What is Project Week?
Project Week is a long tradition at Fenway High School, dating back to our very beginning in the late 1980’s. It happens every year in April when the Boston winter starts to relent and the outdoors seems so inviting. Students like it so much they have been know to say “Why can’t we have project year?” Well, we don’t have project year yet, but in 2018 we will be continuing the Spring tradition of Project Week.
Why do we have Project Week?
We want to get outside and move around during a beautiful spring week; we want to learn from the city, from its resources and people.
Second, we want to study something interesting to us in a concentrated way without having the space and time limitations of the classroom walls and the schedule.
Third, we want to have more experience with things that are less studied in the curriculum like agriculture, veterinary science, culinary arts, architecture, sports, fashion, dance, or film, for instance. Last but not least, we want to do things together outside of school that build our community, that help all of us get to know students and teachers not in our house or class.
Second, we want to study something interesting to us in a concentrated way without having the space and time limitations of the classroom walls and the schedule.
Third, we want to have more experience with things that are less studied in the curriculum like agriculture, veterinary science, culinary arts, architecture, sports, fashion, dance, or film, for instance. Last but not least, we want to do things together outside of school that build our community, that help all of us get to know students and teachers not in our house or class.
What will project week look like this year?
On April 9 we will have our Opening Day. April 10-13 you will participate in a customized schedule designed by your group leaders. You will be given the schedule ahead of time and may be expected to meet your group at locations throughout the city. On April 13 we will have a school wide Expo where we share what we have learned during the week.
How will you do this?
First in February you will choose four topics that you like. Then you will be put into one of those topic groups with about 13 other students and at least two teachers; all the groups will be mixed by house and grade. You will meet twice with this Project Week Group during Advisory in March. Each time you will work together with your teachers to build three-days of activities out in the city for April 10, 11 and 12.
These are some words that students and teachers have used to describe project week: active, fun, exciting, intimidating, diverse, awesome, empowering, developmental, hands on, tiring, iridescent, experiential, communal, authentic, independent, challenging, classroom without walls, collaborative, one-week of great student/teacher learning. We’re pretty sure that this year’s project week will be as active and enjoyable as those back in the day.