Junior/Senior Project Students Prepare For Final Presentations
Junior/Senior Project Students Prepare For Final Presentations
By Eliza Hallabeck
The final day for Newtown High School students in the Junior/Senior Project course to practice their project presentations for other students was Wednesday, December 22. Now students have just a couple of weeks to prepare their project presentations to teachers and family for their final grade.
âIt really tested my test of character,â said junior Tyler Hough, as he spoke to students about his project that had him mentoring with Dawn Rudenko Albert, a practicing attorney in New York City.
Ms Albert gave Tyler a fictional case to research, and also gave him help along the way. Being a lawyer, Tyler said, was one of his childhood dreams. With Ms Albertâs guidance, Tyler researched a case that involved lockers being searched in a school that started a zero tolerance policy to drugs and alcohol.
After his presentation Tyler answered questions from both teachers and students in the crowd. The early presentations are designed to help Tyler and other students who are in the course to determine how to tweak their presentations before giving their final discussion of their semesterâs project.
Each students in the Junior/Senior Project course chose their own project to study, and are set up with a mentor through the schoolâs Career Center.
For Tyler, the project helped him overcome procrastination, and made him want to study law more, he said.
Fellow Wednesday presenter Sean Decker worked with local artist David Merrill to create a new mural in a B-Wing hallway on the second floor of the school. Sean, who admitted to not being overly artistic, said he spent more than 100 hours creating the mural that lists soldiers from Connecticut who have given their lives to protect the country. Sean said he wanted to place the mural somewhere that would be prominent enough for other students to see it.
Sean began the mural by contacting the families of fallen soldiers from Connecticut to get permission to use the names. He said he received overwhelming support in the replies. Family members of the soldiers listed in the mural will also be invited to the school on February 20 for a ceremonial unveiling.
âAll of them were very thankful for what I was doing,â he said.
Working on the project, Sean said, gave him a personal connection to each of the soldiers.
Sean said he plans to join the marines after graduating from NHS next school year.
Other students in the Junior/Senior project course include Melissa Destefano, Megan Thomas, Laural Speed, Danny White, Rachel Camejo, Austin Fuori, and Lauren Harrison.
Formal presentations for the projects will be held on January 11 and January 13.