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For my Capstone, I wanted to find a way to have an outside event for students to interact and have fun with, but also raise money for the SLA Girls Basketball Team to put money towards them getting new apparel. I believe that this will make the team confident and bring unity to their apparel. I came up with the idea of running a basketball tournament and raise money by charging students from the school to play.

The final decision I made to do for my Capstone was to have my basketball tournament at Taney on April 30th, 2018. I did not charge students to play, but leading up to the tournament I ran a bake sale to draw attention for students to buy items, but I also had a sign up for the tournament at the bake sale. This raised money, but I also had a sense of what students were going to play. I advertised the tournament often on social media which had to word spread fast.

The day of the tournament I prepared by having a speaker so people watching would be entertained as long as the players. I wanted the tournament to be chill and for the students to have fun so it was very light on the rules, but it was on a time constraint so everything could flow and I did not run into the games being too long or short.

I believe that the tournament was fun for the students because it was just a day to have fun with peers outside of school. One piece I wish I could have done better was not overwhelming myself at once, but do one thing at a time in a spaced out amount of time. I am happy that I have completed my Capstone it has taught me so much about to overcome challenges and yet still benefits others.

Annotated Bibliography

Running a Tournament & Playing High School Event

“How To... Organize a Basketball Tournament.” Basketball Manitoba, 2018, 22 Jan. 2018 <www.basketballmanitoba.ca/2006/07/how-to-organize-basketball-tournament.html.>

I found this website/blog helpful for my capstone because it is talks specifically about how to organize a basketball tournament and making sure to be on top of the planning without leaving anything out and just having a flawless event per say. This is important for me and to have a successful capstone because it helps me have an idea/ plan of making sure I have everything and stay on track with my capstone without having spaces between the process and being upfront with the plan. The successful for the tournament will be having a plan prior to the big day. By following the checklist and the tips will help be a reference from start to finish from my capstone.  

McGroarty, Kent Page. “Benefits of Teamwork in Sports.” Healthy Living, EDGE Publications , 22 Jan. 2018. <https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/benefits-teamwork-sports-1119.html .>  

I researched the importance of sports and the importance it brings to teamwork and having the ability to work with others. This ties into my capstone because there has to be teamwork and collaboration in order for this tournament to be exciting and bring enjoyment to the players. It also teaches a life lesson of showing how if you are trying to get anywhere in life collaboration and understanding others is important to become successful in life. It also helps with the interactions between others and understanding everyone’s strengths and weaknesses and how it will  make the team successful and fun.

Frei, Terry. March 1939: before the Madness: the Story of the First NCAA Basketball Tournament Champions. Lyons Press, 2016. 23 Jan. 2018

This book is about how a team prepared before the March Madness tournament and the bonding they had before the big day. This made me think about how my teams may prepare before they enter the tournament. I wonder how the teams will prepare and how this will make the tournament engaging and entertaining for the players. I know that the collaboration will be successful and I hope their preparation is a well because that is what makes any team successful and the importance of it. It is better than teams who just comes out there without having any chemistry and limited collaboration.

“The Complete Event Planning Guide.” Membership Software - Wild Apricot, 23 Jan. 2018. <www.wildapricot.com/articles/how-to-plan-an-event.>  

Talks about the major qualities of event planning and how it will make your event successful. Without a plan there is no event. It only cause confusion, chaos, and stress to make an event work at the last minute. That would also produce a crappy event that looks rushed and unorganized. Others will notice this to and it create confusion and chaos with the crowd. Planning ahead can make anyone successful and on top of the game no matter what.  Since I know I am not an event planner this website gave me the instructions of what to do to be successful along with my event.

Long, Kimberly. “4 Ways to Get Students Interested in Extracurricular Clubs.” Education Week Teacher, Editorial Projects in Education, 29 Apr. 2016, 24 Jan. 2018. <www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2015/02/17/4-ways-to-get-students-interested-in.html.>

Because I want my tournament to be engaging and having the SLA community involved, this website touches on how extracurricular and events are important in schools because it can build on having new school traditions, leadership within different students, and how it defines the student body. It shows me how important it is for SLA to keep thriving and make school fun outside of school per say. This helped me identify my purpose for my capstone to make sure that it is strong enough and hopefully involving a great amount of the student body. Also involving the core values that pertain to the project and the even within itself.

Elizabeth Mulvahill on August 24, 2016 .contest-social .share-links svg, .share-links svg { top: 50%; left: 0px; } #atftbx p:first-of-type { display: none; } .entry-content .addthis_toolbox, .entry-. “50 Tips, Tricks, and Ideas for Building School Spirit.” WeAreTeachers, 4 July 2017, 24 Jan. 2018. <www.weareteachers.com/50-surefire-ways-to-build-school-spirit/.>

This website explained how to keep School Spirit going and the ideas to do so. This produces excitement and engagement from the student body along with something for them to look forward to. School can be seen as boring or routined to different students, but bringing something new to the environment which causes them to research and explore what it is about. School spirit is very important because it causes hype around the school and how to explore outside of school but pertaining to the school. Everything needs something new once and a while and bringing the spirit to school will change the view of basic and casual understanding but newness and excitement.

Meier, Kelly. “How to Prepare to Be an Event Planner in High School.” How to Prepare to Be an Event Planner in High School | Education - Seattle PI, Hearst Seattle Media , 25 Jan. 2018. <http://education.seattlepi.com/prepare-event-planner-high-school-2863.html .>

Since I am in High School and I don’t plan events , this blog has helped me understand how to do so on my level. Being an event planner you have to have great communication skills with talking on the phone and with having interactions with others.Having great communication skills show your professionalism and confidence in what you are trying to portray and the importance of it. Being involved in clubs and sports is a way that event planner can be exposed because it shows how your involvement is there. It shows that being involved in one area can help you to create your own by seeing the positives and negatives in another.

Smeds, Mia. “School Events Are Important for Community Spirit.” Justice Through Education, 12 Sept. 2016, 25 Jan. 2018.< www.justed.org/school-events-are-important-for-community-spirit/.>

This talks about the importance of school events and how they reflect upon the school. It shows that having school events makes the school unified between all grades along with teachers and students. The community spirit is something that is stress relievers for kids so everything is not all about work projects, etc, but we can have fun and still within the school environment. It also shows how the school works together and brings collaboration within each and every aspect of the school and how everything is connected into one system and the everyone's goal is the same with bringing engagement to the school body.

Glick , Sarah. “Success Stories: Brilliant Event Planning.” I Do PR, Jan. 2014, 26 Jan. 2018.

