IB News and Information for all IB teachers
It has already been one month since students first came to school. Time passes so quickly for both students and for teachers, and all of us need to consider ways to support students with time management skills. Week Without Walls is approaching quickly and the end of the First Quarter is less than one month away. Be sure to look over the latest information released in the September 2016 Coordinator’s Notes:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwPDNWShT_P1Qm9hVlR0TXhIeHM
September 20th is IB Junior Night in the Auditorium. The IB Team will be assisting the juniors and their parents in getting off to a productive start in the DP. All full-IB students are required to attend while candidate students are invited. All IB teachers are also invited to attend as well.
One way to get our juniors squarely on sound footing is to provide them with a series of IA due dates over the course of their two years in the program at SSIS. This list need not be as detailed as what was created for seniors, but the IB Team, G11 students and parents will need a guide to better keep them on track.
I have already given TOK due dates that can be tightened up as the year progresses. But, G11 students need to know what IAs that they need to be preparing for and completing as well as when these IAs are due. The IB Team will need this form filled out before September 19th.
If you are going on the Week Without Walls trip, please do ensure that the IA due dates for your subject are posted before leaving and that they are as reasonable to students and to you as the teacher as possible. All IAs, with very few exceptions, should be completed by December of Grade 12. Google Drive link to document below:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LnBhsk7EQ-O-wRjs2RH8IzcujLovkmqG3wPFF087cw0
As a followup of the new Predicted Grade Process here at SSIS:
Students will have until September 23rd to complete a self-predicted grade form with justifications for their self-predicted grade score and the universities/programs that they wish to attend that may need that score. The purpose of this form is for students to consider where they think that they are in the IB Program and to also begin conversations (5 minutes or so) with their teachers.
When completed, teachers are to sign the section indicating that they had a conversation with the IB student. IB teachers are not required to tell the student what his or her predicted grade is. However, if an IB teacher wishes to tell a student, then the teacher is free to do so. Students are to complete this process and return all their form to Ms. Hang in the Guidance Office by September 23rd.
IB teachers are to submitting predicted grades to the IB Coordinator by October 6th. I will then conference with each IB student about his or her predicted grade in each class. The student will then make decisions about university options with their respective guidance counselor. Predicted grades are subject to change between October and December based on a student’s performance. Students need to know where they stand in a particular class based on the IB grade descriptors (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwPDNWShT_P1UHhjVGdrRkw2Skk) regardless of university admission requirements.
Other immediate news for some of our IB teachers:
Language A and Language B internal assessment criteria marks mark
IB updated information posted on 07 Sep 2016
Schools are required to enter criteria marks for the assessment material that is submitted as sample work.
LANGUAGE A IA: criteria marks for the INDIVIDUAL ORAL COMMENTARY should be entered (criteria marks for the individual oral presentation/further oral activity should not be entered)
LANGUAGE B IA: criteria marks for the INDIVIDUAL ORAL only should be entered in this screen (criteria marks for the interactive oral activity should not be entered). The maximum total for the individual oral is 20.
Diploma Programme student workload research
The IB is carrying out research on student workload during the DP starting in October 2016. Heads and DP coordinators of randomly selected DP schools in countries across the world have been contacted to request their help in gathering the required data. This research will allow us all to fully understand the anecdotal evidence concerning the workload and to what extent students find the programme demanding, the effect of this on their well-being, as well as which students are most affected. The research will involve three student surveys: one at the beginning of their first year of the DP, one at the end of the first year, and finally a survey at the end of the second year. Schools will also complete a survey. If you have any questions about the project, do not hesitate to email: dp.student.workload@ibo.org.
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
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