Senior Projects are approaching…
Thursday, February 2011
2010-11 Senior Project Presentation Week
The twelve-year Waldorf curriculum has been compared to a climb up a spiral staircase inside a tall tower. In first grade the students enter through the ground level door and wind their way upwards. Each year provides a higher window and a different perspective on the outside world. In their senior year, the students arrive at the summit of the tower and step out onto the roof and view the entire vista stretching out far beyond them.
The senior year at a Waldorf school is designed to be a synthesis of the students’ education and a preparation for their next step in life. The senior curriculum leads the students through a study of the human being’s relationship with the world while synthesizing the high school themes of phenomenological, comparative and analytical thinking.
A highlight of the senior year is the senior project. Towards the end of their junior year, the students pick a topic for independent study. Reading and research begins during the summer months and culminates in March of the senior year with an oral presentation before classmates, faculty, friends and family. The completed project also includes a research paper and an artistic or technical component. An array of the students’ papers and artistic/technical work is on display in the back of the auditorium throughout Senior Project Presentation Week.
This year’s seniors will present their projects Monday, March 7-Friday, March 11 in the Chicago Waldorf School Auditorium. Topics range from Combat Trauma: Brain Chemistry and PTSD to The History and Zen of Motorcycles. You are warmly invited to Chicago Waldorf School’s Senior Project Presentation Week. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating the culmination of many months of work! Lively Q&A sessions follow each presentation. Its a great way to see—and support—the expert knowledge our seniors are sharing with the community.
Monday, March 7
- 10:45 Welcome
- 11:00-12:00 Naomi Muskovin Combat Trauma: Brain Chemistry and PTSD (Grade 9 and up)
- 1:00-1:45 Nick Park-Reynolds Art Theory (Grade 8 and up)
- 2:00-2:45 Olivia Juarez Australian Aboriginal Art (Grade 6 and up)
Tuesday, March 8
- 10:45 Preview of Day
- 11:00-12:00 Blake Palder The Festival of Life: Chicago in the Summer of 1968 (Grade 8 and up)
- 1:00 –1:45 Hannah Prinz The Art of Beer (Grades 9 and up)
- 2:00 -2:45 Lena Smith Hypnosis: An Altered State of Mind (Grades 6 and up)
Wednesday, March 9
- 10:45 Preview of Day
- 11:00-12:00 Laura Holdrege Orphans: A Perspective (Grades 7 and up)
- 1:00-1:45 Jackson Hallman John Muir and the Creation of the National Park System (Grade 6 and up)
- 2:00 – 2:45 Elodie Betend Exploring Five Countries Through Food and Culture (Grades 6 and up)
Thursday, March 10
- 10:45 Preview of Day
- 11:00 –12:00 Silvana Poole Tarot: A Map of Divination (Grades 7 and up)
- 1:00 –1:45 Seth Brav-McCabe Chicago Street Gangs (Grades 9 and up)
- 2:00 –2:45 Michael Moratto 3-Dimensional Printing (Grades 8 and up)
Friday, March 11
- 10:45 Preview of Day
- 11:00- 11:45 Mike Wright The History and Zen of Motorcycles (Grades 7 and up)
- 12:45-1:30 Oliver Beirne True Stories of Real Fakes; The Power of Persuasion (Grades 8 and up)
- 1:45-2:45 Rachel Osran The Evolving Music and Artistry of the Beatles (Grades 8 and up)
- 2:45 Closing