<www.idopr.com/wedding/success-stories-brilliant-event-planning/ .>

This helped me understand what makes an event successful and reading the different stories. They all had in common that they prepared before the event which was important. It also made me realize that everyone is not perfect so there is always going to be a flaw in the event ,but finding ways to overcome it is the way because those flaws can be unseen and no one would even know. Events can be successful or completely off and it is all about how much time and effort you put into the event is what will be produced and seen by others.

 Carlton, Duane. “Divided by Diversity Documentary.” YouTube, Vermont PBS, 4 July 2016, 26 Jan. 2018. <www.youtu.be/fqGRZ7KrbSI .>

The documentary was about how basketball use to be divided based upon race and not talent. This made me wonder what can I question about my own project and establishing my main purpose for the project. What is the cause of having the game? How will shift the players mind on what their goal is and the importance of having teamwork and collaboration while playing. I want everyone to have fun, but take something from and apply a life lesson to it because we do everything for a purpose and not just because. Everything has a meaning and worth recognition of fighting for if it is worth it.

Kingsessing Branch LEAP Program

Contesta , Nicole. “Friends of the Kingsessing Library Bring More Programs to the Community .” Friends of the Kingsessing Library Work to Bring More Programs to the Community, University City Review , 30 Sept. 2015, ucreview.com/friends-of-the-kingsessing-library-work-to-bring-more-programs-to

-the-commu-p5962-1.htm.

This source proved to be very reliable. Not only does it provide insight into why the Kingsessing Friends Library created the LEAP program, along with the other programs, but gave a description as to what the programs are about and what the mission and goals of each are. Before providing a description of each program, this article talked about the need for more programs and how the closing down of the library resulting in the call to attention for more community involvement.  This source also provided information on the impact LEAP and each program would make and is CURRENTLY making on the community. It helped me to see why LEAP is such an asset to my community and why it should be offered in the best ways possible. This article also showed me how even the smallest action can have and make such a large impact in a community, specifically mines. The LEAP program was created through the threat of the libraries being shut down. It was made for the sole purpose of serving as an asset to people of ages and meeting their needs. What started as an idea, has become a program adopted by all Free Libraries in Philadelphia and other regions! LEAP is changing lives.

How to Effectively Start A Program

“Starting a Program.” Starting a Program Youth.gov , Youth.GOV,

https://youth.gov/youth-topics/mentoring/considerations-starting-mentoring-program

This source gave me so many great ideas and tips needed to start a mentoring program. It gave me a chronological list order of what is needed to be kept in mind when starting and creating the program and even upon the program being in progress. It gave me great tips on what a good program looks like and even advice things such as financial policies and program procedures to follow. I learned a lot more about what starting a program actually looks and what you will need to ensure that it remains in effect and successful.  It is also helped me to prepare certain steps for which I will need to apply when officially introducing and putting the program into play. Because, it is a new program it will need to have much base and structure. This source taught me exactly how to have these two things which are going to be very helpful and determining how the program is going to be facilitated. We are looking to start up the conflict resolution program very soon, and in order for it to be successful and last long, it has to be effective. This source showed me how to exactly make this happen.

Leap Program: Background Information, Mission, and Explanation

“LEAP After-School Program.” Free Library of Philadelphia, Free Library of Philadelphia ,

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/programs/leap/

Upon first reading this source, I felt that it was not very reliable, it was short and brief and didn’t seem as though it would give me much information. However, upon reading it I realized that not only is the source reliable but it explains the LEAP program and its mission in a way that is simple but clear. This source gave me a much deeper insight as to what I would specifically doing as an intern of the LEAP program. It gave me background on the program and its mission and even what it stands for. It also gave me an idea of where else the LEAP program is being provided at and I can use this for further research for my capstone to see what other communities are being positively impacted by the LEAP program.

When figuring out the time, I would spend per week for my capstone, this source was very handy. It helped me to structure the time in which I spent committing too and doing my capstone. It also gave me an idea of what to expect while interning for the program, and what types of skills needed to work with the children. I used this source to begin to research good communication skills and interactive skills so that I would know how to work alongside those who chose to participate in the program. Although it is a shorter source, it provides a brief introduction as to what my job is as a LEAP intern and the main things that I will be doing upon participating.

 Video Interview with Ms. Kelley! (Mentor)

2018, 14 January, LEAP Program, Leitz Kelley, LEAP Program Director

This video interview with Ms. Kelley was my top source, and it is most certainly reliable. In the video, Ms. Kelley is explaining what exactly the LEAP program is, what makes it unique, and how it has served to be a positive impact in the community. She also talks about why she decided to participate in the LEAP program and how the way the program was created really impacts the amount of students that come in and are benefited from it. She also explains why the program is needed and even some of the struggles and conflicts that sometimes come with directing a program that helps children of all different age groups and backgrounds. She also talks about some of  her favorite memories when working with the children that come into the program. All of this information received in the interview was not only reliable because I could stand witness to the impact the program was having and even agree with some of Ms. Kelley’s opinions on the program and was even present for some of those best moments and challenges she mentioned, but it was also inspiring. It made me even more passionate about my capstone, and more passionate to see a student learn and grow their knowledge. It made me feel good during every tutor session that I patiently sat with a student as they learned how to add and subtract correctly or even pronounce a word. It made me feel good, like everything I did was helping to make an impact in someone’s life.

Andrew Miller’s Mentoring Students and Young People handbook

   Miller , Andrew. “Mentoring Students and Young People.” Google Books, Taylor and Francis E-Library , Mar. 2002,

https://books.google.com/books?id=3smPAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

This source was amazing and did an excellent job of explaining the history of mentoring, and the different types of mentoring. As both a LEAP tutor and mentor, I did not want to begin serving as a mentor without having a clue as to what is needed or entailed. I also wanted to have a history of mentoring, where it started from, and where the idea was originally created. To be a mentor, is a very important job. This source helped me to see why it was important to prepare for it and how to make it enjoyable. it also broke down the different forms of mentoring and what is required for each. This was helpful in helping me to see the type of mentoring I would be doing and what kind of mentoring related to me most and the steps I would need to take in order to become a good one. Not only did this source explain the basics of what mentoring is and what it requires, Miller dedicated sections of his book to help the reader better understand mentoring, provided a series of case studies to show how effective mentoring is and why it is needed, and even the roles of a mentor and how being a mentor can open you up to so many other doors of opportunities, in both the educational field and even in the real world.

