Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/96432
"We have high expectations of our students, and I think we have been able to provide them with a deeper, more purposeful experience while retaining the qualities that we value." – Ted Graf while retaining the qualities that we value, " says Graf. Through their independent study, he wants students to have an opportunity to explore an intellectual or academic question and demonstrate skills such as personal responsibility, organization, forethought and independent thinking. "What is important to me is that they have those skills in place," Graf says. "I'm not as worried about asking them about their topic as I am about asking them: 'Do you have an interest? Do you have a passion? Do you have a curiosity? And, can you see it through with an adult mentor?'" Students with the curiosity and passion to investigate a topic even further have the opportunity to apply to Latin's Capstone program. Through Capstone, which was launched in 2008, they complete a significant scholarly project with the support of a faculty advisor. Projects must be multifaceted and interdisciplinary, include work with an organization or sources outside of Latin, show evidence that it was self-directed and well planned, and include some evidence of synthesis. Students are required to present their final project to the upper school community. Over the last four years, Capstone topics have included "The Role of Hairless and Ikaros in Leukemogenesis of Mammalian T-Cells," "Linguistics and Neuroscience: Language Acquisition, Bilingualism and Organization of Language in the Brain," "Documentary Filmmaking: A History of the Puerto Rican Community in Chicagoland"and "Perspectives: A Magazine Exploring the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict through Personal Stories." my PASSION Doo Kim '12 My passion is art. Whenever I make art, I am able to concentrate on just art and nothing else. Even when I am stressed out, art always helps me clear my mind. Since I was little, my mom has taken me to art exhibitions and galleries. In school, I always searched for new opportunities related to art. But freshman year was a big turning point. I was in the Computer Graphic Design class with Mr. Haverland. Toward the end of the year, he suggested that I submit works from the class to the Great Frame Up's LISA art show. I ended up winning within the school and eventually placed second at the statewide level. I wouldn't have thought about entering an art competition without Mr. Haverland's encouragement, and the experience is what got me thinking about art as my future career for the first time. As my advisor, Mr. Haverland continues to inspire me. But so does Ms. Ross, who through yearbook and photo club guides me to see the connection between artists and the real world and has taught me different ways of communicating with people visually, and Ms. Holloway, who has helped me get ready to study art in college and always encourages me to push myself to the furthest end of my skill set. By working with these amazing art teachers, I have been able to become confident in the fact that art is what I enjoy doing more than anything else. 24 Latin Magazine