About Senior ProjectSenior Projects are an opportunity for students to take control of the learning process. They are a chance to pursue goals, activities, or interests that normally would not fall within the four-year high school course of study. Using the practices of experiential education and self-directed learning, students ask questions, challenge themselves to achieve and create, and take intellectual risks. Throughout the process, careful self-assessment and reflection serve to focus the mind on what it means to inquire, to create, or to simply do something. All senior projects require a short written research portion, some sort of ongoing record (i.e. - journal, diary, rough drafts, sketches, models, etc.), a reflection, and the sharing of the project with the MA community. In addition, for all projects there must be significant and daily contact with an adult supervisor. Projects where this contact is unclear will not be approved. By giving this opportunity, the school hopes to add a new dimension to the total education of its students.
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About the ProjectBryce Grubbs and Eli Schwartz, both seniors at Marin Academy, in San Rafael, Ca, are using their final three weeks of school to explore the career of Architecture and design. In partnership with Mark Cavagnero Assocates Architects, Bryce and Eli hope to synthesize the skills and information they have been given in Winston Chou's Architecture and Technology class with real world experiences that Cavagnero's firm provides. Mark Cavagnero Associates Architects, a highly-regarded firm, located in the financial District of San Francisco will serve as "home base" for the two young men throughout the month of May. While many of the days will be spent in the office, building models, sitting in on meetings, etc. they will regularly attend various sites around the city. Whether the sites are already completed (SF Jazz), or still under construction, Bryce and Eli are eager to explore the various effects and impacts that the specific structure has on the surrounding community. By visiting job sites, meetings, design and build sessions, the two young men hope to further enhance their understand of 'flow" in a given area, and how they ideas for the structure impact the final relationship of the structure in the surrounding area.
Marin Academy's Senior project program is one that has helped to spark a multitude of interests and passions through a wide variety of mediums. A career in architecture and design is one that requires a lot of training and schooling, so, as high school students (Bryce and Eli) who still have the luxury of exploring various professions, senior project serves as a fantastic opportunity. It is a way for Bryce and Eli to find out more about a career they both seem interested in, but also the less favorable aspects of the job that go undiscussed. The groundwork has been set in the Architecture and Technology class that the two are taking at school, as they will now explore the more personal aspects of architecture, and the benefits and drawbacks that the profession encompasses. |