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Canton High seniors showcase capstone projects on youth writing, family representation and athlete wellness
Summary
Three Canton High School seniors presented capstone projects to the school committee on March 27: a third‑grade writing contest pilot, a self‑published children’s book about blended families, and GirlFest, an event focused on female athlete health and injury prevention.
Three Canton High School seniors presented capstone projects to the Canton School Committee during the teaching and learning portion of the March 27 meeting, describing classroom partnerships and community outreach tied to student wellness and literacy.
Senior Bernal and classmate Tyler described a senior capstone that designed a writing contest for a third‑grade class at John F. Kennedy Elementary. The project taught short story, memoir and poetry units, held student workshops and produced a class booklet; several student pieces will be submitted to the town’s CantonWrites contest in June. Bernal said the project sought to “give kids complete creative control” and to spark lasting enthusiasm for writing.
Charlotte Clive presented Hearts Bigger Than A Box, a self‑illustrated children’s book she said she published through BookBaby on March 15. Clive told the committee the story depicts a blended family like her own and is intended to provide representation for children with nontraditional family structures. She said she has scheduled readings at six elementary classes and requested help placing copies in Canton school libraries; Superintendent Follin said the district has a policy‑driven process for adding books to school collections and staff would work with her on next steps.
Karen McKinney described GirlFest, an event she revived that focuses on female athletes’ mental, physical and pelvic health, ACL and concussion prevention and nutrition. McKinney said allied health partners, Marathon Physical Therapy and a recorded message from U.S. women’s national team player Ally Centner, helped deliver content; roughly 45 attendees took part and several teams began using the program’s TheraBand warmups.
Why it matters: the capstone is Canton High’s culminating wellness course assignment. Committee members praised the students’ outreach, asked about parental notification and dissemination plans, and encouraged district support for student authors and community‑facing events.
What the district will do Superintendent Follin said the district will follow established acquisition processes for adding student‑authored books to school libraries and will work with students on scheduling and publicity for school visits and readings. The committee supported the students’ requests for school library consideration and outreach assistance.
Ending Committee members called the presentations “phenomenal” and agreed the projects provide replicable models for student‑led community engagement.
