Projects & Capstones

Ma ka hana ka ‘ike. (By doing, one learns.)

Across our K-12 classes, we incorporate independent projects that let you make learning more active, visible, and fun. Through these projects, HPA prepares you to become a self-driven learner who can conceive, manage, problem-solve, adapt, and communicate your ideas effectively to the public. Along the way, each classroom project builds creative- and critical-thinking skills so that your confidence grows along with your achievements. Throughout the process, your teacher supports and advises you as an expert guide.

The capstone experience

Over time, these smaller projects prepare you for three major milestones: an independent “capstone” project that is required in grades five, eight, and twelve. The capstone experience serves as a culminating academic and intellectual milestone in each grade, where students direct their personal passions and interests toward real issues in the community or larger world. Through the capstone experience, you will strengthen your skills even further and produce a tangible product that demonstrates your learning. Your product might be a dance performance, chemistry experiment, YA novel, community service project, or solar-powered robot—you get to decide.

Lower School

The fifth-grade capstone program at Hawaii Preparatory Academy is a culminating learning opportunity for students to make a meaningful impact in their community while pursuing their own interests. Students learn about project phases and core concepts, 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 of Mālama Kaiāulu, the fifth-grade capstone program provides students with a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact while supporting the scaffolding of our core academic skills of creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.

Middle School

The eighth-grade capstone program at Hawaii Preparatory Academy 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 with important issues each year through the four practices of our school-wide sustainability plan, Mālama Kaiāulu. From ocean science to art, students are encouraged to explore their passions through inquiry and design.

Throughout the year, students 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. This program gives students the opportunity to develop their skills, pursue their interests, and make a real impact on the world around them. These skills provide the skills necessary to build upon additional inquiry-based learning experiences as they transition into high school.

Upper School

By the time you reach senior year at the Upper School, your capstone experience will represent the culmination of your learning at HPA. You will demonstrate a larger degree of independence and sustained inquiry; you will engage more deeply with mentors or the community in seeking feedback. 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.

For many HPA seniors, the twelfth-grade 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. What will you do with your HPA capstone?

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

Capstone Courses

Want to write a novel? Crack a malware code? Check out this year’s capstone courses for the Upper School.

Roxy McMackin ’23 produced this documentary for her 8th grade capstone experience. Enjoy!