Jefferson Middle School Seventh Grader Wins IB Student Excellence Award Thomas Jefferson Middle School seventh grader Katherine Lanman has been awarded the International Baccalaureate (IB) Student Excellence Award from the IB Mid-Atlantic Association. She also received a $500 monetary award. Lanman was selected from among applicants in grades 6 through 10 from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Applications included a creative representation of the IB Learner Profile (essay, short story, visual/graphic, or video), a description of one’s service in local, national or international communities, and a recommendation from an IB teacher or Coordinator. Jefferson is an IB Middle Years Program (MYP) school. The MYP is the second of three programs in the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. The goal of all the IB programs is to develop active, life-long learners: students who have the knowledge, abilities and skills to function independently and collaboratively, to be reflective and to take appropriate action. The IBMYP, particularly, encourages students to: •Understand connections across subjects and to the world •Become critical and reflective thinkers •Develop a strong sense of self-awareness and identity