HPA’s capstone classes in grades 5, 8 and 12 make learning active, visible, and fun. Your capstone project helps you become a self-driven learner who can conceive, develop, problem-solve, and communicate your ideas effectively to the public.
In the capstone experience, you direct your personal passions and interests toward real issues in the community or larger world. Your final product might be a solar-powered robot, dance performance, chemistry experiment, YA novel, or community service project—you get to decide.
For many HPA seniors, the capstone project points the way toward what they hope to accomplish in college. For others, it’s an exciting period of exploration as they uncover new talents and possibilities. Above all, the capstone experience allows you to put your learning into action around a question, idea, or social need that excites you. It provides a way to enact real-world problem-solving before you are out of high school.
Want to write a novel? Crack a malware code? Check out this year’s capstone courses for the Upper School.
The eighth-grade capstone program empowers students to design their own independent projects, with the support of a small cohort of teachers led by our campus capstone coordinator. Students engage each year with the practices of our school-wide sustainability plan, and its guiding principle, mālama kaiāulu (care for our community of spirit, land, and people).
From ocean science to art, students are encouraged to explore their passions through inquiry and design. They will pitch their capstone proposals to peers, conduct research and report on results and challenges, experiment and refine their ideas, and participate in our school-wide showcase of capstone creativity.
A capstone can be anything you want to make it. You can go in so many directions. It’s a really great opportunity to learn more about yourself and gain tons of skill in multiple areas.”
—Jordan, eighth-grader
In the fifth-grade capstone, students are introduced to the core concepts of inquiry-based learning and the capstone process in age-appropriate ways. Students learn about project phases, including proposals, research, project planning, and a final community presentation. These core concepts are also used in Middle and Upper School, making the grade 5 program an important foundation as students progress through each division.
Throughout the process, students receive close, supportive mentoring from their grade 5 classroom teacher and the campus capstone coordinator. By combining personal interests with our school-wide sustainability framework, our fifth-graders make a meaningful impact in their community while strengthening and demonstrating their core academic skills.
