Personal Project Overview and Deadlines

Rationale:
The Personal Project will be completed by all students during the sophomore year and will meet the graduation requirement for the state of Pennsylvania.

PA Chapter 4 states:

Credit:
Successful completion of the Personal Project will earn 1.0 credit toward Quaker Valley and PA graduation requirements.

Three P’s to Pass the Personal Project (see Project Resources for details)

• Paper: Between 2500 and 4500 total words. (not counting supporting documents)
• Product: The actual thing you created. If it was an event, experience, performance or something not able to be brought to school, you'll need to turn in proof such as photos or a video of it.
• Presentation: All students will present their projects to a team of evaluators. The presentation must be no less than 7 minutes and no more than 10. It must be oral and include a visual aid of some kind.

Mentors:
Students will be given the opportunity to work with an interested and qualified adult who will mentor the student throughout the project experience. Outside mentors can be chosen by the student, with permission from the parent. Teacher mentors will be assigned by the school. Students may decline the use of a mentor, though this is not recommended.  In all cases, mentors should share expertise in the project topic as a resource and guide, but the project must be the student’s own work. School-assigned mentors will assist in the project evaluation and grading. Outside mentors are advisors only.

*Grading:
Personal Projects are at the Honors level since topics are self-selected and the expectations for the work are high. Personal Projects will be scored against a rubric for each of 8 criteria. Projects scoring a C+ or better will the .04 added value that accompanies Honors courses.

Failure to complete the project has serious consequences. The failing grade (F) will be recorded on the transcript and students will be required to complete the requirement the following year.

DEADLINES

Upon APPROVAL of the project topic (Personal Project Idea Planner), students are to begin the research they will need to know what they are doing and to develop the context of the project – the background of the topic, its current status, vocabulary appropriate to the topic, appropriate methods, etc. (see What Do You Mean by Research....for a detailed explanation of this component).  Idea proposals are due Sept. 3 but the finalized idea must be approved at an individual meeting with Mrs. Conlon.

NOVEMBER 1 - AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF AT LEAST 7 SOURCES IN MLA FORM IS DUE TO YOUR ENGLISH TEACHER FOR A GRADE.
Sources should include VARIETY, i.e. books, articles, websites, people, newspapers, organization literature, documentaries, movies, instructional videos, samples of the product genre, etc. NO WIKIPEDIA.

FEBRUARY 7- A DRAFT OF THE PAPER IS DUE TO YOUR MENTOR.

FEBRUARY 14 – DRAFT RETURNED TO STUDENTS FOR REVISION

MARCH 1 - FINAL DUE DATE FOR PAPER AND PRODUCT (Late penalty is half a grade per week until April 4. After April 4, no projects will be accepted)

ORAL PRESENTATIONS WILL BE SCHEDULED DURING MARCH, APRIL AND MAY - SPECIFIC DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED

For more information, please contact:
Mrs. Linda Conlon
Secondary Academic Specialist / Project Coordinator
conlonl@qvsd.org        or       qv99.conlonl@qvmail.org (student use)