“Tips for Tutors: How to Ensure That the First Lesson Goes Really Well.” Tutorhub Blog, TutorHub Blog , 9 Mar. 2014, Tips for Tutors: how to ensure that the first lesson goes ... - Tutorhub Blog

This source was reliable in helping me be a great tutor to the children in the LEAP program. I used this source my first day of interning. It really worked! I had to prepare and set the environment. Not only does this source provide steps but breaks down how to effectively do them. Because it wasa blog, upon first reading and observation I felt that it would be bias. However, there was a lot of "If you", which let me know that I could choose to follow the tips if I wanted too. It wasn't really a bias experience but instead helpful suggestions. I also enjoyed reading this source because it provided actual real scenarios that could possibly occur as a tutor in a program or at a school, which was really helpful especially if I found myself in a situation similar to what was provided in each scenario given in the blog.

Auerbach , Yehudith, et al. “From Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation.” Google Books, Oxford University Press , 2004,

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wOo8PiX8PWMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=conflict+resolution+techniques&ots=-cK1XGYAjV&sig=mdydEwZ22N_xDnqWD5eg1xGvyP8#v=onepage&q=conflict%20resolution%20techniques&f=false

This source showed me the importance of not only resolving conflict but of finding reconciliation within the conflict. Often times when we think conflict has been resolved it isn't, which sometimes causes for further build ups and frustrations. Thus, nothing is ever solved. This source helped me to see more into my planning for my conflict resolution program and even helped me to shape and structure the rules and guidelines of my program. This source also showed me why reconciliation goes hand in hand with conflict just as much as resolving it, because it builds mutual trust between those involved in it. I used this source to plan out exactly what the goals of my program are. Upon first observation of this book, I felt as if it would be a lot to read before I would come to find what I was looking for. However, immediately from the beginning the book provided an explanation that corresponded to its title and even some history about conflict resolution which helped me to further see why it was an important part of growth and maturity as a person.

Because there were so many different contributors to this source I was able to get many different perspectives about conflict resolution and the different ways to go about it. I am excited to try each suggestion to see how each one fits with the program’s missions and goals.

“9 Tips on Conducting Great Interviews .” Forbes, Forbes Magazine , 14 Apr. 2012, www.forbes.com/sites/shelisrael/2012/04/14/8-tips-on-conducting-great-interviews/#10de0a3656f1.

This source helped me to structure and formulate my interview with both Ms. Kelley and the LEAP children. I was able to structure my question in a way that would make the interview comfortable and provided questions that gave the interviewees time to speak and to answer each question. I also used this source because as one of the most popular business websites and magazines, Forbes is reliable enough because they are always interviewing someone new for the magazine or the website about their latest achievement in business or what makes it unique. This content was most certainly relatable for Ms. Kelley as she talked about the LEAP program. Although she didn't start the program, she is still in charge of it as it changes and impacts lives in positive way. The questions I asked her allowed for her to summarize and break down what LEAP was about in clear and concise ways. I was not looking to have a basic interview with Ms. Kelley but was instead trying to come up with questions that would make the interview unique and interesting for the viewers. I also wanted them to be able to take something from it about the LEAP program that wasn’t just in my capstone description or what I had provided. The interview tips this source provided allowed me to do just that and I learned more about the LEAP program than I had thought I would or knew.

Forhan , Christy. “Middle School Event Ideas.” PTO Today, PTO Today , 2 Mar. 2018, www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/1141-tips-and-ideas-for-middle-school-events.

This source gave me a variety of creative ideas to do for the LEAP program. As an intern, my job is not just to tutor but to plan and create events and activities for the children to participate in that brings the community together. Because the program is from grades K-8th with middle schoolers usually always coming in, planning events and activities for that age range was something I realized I needed to do. This website helped me get an idea of how to correctly plan an event ,and consider the individual while doing this. I now know how to setup the perfect environment for an event, advertise it, and even host it. As a program specifically targeted children, they are going to want to do fun things, and consistently ask about doing activities. This gave me the idea of event planning, This source helped me to also figure out the financial aspect of planning out an event and even how to prepare for it.

For my capstone project, I decided to create a montage of my trip to Costa Rica with 9 other girls and 2 teachers from SLA. The trip was a field study in the small village of the Bribri community. Over the course of 9 days, our trip consisted of exploring the capital city of San Jose, driving for 6 hours then taking a boat ride to the community, a 2 day service, beach time, and much more. During our time in the Bribri village, we bonded with the Bribri people and completed community service for 2 days in which we built a water pipe system for two houses. There’s so much more that I can talk about during my time in Costa Rica and that is why I decided to document parts of the trip so it would give the audience an overview of my experience and the girls’ experience as well.

I knew even before the trip happened that it was going to be an amazing and eye-opening experience which led me to film almost everything that we did. I documented our experiences from San Jose, the Bribri community, and even the beach after a few days of service. Every single day, I made sure that I had filmed the most important parts of the day for the montage content. However, I learned that it is difficult to focus on what is going on around you if technology is in your hands. Despite my willingness to document my experience in Costa Rica, especially the Bribri community, I wish I didn’t have to stress about having enough memory storage, my phone or camera falling in the water, not capturing the important moments through the lens, and getting a good camera angle. We shouldn’t focus on these, but instead focus on what nature has to offer around us. Regardless, I gained so much knowledge in such little time and I will be able to cherish the beautiful experience forever with this project I completed.

Annotated Bibliography:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1Hhw-PWdhlE1YjgPUC9EAAp3lYZ1AcMVDowp4GT7kE/edit?usp=sharing

Annotated Bibliography :

Golics, Catherine Jane, et al. “The impact of patients' chronic disease on family quality of life: an experience from 26 specialties.” International Journal of General Medicine, Dove Medical Press, 2013. <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3787893/>

After reviewing this source, I noticed that it gave me a lot of background information. I also noticed that it was an interview put into a sort of document. At first I didn’t think that this source was reliable, but once I started getting more into it, I noticed it has a lot of references. I also saw statistics, and the interview questions that was talked about. Most of the interview questions that were asked answers my capstone question on how families feel about their relatives conditions. So maybe I can use some of these questions to ask the families I get in touch with.  

Good, Byron J., et al. “Impact of Illness on the Family: Disease, Illness, and the Family Illness Trajectory.” SpringerLink, Springer, New York, NY, 1 Jan. 1983, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4612-5433-1_6.

Although this source is similar to the other source, I selected this one as well because it’s the impact instead of the effect. This gives me a lot of information on how illness affects the whole family and the different ways they can cope together as a whole.

