Argyle Eighth Graders Accept Fifth Grade Challenge

Participants in App Design Project give special capstone presentations

The Argyle Middle School magnet program on digital design and development was showcased when eighth grade students gave capstone digital and video presentations on the Fifth Grade Challenge App design project. Three student teams presented to MCPS teachers and administrators, including Argyle Principal James Allrich, Mrs. Melvise Powell, magnet coordinator, Dr. Rhonda Dillard, supervisor, MCPS Science, Technology, and Engineering, and MCPS Educational Foundation staff.

Earlier this year, the students were asked to create the Fifth Grade Challenge App, a game based on a compendium of MCPS curriculum-based questions.  The game is intended to help its players review the scope of academic material MCPS fifth grade students are expected to know. The project was underwritten by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and students received the guidance of gaming professionals at Dig-it! Games LLC of Bethesda, MD.

Every student at Argyle takes one technology course per year; the eighth grade capstone presentation is their opportunity to demonstrate the cumulative knowledge they have acquired. Through the Fifth Grade Challenge App design project, some students learned coding and JavaScript to create the app.  Others focused on ways to market the app and learned how to create a web page, define a target audience, and/or how to create video advertising.  The audience of teachers and administrators were given the opportunity to play the games and view the promotional videos created by the groups, followed by a question and answer session.

The annual Fifth Grade Challenge production celebrated its fifth anniversary in April and raised over $100,000 for the MCPS Educational Foundation.  The funds will be directed to the Foundation’s grants programs.

Capstone students Simran Thakkar, Alexandra Maric, Sue Goh, Ryan Pence, Elia Safir, and Zahra Iskandar comprised the three presenting teams. They joined their fellow Argyle eighth grade classmates that evening as participants in the school’s Magnet Showcase, an open house for students, families, and the community.