ib junior guide to the international baccalaureate diploma ......ib papers (written exams) are given...
TRANSCRIPT
IB Junior Guide
to the
International Baccalaureate
Diploma Program
at
Eastridge High School
2
IB prepared me for the heavy workload that I received in college. It also helped
me to learn how to manage my time.”
Tyler Blank
IB Class of 2013
Rivier University
The IB Program really pushed me to be a high achieving student. The work
load was challenging at times, but ultimately the courses and material and
homework pushed me to do more/to be the best student I could be.
Rachel Campbell
IB Class of 2013
Geneva College
Taking part in the IB program prepared me for the amount of work that I
need to complete for college. It also taught me how to write college papers
before I went to college, so I was able to get better grades on any paper I
wrote.
Olivia Nairy
IB Class of 2014
Manhattanville College
The IB program was challenging, yet rewarding. It helped me prepare for
college because I learned to synthesize information, rather than just regur-
gitate it. It has also prepared me for college because it allowed me to become
an independent learner.
Rania Ali
IB Class of 2014
Brown University
By working harder now, you are definitely saving yourself the trouble of hav-
ing to adjust once you get to college and life in the future, because you become
used to the work and putting forth effort.
Michelle Rush
IB Class of 2014
Alfred University
3
The IB program was highly beneficial in preparing me for my higher educa-
tion due to its rigorous course load of in-depth, analytical work. The con-
sistent work ethic that I developed throughout IB has given me an ad-
vantage during stressful times in college.
Jessica Campbell
IB Class of 2015
Rochester Institute of Technology
If there is anything that has prepared me the most for college, it's the IB pro-
gram. For me, IB taught me a great number of things but, the most important
thing I learned was how to be an advocate for myself.
Mina Konuksever
IB Class of 2015
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
I came into college as a first-semester sophomore with the amount of credits
that I received from IB. I also feel I've been very prepared for the amount of
writing and papers that you must complete in college.
Stephanie Wojnowski
IB Class of 2015
SUNY Fredonia
The Extended Essay that I had to write gave me a glimpse of what was to come
in the future. With that being said, the IB program was a beneficial experi-
ence that not only trained me mentally, but taught me how to remain focused
when writing papers.
Don Scigliano
IB Class of 2015
Monroe Community College
The IB program has definitely improved my writing skills and it taught me
how to use references properly.
– Soukswanh Phommala
IB Class of 2016
SUNY Fredonia
4
Table of Contents
IB Learner Profile ...................................................................................................................................... 5
IB DP Coordinator Contact Information ........................................................................................... 6
Methods of Communication .................................................................................................................. 6
IB Junior Meetings ..................................................................................................................................... 6
IB Teacher Rooms & Emails ................................................................................................................... 7
Diploma Program Components ........................................................................................................... 8
Earning the IB Diploma .......................................................................................................................... 9
Overview of IB Assessments .............................................................................................................. 10
IB Exam Schedule 2019 ........................................................................................................................ 11
Extended Essay ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Academic Misconduct ........................................................................................................................... 18
CAS—Creativity, Action & Service .................................................................................................... 20
Advice to the Incoming Class of Juniors ........................................................................................ 26
Sources of Support / Help ................................................................................................................... 28
5
6
IB Junior Meetings
8th block: 1:36 – 2:18 p.m. (during TOK class on selected B days)
All meetings will take place in L108.
These dates are listed in your Schoology calendar and have been forwarded to the TOK teacher. Please enter these dates/times into your personal calendar.
IB DP Coordinator Contact Information
Ms. Candace Black International Baccalaureate Diploma Coordinator Eastridge High School 2350 Ridge Road East, Room L107 Rochester, NY 14622 (585) 339-1547 (office) (585) 356-0951 (cell) [email protected]
Methods of Communication
• Email is best as it is instantaneous, it provides a written, date/time-stamped record of the communication and teachers regularly check their email. All students at Eastridge have been issued both laptops and an email address. Please make sure to check your email at least twice each school day.
• Remind 101 will be used to notify students of important upcoming events/meetings/deadlines. Please sign up using the instructions provided by your IB DP Co-ordinator.
• All full IB students have been enrolled in a Schoology course called “IB Class of 20XX” (graduation year). Schoology will be used to house important documents (such as exam schedules) as well as for students to turn in important documents as assignments (the Extended Essay, for example). Students may also use Schoology’s messaging function to communicate with teachers, the IB DP Coordinator or other staff. Please create a bookmark for Schoology in your preferred browser for easy ac-cess (www.eastiron.schoology.com).