How Families Cope With Chronic Illness - Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY, <wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102000363.>

After reviewing this source I got more information on how families cope. I also noticed that this source puts together verses from the bible, which I think is really reliable. It also gives questions families frequently ask doctors when they find out their loved one is diagnosed with an illness. This source helps me a lot because it gives a variety of information. It talks about the many ways someone can be supportive, so this can help me on how to be supportive to the families I talk to.

“Interviewing an individual to gain a family perspective with chronic illness : a clinical demonstration.” Free Library of Philadelphia, [San Francisco, California, USA] : Kanopy Streaming, <know.freelibrary.org/Record/2103858.> https://freelibrary.kanopystreaming.com/video/interviewing-individual-gain-family-perspective-chronic-illness-clinical-demonstration

At first I didn’t think this source would be reliable. Although this interview was about a man’s experience on chronic illness, it was still able to help be gather information. While watching this interview, they introduced the skills they would be talking about which included, coping strategies and impact on family. They also explained ways someone can cope even without family members, but how to on their own. During the interview, the doctor asked the patient many questions on how he coped, and how he felt about the loss while he was a young boy. In the end, this source was pretty useful for me.

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health and Behavior: Research, et al. “Individuals and Families: Models and Interventions.” Health and Behavior: The Interplay of Biological, Behavioral, and Societal Influences., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK43749/.

This source shows how families and or the individuals that are diagnosed behave. An individual sometimes feel guilty when they’re diagnosed because of the many things their family has to go through in order to prepare for them. The many equipment they have to get, and the amount of money they have to gather.

Lawrence, Erika. “The Impact of Chronic Illness on the Family.” http://www.igliving.com/magazine/articles/IGL_2012-06_AR_The-Impact-of-Chronic-Illness-on-the-Family.pdf

This source provides informations on the different strategies to cope with a family member's illness and the impact on it. It not only gave information on how families cope, but how individuals, as well as couples together cope. It gave the many effective ways for both couples and families. A big thing I noticed, was family therapy. I could use this, to see whether the families go through family therapy together or even bring up the different ways I learned, to give them ideas on how to cope. In the end, this source was really helpful for me and I will be using it as a guideline when I visit the Ronald Mcdonald House.  

Rothenberg, Michael B. “The Effect of a Child’s Chronic Illness on the Family.” Psychosocial Family Interventions in Chronic Pediatric Illness, 1982, pp. 163–178., doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-4247-2_24. <https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4684-4247-2_24>

This source is a book called “The impact of Chronic Illness on the Family”. Not only does this source show the different ways to cope, but it also shows what the impacts are for the families. Not every family goes through the same thing, so there are many different  things that could happen. This source gave me a lot of information, and was very helpful with not only coping but also the impact it has.

“Saying Goodbye.” Saying Goodbye: Coping With a Loved One's Terminal Illness, www.helpguide.org/harvard/saying-goodbye.htm.

This source provides information on how to properly say goodbye and cope on a loved ones illness. This shows grief and the challenges that the family could face. The process of coping and grieving takes awhile. There’s many steps of these things. At first I didn’t think this source was reliable, but it gave me good information on my topic.

“Signs and Symptoms of Trauma - Causes and Effects.” PsychGuides.com, www.psychguides.com/guides/trauma-symptoms-causes-and-effects/.

This source shows the many causes and effects for Trauma on illness. It gives information about the signs and symptoms to know someone is diagnosed with trauma. Trauma is a really serious thing, and this source can help me know how to properly talk to the families, just in case they are sensitive about a certain topic or thing.

“When a Loved One is Terminally Ill.” When a Loved One is Terminally Ill: Talking About Death and Making End–of–life Decisions, www.helpguide.org/harvard/dealing-with-a-loved-ones-serious-illness.htm.

This source shows how families prepare for the worst when they know their loved one is diagnosed with an illness. They have to prepare financially, physically and emotionally. This source gives the many ways family does these things. This can help me put together information on my end product or slideshow.

For my yearlong Capstone project, I primarily wanted to focus on my interests in terms of my future, in college and beyond. Considering my intention to go to film school, I created a full, feature-length script for a film — an 89 page script to be exact. I also elected to create a short, proof-of-concept film piece featuring some of the base ideas of the film. I worked on the script for a few months, editing and revising both as I went and after finishing, and created the final short film in the final month and a half before the due date of the Capstone. I was able to create most of what I wanted to put together, however not everything can be perfect. This was quite a learning experience in terms of preparation and planning. There were several things I wanted to put in the short film that I wasn’t able to attain, because I couldn’t get the necessary permissions. If I had given myself more time to set those things up, maybe I would have. I also learned a wide variety of things about writing scripts, such as many things about formatting and conventions that I had never even thought of before. Putting word to paper to video is definitely some experience that I feel will be useful moving forwards. All in all, my final product expresses the work I put in, as well as serving as a strong learning experience for what I wanted to learn about.

Short Film:

My Capstone was originally intended to be something else, but I switched it to an art portfolio I was already working on throughout the year to be shared at Free Library Of Comic Con. The majority of the art in here was done while I was unaware that it would be my Capstone, so it wouldn’t have been stuff I would choose to present normally. However, when I chose to switch, I realized that I shouldn’t be ashamed of myself, my art, or the things I enjoy. If someone finds the portfolio or anything in it cringeworthy, it’s their problem, not mine.

Learning new mediums was challenging. When I originally invested in the markers I ended up using, I had absolutely no idea how to use them, and knew hardly anything about them besides their unpleasant smell.Learning how to blend was an experience, because in my traditional art before this year, I blended hardly anything. It was also a struggle trying to translate the way I shade hair to different mediums because of how heavily it relied on cell shading.

All in all though, I like how my art progressed this year, and I’m proud of myself for overcoming the anxiety of presenting art I drew when I thought not many people I actually knew would see it.This Capstone was a lot of hours of work, but looking back, I enjoyed it too much for it to feel like it.

I’ve been writing since I was in grade school. I was published by third grade, in a national poetry book for students. When it came time for the capstone in my final year at SLA, I knew I wanted to write something. I took the idea of writing a book and kind of ran with it. It would be titled Eat. I asked for submissions in the advisory memo, and on social media, and ended up with a few written works from people I knew online. The submissions were placed in a section of the book titled Moving Forward, dedicated to personal struggles and issues people have faced. This particular section is a combination of music, famous poems, personal works, and submissions. There were two other sections to the book, In Time and A Continuous; In Time being dedicated to time stamped things I’d written late at night or randomly throughout days, while A Continuous is simply things I’m proud of, and occasionally things I’ve had published.

