8th-grade students are trying their hand at Civil Action Projects for the remainder of the school year. With 10th-grade mentors assisting them in their endeavors, the spotlight is pivoting back to them, as we showcase the process of gaining their expertise.

Several groups of sophomores showcased their Civil Action Project to the Hudson Community on Tuesday, April 26.

The Civil Action Project, also known as CAP project, is a graduation requirement to try to help address issues in the community. In its first year, the sophomore English department decided to take the task on. They started the project mid-January and picked issues that were relevant to the community. Their goals were to help fix these problems as much as they could.

The sophomores were given much freedom with this project, as not only were they allowed to come up with their own topics, but many groups left the school on field trips as well. They faced challenges along the way such as finding the perfect topic and gathering research.

Students shared their passion with poster boards that they designed for this event. 54 tables were set up where students explained their project to friends, family, and other students who asked an abundance of questions. They were able to share laughs and connect the projects to their personal lives.

One group of students created a project based on trying to find solutions to lower the amount of homework that students get, since homework can lead to stress.

 “We interviewed the principal at Marlborough high school and asked him questions about their new policy on homework and how it has benefited their school,” said Madison Demelo.

Another group of students focused on food waste and compost and reached out to the Hudson community garden for supplies.

“For the research, we really focused on how working in a garden can mentally support children and students. For the mental aspect, we did research on how gardening helps your mental health, especially in students,” said Gillian Woodcome.

There were also some challenges students encountered during the process.

“Our experience was more on the good side but it was frustrating sending multiple emails to get it done when someone didn’t reach back,” said Woodcome.

“We made a google survey for all kids at Hudson High School to fill out. We handed it to a couple of our teachers so they could have their classes take the survey. We only got about 80 responses which weren’t enough so we chose a day and went to every lunch table at lunches one, two and three and had everyone fill it out, after that, we got about 200 responses,” said Demelo.

Throughout all of the challenges that they had to overcome, students got to show their final outcome of their projects.

“It’s great to show how hard we worked and finally see a final product,” said Colbie Lacina who was also a part of the food and compost group.

“I feel like we all definitely have a sense of accomplishment after so many hardworking class days and over break. I feel like we had to learn a lot about discipline with time management,” Angelica Duarte continued after.

”We want to leave this as a memory of what we will continue doing here at HHS,” Woodcome expressed.