Watkins Mill High School’s Middle Year Projects (MYP) have begun. The MYP project is a capstone project where students pick a subject of interest, learn more about it, and document their progress. The purpose of this project is to enhance students’ learning experience and help them grow personally and within their school careers. It aims to encourage students to learn and reflect on their outside-of-the-classroom setting.
“This project is focused on taking skills and showing students how they are like material in their lives,” MYP coordinator Richard Courtot lll said.
Students need to actively work on their MYP project due to it being a multi-month endeavor. They learn to avoid procrastination and ensure they meet the project’s timelines to meet the final deadline at the end of January. Students can choose any topic that interests them and focus on it.
“My MYP project is working with different mediums of art and how to mix them. I’m doing so by exploring colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic paint, and seeing how they mix,” sophomore Evelyn Hurt said.
Students can take different approaches and topics to choose from. Many students this year have decided to do something that connects them to their culture/ heritage. Sophomore Stephany Santoyo explained that the reason behind selecting a small Mexican cookbook with artwork that incorporates the dry ingredients within two major dishes is to present a deeper understanding of her identity and heritage. She wanted to connect her past with her present self.
The project is significant as it showcases not only fragments of her own identity and heritage but also her family. She said she is enjoying it because she has been able to get closer to her mother and roots because of this project.
Upon completion of the project, students will receive 15 SSL hours, 1.5 credits toward their graduation, as well as a showcase of their project this spring.
When advising students completing the MYP project, Courtot suggested choosing a topic they are passionate about to avoid feeling like it’s just another job and for them to make great memories out of the experience.
