Any Tabor senior may undertake a senior project. Projects typically take place during the last month of school each spring and culminate in an oral presentation that outlines the goals, learning, challenges, and, in some cases, product of the project. All members of the Tabor community are invited to attend these presentations.

Projects afford seniors an alternative type of learning that occurs outside the classroom and is much more self-directed and experiential. Often, they represent the pursuit of a personal interest or passion, a desire to learn something new, something a student has not had time to do adequately while in school. Not infrequently, projects revolve around potential career interests.

Past projects have been as varied as the students completing them. They have ranged from the research and construction of an African drum and a photographic study of the tenement houses of New Bedford, to the design and sewing of a traditional Japanese quilt and an internship with a local architectural firm to draft plans for renovating the Hayden Library. The scope of projects is limited only by the imaginations of seniors who apply to do them.

Seniors who undertake projects meet weekly, both with their project advisors and with one member of the Senior Project Committee. Advisors and committee members offer support, answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and check progress. Although the projects are in the seniors’ own hands, plenty of encouragement is provided.

Project responsibilities and expectations include the following:

• The timely and full completion of an application
  
• The keeping of a daily journal during the project period
  
• The writing of a summary essay focused on the learning process
  
• The final oral presentation
  
• The successful completion of the project