Most of the time I spent working on this project, I was working with other people to collect works and compile things in an order that made sense. Getting people to submit things took a while, which is mostly due to asking for newly written works from most people. In this process, I came to understand that while I write well, writing on command like book writing entails is incredibly difficult. It’s also really really hard to get people to cooperate and contribute to things when you lack any serious backing to prove something will come from their effort.

In the end, though, the final piece came together nicely. It’s a polished 30 page book, including the title page.

When I was deciding what I was going to do for my Capstone project, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could incorporate what I have learned in my time at SLA, and my passions outside of school as well. Music has always been an important part of my life, and I had also learned a lot about digital media in my classes, so I decided that I was going to create an EP with a few of my friends in and out of SLA. Working together we were able to put together five original songs, put on a release show with a handful of other successful bands in Philadelphia, make a music video for the lead single from the set of songs, and learn how to promote ourselves along the way.

We began recording in the early summer, and finished in early winter, spending approximately spending five months to complete a project that ultimately began a year before. Along the way I was able to learn a lot more about the intricacies of a band and how different sounds meld together to make a cohesive sound, that was not only complex, but sounded good too. I learned a lot about marketing and promoting as well, with the goal of getting as many people to listen to our music as we could, we were able to make connections not only in Philly, but around the world. I am very proud of all the time and effort put into this project, and hope that I can see it grow even larger.

My original Capstone Project was making SLA’s school store more profitable through initiatives like cutting costs. It was to provide profits for the school to use. However, the Home & School Association could not provide enough volunteers. So, the store was closed much of the year.

This required me to create a new Capstone. I decided to help children improve academics at one of my elementary schools, the Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy. My mentor approved my change of project. I attended the Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy from Pre-K to 1st grade when it was one of the best Muslim schools in Philadelphia. Currently, it is struggling academically. Parents have given it low ratings. Student enrollment is down.

The declining performance of the school gave me an opportunity to make a difference. I wanted to help younger children succeed. I also hoped to give teachers some relief. The main obstacle I faced was learning to be patient with the students. Sometimes students did not want to work. They would play instead of focusing. I tried to be firm yet positive with those who acted out. I hoped my coaching would transfer to their behavior in class.

Eventually, as I helped teachers grade student work, I saw improvement. Specifically, improvements occurred with presentations, tests, classwork and homework. In-class participation, engagement, and listening also improved.

The Capstone process was beneficial for me. I acquired significant knowledge. I only wish I had switched projects sooner. I am glad I was able to complete my Capstone and graduate.

Annotated Bibliography

Managing and Financing the School Store

https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/05/make-your-small-business-more-profitable.html

Emerson, Melinda. “5 Tips to Make Your Small Business More Profitable.” Small Business Trends, 23 May 2016,

This article suggests how to  manage the money at the school store. This is important to me because I wanted to make sure the store knows how to properly make a good profit to give towards the school and to buy more snacks without going over a budget.

https://succeedasyourownboss.com/seven-ways-profitable-small-business/

Emerson, Melinda, et al. “Seven Ways to Be More Profitable in Your Small Business » Succeed As Your Own Boss.” Succeed As Your Own Boss, 16 Mar. 2015,

This article helped me figure out some great ways to make better profit to help benefit the school store especially by creating some referrals/surveys for the customers. It is important to alway get feedback from others to help improve the choice of items in the store.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232272

Kittaneh, Firas. “4 Ways a Small Business Can Scale to Profitability.” Entrepreneur, 18 Mar. 2014,

If I had followed the steps that are on this website, then by the end of the year I would have a good presentation showing how much time and effort I put towards the school store. This is a good source to rely on to try to take proper notes to keep on track in case of any issues we may face with money at the school store. This site offered a few high level tips for small business owners such as defining your value for the market, taking sensible risks, having a good cash flow strategy and making a real effort to appreciate employees.

https://www.score.org/blog/5-innovative-ways-run-more-efficient-small-business

Miller, Derek- June 22, 2017. “5 Innovative Ways to Run a More Efficient Small Business.” SCORE, SCORE, 22 June 2017,

This was similar to the link I have above. This site motivated me to improve any strategies I have for representing this capstone. This site described five high-level considerations for new small business leaders. They include delegation, automation, consolidation and simplification of work, as well as embracing change and innovation and embracing technology to improve IT performance.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/306752#1

Rapetskaya, Maria. “5 Things Not to Do Running a Small Business.” Entrepreneur, 12 Jan. 2016

The Entrepreneur site provided me with ways to make sure that I had stayed on the right path by avoiding some of the mistakes of managing a small business at the store store. I know that in order for you to succeed you must fail and learn from that failure, but I did not want to cause a major money issue for the school store. It also focused on helpful, high-level tips for people who are starting a new company. This spoke to important issues such as choosing the right business associates,  patience, delegation, perseverance and renewal (including continually adapting the business meet market demands).

https://www.thebalance.com/steps-to-increase-small-business-profits-1200720

York, Mitchell. “6 Simple Ways to Increase Profits For Your Small Business.” The Balance,

This was another site that explains ways to raise a profit/fundraiser. I wanted to make sure I had the proper suggestions for the store to make sure that they could fundraise for the school  without having the store go into debt. It also focused on six ideas for how to increase the profits of a small business. The ideas range from changing operating procedures and stabilizing cash flow to trimming management costs and increasing marketing and sales productivity.

https://www.thebalance.com/starting-a-small-business-101-the-essential-steps-2951446

Zahorsky, Darrell. “What Are the Essential Steps in Starting a Small Business.” The Balance,

The website  was a planner/checklist for me to look back at to make sure I stayed on point with this project. I know that there were capstone timeline/checklist assignments to keep me on track but I did not want to rely on just those assignments. That was why I chose to use this  site that showed different aspects of setting up and running a small business. The site focuses on subjects such as defining a strong value proposition and business plan, choosing a business structure, and obtaining permits. It was interesting because the site also comments on specific details like naming the company and selecting a location.

http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/starting-a-business/tips-for-a-successful-small-business.html

“Tips for a Successful Small Business.” Findlaw,

This site offers me a  way of making sure I developed the proper skills of financing the school store, such as taking good notes to keep a record of the money coming in and out of the store. It also offered tips to small business leaders in over 10 areas ranging from high-level requirements (e.g. have a good business plan, maintain competitive advantage) to tactical considerations (e.g. use written contracts, buy insurance, hire well, pay expenses and taxes on time). This site has a clear focus on key legal issues required to run a small business.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/run-successful-small-business-3183.html

“How to Run a Successful Small Business.” Chron.com,

This was a good site  because it guided me to understand how to run the school store with managing and fundraising. This also focused on four basic areas where small business leaders must focus: financial literacy, financing, legal issues and work-life balance.

