I made an informative video called "speak up" about issues like rape and domestic violence. I went out in the community and interviewed people who ranged from professionals to students who all shared a common passion and knowledge in the area. I have always had a passion for these types of issues but I know that there really isn't any forum for young people to get sufficient information on the topics, and often times they're flooded with misconceptions. “

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Since my project was largely geared towards young people, I gathered up some friends and had them make some "speak up" signs and I filmed and took a bunch of pictures and included them in the intro to my video. My ultimate goal was to give kids solid information but in a way that they could identify with.

Issue 7 | April 21, 20156 Hoofbeat Focus Issue 7 | April 21, 2015 7Hoofbeat Focus

1. To build a greenhouse, we needed windows and just about a thousand PVC pipes. There were a few basic lengths for the pieces, so Mr. Kirke set up a “stop“ for the pipes, which means they didn't have to be measured each time we cut.

2. We needed to attach zip-ties to the pipes to secure them into place, which meant they needed a 1/4“ hole through both ends for the zip-tie to go through. We placed clamps to hold the pipes in place and drilled the holes.3. To hold all the pieces together, we used a system of “hubs to connect the pieces. Construction was simple since we just needed to assemble all the pieces.

Building ProcessKaren Klug

Speak Up

In the far corner of Millard North High School rests a place few have ever entered. There, one girl takes on a unique challenge that’s never been attempted before. Using stinging metals to slice open ivory cylinders of plastic, the forma-tion of a structure that brings life to all things green is born.

Sophomore Karen Klug has been gardening since the age of 10. For her MYP project, Klug decided to create a greenhouse for her backyard.

“I needed a project for the Middle Years Programme. A greenhouse sounded less like a school project, and more like something I would do in my free time,” Klug said.

Klug was inspired to start gardening by her grandmother when she was young. She would watch PBS gardening specials and read articles on foraging and wild plants.

“My first memories of gardening were at my grandma’s house when we planted flowers in the windowsills and spent time at the hardware store picking out the prettiest ones we could find,” Klug said.

Klug has spent over a year working on her 10ft by 5ft greenhouse. In order to save time and money, Klug chose to use zip ties for the project. She followed steps from on an online tutorial to gather measurements and helpful hints.

“Basically, [the online tutorial] was the blue prints for the greenhouse. I probably couldn’t have built the greenhouse without it,” Klug said.

After obtaining all the information she needed, Klug began cutting PVC pipes using a sharp blade, called a band saw. The final step of Klug’s journey was to assemble the pieces.

She tied the PVC pipes together with zip ties and started constructing the greenhouse. It took several attempts of trial and error, but Klug even-tually pulled through.

“I learned how to make something rather than be given something. That is the whole idea of the MYP project,” Klug said.

Klug plans to place the finished project in her backyard. Salad greens and heirloom toma-toes are just a few of the plants she hopes to farm in her greenhouse.

“The first year of the greenhouse is going to be pretty experimental,” Klug said.

Despite having an online guide along the way, Klug still faced many obstacles. Industrial technology teacher John Kirke helped Klug when problems arose.

“Mr. Kirke came up with a million clever red neck solutions,” Klug said.

Klug spent most of her afternoons working in the IT shop with Kirke, who played an impor-tant role in completing the greenhouse. Not only did he order all of the material and provide guid-ance, he also made sure she had fun environment to work in.

“I helped get the Taylor Swift CD broadcast in the shop to keep us entertained during some of the long afternoons of tedious work,” Kirke said.

The biggest challenge for Klug was finding time to work. Balancing school work and extra-curricular activities proved to be a huge obstacle.

“You got to want it enough and work hard enough,” Klug said.

Other students in MYP are impressed with Klug’s dedication and hard work.

“I think it’s a really cool MYP project. It’s a great use of time and IT skills,” sophomore Ben Faulk said.

As a career, Klug intends to work in the hor-ticulture field. She dreams of owning a vineyard and orchard in Nebraska City.

