Rashi’s Grade 8 students presented their Capstone projects in front of family, friends, and faculty. Capstones are the culmination of months of research and development following the design-thinking process, as students worked diligently to prototype an innovative product that could potentially solve a current problem in society. This year’s Capstone projects did not come without challenges, but every student tackled their topic with an entrepreneurial spirit and a changemaker mindset.
“For my project I created a card game for adolescent mental health. I wanted to make a way for kids to talk about their emotions. I just think mental health is really important, especially with younger kids so they can figure their feelings out and be aware of them,” said Grade 8 student Stella S.
“I made a shoe insole that’s affordable for people below the poverty line, because they’re insanely expensive. I have plantar fasciitis, and it’s miserable,” said student Benjamin D.
The Capstone project is a student-centered endeavor, allowing each eighth grader to address a topic that is meaningful to them or that they can personally relate to. This ranged from optimizing wheelchair access on airplanes, to improving medical cast comfort, to creating golf balls out of bioplastic. This allowed students to feel fully invested in their learning throughout the process. They worked closely with their project mentors, Middle School faculty members to push their thinking and open up their minds to various possibilities and solutions.
“I mentored six students, and our job as mentors is to shepherd them through the process from idea generation, to narrowing their focus, to coming up with their projects and doing research. We also help them construct their final product and practice their presentation skills,” said Middle School Spanish Teacher Bill Shorr.
“One of my students, for instance, had a handful of different ideas on how to test vibration dampening materials on baseball bats. Many of his options presented too many variables, but together we found a way to quantitatively measure vibration output by dropping the bat and measuring the sound.”
With their mentors, students utilized a wide range of sources to help them develop their projects. They strengthened their research skills by gathering information from online resources, and drew from their own experiences and the experiences of those around them.
“I worked with Ms. Janicola (Rashi’s School Social Worker) to create the questions for the cards since she works with little kids all the time,” explained Stella.
“I did so much research, mostly looking at alternative materials versus the recommended materials to make the insole. I ended up using a mix of gelatin, PVC foam, and EVA foam,” said Benjamin.
Students kicked off this incredible night with their Ignite Talks; verbal pitches paired with a powerpoint presentation detailing their project and process. Rashi students are no strangers to public speaking: students Kindergarten through Grade 8 engage in an annual performance in our 450 seat theater. Additionally, Grades 3 through 5 participate in STEAM fair presentations, and students in our Middle School present Milestone Projects. By the time students reach Grade 8, they are well-equipped to speak in front of an audience, clearly and concisely presenting their research and solutions.
“Students were poised and practiced in their presentations, and the growth from their sixth grade selves doing their first Milestone Projects was apparent,” said Associate Dean of Students and incoming Dean of Middle School, Deb Berlin.
“I went into the presentation thinking about it more like a conversation than just talking at people, and that made it better,” Benjamin said.
After their Ignite Talks, guests could then see each project prototype up close in a gallery walk, where students further explained their experience and findings.
“We’re so proud of them and all their hard work,” said Deb, “it was truly a pleasure to witness the culmination of their learning at Rashi.”