Senior Project Showcase: Ms. Case, Nick Dunsmoor, Shane Dawson,Lindsay Cooney & Aiden Ward

The Senior Project course at GDRHS prepares students for the responsibilities they will face as independent learners, whether they enter college, the work force, or the services. Seniors have the opportunity to design and carry out a long-term independent study in a subject of their choice. After completing essential research about their topic, they carry out the work that results in a product, performance, or activity. 

One student wrote of his experience this semester, “Taking this class gave me much more than a grade…I spent hours with my father, and seeing the finished product every day reminds me to use my time wisely…It all ended with a great sense of accomplishment.”

Senior project is led by the accomplished and hardworking Carol Case. Carol Case taught Visual Art for fifteen years. When the Senior Project position became available five years ago, she was eager to oversee a program that emphasizes the pursuit of personal goals and interests, while teaching important independent learning skills. 

She enjoys seeing the Fine and Performing Arts applied in new ways; English and Foreign Languages, Math, Health, Science, Computers, Electronics, History, and every conceivable combination of these subjects are also put into action by the diversity of student project choices. Ms. Case loves learning new things along with the students, and feels privileged to guide them in meeting their personal challenges. The end results are creative, ambitious, and always inspirational, as this small sample of Senior Projects proves!   

I have included a few senior project examples from semester one.  

Senior Project Showcase

                

Nicholas Dunsmoor – Maple Syrup Evaporator

What was your 'Essential Question'?

My essential question was, “How do I construct a fully functional maple syrup evaporator from scratch?”

What excited you about this topic?

What excited me about this project was being able to have the ability to boil more syrup at a time and boil it faster than I have been able to before.

What were the most challenging aspects of your work?

The most challenging aspects of my work were smoothing down the rough metal edges from the cuts I made with the angle grinder. The edges were razor sharp and to sand them down smooth was difficult because it would cut right through heavy-duty abrasive sand paper. What I ended up doing was hammering the edges as flat and smooth as possible, and then using the sandpaper to finish it off.

What were the most gratifying aspects of your work?

The most gratifying aspect of my work is that I built it myself starting from nothing but a 55 gallon metal barrel.

When you look back on Senior Project, what will be your best memory?

My best memory from senior project is when I picked up the 55-gallon steel drum with my friend Justin from a home in downtown Haverhill at night. Google maps said we arrived and the address was on our right. The man’s driveway was gated off though, and with limited space on the road to park, I turned left and pulled into a parking lot. Apparently the parking lot was "controlled" by a small biker gang of about 5 big old guys covered in tattoos who immediately became aggravated by our presence. One barked at us about what we were doing in their parking lot. We told them we were looking for a man named George who sold steel barrels and immediately they relaxed, recognizing the name. They said he was a great guy and a good friend of theirs, which ended up being true. We got the barrel and made it home alive, so the night went well.

Shane Dawson

What was your 'Essential Question'?

My Essential Question was, “How do I build a tiki bar?”

What excited you about this topic?

Last year my father, my two oldest brothers and I started renovating our backyard, we built a new deck, installed a patio, a waterfall and a propane fireplace. I thought that building a tiki bar was a good idea to keep improving our back yard. I knew that this type of work would keep me interested throughout the entire semester.

What were the most challenging aspects of your work?

The most challenging parts of my project were creating the design and building the roof of the bar. There were many different designs that I could have made, and I wanted to make sure that my family would be satisfied with it. I also had to make a design that was structurally stable, durable and big enough for six people to sit around the bar. Creating the design was a tedious, but an interesting assignment to complete. The other most challenging part was creating the roof of the bar. Building the roof was a two-person task. The time it took to complete the roof was almost ten hours, but in the end, it was all worth it.

What was the most gratifying aspect of your work?

The most gratifying aspect of my work is the bamboo panels and the roof thatch. These materials are essential to building a tiki bar. These finishing touches are both cost efficient and they give the bar a good look. They were the last two materials that I attached to the bar and it was satisfying to see the final product

When you look back on Senior Project, what will be your best memory?

My best memory of Senior Project is coming home early from school and continuing on building the bar. Building the tiki bar was something that I enjoyed doing. Senior Project was one of the best experiences I have had in high school and I am going to miss it.

Lindsay Cooney – Redecorated Room

What was your 'Essential Question'?

My essential question was, "How do I redecorate my room to make it space effective and unified?”

What excited you about this topic?

The thing that excited me most about my topic was my love for home improvement shows. I love shows like Flip or Flop and Property Brothers. Those shows inspired this project. I was also excited to have a room that was unified and put together.

What were the most challenging aspects of your work? 
The most challenging aspect of my work was the physical labor. I had a shoulder injury in 9th grade, and it began to be aggravated while I was painting. Besides that, I really enjoyed my project, especially the shopping part.

What were the most gratifying aspects of your work?

Most of my time is spent in my room, so it's gratifying to me to look around and know it was all done by me. I love the coziness and how it perfectly represents me. It's a good feeling to know all the hard work I put into this project was worth it.

When you look back on Senior Project, what will be your best memory?

My favorite memory of Senior Project was the ‘finishing touches’ stage. It was so cool to see my room slowly come together, and the week that I spent doing all my fixtures really pulled everything together. I most likely will be commuting to college so I will be in this room for a while. My room is mature and will last me the rest of my time living at home.

Aidan Ward – Personal Training

What was your 'Essential Question'?

My essential question was, "How can I gain speed and strength?"

What excited you about this topic?

I was excited about this topic because I knew it was going to impact me outside of just the classroom. I was not just going to learn about muscles and different exercises, I was actually going to get stronger and faster, and I knew that could potentially translate into a lot of good things.

What were the most challenging aspects of your work?

Aside from all the research and things like that, actually putting in the physical work was the most challenging. It was very hard to motivate myself to work out sometimes.

What was the most gratifying aspect of your work?

Seeing the results and knowing they'll have an impact on my life outside of just this class is the most gratifying aspect of my work. Because of this project I have made a large jump in throwing velocity, starting at 78 MPH and now touching 84 MPH. Throwing 84 MPH has given me the opportunity to play baseball at the next level. Stuff like that was definitely the most gratifying aspect of my project.

When you look back on Senior Project, what will be your best memory?

Senior Project has opened a lot of doors for me; it has given me the opportunity to play baseball at the next level. I owe it all to the athletic training I've been able to do. Looking back my best memory will be committing to play baseball at Clark University in Worcester. Something I don't think I would have been able to do without the extra time each day from Senior Project.