“Some people want to grow up and be the president or a doctor,” Klug said “I just want to live on a big piece of land surrounded by trees and anything green.”

megan jenkinsguest staff writer

Growing Green:Sophomore takes gardening to the next level

Step 1Cut PVC Pipes

Step 2Drill Holes In Pipe

Step 3Assemble

Personal ProjectsMiddle Years Programme

E v e r y y e a r , s o p h o m o r e s i n t h e M i d d l e Ye a rs P r o g r a m m e t a k e o n a s i g n i fi c a n t b o d y o f w o r k p r o d u c e d o v e r a n e x t e n d e d p e r i o d o f t i m e , I t i s t h e st u d e n t ' s p e rs o n a l i n i t i a t i v e a n d r e a l i z a t i o n o f a p r o j e c t w h i c h r e f l e c t s a v e r y l a r g e p a r t o f t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s o r i n t e r e st s .

While many Middle Years Program (MYP) project ideas start because of a hobby or interest, sophomore Rizwan Siddiqui chose to do something completely different. His project was dedicated to translating a message across about disability.

“I want to become a doctor or maybe a psychologist so the project doesn’t really have much to do with my career. It’s just an idea I wanted to get represented correctly–to show people with disability in a real light, different from the sob stories and motivational fixtures that society portrays them as,” Siddiqui said.

Siddiqui decided to do his MYP project on writing short stories. After researching written works and critical essays, he himself wrote a short story about disability and representing it correctly.

“I think society treats disabled people as defects and tries too much to ‘fix’ them, than to teach disabled people to grow strong in their minds and bodies,” Siddiqui said.

Surrounded by old friends and relatives with disability, Siddiqui writes a coming of age story about a student with a disability and how he finds

his way through life after realizing how different he is from his other classmates.

“A short story takes a character in a situation and presents itself in a creative way. I thought it was an effective way to get the message out. Simply because I know a lot of people with disability, I guess I empathize,” Siddiqui said.

Unfortunately, not everything was easy and perfectly smooth throughout the project’s progress. There were challenges throughout and the topic of the project itself proved to be part of the difficulty,

“With disability, I found it difficult to describe

it in a clear light because I myself don’t have a medical one and thus my perception isn’t totally accurate. I had to become credible through the people I know,” Siddiqui said.

Although a bit time-consuming, the MYP project benefitted Siddiqui in the end as he learned more about disability and found a creative outlet to express the things he had wanted to say.

“I think the MYP project was just a small part of the whole thing. It helped refine my view on the disabled into something that could be expressed on paper. The project taught me a new way to communicate my thoughts and opinions from the past experiences through creative writing,” Siddiqui said.

christina younstaff writer

Creating a message: Disability shown in a new light

I think society treats disabled people as defects and tries too much to ‘fix’ them, than to teach disabled people to grow strong in their minds and bodies.“

Rizwan Siddiqui10

My project is based on a TED Talks video by a man named Cesar Kuriyama. The idea is that your brain is constantly cutting down everything we remember–only a very little part is left. We could go through life forgetting whole days. So Kariyama came up with the idea to take a couple seconds of video each day and use that to remember or reference something for that day. Starting in August, that's what I did. I took some seconds of video and then compiled it into a whole video of my year.

“W h i t n e y L o n e m a n

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“Watch Brittany 's v ideo on Youtube : http ://youtu .be/H2GhyFn2Yeo

For my MYP personal project I decided to write a cover of the song "Say Something" by A Great Big World featuring Christina Aguilera. After I recomposed the song, I recorded it on the piano and converted the file into a MP3. Music is my passion, so this project was really cool to carry out.

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I invested about $1000 into some stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, since the whole investing sector really interests me. In the future, I plan to do something that requires some sort of financial background. I was able to take away valuable basic information which wil l set me up for more complex investing in the future.

“B e n Fa u l k

1 0 For my personal project, I did an art project that visually represented Corondo Beach. I built a 3D castle with sand next to an ocean. For the waves, I used hot glue to create multiple dimensions and used different shading of paint to create a realistic frame of depth.“

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