Senior Project
SMHS 2011
Hernandez
Overview	
•	Minimum 10 hours on product production
•	Completed outside of class requirements
•	Unpaid
•	Completed by ONE student
•	Monitored & Approved by a mentor
Meets at least ONE of the following: 
•	Academic- involves independent research study OR formal instruction from a professional resulting in credit, certification, or licensure or documentation of completion
Meets at least ONE of the following:
•	Community Service- is a leadership position that provides a needed a viable service to a community agency or organization
Meets at least ONE of the following:
•	Career- Related to student’s career pathway and/or provides extended learning experience or internship that may involve potential future employment
Meets at least ONE of the following:
•	Personal Exploration- represents an exploration in an unfamiliar area of interest
General Guidelines
•	Interest Survey
•	Proposal Phases 1 & 2
•	Evidence
•	Final Product
•	Final Product Notebook
•	Final Product Presentation
Time Requirement
•	10 hours minimum 
•	Time spent on working on project
•	Hours cannot count for community service & senior project
•	Keep your time logs updated
•	Every Monday is yours to work on your project
•	If you are not working on your project, I will give you an in class essay to complete for credit.
Written Assignments
•	All assignments are required to pass the course
•	Final products are due with the notebook
•	If your product is turned in late, you will receive half credit
•	If your product does not meet standards, you must do additional work until it meets standards
Journals
•	Journals are a great form of evidence
•	Date, what you did, how did it go, what will you do next
•	Keep journal entries together! 
Money
•	You may NOT do a project that involves collecting or distributing money.

Honesty Policy
•	Please be honest!
•	PLAGIARISM- give credit where it is due
•	Cheating/Copying- do not do it.
•	1st Offense: 0 points on that assignment. This means you will have to redo it.
•	2nd Offense: Loss of credit on Senior Project. This means you will have to start a new one.
•	3rd Offense: Parent conference and you will face the possibility of failing the course. 
Selecting  A Topic
•	Seize this opportunity and choose something that has meaning and passion for you. 
•	Be Creative!
•	You will be spending a lot of time and energy on this topic and you want to choose something that will keep you motivated.
Topics NOT Allowed
•	Creating new clubs and student groups
•	Air or flight activities
•	Amusement park activities
•	Animals activities
•	Athletics not approved
•	Dances
•	Labor laws
•	Motorized races and contests
•	Skating
•	Water activities
•	Wilderness activities
•	Weapons and weapons related

Topics NOT Qualified
•	Scrapbooks or memory books
•	Building a computer
•	Physical fitness/exercise goals
•	Cookbooks

Liability
•	All work must be appropriate for high school and be free of profanity, use of drugs, pornography and use of teacher names. 
Selecting A Mentor
•	Depending on your teacher, the mentor role will vary within the realm of your project
•	Utilize someone who has knowledge and experience in your topic who can provide support & guidance
•	Fill out the Mentor Time Log (online)
Research Components
•	Annotated List of Works Cited
•	Handout Example
•	Research Notes
•	Handout Sample
•	Formal Outline
•	Sample Online
Works Cited Requirements
•	3-5 sources
•	At least one database included
•	At least one personal interview
•	Typed & annotated in MLA 2009 format
•	Each annotation has a 3-5 sentence explanation of the source
•	How & why you used it
•	What you got out of the source
•	How helpful the source was

Reflection Paper
•	This paper needs to be 500 words or 2 pages
•	Typed in MLA format
•	Three parts: personal, topic, presentation
•	Specific questions to guide paper online
Presentation
•	Dates: May 31, June 1, June 2, June 3
•	Requirements: visual aid, presentation outline, in class presentation
•	Visual Aid- to assist in demonstration, explanation, and presentation of your project
•	Visual Aid can include: objects, display boards, document camera, movie/video, keynote/power point
Dress Requirements
•	You are expected to dress professionally for this presentation. Wear something that you would wear to a job interview. 
•	See specific dress requirements on website
•	General rule of thumb: If you’d wear it to school, it’s not dressy enough! 
The Speech
•	Attention getter
•	Discuss how/why you chose your topic
•	Explain your research and how it helped
•	Discuss the process you through
•	Show the final product or pictures
•	Explain what you learned
•	Conclusion
Important Websites
•	School Website
•	http://www.sanmarinohs.org/

•	MLA
•	http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

A Final Note
•	You will get out of this what you put into it.
•	It can waste your time or change your life- it is entirely up to you! 
•	Use this opportunity to grow into who you want to be.
•	My goal in assigning this to you is for you to explore your interests. Do something new!