T he L og thelog@taboracademy.org
Tabor Academy’s Student Newspaper Volume 93, Number 5
February 2019
Rite of Spring: Senior Projects
Seniors opt for independent study by Abby LaCasse
Before you can start a senior project, you must be approved during the three-step application process. The journey starts in December with a proposal of an idea; the next step is the initial application where you explain to the committee how you are going to produce a final product and a plan of how you will spend your nine weeks. The committee gives feedback and talks to each senior about their ideas before they submit their final applications in mid-January. Once seniors are given the okay to start their project, they must begin their three month process immediately. Every day, the seniors write a journal entry about what they learned that day and their struggles and successes; they also meet with their advisors, read two books about their topic, actually complete their projects, and prepare for an oral presentation at the end of the year. Mrs. Crosby, the head of senior projects here at Tabor, suggests that the best senior projects are the ones in which students pick something because of their curiosity and passion for a unique subject or experience. She says that the students who produce the
Photo by Photo Pool
2019 marks Tabor’s twenty-sixth year of the highly anticipated senior projects. Beginning this month, seniors have the option to finish their Tabor career pursuing a senior project in the spring trimester. Students who are particularly passionate about a certain subject, experience, or activity can put aside some of their normal responsibilities and indulge in a 9-week long project of their choosing. While a lot of people perceive senior projects as a way to get out of taking classes and having more free time, the process is a serious commitment.
best work are not always the students with the strongest GPAs or test scores; instead, the best projects typically come from students who are “great leaders who are so dedicated to their project’s purpose and goals.” When asked about what the greatest part of doing a senior project is, Mrs Crosby said that “the students are gaining knowledge about a subject they didn’t have prior to this year, and they also learn new skills such as time management that will help them in college and beyond.” She concludes, “For the senior project committee, the best feeling is when students not only see their senior projects as a passion of theirs, but through doing a project, they are able to express themselves in a new way and see themselves in a new light.”
All the School’s a Stage
Tabor’s Mobile Media Lab Arrives by Leah Kleinfeld
Photo by Mrs. Petrocelli
In late 2018, Mrs. Petrocelli and the technology office unveiled the Tabor Mobile Media Lab, a cart full of tools students need to become 21st-century learners. Located behind the library counter and in the computer room, the lab includes a large green screen, a digital microphone, a video stabilizer, and Virtual Reality Goggles. The green screen and the microphone have both been popular pieces, and some classes took to the virtual reality goggles to walk inside Anne Frank’s house and “ride a cell through the human body.” Mrs. Petrocelli notes that her main hope in opening the media lab was to prepare students for the changing “21st-century workplace,” since text is no longer the main mode of
communication and visuals have risen in importance. She stresses the importance of “sharing your knowledge in a different way”— through video, podcast or otherwise. While several classes and many students have taken to the media lab, Mrs. Petrocelli hopes to see those numbers grow exponentially. While some students may feel intimidated by the equipment, she explains that “the space is yours - yes, you have to check out the equipment, but just go in and use it.” Mrs. Petrocelli further encourages students to worry less about using the equipment in an academic way and simply to start exploring the tools and experimenting with them. Going forward, she hopes to see more of a focus on multimedia education, whether that be a Video Production course offered as an elective or teachers encouraging their students to do a project using this new technology. Finally, Mrs. Petrocelli advises that the lab is open to all, even if you don’t consider yourself a “techie”— she’s there and ready to help.