future students can actually use.

Website

Bibliography

Me and Grey want to create a 4-6 episode TV show for the sole purpose of making our audience laugh. Since we both grew up in south philly we want to highlight the culture of south philly and how the stereotypes that are often related with south philly aren’t an accurate representation of the area. I believe that it is important for students to learn about different cultures specially in philly high schools because people come from very different backgrounds. We are doing this to see how our version of philly is viewed by other people. This will help us answer the question of how audiences portray different stereotypes. We also want to inspire the youth. Since me and Grey only have a small amount of experiences with film making and script writing. We want to show that all it takes is creativity, experience, and determination to create a high quality film production.

Link to Capstone - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vt0u6s1RqTDVkKkZItcmtgsgl2SYM03d/view?usp=sharing

Bibliography -

As the year ends and my Capstone must come to a conclusion, I present a work that represents the ability that has been given to me by going to the SLA CTE Film Program. In Freshman year, everyone heard that as their final graduation requirement they would need to submit a major project, one that was built by your creativity and based on everything you learned from the school and honored your beliefs and the school’s well being. Immediately after hearing this, I immediately saw an opportunity to seize the moment and crystallize my idea of making one of my dreams start to come true. To make this project a horror film, and one true to me. This is not my Magnum Opus, but a beginning to the rest of my life and my carrier, I will seek more and more improvement as this was a great learning experience, please enjoy my spooky film!!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17fVQolaxbeEQ5sO-XVTnpcKB9hJyiD1I?usp=sharing

Hello my name is Ignacio. For my capstone project, I created a book site called “Eat Real”. This website was designed to target 9th and 10th graders at SLA to make healthier choices on a student budget. This project originated from a simple observation that most students at SLA were making food choices everyday without actually understanding nutrition. I wanted to change that by creating something that was useful for students. This included the basics of nutrition, how to read food labels, recipes of my own, and tips and tricks to start to become more healthier. During the process I researched to understand real life barriers like cost, time, and food access which ultimately was different for many students. What I learned throughout the process was how to take research and turn it into something accessible for students. Overall this capstone helped me become more knowledgeable in areas I wasn’t and I was able to provide many students the right information helping them make better food choices.

Link to website : https://sites.google.com/scienceleadership.org/eatreal/home

My senior capstone project focused on exploring long-standing cultural restaurants throughout Philadelphia and highlighting the stories behind them. For this project, I visited restaurants from different cultural backgrounds and neighborhoods, including Jamaican, Italian, and Mexican cuisine. Some of the restaurants I researched and reviewed included Little Delicious in Southwest Philadelphia, Ralph’s Italian restaurant in South Philadelphia, and Tequila’s in Rittenhouse Square. I created both a physical and a digital website that allows people to learn about these restaurants, write reviews, view photos, and access transportation directions through Google Maps links. I chose this project because I wanted to highlight small businesses that often tell important stories about culture, family, and community connection.

The pamphlets will be printed for viewing for my presentation, and will be available in the office for any student to come and take!

Link to Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l1nqcFD4AzIfZIJiQ-IKh-o3ax536B4dWrCEjsUiK8s/edit?usp=sharing

Teenage bedrooms act as a sanctuary, a place to be yourself, where you’re allowed to make yourself at home, making the room completely yours. For many, this involves the accumulation of items, utilitarian or decorative, on any surface available. The things we keep closest to us, most easily accessible at our most vulnerable-in our sleep-say a lot about us. Medicine, lamps, receipts, lotion, glasses, contacts, coins, keys, books, writing utensils, old food/drink. They show that we are more alike than it may appear. That at the end of the day we’re all just humans. However, not every teenager has the luxury of closely collecting material items that reflect who they are, or their daily routines, not every teenager has the luxury of a bedside table, or even a bed. My peers and I are extremely lucky to be able to participate in the material citizenship conveyed through this exhibit. All proceeds raised from the opening reception will be donated to Covenant House to support meals, housing, healthcare, and essential services for youth experiencing homelessness and trafficking in Philadelphia. - Juniper Nims

My capstone project was Bedside Table(au)s, a photo series featuring 20 Philadelphia teenagers bedside tables. The opening reception for the exhibit was a benefit for Covenant House PA, held on May 6th. The reception included performances by the SLA rock band, a DIY collage table, $5 and $1 secondhand clothing bins, handmade zines and snacks. It was a pay-what-u-wish event, and between entry donations, zine sales, and clothing sales, we raised $320 for CHPA. My mother donated this sum to CHPA through Comcast, her employer’s donation portal, which means Comcast will match that donation in 60 days-so $640 total to CHPA!

For my senior capstone project I adapted two 12V ride-on cars to make these devices more accessible for children with limited mobility, specifically children with cerebral palsy. This consisted of rewiring the built-in pedal circuit in the car to an easy access, external pressure-sensitive button that acted as the new accelerator. Simultaneously, I created a standardized adaptation process across most ride-on cars documented in a series of different academic and workshop-style media: instructional video, written instructions, and a mini-lesson slide deck teaching about accessible design that other CTE Engineering teachers in the School District of Philadelphia can use.

This project took a lot of planning, communication with my mentor and adaptation support network, and research to complete. The biggest thing that I learned when leading big design projects like this one is to always have multiple backup plans, anticipate miscommunications and setbacks, and thoroughly define the purpose of the project (aka the big takeaway you want audience to have).

