Leonia High School Capstone Presentations
During May, Leonia High School is getting ready for its upcoming Capstone Day. Each academy (the Carolyn Smyth Leonia High Academy of STEM, The Rowena Gianfredi Marketing and Business Leadership Academy, the Leonia Academy for Hospitality & Culinary Arts, the Leonia Humanities Academy, and the Leonia Music & Arts Conservatory) are having a separate day where all of the academy students are gathering to present externships and presentations specialized for each academy. Each academy student gets to miss classes to attend the Capstone presentations in the Little Theater.
The Leonia Music & Art Conservatory’s Capstone Day is set for May 22nd. Along with the seniors’ externship events, the students will also be performing together as a cohort. The freshmen class will be performing pieces on the piano. Sierra Addy, a senior in LMAC participated in an exciting hands-on photography externship and will be presenting a music trip video.
On May 23rd, the Humanities Academy will have its Capstone Day. The senior cohort will share their own unique experience. The projects are research papers or multimedia presentations stemming from their Friday externships. Freshmen as well as seniors will present their multimedia presentations from separate research projects. For example, senior Yena Choe will be presenting her research paper on the importance of encouraging early civic learning in 21st-century America. During her externship in the office of Congressman, Bill Pascrell Jr, she created an ABCs book about American Politics. Another senior, Kyle Springob, externed at the Leonia Borough Hall and his project was on the impact of political partisanship in a municipal government. Of the 354 reviewed Bough resolutions, 341 (96%) were unanimous.
On May 24th, the Leonia Academy for Hospitality & Culinary Arts will have its Capstone Day. Seniors will be giving presentations on their externship experiences. Senior Alberto Sciuto (along with fellow senior Abby Boyd) will detail “A Day in the Life” with event planners at Space Events in Englewood, which included working closely with the MArketing managers, the sales managers, and occasionally the company’s creative director.
On May 30th, the Rowena Gianfredi Marketing and Business Leadership Academy’s seniors will be delivering an oral presentation to their fellow students in the academy. As well, they will be presenting their externship experiences just like the other academies. Senior Matt Kalender will present details from his externship experience at OK Enterprises, which is a print-on-demand company. During his time with the company, he focused on sourcing products (mugs, stressballs, etc.) which he would then send to the company’s printers with options for what the customers wanted printed on the product.
On Wednesday, May 31st, the Science Academy will conduct its Capstone Day presentations. The freshmen class will display their Ted-Talk style speeches about science and their first years in the STEM academy, which were constructed during their specialized course, Leadership Skills in Science. Students throughout the year are encouraged to advance their public speaking skills through oral presentations. The sophomore cohort will publish their scientific posters and research conducted in another specialized class, Introduction to Science Research. Research groups present the information that they gathered throughout the year. The senior class will explain their Friday externship experiences in the New York City metropolitan area. Joanne Ji externed at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, NY. She researched the role of trigger warnings in the 21st century. The STEM academy will also be inviting a guest speaker from the Stevens Institute of Technology.