Final Capstone: Capstone Completed!

Yesterday we presented our Capstones for our parents. First we had our moving up ceremony. (I played the processional) Then we went to our rooms that we were split up the other day. I was the sixth. It went great! I messed up and forgot some parts, but it was still awesome.

The day before yesterday I didn’t have my business cards. So I asked Jasper to print them. The next day I had 24 business cards. So a big thanks to Jasper!

At first I was really nervous, but when I got up, I felt confident. I started speaking loud, clear and I looked up. Around the middle of my TED talk, people started laughing, so that messed me up. But when it was done I was relieved because I didn’t have to present any more for Capstone. If I were to do it again, I would make sure that I would switch the slides. One thing I learned is that if I look up, I’m louder. For future 5th graders, look up and be loud.

Here’s the video of my TED talk:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11H9A93RqfpejdCWUJFQlNET2s/view?usp=sharing

 

Capstone #5: Answering my Main Inquiry Question

Answering my main Inquiry question was a long process. The most reliable source I used was the CIA’s page, cia.gov. I also used nsa.gov. I also had a site visit to Trinity Church and and had an interview with “Mike”, a CIA officer. I researched and answered all my questions and now I’m working on perfecting my script. I’m also making my lead better. I presented yesterday (My birthday! It was awesome! 😀 ) and Ms. Boyer said that I should work on smiling and looking up. (So I’m going to make lash cards and try to remember my script more) I’m also going to talk slower. What’s hard right now is operating the slides while talking. So I’m going to work on my TED talk now.

Capstone-The Letter

A few weeks ago, I got a letter from Molly Hale at the CIA. She works with the Public Affairs and Communications. “Public affairs work combines government relations, media communications, issue management, corporate and social responsibility, information dissemination and strategic communications advice. Practitioners aim to influence public policy, build and maintain a strong reputation and find common ground with stakeholders.” Anyway I also got two booklets about working at the CIA. I also got three stickers and a big seal of the CIA. And my little brother took one of the stickers and put it on a book!

Here’s the first paragraph of the letter: Public Affairs Phone: (703) 482-0623  3 May 2017

“Dear Jonah, Thank you  for contacting the CIA regarding you interest! We are always to hear from people who are interested in our Agency.” That’s just the first paragraph. The whole letter talks about the qualifications for a position in the Agency. It also gives me resources and encourages me to join when I’m at least eighteen.

The CIA’s Symbol or seal

Capstone #4: The Site Visit

Yesterday I went to the city with my grandparents. We were going to Trinity Church In southern Manhattan.  We were going to see the graves of Hercules Mulligan, Alexander Hamilton, Nathan Hale (If we had time) and other historical monuments. I was going to take a lot of pictures. The Church was amazing. It had old fashioned gates and enormous walls. We looked around for the graves. There were so many it took us a long time to find Hercules Mulligan’s grave, but we found it eventually. Then we went inside the church. It was beautiful! The outside and the inside was a work of art. And we also got pictures of almost everything we needed! Almost…

Before the site visit my mom had told me there was a monument for Nathan Hale a couple of blocks away from Trinity Church. So we went to city hall. We tried to find the statue, but it was closed to the public. We still got a few pictures of it. And across the street was a statue of Ben Franklin! On the way back to the Church we saw other buildings like the two world trade centers and the world financial center. We also saw one of the twin tower’s memorials. It was so amazing. There was a huge pit and water flowed from the sides. It was a long site visit and I got more than I expected. And now I finally can get back to finishing up my research and starting my TED talk.

Me in front of a monument
Alexander’s Grave
The Mulligan Vault

Bring on the Research!

I’m still doing research. And my site visit is planned for the 21st. So I have six days until my site visit. Right now I’m answering my third question. The second question was hard to answer but I kept going. This is going to take a long time.

Capstone: Pre-site visit

My mom and I have been talking and for the site visit we think we should visit one of the Nathan Hale monuments or plaques in New York City. But we’ve decided to go to Trinity Church.

Trinity Church, where Hercules Mulligan is buried. Hercules Mulligan was a spy for the Colonies. He spied on the British government and got helpful information that helped the colonies win the Revolutionary war. Anyway I think I can learn about how he spied and how espionage was different back then. Another pro is I get to see Alexander Hamilton’s grave, Eliza Schuyler and Angelica Schuyler’s graves.

It’s scheduled for May 21. I’ll take a lot of pictures. But for now, I have research to do!

Capstone #3: The Interview!

Last night my dad’s friend called us. Some how he managed to connect us with Mike , the C.I.A. agent. The reason why my dad’s friend connected us with Mike was because Mike’s phone number was classified. His last name was also classified. I asked him all of the sub-questions I listed last time. I also listed a few more I thought up before and during the interview. I also asked what his job was, what job he thought was the most interesting, did he want another job besides what he is, what inspired him to be in the C.I.A. , what his background was, did he get to see his family, what his motives were, and even more questions. We couldn’t record for some reason, so my mom typed what he said. Some of the answers I wanted were classified information, but it was still very interesting. He gave me all the information I needed and more! It was so cool!

Capstone #2: Main Inquiry Question!

As you know my topic is espionage or spying. More specifically, the agents and the C.I.A. My main inquiry question is “What are the many faces of the CIA and how does it operate to protect America?”.  I had a lot of help from Ms. Boyer and Bruce (Our Senior Option) and there I had some bumps on the way but with help I now have My main inquiry question. Here are my sub-questions:

  • What does one have to do to become a C.I.A. agent? Do you have to study, read, take tests or classes?
  • What departments are within the C.I.A.
  • What public actions has the C.I.A. done to make america better?
  • What does the clandestine service do?
  • Does the C.I.A. use codes and code breakers?
  • How important is being good at math and cryptography for the C.I.A.?
  • What is the difference between the C.I.A. and the N.S.A?
  • How much is real espionage compared to James Bond espionage?
  • What training is involved in CIA recruitment?
  • What skills are important to being a CIA agent?

Now I have a surprise… I have an interview. With someone from the C.I.A. Tonight!