Ideas Worth Exploring. Work Worth Sharing.
The Ninth-Grade Capstone Project challenges students to turn curiosity into meaningful, independent work.
As a culminating experience of ninth grade at Rectory, Capstone gives students the opportunity to explore an issue that genuinely matters to them. Students choose a topic, ask meaningful questions, conduct extensive research, evaluate different perspectives, and consider possible solutions.
The result is much more than a research project. Capstone asks students to take ownership of their learning and put into practice many of the skills they have developed throughout their Rectory experience.
Real Questions. Real-World Relevance.
Capstone topics reflect the interests, concerns, and curiosity of each ninth-grade class.
Students have explored issues ranging from social inequality and environmental sustainability to immigration, technology, artificial intelligence, and other challenges shaping the world around them. Some students examine global issues; others focus on questions much closer to home and consider changes that could begin within the Rectory community.
The topic may be different for every student, but the challenge is the same: go beyond simply understanding an issue and begin thinking about what could be done about it.
The experience culminates in the annual Ninth-Grade Capstone Fair, when students share their work with faculty, classmates, families, and members of the broader Rectory community.
Rather than simply submitting a final assignment, students become the experts. They explain their research, answer questions, defend their thinking, and engage visitors in conversations about the issues they have spent months studying.
It is an opportunity to demonstrate not only what they have learned, but how much they have grown as researchers, communicators, and independent thinkers.