ACADEMICS
No (Cap)Stone Unturned
“
Middle School Students Rise to Occasion
W
e do not learn by doing, but by reflecting upon h av i n g d o n e .” T h i s quote, attributed to John Dewey, is at the heart of Windward’s 8th Grade Capstone program. As students finish their Middle School experience and embark on their career as high school students, we wanted to give them an
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opportunity to reflect on how they developed as students, artists, athletes, and as people. Over the course of Middle School, students collected evidence of their growth within broad “habits of mind.” They became better collaborators and self-advocates.
They developed organizational skills. They communicated understanding in multiple modalities. They persevered through challenges, took risks, and cultivated growth mindsets. This year, many also reflected on the skills and habits of mind they developed in having to do the majority of their Middle School years from their homes! So many students recognized that even though their Middle School years were challenging in a way no other students have ever experienced, there were gains to be had in managing Middle School during a pandemic that our resilient students will never forget. Having a self-selected portfolio of their own work as evidence of growth allowed our 8th Graders a way to reflect on who they have become over the course of their Middle School years. As one of their Seminar sessions during the second half of 8th Grade, they reflected upon the artifacts in their portfolios and decided on an area of focus as the theme of their creative project. This year’s creative projects included songs, paintings and drawings, animations, videos, collages, and more. Students shared their projects and accompanying reflections using a platform called Flipgrid, before watching and commenting on their classmates’ work as a celebration of their Middle School years. “We are so very proud of this group of students who have managed to grow and flourish despite the many challenges they faced. We hope these capstone projects provided a meaningful way for them to celebrate who they are becoming as they head into Upper School,” said Emily Dawe, Associate Director of Middle School.
Monica Kusserow ’25 “Life isn’t just black and white, so you’ll notice that all but one of my photos have a splash of color because we’re not leaving all of our experiences in our past. We’re ready to move on but still carry what we’ve learned with us… During this capstone project, I learned just how much these experiences I have had in Middle School have shaped me into who I am now.”
Cole Kaller ’25 “Through Middle School, I have learned to be more self-confident and eliminate pessimistic thoughts and really just love myself no matter what… I remember collecting all the artifacts for my portfolio last year, and I didn’t think it was that meaningful until I compiled it into this song, and I realized that most of the songs that I write are about other people or morals or perspectives I have on life but not really stories about me and my growth and the lessons that I think represent myself as a person. I was able to figure that out and write a song just about me because I was able to find physical artifacts that represented me, and I could attach meaning to them. I think it was a really awesome process.”
QR CODE: Scan to view all 8th Grade Capstone presentations.
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