Purpose of the Senior Exhibition
From the Panelist's point of view

Thank you so much for participating in Patrick Henry High School's Senior Exhibition.  The Exhibition serves a number of purposes for our students.  It gives them the opportunity to reflect on the past four years of high to see how much they have grown and matured.  When reviewing the school work that has been saved in their portfolio our seniors realize that as they leave high school they are not the same person that they were when they entered as freshmen.

Panelist check-in begins is between 12:00 noon and 12:15 and the Exhibitions begin about 12:20.  Each panel will hear from five or six students during the afternoon.  Each presentation is 15-20 minutes long and students will expect some questions from panelists.  Exhibitions will last until approximately 3:00pm.

In preparing for the Exhibition students get the chance to identify their strengths and weaknesses in and out of school and use this information to help guide their college and career choices as they approach adulthood.  The Exhibition gives them the chance to tell you, the Exhibition panelist, about their successes and their failures and the important life's lessons that came from the experiences.  It also gives them a framework in which to tell you about their goals and look to the future as their high school experience comes to a close.

Students are given an idea of what is expected of them during their Exhibition in the form of an outline and some presentation tips. The format is purposefully unstructured because of the tremendous diversity of our student body.  Many students treat the Exhibition as a college interview and use the time to talk about college plans and how their high school experience has prepared them for higher education.  Other students approach it like a job interview and discuss how high school has prepared them for a vocation. 

Most importantly the Exhibition gives our students a preview of a situation that they will experience again.  Making a presentation in front of a group of people, some of whom are strangers, is a skill that is critical in today's workplace.  Being successful with the Senior Exhibition will instill a confidence in our students that we could not do without your help.

While listening to our students' presentations, keep the following things in mind: 

• Make students feel comfortable.  Students who are comfortable are more likely to be successful with their presentation
• Do not criticize students if they share their mistakes.  Say, "What did you learn from this experience," rather than "You should have known better than to do such a thing"
• There is a list of sample questions that you can ask, however, please feel free to ask your own questions.  The content of most presentations will generate ideas that you'll want to explore with the student.  You are under no obligation to ask any questions.
• Take a few moments to preview the grading rubric with which you will assess the students' presentations.

Please avoid questions that relate to race, ethnicity, political or lifestyle beliefs or religion or any other questions that would not be allowed at a job interview. 

Thank you again for your help for a successful Senior Exhibition.  Please contact the Exhibition coordinators, Candy Pauchnick or Roger Jaffe if you have any further questions.