Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Jayah Foulds

Date: Feb 27, 2023
Teacher: Ms. Lacroix
Capstone strand I have chosen is Project Strand
Proposed title for my project: Poetry Book

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that
connects with a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that
you cannot just google an answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

How can I impact and make an individual feel heard through words?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect
to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I chose this inquiry question because Poetry has had very significant impact on my life. I
usually don’t feel heard by my friends and peers since they can’t relate to the things I’ve gone
through. But poetry has been an outlet in my life where I feel I can truly relate to the authors
behind the pages. I want to put a book out there where people can feel this way as well,
because everyone deserves to feel heard.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?

The only prior learning I have to writing poetry is through class projects and personal projects.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

My intended career area at this point is In anything to do with writing. Whether that be
scriptwriting for a tv show, writing a book, or even being an English teacher. My inquiry
question connects to this because I want to make a difference in the world, I want to impact
individuals in a deep, meaningful way.

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Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

Personal Awareness & Responsibility

Strengths
- “I take personal responsibility for my choices and actions”
Whenever I have conflict with another individual I always own up for the
part I played in the argument or how I was in the wrong. This helps better
ones self and makes room for real growth in the future.

- “I understand my decisions and actions can affect me”

Before I make any major decision, I always look at every angle and possible
outcome to ensure I won’t regret the decision I make. I live by the quote
“treat others how you want to be treated” and go into every situation with
that mindset.

Weakness
- “I am personally responsible, self-motivated, and can advocate for myself”
As I am a pretty responsible person, my self-motivation and advocacy lacks.
I tend to lose interest in things quickly and find it hard to find the
motivation to start anything new. I also don’t try to advocate for myself
often, just letting people think whatever they want to of me.

Social Responsibility

Strengths
- “I can identify and appreciate different perspectives on issues and use and
evaluate strategies to resolve problems”
I hate conflict so I try to see all angles from all perspectives of a problem in
order to get a better grasp of where their coming from. I try to resolve
issues quickly and with the least amount of backlash possible.

- “I value diversity, defend human rights, advocate for others, and act
ethically in all my interactions, including online”
Whenever I witness an injustice or discrimination of any kind I always make
it a point to step in if needed. I attended black lives matter protests back in
2020 along with pride parades every year.

Weakness
- “I have positive peer and intergenerational relationships”
In the past years I have been friends and held on to many toxic
relationships. I’ve learned now not to put up with mistreatment and that
life is better without people bringing you down.

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Critical Thinking

Strengths
- “I can analyze and critique my work and my learning”
Before submitting anything I always triple check my work and make sure
it’s the best that it can be. I accept and invite criticism from others as well
in order to further better my work.

- “I can explore and create new ways to represent my learning around a

variety of problems, events, issues, and needs”
There’s never been a topic that I couldn’t write or make a project. I like to
venture away from typical power points or word documents to express my
learning and instead try to find a more engaging way of presenting.

Weakness
- “I can ask good quality questions, gather relevant information, and come
up with well-developed conclusions”
Questions I usually ask tend to be confusing to most, as I cant quite
properly format my thinking into words. Conclusions also prove difficult
because I find it hard to put all my thinking into one concise paragraph.

Creative Thinking

Strengths
- “I can create new and unique ideas that may provide new perspectives that
influence how people think about topics”
My dad use to be very singled viewed on many topics but after some time
and a creative writing assignment, he sees the world in a whole new way.
One example being how different generations were raised. He use to think
that by raising us the way he was brought up that we would end up like he
did, but over time I made him realize that different times call for change
and adaptation.

- “I can use the environment around me, including others, and my

unconscious mind to generate new ideas”
I like to have meaningful and engaging conversation with people and like to
branch my ideas off of others. You have to do this a lot in leadership, and
compromise becomes your greatest friend. I feel like ideas flow better
when you can discuss them with others and generate new aspects to add.

Weakness
- “I can persevere, and understand that failure can be productive”
Failure is the main road to success, but that idea is still hard for me to
grasp. I tend to stop things midway if I fail too many times and give up on

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 hobbies, even if I really enjoy them. I feel that if I’m not amazing at it first
try then ill never be, but I’ve been learning to push past that and let my
failures guide me to the next step.

Communication

Strengths
- “I can listen, learn to contribute meaningfully to discussion and debate,
consider different perspectives, and build consensus”
If there’s one thing I love, its debating. Whether it be with one other
person or within a Socratic seminar with a class, I’ll always try to contribute
the best I can. Debating and finding a consensus that takes both opinions
into account is what I strive for.

- “I can engage in deep and meaningful inquiry for a variety of purposes and
audiences”
One of the things that makes or breaks a friendship for me is the ability to
have a meaningful conversation with them. I feel that if you can’t
communicate on different topics, especially when you have different
opinions, then you won’t be able to grow your friendship further. Without
meaningful conversation your friendship stays surface level and will never
amount to anything meaningful.