September 18th
October 18th
November 16th
December 13th
January 16th
February 14th
March 15th
April 22nd
May 2nd
June 7th
7
Subject IB Teacher Room Email
English Lit Mr. Edwards W16 [email protected]
English Lit Mrs. O’Grady W25 Lauren_o’[email protected]
French 11/12
Spanish 11 Ms. Burgos N7 [email protected]
Spanish 12 Mrs. McDonell N3 [email protected]
Italian 11/12 Mrs. Hackett N5 [email protected]
History 11 Mr. Stack W23 [email protected]
History 12 Ms. Muzdakis W11 [email protected]
Biology 11/12 Mr. Foster 135 [email protected]
ESS Mr. Nellis 133 [email protected]
Math Studies Mrs. Clausen S18 [email protected]
Math SL I Mrs. Reynolds S7 [email protected]
Math SL I Mrs. Sheret S11 [email protected]
Math SL II Mrs. Bruyea S16 [email protected]
Math SL II Ms. Van Ness S13 [email protected]
Dance 11/12 Mrs. Brescia N9 [email protected]
Music 11/12 Ms. Amendolare E7 [email protected]
Visual Arts Mrs. Maggio E3 [email protected]
TOK Ms. Carroll-
Edwards W9 [email protected]
Extended Essay Mr. Smith Library [email protected]
Diploma Prog. Ms. Black L107 [email protected]
8
The Diploma Program Components
Coursework:
• Full IB Diploma students must take five courses—one from each of the first five groups (English Literature, World Languages, History, Science, and Math), plus an additional course, either from group 6 (the Arts) or another course from groups 1-5.
• Typically, Full IB Diploma students take the following courses:
• IB English Literature HL
• IB History HL
• IB Biology HL
• IB French, Italian or Spanish SL
• IB Math Studies SL or Mathematics SL
• A 6th class : IB Dance, Music or Visual Arts; IB Environmental Systems & Socie-ties; IB Business Management
HL = higher level (students must take at least three classes at the higher level)
SL = standard level
Core requirements:
Extended Essay (EE) - a 3,500 to 4,000 word paper describing the results of an origi-
nal research project. The EE offers students the opportunity to explore a topic of per-
sonal interest while learning the research and writing skills required in college.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) - an interdisciplinary class that is designed to foster
critical thinking while giving students an opportunity to understand and reflect on the
interrelationship of knowledge gained in the classroom.
Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) - an extracurricular component of the program. The
goal of IB is to educate the whole individual while cultivating an enlightened and com-
passionate citizenry. To that end, IB requires students to participate in extracurricular
activities that strengthen their creative skills, community involvement, and physical
development. Students are expected to complete approximately 150 hours over the
course of 2 years.
9
Earning the IB Diploma
In order to earn the IB Diploma, students must do the following:
1. Earn an average score of 4 (out of 7) for each course. (A score of 4 is considered “passing”.) Keep in mind that you can score a 3 in one subject as long as you get a 5 in another subject to balance it out.
2. Earn a minimum total of 24 points. (If you score an average of 4 on each of your 6 courses, that equals 24 points.) At least 12 of those points must come from your high-er level courses (English, History, Biology).
3. Complete a minimum of 150 hours of creativity, action and service activities from Sep-tember of their junior year through May 1st of their senior year. These hours are doc-umented in an electronic portfolio. When each type of activity is completed, students compose a short reflection on their experience (for example, one reflection would be done at the end of a sports season).
4. Earn at least a “D” in the Theory of Knowledge course.
5. Earn at least a “D” on the Extended Essay.
All of the aforementioned requirements must be satisfied in order to earn the diploma. Students who do not satisfy all requirements may still earn certificates in their individual IB courses.
At the first IB junior meeting, students will be provided with the “General Regulations: Diploma Programme” document, which outlines the various regulations on earning the diploma. A copy of this document is also available on Schoology.