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/trends/the-10-hardest-things-about-running-a-business/

“The 10 Hardest Things About Running a Business.” QuickBooks, 14 Dec. 2016,

This was a helpful link for me because it showed the hardest things that I would have to deal with when running a business and allowed me to make sure I would not make any major mistakes. It also offers a view of 10 significant challenges faced by many entrepreneurs and small business leaders as they try to balance short-term business imperatives and more strategic considerations.

Annotated Bibliography

Tutoring Elementary School Students

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/tutoring-strategies-primary-grades

“Tutoring Strategies for the Primary Grades.” Reading Rockets, 7 Nov. 2013,

This website  explains how children from 1st to 3rd grade usually read and comprehend. It briefly explains how to read with the kids, helping students grasp strategies, better comprehension, and even work their way up  to become great writers.

https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/6-strategies-teachers-use-to-help-kids-with-learning-and-attention-issues

Team, Understood. “6 Strategies Teachers Use to Help Kids With Learning and Attention Issues.” Understood.org,

This site demonstrated how to professionally deal with children when teaching/tutoring them. It also included how to help those who have Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, executive functioning issues, and slow processing speed. This was very important for me to take into consideration because I might have to face some students with  learning disorders. Therefore, I wanted to have the capability to help them out.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-makes-a-successful-tutor-seth-linden

“What Makes a Successful Tutor?” Edutopia,

This source described more about how to build a good relationship with the students I tutored. It is always good for children  to be comfortable expressing themselves through their work as they learn. So a tutor must be able to understand their personality  in order for them to achieve and succeed through their work.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/tips-reading-tutors

“Tips for Reading Tutors.” Reading Rockets, 24 Aug. 2017,

This is similar to the first site above but it is more of a checklist than an elaboration on how to help elementary students read on the required level. It also includes how the tutor should manage herself when trying to help the kids since it takes a lot of respect and patience.

https://www.firsttutors.com/canada/tips-for-tutors.php

“Tips For New Tutors.” First Tutors, First Tutors  44 843 289 9165,

This website offers suggestions on how to increase student participation and engagement while while helping with  school work. This was one of the most reliable sources that I used because I had faced a lot of reluctance and acting out with the kids. Thankfully, I was able to use and create my own strategies while being professional and patient with them.

http://hechingerreport.org/elementary-school-teachers-struggle-with-common-core-math-standards/

“Elementary School Teachers Struggle with Common Core Math Standards.” The Hechinger Report, 16 June 2016,

This article talked about how  elementary teachers struggle with teaching their students math. At Al-Aqsa one of the academic subjects that students struggle with is math. This site allowed me to find and figure out better strategies to not only offer the kids but the teachers to improve their math skills.

https://www.care.com/c/stories/5383/how-to-become-a-successful-tutor/

Jayme. “How to Become a Successful Tutor.” Care.com, Care.com, 29 Mar. 2018,

This provided ways for me to be a good  tutor for elementary children since I had to be able to guide them on their level rather than on a middle or high school level. That way I could be able to build a beneficial relationship with them so that we could understand one another during our tutoring sessions.

http://education.seattlepi.com/tips-tutor-elementary-school-children-6003.html

Miller, Ashley. “Tips to Help Tutor Elementary School Children.” Why Is It Important to Have a Social Life in College? | Education - Seattle PI, 29 Sept. 2016,

This source was similar to the one above. I especially used the section that was titled, “Make Learning Fun” which is one of the best skills any tutor can have when dealing with children. The goal is that they should  never be bored or procrastinate. This did happen but as I continued to tutor I figured out ways, using this site and my creative strategies, to keep them engaged in their work which allowed them to use those same skills in their classroom.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin425.shtml

“Kids Tutor Kids to Big Gains.” Creating a Safe Classroom Environment | Education World,

What I took from this article in particular was the section about, “Big gains over short time” because that was my goal for not only the students and staff, but for the entire school. I wanted to be able to bring that lift and make a positive change to the Muslim community.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ways-help-students-understand-math-matthew-beyranevand

“6 Ways to Help Students Understand Math.” Edutopia,

This was another site that briefly describes how to help properly help students with math. This was useful for me to use because it offer skills that I could build off of such as; creating an effective class opener, topic representations, showing application, and communicating with reasoning.

Summary:

Over the course of my senior year I worked diligently to host an Ultimate Frisbee tournament as my capstone. I began my process with interviewing experienced tournament directors and finding out all of the necessary information needed to put together a good event. Once I was able to create my list of steps that I would need to take, I moved forward with scheduling. Planning the event required, finding field space, finding a certified medical professional, ordering porta potties for the event, reaching out to ultimate teams and budgeting. Along the way I learned many things about how to act in a professional environment. In early April my tournament took place. Ten teams from the greater Philadelphia area attended the tournament and ultimately it was a great success. The tournament taught me a lot and raised over one thousand dollars for the Science Leadership Academy Ultimate team.

Eli Block

Annotated Bibliography  

Bradley Palmer (Abington High School)

Palmer Bradley. Email,  January 2018

Bradley Palmer is the assistant principal of Abington Senior High School. Mr.Lehmann put me in contact with him because he potentially had field space that we could use to host the tournament. I learned how to properly write formal emails and what it takes to keep in contact with someone on a more professional level. Unfortunately there was no available field space for the right time and date for the tournament but I learned a lot while in communication with him. The planning required to secure event space requires more insight than I initially thought and in the future I will know how much background information I should have before contacting someone.

Disc Store

"Home." Disc Store. Accessed January 26, 2018. https://www.discstore.com/custom-apparel.

Discstore is one of the most popular Ultimate apparel brands in the country. They sponsor events and provide merchandise. I was told about their sponsorship policies from Jereme Mason. They will sponsor an event for free and after the event you send them 70-80% of the money made from merchandise. This is a great way to get some cool memorabilia from the tournament and I will learn how to design clothing and discs. I intend to call them to discuss the percent of the money made that we send back. Disc Store has sponsored thousands of tournaments and events and is a very reliable source.