Weakness
- “I can reflect on the processes of learning and share what I have learned”
I find it hard to summarize all of my thoughts into one presentation or
paragraph. I also find it hard when I have to present in front of a class since
I can’t discuss and grow my learning. I’m going to work on this by
discussing topics with my classmates before or a presentations and
adapting my thinking based on theirs.
Personal & Cultural Identity

Strengths
- “I understand what is important to me”
For a long time, I took the things and the world around me for granted. But
after some tragedy, I can now see what is truly important to me and what I
value most in life.

- “I understand how what I value has and will shape my choices”

One of the toughest things to swallow in life is living with the consequences
of your actions and choices. What I’ve come to realize however is that if
you make choices based on what you believe in, and not what others think,
then living with those consequences becomes 10 time easier.

Weakness
- “I understand how to use my strengths and abilities to my advantage, and I
can explain how I use them to contribute to my community”
I’m still trying to figure out my true strengths and learning to apply them in

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 my everyday life. I feel as though I have so many but can’t narrow down
which ones to focus on and use in the right moments. New experiences and
stepping outside my comfort zone is the only way ill figure out my true
strengths which can only come from time.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation
o YouTube channel

I will keep track of my progress through my website blog. Once my project is complete I will
present a physical copy of my book, along with a PowerPoint outlining the process and
project.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced
at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.

For my capstone I am writing a poetry book, with added visuals throughout. The
poems within are going to be about my life experiences and day to day thoughts/feelings.
I don’t have to do much studying beforehand, but I have been referencing research
papers on how to properly and uniquely format poems. Researching different publishers who
specialize in up incoming poetry authors will probably be the hardest task.
Creating this book will take me the whole semester, if not longer due to unforeseeable
obstacles like writer’s block. I want to create something that will inspire people to make their
own pieces or inspire people to take ahold of their own lives and potential. Create something
that impacts people for lifetimes, not just a moment.
What I’m hoping to produce from this capstone is a well-crafted, published, book that
can be sold around the world. Anyone can write a poetry book, but I want to produce
something that is unique and stands out from regular poetry books.
Writing a full fledge book is a daunting task, and with any task this big there is bound
to be problems. One major problem a lot of writer’s encounter is writers block. Now, I’d like to
think that I have enough ideas swirling in my mind to counteract writers block, but I’ve come
up with a few ideas in case I get stumped. I’ve written out quotes that speak to me, saved
songs that I relate too and feel I can expand on, and even picked words that speak to me.
There’s not a lot of investigation I want or need to do, but one question does really
intrigue me. What makes poetry so impactful? What makes a small number of words that flow
together to make a beautiful piece of work, such a powerful outlet?

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 This book will encapture the real-life struggles of trauma and growth. It’s also going to
have a lot of hidden meaning throughout the book and little easter eggs that will make you
have to read twice in order to see them all. I want this book to be an experience, not just a
“good read”.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.

The only resources/technology I’ll need for this is a laptop, which I already have access too.
Skills wise I will need to learn about different formats of poems and how to publish a book. I
will contact many publishing agencies in hopes to get signed with them, but if all else fails I’ll
publish the book myself.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will

you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?

My mentor is Mr. Miller, he’s a grade 12 English teacher at REMSS who’s has accepted the
role of being my mentor. With his background in English and teaching, he can help me
discover new ways of writing and help push me further with helpful feedback. I will meet with
him about every 2 weeks during and outside of school hours to review what progress I’ve
made.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?

Potential obstacles I see for completing this project is writers block, not having time to write, or
becoming too overwhelmed with the task and topics I’m writing about.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about
your project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

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 The topics I will be writing about are pretty heavy and not for the weak of heart.

References:

Attach a REFERENCE LIST. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting.
An example is provided on page 21 of your Capstone booklet.

DAVIS, T. F. (2015). Day to Day and Hour to Hour: An Interview with K. A. Hays. Interdisciplinary
Literary Studies, 17(1), 137–151. https://doi.org/10.5325/intelitestud.17.1.0137

Lyytikäinen, P. (2017). How to Study Emotion Effects in Literature: Written Emotions in Edgar

Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” In I. Jandl, S. Knaller, S. Schönfellner, & G. Tockner

(Eds.), Writing Emotions: Theoretical Concepts and Selected Case Studies in Literature (pp. 247–264).

Transcript Verlag. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1wxt3t.16

Buzani, M. W. (2018). Form and Structure: Using Poems to Teach the Writing of Lyrical

Poetry. English in Africa, 45(2), 41–50. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45116582

Wakeman, B. E. (2015). Poetry as Research and as Therapy. Transformation, 32(1), 50–68.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/90010960

Citeseerx.ist.psu.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2023, from

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?

repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=2c70e2d79c58366f98616f780ad700a481f4f3c0

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