10
Math
em
ati
cs (
Gro
up
5) – P
ick 1
M
ath
em
ati
cs
SL
T
est (P
aper
1)
40%
T
est (P
aper
2)
40%
M
ath
em
atical E
xplo
ration
20%
M
ath
Stu
die
s
SL
T
est (P
aper
1)
40%
T
est (P
aper
2)
40%
P
roje
ct
20%
Lan
gu
ag
e B
(G
rou
p 2
) F
ren
ch
/Ita
lian
/Sp
an
ish
SL
T
est (P
aper
1 -
Text-
handlin
g e
xerc
ises)
25%
T
est (P
aper
2 -
Essay)
25%
W
ritten A
ssig
nm
ent
20%
In
div
idual O
ral (P
hoto
response)
20%
In
tera
ctive O
ral A
ctivity
10%
Exp
eri
men
tal
Scie
nces (
Gro
up
4) –
Pic
k 1
or
2
Bio
log
y
S
L /
HL
T
est (P
aper
1)
20%
/ 2
0%
T
est (P
aper
2)
32%
/ 3
6%
T
est (P
aper
3)
24%
/ 2
0%
IA
Labs &
G
roup 4
Pro
ject
24%
/ 2
4%
O
pti
on
: E
SS
S
L
Test (P
aper
1)
25%
T
est (P
aper
2)
50%
IA
Labs
25%
Art
s &
Ele
cti
ves (
Gro
up
6) – P
ick 1
(o
r ta
ke a
2n
d c
ou
rse in
an
oth
er
gro
up
) D
an
ce S
L/H
L:
Com
positio
n &
Analy
sis
(40%
/35%
), D
ance Investigation P
aper
(20%
/25%
), P
erf
orm
ance
(40%
) M
usic
SL
/HL
: L
iste
nin
g P
aper
(30%
), M
usic
al Lin
ks Investigation (
20%
), P
erf
orm
ance -
Cre
ating, S
olo
or
Gro
up P
erf
orm
ing (
50%
)
Vis
ual A
rts S
L/H
L (
Op
tio
n A
):
Stu
dio
Work
(60%
) P
ort
folio
Investigation (
40%
)
Fu
ll D
iplo
ma S
tud
en
ts -
Co
mp
lete
AL
L
Th
eo
ry o
f K
no
wle
dg
e c
ou
rse
Essay
67%
P
resenta
tion
33%
E
xte
nd
ed
Essay (
3,5
00-4
,00
0 w
ord
essay
on a
researc
h t
opic
of th
e s
tudent’s c
hoic
e
– c
om
ple
ted o
ver
2 y
ears
) C
AS
(150 h
ours
of cre
ative, active, and
serv
ice a
ctivitie
s c
om
ple
ted o
ver
18
month
s)
Ind
ivid
uals
& S
ocie
ties (
Gro
up
3)
His
tory
of
the A
meri
cas
H
L
Test (P
aper
1 -
DB
Q)
20%
T
est (P
aper
2 -
World H
isto
ry T
opic
s)
25%
T
est (P
aper
3 -
Am
erican H
isto
ry)
35%
H
isto
rical In
vestigation P
aper
20%
O
pti
on
: B
usin
ess &
Man
ag
em
en
t
SL
T
est (P
aper
1 -
Case s
tudy)
40%
T
est (P
aper
2)
35%
R
esearc
h P
roje
ct
25%
Lan
gu
ag
e A
1 (
Gro
up
1)
En
glish
Lan
gu
ag
e &
Lit
era
ture
H
L
Test (P
aper
1-
Com
para
tive A
naly
sis
) 25%
T
est (P
aper
2 -
Essay)
25%
W
ritten T
asks
20%
In
div
idual O
ral C
om
menta
ry
15%
O
ral P
resenta
tion
15%
IB D
IPL
OM
A P
RO
GR
AM
ME
A
SS
ES
SM
EN
TS
No
te:
All
sub
jects
are
gra
ded
on
a s
ca
le o
f 1-7
11
12
13
14
IB Papers (written exams) are given in May of each school year. Most IB courses are two years long, therefore the final exams take place in May of your senior year. A few of the Standard Level courses (IB Math Studies, IB Environmental Systems & Societies, IB Busi-ness Management) are taught over a single year. Students who take these classes will test in the same year they take the course.
All attempts will be made in order to avoid overlap with AP Exams. In the case of a con-flict, we will arrange for you to take an AP exam during the conflict period (usually the 3rd week of May).
Exams will normally take place either at the East Irondequoit Operations Center or in one of the Eastridge gymnasiums.
Once the exam period begins, your individual schedules will depend upon your particular exams. You are expected to be in school any day during the exam period that you have no exams scheduled. On days when only half the day is taken up by exams, you are expected to be in classes for the other half of the day.
15
Th
e D
iplo
ma
Po
ints
Ma
trix
– E
xte
nd
ed
Ess
ay
& T
OK
Ex
ten
de
d E
ssa
y
Exc
elle
nt
A
Go
od
B
Sa
tisf
act
ory
C
M
edio
cre
D
Ele
men
tary
E
N
ot
Sub
mit
ted
Theory of Knowledge
Exc
elle
nt
A
3
3
2
2
Fai
lin
g co
nd
itio
n
Go
od
B
3
2
2
1
F
aili
ng
con
dit
ion
Sati
sfa
cto
ry
C
2
2
1
0
Fai
lin
g co
nd
itio
n
Med
iocr
e D
2
1
0
0
F
aili
ng
con
dit
ion
Ele
men
tary
E
F
aili
ng
con
dit
ion
F
aili
ng
con
dit
ion
F
aili
ng
con
dit
ion
F
aili
ng
con
dit
ion
F
aili
ng
con
dit
ion
No
t su
bm
itte
d
Th
e D
iplo
ma
Ma
trix
—E
xte
nd
ed
Ess
ay
& T
OK
16
Extended Essay Timeline—Year 1
September At the 1st IB Junior meeting, students are given a brief introduction to the Extended Essay (format, content).
