SIPP takes Westwood seniors beyond the classroom

Twelve members of Westwood High School’s senior class spent their summer in full learning mode by participating in the Senior Independent Project Program.  

Typically, SIPP runs during the school year, but like other programs, it went on hiatus at the beginning of the pandemic. It returned this year as a two-and-a-half credit summer elective led by Katherine Stewart, who is also the head of the Humanities Department at Westwood’s Thurston Middle School. 

“The idea behind SIPP stems in part from the fact that we can’t possibly offer classes in every subject a student is interested in,” Stewart said. “SIPP is a chance to explore their passions and curiosities, while learning how to be independent and manage a self-directed multi-part project. It allows students to partner with a professional mentor who is an expert in their field. The students also deliver a final presentation which serves as a culmination of the learning process.”  

After a series of informational sessions last March, students submitted applications and were interviewed by Stewart and high school faculty members. Once admitted to the program, Stewart met with them individually to map out what their project would entail. 

The students recently presented a synopsis of their projects to the Westwood School Committee. 

Owen Dunton trained to be an American Red Cross certified CPR instructor and worked with mentor Heidi Brock, an instructor with the American Heart Association.   

“I took a 16-hour class over two days and learned the techniques to teach CPR,” he told school committee members.  “I wanted to enable students in the community to take action during a medical emergency and save lives.”   

In August, Dunton taught his first class, teaching eight fellow students how to administer CPR and use an automated defibrillator. 

Eliana Hutchins spent her summer shadowing medical professionals at Massachusetts General Hospital in the outpatient oncology ward. She reached her goal of creating a website which specifically focuses on chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, T-cell therapy, an emerging cancer treatment.  

“Almost all of the patients I interacted with had received this new treatment,” said Hutchins. “Asking them about it helped me gain an important and personal perspective for my website. I am glad that my experience at the hospital wasn’t filtered. I was able to watch the best moments when a patient is told they’re cancer free, and the worst moments when they’re told it did not work. I am grateful to have this experience in the field.” 

Sofia Zhao recruited musicians, led rehearsals and managed all logistics necessary to promote and put on a benefit concert held Sept. 5 at the Westwood Council of Aging gazebo. The group consisted of 19 young musicians from town.  

• “Something I’ll never forget from this experience is the intrinsic power of music to bring everyone together,” she said.   

The concert raised over $800 for Westwood Performing Arts and the Prodigy Program. 

Other students participating in the Senior Independent Project Program 2021 include: 

• Emily Liu who worked with four business leaders, including Stacy’s Pita Chips founder Stacy Madison, to learn what it takes to build a successful business.  
• Cam Roberts took an engineering course through Imperial College in London and explored various engineering fields. Roberts visited labs and Brown University and UMass Dartmouth and said his biggest takeaway was networking with engineers and learning which engineering fields interest him the most. 
• Ria Dani worked in a laboratory conducting research to better understand the field of genetics.  She also wrote a final project on how to read a scientific research paper for teenagers who want to learn how to read and comprehend these types of works. 
• Angelina Dong partnered with the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center to raise funds and awareness of anti-Asian sentiment through a virtual 5K road race. 
• Quinn O’Brien sought to improve his knowledge of how relationships within education work by researching learning theories. 
• Caroline Kundrat published a “zine” or mini magazine on the topic of industrial music. 
• Will Hanson studied stock market trading and the reasons behind the success of certain companies. 
• Sai Reddy conducted research on biofouling to prevent the degradation of ships. 
• Megan MacDonald worked with a conservation biologist to educate the public about local, invasive species. 

The Westwood School District looks forward to identifying a cohort of students to participate next year.  

To view a video of the students’ presentations, visit http://bit.ly/WWDSIPP.