While Watkins Mill High School upperclassmen take IB classes to gain college credits, the underclassmen have the opportunity to start making themselves more attractive to colleges early by participating in the Middle Years Programme.

The MYP starts in the sixth grade and ends in the tenth. In order for students to earn their diploma for completing the MYP program, students must complete a project on a topic that is chosen by the student.  Because students can pick any topic that interests them, it is very appealing to students who wish to express a creative side that would not usually be seen in a traditionally structured classroom environment.

“You get to do whatever you want for your project,” sophomore Chase Deist said. “If you’re interested in art, you can do a painting; if you’re interested in technology, you can do something technology related… it’s just what you want to do.” Deist built a computer from scratch as his project.

The MYP fair, which was held Wednesday night, is an opportunity for the students who finish their project to showcase their work. In its second year, the environment of the fair is bustling with students who are passionate about the subjects involved in their projects.

“The MYP is an opportunity for the kids who actually finished their project to talk about what they learned,” MYP coordinator Wendy Farmer said.  “Between this year and last year, I’ve seen someone who made a computer from scratch, wrote a book, and wrote a computer program. It’s almost like a choose-your-own-adventure book.”

Junior Steeven Tabuada participated last year and is a big supporter said, “It gives the kids an opportunity to learn about something they chose,” Tabuada said. “It gives us the freedom to choose something we’re interested in.”

At the fair itself, students were alive and ready to talk about their projects, which were labors of love for most students. “It’s a big improvement from last year,” Farmer added.

While there is definitely a lot of work involved in completing an MYP project, students who took on the challenge found it extremely worthwhile.  “At first, I complained about it because it’s so much extra work to do,” sophomore Kiara Martinez said. “Now, I feel really proud of myself.”

“[It’s better to do the project about something you like] because then you will enjoy the project a lot… most of the people who do it have something that they like,” Martinez added.

In the end, students both learned a lot and had fun while creating and showing off their MYP projects. As the program continues, Farmer hopes more students chose to do their own projects in the future.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Wendy Farmer

Sophomore Virgina Schlosser sits with her project.