Jane Carroll, Reporter
@jcarrollcourant;
Graphic by Victoria Tremblay
@VTremCourant
In February, all seniors submitted a graduation portfolio to be assessed by a panel of faculty. In the portfolio, seniors chose three pieces of work and reflected on the way those pieces illustrate the attributes in the New Canaan Public Schools portrait of a graduate. This assignment is of the final 25 credits required to graduate.
Students wrote about how the pieces of work reflect the five NCHS traits of a graduate: empathy, adaptability, communication, critical thinking and curiosity. English Department Chair Evan Remley weighed in on students’ responses. “It was a community wide effort a year ago. Community members, students and faculty all got together to describe the language and the character traits they wanted in the Portrait of the Graduate,” said Mr. Remley.
The language for the traits was specifically crafted to reflect the qualities of future graduates. “There were over four meetings throughout the fall of 2023” said Mr. Remley. “The language was created to fit into a more condensed format. There’s a level of interpretation. So we wanted the traits to be broad enough that it applies across contexts, but not so vague.”
Mr. Remley observed that students have been very creative on what pieces to reflect on. “Watching the diversity of the artifacts, stuff from VPA to artwork and performances, then pieces from engineering and science were interesting to see,” said Mr. Remley.
The portfolio allows students to display their progress over the past four years. “It’s a chance to show off a lot of different pieces, projects, and presentations in high school. This is a chance to show what it all meant and what it is they are carrying away from this,” said Mr. Remley.
Mr. Remley stressed the importance of using unique pieces to stand out and showcase talent. “I think it’s a highlight reel. Students have had all these experiences, and they can take a moment to reflect on some really impactful one, on work they’re really proud of.”
The reflection piece is a couple short paragraphs to explain why students chose each piece and how it showcases growth throughout the past four years. According to Mr. Remley, the Portrait of a Graduate was the result of four years of work through short reflections. “The portfolio is a short summative reflection of three important artifacts of their coursework at NCHS throughout the four years.”
Seniors were told to begin with the end in mind to make the reflection process easier. “I think getting three quality pieces that you know you can write about, that are on different topics, should make it easy to cover all the requirements you need. But if picking pieces is rushed, then it gets more work at the other end,” said Kathleen.
Kathleen described how she took her time selecting what pieces she would use in her portfolio and how the process was straightforward. “The English department especially encouraged us seniors to pick pieces from different classes. I found that more often than not it was really easy to connect the work to the traits,” said Kathleen.
Kathleen discusses how these five traits have shaped her high school experience. “The reflection allowed me to appreciate the work I was doing more,” said Kathleen. “Going through all my old work helped me see all the different ways I’d grown in different areas.”
The Portfolio of a Graduate not only represents a senior’s academic growth but also serves as a reflection of the past four years of the high school journey. Students can carry the valuable lessons learned into the next chapter of their lives.
“It’s neat to see that there’s a really wide breadth of experience students are having,” said Mr. Remley. “And a lot of them are really proud of the work they’ve done in these different classes and they should be.”