Graham, Seth.. Personal Interview 7 October 2017

Seth Graham is the coach of the Methacton High School Ultimate team, he also is one of the organizes of PHUEL (Philadelphia High School Ultimate Education League). He was my first contact for the research part of my capstone. I learned about what goes into creating and organizing an Ultimate tournament and what options would  be best for our tournament. He provided me with the names of people who would be helpful in continuing to learn about how to put on an Ultimate tournament and led me in a direction where I could make progress with my capstone. As the capstone progresses I will keep in contact with him because he is a reliable resource and very helpful.

Ultiworld

"Home." Philadelphia High School Ultimate Education League. Accessed January 26, 2018. http://phuel.ultimatecentral.com/.

Phuel ultimate is the Philadelphia High School Ultimate Educational League, it provides information for teams in the area and other things youth ultimate in Philadelphia. Before every season there is a meeting that I will be attending and it will provide dates and locations for tournaments. The website has is like a hub of information that has provided me with things about Philadelphia ultimate that I had not known before. It provides names of people that can be helpful in making my tournament be a success. Moving forward I will continue to check the website to gain an insight into what's going on in the Philadelphia youth ultimate scene.

Mason, Jereme. Personal Interview. 23 January 2018

Jereme Mason is the found of Ulti Planning, a company that creates and organizes Ultimate Frisbee tournaments.  They are partnered with a variety of Ultimate services who offer Ultimate related gear. Jereme is also the youth director for the Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance and a full time employ of Pada.. He was a very helpful contact that provided me with information about securing field space, and other logistical aspects of a Frisbee tournament. He explained the constraints that each field space has and what space would be the best match for our tournament. He provided me with the contact information of people who I could talk to about the necessities of a tournament.

Minneci Christina (Lower Merion High School)

Christina is the coach of Lower Merion High School ultimate team, she has had a lot of success as coach and has organized tournaments before.  She has been a prominent member of the Philadelphia Ultimate community, and sits on the board of PHUEL. I contacted her about the reality of having our tournament be USAU certified. She provided me with the pros and cons of a USAU certification. After several emails chains it was decided that the tournament would not be USAU certified.. She was a helpful source of information in the early stages of the research part of the project.  

Pollock, Simon. "Tuesday Tips: 7 Tournament Director Basics, Presented By Spin Ultimate." Ultiworld. July 19, 2016. Accessed January 26, 2018. https://ultiworld.com/2016/07/19/tuesday-tips-7-tournament-director-basics-presented-spin-ultimate/.

This article explains in depth what goes into a general ultimate tournament. It is a reliable source because ultiworld is a know rebuttable ultimate online magazine. The tournament covered aspects of the tournament I had not yet think about like what happens if there is too much rain or some part of it fails. When creating brackets and the physical layout of the field scheduling I now know what to do and how to organize it. Moving forward the tournament will be more organized and have a more professional feel to it. I feel like I have now found everything that has gone into a tournament and now need to organize it.

"Pennsbury's Fall Brawl." Pennsbury Ultimate Frisbee. Accessed January 26, 2018. http://www.phsultimate.com/fb.php.

Every year Pennsbury hosts a tournament in the fall and spring for youth ultimate. It has been one of the longest running tournaments in the country. The SLA team has attended for several years. The website provides score updates, scheduling and other useful things that are necessary for the tournament. Having a website like this seems like a great idea and very useful to teams looking to come to the tournament but are unsure about its legitimacy.  The website is incredibly helpful and organized and I am now considering creating a website for the tournament. The websites reliability is good. Because SLA has gone to the tournament the websites authenticity has been checked.

Prushan Joel

Joel is an active member of the Philadelphia Ultimate community. He works with Pada and helps connect coaches with teams in need. I am interviewing him because he has reliable information regarding tournament organizing and running. Joel coaches a Philadelphia club team and has a lot of knowledge about ultimate. He has a lot of helpful contacts and potentially can help with securing sponsors for the tournament and other small things I might need. I contacted Joel in late 2017 and have talked to him a couple times about the event. His reach in the community is very helpful in organizing this tournament.

USAU tournament sanctioning

"USA Ultimate." Tournament Sanctioning. Accessed January 26, 2018.

https://www.usaultimate.org/tournaments/.

Initially the tournament was supposed to be USAU certified, so we could put the tournament date on their event calendar and entice teams into coming to our tournament. The goal was to make this as official as possible and attract the highest caliber teams. However after researching what it takes to get an event certified it was decided that the tournament would not be certified. There were to many constraints such as age, price and tournament rostering. I learned what it takes to have an Ultimate be official and how I could make it that way. Also how to deviate from your initial plan when something is not working out or when you know it will not go smoothly.

For my project, I decided to gather a group of youth and teach them 4 different styles of dance. The age of the group was ranged from ages 6 to 17. After teaching them the 4 styles of dance I put together a dance showcase for them.  Every Tuesday for about 10 weeks I hosted dance practices at a local recreation center in my neighborhood. The practices were for about 1 hour and a half.

During the practices, I taught choreography, reviewed old choreography, and assigned dance spots. Some weeks were harder than others when everyone did not come to practices or when people were constantly late. While teaching choreography I was still working with my mentor to put together songs, and to become a better dance teacher.

The final product was a strong turnout. I hosted a “Youth Matters Spring Dance Showcase” at the Venice Island Performance Theatre from 6-8pm. We had a nice audience who was supportive, all of the students remembered their dances, and everyone performed well. The hardest thing would probably be teaching children younger than me because you have to have a lot of patience. Younger students sometimes don’t focus as much or sometimes they forget the moves however I was patient with the little ones and they worked hard.

I learned how to have patience when teaching in general because you have to understand everyone doesn’t catch on as fast as others. I learned how to be a better choreographer by breaking down dance moves step by step and showing examples of what I was looking for.

Annotated Bibliography

Marks, Andrea. “David Howard's 15 Top Tips for Teachers.” Dance Teacher, 4 May 2017, www.dance-teacher.com/david-howards-15-top-tips-for-teachers-2392417451.html.

Using this website I was able to get some tips on teaching dance. I have been dancing for a long time, however, I never taught people on my own before so all tips are useful. The tips provided in this link are from David Howard. David Howard is a professional English ballet dancer. David also taught at 2 dance companies in New York. I used his tips in my teaching. For example one of his tips is to watch other people teach so anytime my dance teacher is teaching I take mental notes on her techniques. All 15 of his tips made me a better choreographer.

