Over the course of nine and a half months, sophomores who are in an MYP English class were assigned a personal project. For the project, students had to incorporate one of the six global contexts and use the IB learner profiles to learn a new skill or build on skills they already have. While the final product is presenting the projects to fellow students, teachers and advisors, sophomores also had to write a 1,500 word essay and process journals.

Not only is this project a learning opportunity, but also a competition between students. Jacquelin Rodriguez won the first place prize after completing her project of writing a cookbook full of recipes from around the world. Although she worked through the entire nine-month period, Rodriguez completed the final project within two weeks before the due date. The three teachers who graded Rodriguez gave her a perfect score. Rodriguez said although she is proud of her success she, “didn’t deserve it because other students’ project were more personal than mine was.”

Maria Villagomez also had a popular project because of her originality of choreographing her own dances at her quinceanera. While on a tight schedule before the day of her party, Villagomez taught her court the steps to her waltz and surprise dance. Even though she didn’t know any of her dancers, Villiagomez said she was “terrified but liked meeting new people,” and was “happy the project allowed her to step out of her comfort zone.”