The goal of my capstone is to help define what affordable assistive technology is in the scope of autonomous mobility in an easy-access and digestible format, increase awareness of the importance and impact of these devices, and inspire young engineers to consider a career in human-centered design, just as I was encouraged during a multitude of experiences throughout high school.

For my Capstone, I interviewed Artists in Philly, asking about their careers and lives as artists. As an artist myself and someone hoping to pursue a career in the arts itś incredibly helpful to see how others operate in the art world. During my interviews, I took pictures of them. Some were just casual photos I took wherever we were. For example, for one, I met her in her house, so I took pictures of her with all the fabric she uses in her work. This created a very relaxed and personable project that doesn’t feel too unrealistic to obtain, something that other artists can look at and find relatability in. I tried to ask questions that would allow my interviewers to reflect on their own lives and why they’re passionate about what they do. Each interview is a tiny glimpse into their characters, and I hope I was able to capture each of their personalities. I think as artists it can be easy to not be taken seriously, it surprised me how every one of my interviewers had never been interviewed before. I felt this sense of responsibility that I had to be a space where they felt comfortable enough to open up about their lives. I think I accomplished this because leaving each interview, I felt that I had gained a connection worthwhile. Although I tried to keep it professional, I was able to connect with each of them and used them almost like a mentor for me.

Website: https://www.wevideo.com/view/4096604640

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iEDEdwTX1_tyGDAg0-GOHiRFlMwyLwN3L0uMdYftn6A/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone project I created a website designed to help students learn more about their teachers and who they are as a person. I did this by interviewing as many teachers as I could, and writing down key takeaways about their teaching style, classroom atmosphere, and advice for students. The goal for this was to be able to turn all the information I gathered into an easy to use resource that helps students be more comfortable before entering the classroom for the first time. This website helps create a stronger sense of community and connection between students and teachers. I always have felt a little intimidated and scared when walking into a new class for the first time, especially when the teacher is somebody I have never had before. I wanted to create something so that future students didn’t have to feel like they were blindly walking into a new classroom. I knew that I wanted to get information about teachers and compile them somehow for students to view, but I wasn’t sure what the best way to do that was. I decided a website would be the best way to combine all of the information I had because a website is both easy to use, and extremely accessible to future students.

For my Capstone, I made 3 pieces of clothing using recycled fabric and garments that I no longer wear. My project revolved around sewing a unique t-shirt, hoodie, and sweatpants using the skills I learned along this process. In this day and age, it has become too common for people to discard clothes they don’t like or that have sustained minor damage. This project inspired me to reduce my overall clothing consumerism, while also teaching myself about sustainability through learning how to sew and mend. I want to promote using your old clothes to make new ones, and/or mending previously discarded clothes instead of repurchasing the same items brand-new.

Link to Clothing Gallery (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KHfF21Mbj8vg9y33y_hpSUzF2W6eFa5S?usp=drive_link)

Link to Annotated Bibliography (https://docs.google.com/document/d/12WYa9nvNcsZaplGOnO0IO84oz_VFgc-OaerKtn89_Yg/edit?usp=sharing)

Artifact:

My capstone focused on mental health support in the community of SLA. I wanted to highlight accessible sources and easy to use tools to better the resources and conversations we have about mental health in the form of a website! This topic was really important to me and something that I want to further explore in my educational journey. I spent the majority of my work time researching organizations, universities, and other websites to gain a true understanding of both my topic and how I could execute my idea. I learned a lot about the current support we have at SLA and how other schools and facilities navigate a hard topic like mental health. I gained more advanced research skills and was able to create a final product I feel would have helped me through my time at SLA.

For my senior capstone project I made a nutrition website filled with basic information for high school students, specifically SLA students. Social media is a vessel for misinformation and scientific facts alike. As high schoolers, whose minds and bodies are easily affected by the media, it is hard to distinguish what is right and wrong. I chose this project because I wanted to help debunk misconceptions about teenage nutrition. My inquiry question was “How can I utilize technology as a public artifact to effectively and realistically influence teens in Philly to make better food options for their own health?” I chose this question as the basis of my project because of how technology affects all teenagers in the United States. I believe that health is not, but should be, a prioritized curriculum. Knowledge about how to fuel your body is absolutely essential, especially to high school students: the age group where children are the most impressionable. Technology is a tool used to create publicly accessible artifacts that will stay online forever. All kids have some form of technology where the internet is used whether that be district-issued chromebooks, personal laptops, phones, or iPads. My website would reach all of these devices which means information about health that students might lack could be at their fingertips in a matter of seconds.

Website: https://sites.google.com/scienceleadership.org/emrapak-seniorcapstone/home?authuser=0

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_fyBF9byeA_84UWGv-GFloDYXlciC09wzKDMgwaA0zU/edit?tab=t.0

Hey Everyone this is Assales! For my capstone project, I researched how teacher feedback affects student learning, motivation, and confidence in school. I wanted to explore why students often learn more from meaningful feedback than from simply receiving a grade. During the process, I looked at educational research, including ideas from John Hattie, while also reflecting on my own experiences with teachers who helped me improve through honest and supportive feedback. Writing this project helped me realize how much a teacher’s guidance can impact the way students view learning, mistakes, and personal growth. Overall, this capstone showed me that effective feedback can help students feel more engaged, confident, and motivated to improve over time.

Take a look! - https://docs.google.com/document/d/12GCO50uA7S4m7EvOyWrVR0dnkDoRtidw_ujYV9-okdI/edit?usp=sharing