IB End of the Year

The Winter Break…..we finally made it! Kudos to all IB teachers and especially to those new IB teachers who came into Year 2 and have worked tirelessly to get our students up to speed and as ready as possible heading into Semester 2.

Speaking of Semester 2, be aware of IA due dates and that eCoursework is now the “Gold” Standard of IB. Ideally, we want our students to take ownership and become more adept at independence in the IB. eCoursework is the way forward. Familiarize yourself with eCoursework and I will address this by department at the beginning of the year.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BypaJ-OCqzBkMEctdnBpNEZLTTA?usp=sharing

Students will be expected to be familiar with eCoursework. However, I am aware that our Grade 11 students have more time to become accustom to IB technology.

In order to better prepare the Grade 10 students for IB (and AP), we have been creating an informational brochure for parents, and I am working on an IB Parent Handbook and IB Student Handbook. Both are still a work in progress, but I hope to have them ready by final registration in March. I will be meeting with each student and parent before the end of this academic year.

Also, be aware that during the week of February 20th to February 24th, there is a tentative schedule being made for Grade 10 students to come visit IB and AP classes for 20-30 minutes to get a taste of what they will be feeling for real….real soon. If you know that you will have a test that day or have something not very IB-y or AP-y, please let me and Dan Le know so that he can make appropriate changes for kids to get the most out of this week.

The more correct information that we can get to Grade 10 students and parents, the better served that they will be in choosing whichever path best suits their life.

Mock Exams are coming February 28th to March 3rd. SSIS has the wonderful problem of growing numbers and some exams are not going to fit in the MPR. Either the Auditorium or Gym will need to be booked. Finalizing this will come in January. Overall, Mock Exams will run like last year to be consistent.

The May 2016 IB Exams and Markschemes are expected to arrive January 13th, so I will upload that information to the P-Server to go with the rest of the previous exams. A 3 week IB May Examination schedule is packed into 4 days, so it is impossible to give the full IB experience. The Mock Exam Schedule:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tLzv-2QzAvxYWrdEZV-R_wAcrhLmEFkumiDYh79cHXI

However, create a suitable IB exam experience for students to have as authentic as possible an examination experience so that they can have a realistic idea of where they truly are (Predicted Grade) and where they need to be.

IB Workshops are popping up soon in Asia, so if you see a workshop that you would like to attend, please do let Tina and myself know. If you have the funds, then I have the registration ability. Note that to improve the IB culture at SSIS, if you attend a non-subject specific IB training, you will have the privilige of presenting that information to the High School Division some time after you get back.

The IB is growing and getting better. Thanks to all of the IB teachers who make it all happen. I look forward to 2017!

IB workshops catalog
A catalog of IB workshops and resources for 2016
ecatalogue.ibo.org/t/35963

PD online workshops
An online workshops calendar
ibo.org/en/professional-development/find-events-and-workshops/