Capstone MMXXII - Grade 12

Capstone is the culmination of students' experience at NuVu .It will provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the skills & knowledge they have gained during their time at NuVu. During capstone students will conduct an in-depth study of a topic of their choice, which highlights their learning using an area(s) of interest as the basis for their capstone. This should be an area that students are passionate and interested in and anticipate they will be pursuing after graduation. Capstone is designed to encourage students to think critically, solve challenging problems, internal and external expert discussions will be integrated into the capstone experience. Students will have the opportunity to discover their interests and connect their studies & skills to a professional context, demonstrating their ability to identify design challenges and devise an innovative solution for a global issue or an applied orientation within a field of study. 

Capstone is an attempt to urge students to take a position in the world, nurture their perspective, and clarify that position problem. Students will be challenged to apply new skills and knowledge towards advancing a discipline through their project. While a Capstone scope and scale can be challenging, it can also be a very rewarding and valuable hands-on experience that will develop students into well-prepared and well-rounded graduates.

Humans in the Loop (concentration studio 1 of 2) | Grades 10 - 11

In Humans in the Loop students will embark on an exploration in creative coding, which sits at the intersection of design and computer science. Computers are not independent objects, they exist to serve people. In this studio, students will learn how to create applications and websites that address the needs of our particular school, and the wider Central Square community.  Students will address the foundations of computer science in order to use code creatively to inform current and future work at NuVu.  

Each assignment in this studio will teach a programming technique and apply that technique to a small design project. Beginning by exploring the basics of computing systems, students will learn how creative coding can inform physical design work, engineering projects, or media work. The culmination of the studio will feature student-created digital design interventions that address the challenges in our local community.  Example projects might include promotional materials for a newly opened business, data visualizations that address the use of new outdoor spaces, or assistive applications that help students track their sleep needs.

Instrumentarium | Grades 10 - 11

The phrase “everything is a remix” was coined by Kirby Ferguson in 2010. This phrase has been true for as long as we have told stories, sung songs, and shared ideas. But the way in which we are able to remix, and the number of ideas we have access to has increased exponentially with the advent of the internet and social media platforms. We can access every stage of music production. So how do these technologies shape the way we experience music? 

Instrumentarium is a vibes-based studio in which we will explore the traditional and contemporary music experience. Students will explore the design of the instruments themselves, in addition to the encoding, decoding, and remixing of sound.

Sculpted Rituals | Grades 8 - 9

For centuries, food has been central to cultural, social, and spiritual rituals around the world. For some, the objects that hold food and drink are as essential to the practice as the food itself. Though some vessels and tools are known for their role in ceremony and celebration - such as Japanese matcha tea sets and patterned cookie molds - items as simple as a coffee mug or a tortilla press embody hundreds of small design decisions that influence how we interact with and prepare food.

In this studio, we will explore the current roles that food can play in the way we engage with each other, ourselves, and our own social and personal traditions. We will use advanced rhino modeling and slip-casting techniques to design ceramic vessels that highlight and facilitate these food practices, creating a new generation of meaningful objects that capture our present and emerging culture.