The past month has been quite a whirlwind for all the high school teachers and staff. Our IB students are no exception. Over the past two weeks, Jay Prodger, Lara Keller and myself have met all of the IB Year 2 students to reorientate them to more effectively address their CAS and EE requirements. I met with the IB Y2 students in order to reacquaint them with the philosophy and expectations of the IB Program. To solidify their understanding, all IB Y2 students were provided with a listing of all SSIS IA due dates. The copy provided to students can be found here:

2016-2017 IBDP IA Due Dates

However, I want to give kudos to Dzim in the marketing office for his great work in creating a more aesthetically pleasing presentation. Copies will be forthcoming for your rooms. But, if you feel the need to access a digital copy early, or to print out on your own, you may find the link below:

2016-2017 SSIS IBDP IA Poster

Although this is a work in progress that all IB teachers are instrumental in bringing about, the IB Leadership Team feel that we can say with confidence that the path toward the IB Diploma is clearer than that it was before and systems and structures of support are in place to help all of our students toward their goals.

Speaking of goals, the goal of the IB Leadership Team is to address the issue of HL hours. There is no magic solution to this issue and addressing HL hours will need to be split between short-term 2016 and long-term planning for the 2017-2019 IBDP cohort. An IB Hours Committee is under consideration, but the exact nature of this committee and the exact length of its short-term duration have not yet been finalized. I want to make all IB teachers aware that this issue is being addressed in a way that will prove the most effective in the short-term and also in the long-term here at SSIS. Details and invitations will be forthcoming to allow a breadth of teacher perspectives and adequate/effective meeting times. Anyone interested in joining this committee may see me, Jacob or Tim.

To carry on the idea of meeting times, signups for JobAlikes and any final IBDP HCMC Regional Workshop (October 28-30, 2016) continue. As a reminder, SSIS will be hosting the Group 5 JobAlike on Friday September 30th, 2016. Led by Bill Fossgreen, I look forward to having SSIS demonstrate our dynamic Maths Department. To sign up for a JobAlike, check the link below and let me know so that I can officially sign you up:

VLMC Region JobAlikes 2016-2017 Info and Participants

If you have questions about the JobAlike, please come see me. If you have questions about attending or funding for the JobAlike, please see Jacob Hendrickson or Tina Fossgreen.

To be registered for the HCMC October Regional Workshop, please see Tina or myself as soon as possible as early bird registrations end on August 28th. After that, fees for attending will rise.

IB Training Opportunities
October 28 -31, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

English A: Language and literature, cat 2
Vietnamese A: Literature, cat 1 & 2 mixed
Korean A: Language and literature, cat 1 & 2 Mixed
English B, cat 2
History, cat 2
Visual Arts, cat 2
TOK, cat 2
Mathematics HL, cat 2
Administrators, cat 2
Geography, cat 2
Managing the extended essay, cat 3

For IB webpage information: http://www.ibo.org/en/event/419679
Registration: http://www.cvent.com/d/8fqr3r/1Q

EARLY BIRD registration ends 28 August 2016
Registration ends 14 October 2016
Please note the Early Bird rate which ends on the 28 August.

SSIS IB NEWS:

SSIS will be hosting IB Night on September 20th, 2016 in the Auditorium. Further information will be forthcoming.

If you have not yet made your IB students aware, below is the 2017 May IB Examination Schedule.

2017 IB May Examination Schedule

General SSIS IB Information

IB Catalogue for Workshops 2016

Link to all IB related resources for students on Moodle

Links to all Ecoursework information <—-all IB teachers will be trained in 2016-2017

Become an IB examiner

Link to the OCC

IB Community Blog