Capstone Projects: Helping juniors reach the 'Vision of a Graduate'

by Alex Harrison and Leo Escudero '26

At Wethersfield High School, juniors have a very important project called the Capstone. This is intended to prove how they have achieved the WHS Vision of a Graduate. The juniors have been working on the Capstone during their WeConnect classes and outside of school. Capstone is a graduation requirement and its own separate credit for all WHS Eagles.


If you are in your junior year reading this, you have until April 1 to prepare and finish your visual project. You will have to present your project to a random selection of teachers. This may bring some stress, but don't panic—we have you covered. We are going to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do for Capstone so you are fully prepared and don’t have to retake it senior year.


Scoring and expectations: The first important step in preparing for the Capstone is knowing how these projects are graded. You can get a score of 1-12, but you need to score at least 8 to pass. The project is split into three different categories: communication, collaboration, and problem solving, as well as separate grading criteria for body language, fluency, and dress attire.


This includes elements such as good eye contact, wearing business-casual clothes, engaging with the audience, not staring at your slides, good posture, and not speaking like a robot. It is important to remember the main idea of the Capstone project is to prove how you have achieved the Wethersfield High School Vision of a Graduate, meaning how you have grown as a student in the past few years.

Choosing your topic: If you are stuck on what topic you should choose, we recommend basing your project on something you’re passionate about or familiar with to make it easier to talk about and sell yourself. You want to think about stories or instances within this topic that can directly relate to problem solving, communication, and collaboration. If you have participated in sports or any clubs at WHS, this is a very good topic to choose.


Expert advice: We interviewed Mrs. Mucinskas, the organizer of the Capstone project. When asked for tips for the presentation, she said, “Make sure you hit the three main categories, make sure you are a communicator, collaborator, and use specific examples in the project”.


As a reminder, she said, “The grade is 8/12 to pass”. She also noted that students should use specific examples and make a good impression as if at a job interview, or else "you are going to end up in a class your senior year that no senior wants to be doing”. Regarding the dress code, Mucinskas said students should wear business casual, such as a collared shirt and dress pants or a business-casual dress. Mucinskas stated she has faith in all the juniors and believes they are all capable of passing their projects.


Resources and final tips: This may sound like a lot of stress, but juniors are getting help with monthly meetings in the auditorium and lessons taught personally by Mucinskas. If any students need help, we recommend going to room 336 for person-to-person assistance during an eighth-period study hall or after school.


My personal tips to all juniors: do not leave it until the last minute and have to stay up the night before your presentation. It is also perfectly fine to paraphrase what you have written on your visual presentation. The "sweet spot" for length is around nine minutes; I recommend practicing and timing yourself before April 1. Finally, remain calm, speak clearly, and show confidence. You should feel a sense of accomplishment and an understanding of how much you have grown as both a student and a person.

---