Irvine, Sarah . “Resource Paper: Dance Fitness.” Resource Paper: Dance Fitness - International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, 2011, www.iadms.org/?303.

Using this website I was able to look at dance from a different perspective. I normally only think of dance as something fun and something to keep people busy. However, dance can be looked at as physical fitness. People who don't workout much can turn to dancing to lose weight or to stay physically fit. When I noticed that dance can be used as physical fitness I was able to get more people to participate in my dance sessions. This helped me figure out what different styles I wanted to teach. I was also able to learn from this source what different types of fitness I use in teaching my students.

“8 Amazing Hip Hop Dance Choreographers.” URBANTABLOID.COM, 20 Nov. 2014, www.urbantabloid.com/8-amazing-hip-hop-dance-choreographers/.

This website presented me with eight hip-hop dance choreographers. When teaching people a style of dance you will always need multiple different sources and people to look at. Every dance choreographer may have a different dance style or way of organization but they will always help a less experienced teacher figure out how to be a teacher. I did not hear of all the choreographers on this website and it was more interesting for me to read about them and learn about their style. It allowed me a chance to look at hip-hop from different perspectives and I was able to take at least one tip or opinion from each choreographer.

Jimison, Robert. “5 reasons why dancing is good for your health.” CNN, Cable News Network, 19 Oct. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/06/08/health/health-benefits-of-dancing/index.html.

This website was a strong source. I argue that this was a strong source because it was persuasive and made some good comments about dance and fitness tying together. When people think of dance they don't think of fitness but it's true that dance is another way to lose weight or stay in the right weight range. I used this source to inform my students on how them dancing in my dance sessions helped them stay fit and how it helped benefit their young bodies. The website actually inspired me to combine fitness and dance more. I also created fitness packets for my students using this information.

“A Guide To Choreographing A Dance.” YouTube, 19 Jan. 2012, youtu.be/6HLQiwvbKno.

Using this video I was taught step by step ways to choreograph a dance. The tips were very helpful and useful. It helped me to create a stronger foundation for my teaching, it helped me brainstorm new ideas and showed me how to be a better listener. Teaching dance comes with more than just you talking and sometimes it's good to listen to people's thoughts and opinions on choreography. Someone else might have a good idea or twist on how to make the dance better so you should be open to others thoughts sometimes. One thing I also took from the video was using creativity. Creativity is important in all choreography because you always want to be original.

“How to Dance to Hip-Hop Music | Beginner Dancing.” YouTube, 2 July 2013, youtu.be/Qx3TkFFQayI.

Using this video I was able to hear some tips from both dance fitness experts and professional dancers. I think hearing things from both helped me better understand how both of these topics connect and helped me expand my knowledge within this field. The video did not tell me tips for teaching instead it was just teachers teaching beginners how to dance to hip-hop and how to develop skills. However it was still helpful because even if the source enplaning how to teach you can learn from seeing others teach to other people. One thing I took from this video was to be very descriptive when teaching someone because you want to be sure that they understand everything you are trying to say or teach.

“Hip Hop Teacher information for the complete beginner.” DanceClass.com, www.danceclass.com/hip-hop-teacher.html.

This website was helpful because it was directed to hip hop teachers in specific. Other websites and videos I looked at was dance in general, however, this was a more specific source. Things that stuck out to me within this article was positive reinforcement and energy. These two things stuck out to me the most because I have heard this from my pass dance teachers multiple times. I will use positive reinforcement to make sure my students are redirected positively and are able to understand what should be happening instead. I will use energy by always keeping energy positive if energy is positive anything is possible and everyone is all aboard to try new things.

Warta, Tamara. “Hip Hop Dance Choreographers.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, dance.lovetoknow.com/Hip_Hop_Dance_Choreographers.

This website was helpful for me because it gave me some information on multiple dance choreographers who are often brought up. Each of these choreographers was from different parts of the world and were of different racial backgrounds. The website also includes popular dance moves that I am familiar with. This source helped me choose some unique dance moves, and some different techniques I could incorporate into my dance pieces. One choreographer who stood out to me the most was Charles Klapow. I am familiar with a lot of his work and I know he is a very original creative dance choreographer.

“How to Teach Hip Hop Dance to Kids : Hip Hop Dance Choreography Demo for Kids.” YouTube, 1 Oct. 2008, youtu.be/qKL1ppbBDm4.

Using this video I was able to learn a lot of helpful tips. Even though the dance teacher did not state actual points I will able to pick up on some of her teaching tools. One tool she used was using eight counts out loud. It's important to count out loud so that the students can hear and know which step goes on what count. When teaching choreography you use counts to keep everyone on the same page throughout each dance. That's why when I taught different dances to my students I used eight counts and even when the music was turned on I still counted out loud until the students could dance without the count.

Rajakumar, Mohanalakshmi. Hip hop dance. Greenwood, 2012.

Using this book I was able to get some key points about hip-hop which were very useful. Before you teach something you should always know the history behind it. This book talks about hip-hop before the time I was born allowing me to learn information on the topic. One thing from the text that will stick with me is that self-expression, earning respect, and originality were key elements of hip-hop culture."This quote will stick with me because it helped me realize that I have to be both creative and show expression within my choreography considering hip-hop dance genre is so symbolic.

This year, I worked with my classmate Eli Block to create an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. We had this idea since the end of junior year and we developed it at the start of our senior year. One of the first things we seeked to start our tournament was help from sponsors. Ultimate Coaches helped where they're familiar with the game and how we can design it. Those who know how to run a successful tournament and what we needed to make it the best was our goal. With the help of our coach/principal Chris Lehmann, we sought other help outside of the SLA Community that we know from the game of ultimate which ended up being a great amount of help. One of the people who’s experienced in Ultimate is Joel Purshan where we met up at a Saxby’s discussing how we would measure the fields, having the cones set up and the how much we would charge each team for attending our tourney. We got with another familiar person Jereme Mason where we talked on the phone discussing the date and the schedule of our tournament (not interfering with the SLA Boys Ultimate Spring Season) we discussed the pool play, bracket play, and the seedings. Adding on was the snacks, porta-potties, and getting a trainer. What we learned from doing this was gaining experience from having the idea of something big, to knowing how to create one successful tournament. The tournament “Reach for the Sky” was successful because we sought out help and we persuaded coaches to have their teams come out and have a fun time facing each other and playing at a competitive level of Ultimate

Here is the Link to my Capstone Bibliography:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FEaVLU_M_8z64yaAQsciMOas3T-kdvT_sjixOZs5EOk/edit?usp=sharing