1+September

Topics : • book discussion "The Element" by Sir Ken Robinson • Naviance - college choices - go right to this section <--- click here • college application -go right to this section <--- click here • college loans • grants
 * • CAPSTONE DECISIONS** and explanations - go to this section <--- click here

Resources for college: (**//please add resources as you find them//**) [|Grants from ed.gov] [|Grant opportunities from ed.gov] [|Federal Student Aid] [|Pennsylvania State Grant Program] [|African American Grants] [|Minority Government Grants] [|Customized Scholarship Search] [|Free and Online College Courses]

EXAMPLE OF A PROPOSAL CAPSTONE TIME LINE
 * Capstones -**


 * THESE ARE OUR GOALS FOR TODAY.....** UGG! I am trying to make this as painless as possible.... let's get this done together and help each other make it though this process. PLEASE!!! use my phone number [c] 610.960.5308 when ever you need to to understand or talk about all this STUFF! it is a lot at once!!!!

a) Students need to realize that they are in fact expected to do this, and that there is a time frame (see Year-Long Outline)

b) Students need to have a preliminary idea of their area of interest. If some students are not at this place by the end of advisory, then this is the main area of focus for the future.


 * THE FOLLOWING WAS GIVEN TO TEACHERS TO TELL ALL OF YOU..... I HOPE THIS HELPS**

__**For 9/21/09**__

__Goals:__ students identify areas of interest for Capstone Project; students begin to think about who could be their SLA teacher-mentor; introduce students to Capstone timeline

__Items to be shared with students:__ --Capstone Description (if they haven't already seen it--all teachers are shared on this google doc) --Timeline (all senior advisors are shared on this google doc. It is literally called, "Capstone Year-Long Outline) --Capstone Ideas form [|Before leaving advisory, students should fill out the "Capstone Ideas" form.] (I don't think it is necessary to share the details of the proposal process on this day. That can happen in the next couple weeks, but they should at least be aware of the fact that there are deadlines approaching, such as a statement of purpose and mentor selection; it is incumbent on them to start narrowing down their area of interest so this can be accomplished)

During advisory, please differentiate for the following groups of students ("idea" indicates their thoughts about their Capstone): All students should start with 5 minutes of writing about their thoughts either about their specific ideas for Capstone (if they already have them) or if they don't, their overall attitude towards Capstone. You can either have them do this on their own or on Moodle. At any rate, I think it would be interesting to see what students are actually thinking and get them to realize what they are actually thinking.

1. NO IDEA: brainstorming process. I really like the idea of having these students identify the following things: (a) areas of greatest interest to them in their personal life (sports, cooking, art, etc) and (b) projects at SLA that have inspired/interested them the most (I had this type of conversation with Vienna and she seemed to have some ideas of some sort at the end, as opposed to zero idea). Since there is only one advisor and a bilion advisees, it would be nice to pair them up with another person in the advisory (possibly someone in the same boat) and provide them with some probing questions: a) why do these things interest you? b) what did you learn in the projects that you wanted to learn more of? c) what do you do outside of school that you would like to dedicate more time to learning and exploring more deeply or in a different way?

I think the goal for these students should be to get them to at least get the juices flowing, because a lot of them are simply avoiding it right now.

2. Some idea: pair/group up with someone else who is in the same boat. Students share what they wrote at the beginning, and provide feedback (you could go with the "I notice. . . I wonder. . . What if. . ." style of questioning. Students in this group (and the next one) can write down a list of next steps and questions, and identify the person/resource they need.

3. A very good idea: These students should take a closer look at the Description and Timeline, and develop their own list of next steps and questions. For each of the next steps and questions, they should identify the person/resource they need in order to accomplish that.

Whatever else happens, we need two results: 1) the realization that they do in fact have to do a Capstone 2) familiarity with the timeline and expectations

Important dates: September - Thursday 24 - Peer Review October 1 - college lists due

Noviance

media type="file" key="noviance sign up.mov" width="300" height="300"


 * College to dos** - advisory day Thurs. September 24 - PLEASE LETS GET THOUGH THIS DAY WITH OUR HEADS NOT EXPLODING! (I will try hard to make that happen)

=TODAY IS REALLY FOR WRITING YOUR COLLEGE ESSAY - IF YOU HAVE DONE THAT THEN WRITE YOUR CAPSTONE THESIS! =
 * Unsure of your college choices?** - **Stop** sitting on your hands and just **pick** some today and start to **apply** & put them in Noviance! (I can help with this)

Stuff to keep in Folder from Ms. Hirschfield - PDF files:


 * List of Colleges**


 * List of Colleges (page 2)**


 * Application Process**


 * Application Process (page 2)**


 * College Application Checklist**


 * "To Do" list by month**

Naviance User guide