In need of some capstone advice for those presenting in the weeks to come? Here are some tips and ways to prepare to be fully prepared when you go to present your capstone. 

First off, when finalizing all materials for capstone, remind yourself to go through the capstone checklist that is provided on the South Windsor Website. Remember to submit all your work to your capstone advisor by January 10th to show that you are ready to present and do not forget to fill out to the presentation sign up to get a spot to present as well. 

When navigating through the Capstone Website, go through the entire capstone checklist multiple times, not just once. The capstone allows you to check off items on the list you have, and you are able to go through each category such as the proposal, research logs, reflection paper and how to carry out your project. 

When creating your presentation on a PowerPoint, make sure the PowerPoint is eye catching and the title is not “Capstone Project.” Also remember to look through the guidelines provided on the website on what is needed to be included in your PowerPoint presentation as well as how long each criteria should roughly be. Go through the capstone presentation rubric because it is what the teachers use to grade your presentation on. Practice presenting your presentation in front of an audience to get practice, and even consider presenting in front of your capstone advisor so you can get their feedback. 

Senior Jia Yazon tells students, “Don’t stress, it’s not that big of a deal.” For Yazon, she “was so stressed about going over the time limit that [she] went under, but as long as you focus on achieving other criteria, you’ll be fine.” Senior Jared Krysiak says that, “The experience is not that bad,” and tells others to, “Definitely bring in some artifacts because it adds value to grading and remember to include a good amount of pictures for your slideshow.” 

Finally, when going into the capstone presentation, get there 5-10 minutes early, come prepared, bring in an artifact if possible, and breathe. Try not to get too nervous and talk to fast, but take deep breaths if needed and pause after sentences. Do not try to read off of your PowerPoint and if needed, make index cards to help you with presenting. Relax, have fun, and your capstone experience will be memorable and easy!