Required Programs

JANUARY TERM (J-TERM)

January Term enables our community to live the mission and values of our school and explore new passions, interests and interdisciplinary ways of learning about the world. Through a schedule dedicated to course offerings outside of the regular curriculum, January Term provides teachers and students a space for experimentation, investigation and reflection. Stu- dents sign up for their January term courses during the fall of each school year.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENT NOTE

Students must complete January Term in ninth, tenth, and twelfth grades.

JUNIOR PROJECTS

Our faculty believes that independent study outside the bounds of any particular classroom is an important part of any student’s education. The experience of creating a project, organizing it and sustaining it to completion is invaluable in helping students take responsibility for what they learn and how they learn it. By completing their Junior Projects before senior year, students will be able to incorporate the experience of their project into their work in twelfth grade. Colleges often ask for assessments of the student’s abil ity to do independent work.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENT NOTE

In eleventh grade, every student completes a month-long independent project during the month of January.

JUNIOR PROJECT PROCESS

In early May, each member of the current tenth grade class will be assigned a liaison from the Junior Project Committee. Students should arrange to meet with their liaison twice before the end of the school year. Liaisons help students decide on a project by discussing opportunities that are available to them through members of the school community and programs outside school.

JUNIOR PROJECT COMMITTEE

This committee, composed of faculty and staff, the eleventh grade advisors and the Upper School Division Director, oversees the students as they plan and complete their proposals. The committee works hard to give every student the support they need to select a project and complete a successful proposal by December.

GUIDELINES

• All projects must be student-initiated and student-designed. • All projects must have definite start and end dates. Students are expected to undertake their projects five days a week for four weeks. • Proposals must clearly state goals for the project and plans for final presentations, which include both oral and written reports. • Each student must arrange to have an advisor, who is a member of the GFS faculty or staff, and an onsite supervisor. • Proposals must be specific, may require a bibliography, and always require a letter from the on-site supervisor confirming details of the project. • Students must report to their GFS advisors once a week during the duration of the project. • Expensive projects are discouraged. Students are required to earn at least half the money necessary to cover the cost of any project.