October Students meet with the Librarian to get an overview of the EE process (timeline, research skills). Students select an initial topic of interest.
November Students meet with the Librarian to review the requirements for the EE and the rubrics. Students narrow their topics of interest and begin to gather sources.
December Students finalize topic of interest and begin an annotated bibliography.
January
Librarian assigns an EE supervisor to each student. Students meet with the Librarian to review graded papers from prior years, to go over the tools and resources available as well as to review the Research Proposal and the reflection process. Students continue gathering sources into an annotated bibliography.
February
Students develop their Research Question and submit this via Schoology by February 15th. Students meet with the Librarian to discuss and get feedback on the Re-search Question.
March
Students refine their Research Question. Students meet with their EE Supervisors to discuss the Research Question and complete the 1st reflection on OneDrive. Students meet with the Librarian to review reflections and prepare for the EE Cafe .
April
Students meet with the Librarian. Students develop a Research Plan and write an introduction for their EE and submit this to Schoology by April 15th. Students meet with their EE Supervisors to discuss the Research Plan and introduction.
May
Students develop an outline and submit it via Schoology by May 15th. Students meet with Librarian to discuss the outline and prepare for the EE workshop at the University of Rochester. Students attend a full day workshop at the University of Rochester.
June Students meet with their EE Supervisor to discuss plans for revisions. Students participate in the EE Cafe in which they will present their EE out-lines to the school community.
Summer Students develop a 1st draft of the EE to include all sections . (This will be turned in to Schoology in September.)
17
Extended Essay Timeline—Year 2
September
Students turn in the 1st draft of their Extended Essay (3,500—6,000 words) via Schoology by September 15th. Students meet with Librarian to review the EE timeline and discuss rough drafts. Students meet with their EE Supervisor to share portions of their draft and their bibliographies. Students submit their 2nd reflection on OneDrive.
October
Students turn in the 2nd draft of their Extended Essay (3,500—4,500 words) via Schoology by October 15th. Students attend a full-day workshop at the University of Rochester on October 16th. Students meet with their EE Supervisor to share and discuss the 2nd draft of the EE and recommendations for the final version. (Supervisor will have read the full 2nd draft before meeting with the student.)
November Students work on the final version of the EE.
December
Students turn in the final version of their Extended Essay via Schoology by December 10th. Students meet with their EE Supervisor for the Viva Voce no later than the last day before December break. Students complete their 3rd reflection on OneDrive.
April At the April IB Senior meeting, students prepare a brief presentation us-ing the EE Cafe presentation for the Board of Education meeting in May .
May Students present their EE research project at the IB Diploma Night Cere-mony held at the Board of Education meeting.
18
Academic Misconduct
What is academic misconduct?
Academic misconduct is a behavior that results in, or may result in, the student or any
other student gaining an unfair advantage (or a behavior that disadvantages other stu-
dents) in one or more assessment components. Unfortunately, in every Diploma Program
examination session, there are students who are investigated for alleged academic mis-
conduct.
Categories of academic misconduct in the IB
• Plagiarism is defined as the representation, intentionally or unwittingly, of the ideas,
words or work of another person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment.
The use of translated materials, unless indicated and acknowledged, is also consid-
ered plagiarism.
• Collusion is defined as supporting academic misconduct by another student, for ex-
ample allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another.
• Misconduct during an IB examination includes taking unauthorized material into
an examination room, disruptive behavior and communicating with others during the
examination.
• Communication about the content of an examination 24 hours before or after the
examination with others outside their school community is also considered a breach
of IB regulations.
• Duplication of work is defined as the presentation of the same work for different as-
sessment components and/or Diploma Program requirements.
19
Good practice—recommendations for students
• Make sure that information you have used is acknowledged in the body of the text and is fully listed in the bibliography using the referencing style agreed with your teacher.
• Cite your sources so that readers can find them; if you cannot state the origin of the source it is probably better not to use it.
• Make clear which words, ideas, images and works are not your own (including maps, charts, musical compositions, movies, computer source codes and any other material).
• Give credit for copied, adapted and paraphrased material.
• When using text, make clear where the borrowed material starts and finishes.
• All sources cited in the text must also be listed in the bibliography (or reference list/list of works cited) and all sources listed in the bibliography (or reference list/list of works cited) must be cited in the text.
Adapted from the Academic Honesty Pamphlet from www.ibo.org.
Process for dealing with suspected academic dishonesty
1. Teachers will evaluate all student work for authenticity including checking sources and putting the student work through a Google search and/or www.turnitin.com.
2. If a teacher suspects that a student has engaged in academic dishonesty, he or she will meet with the student and the IB DP Coordinator to review the evidence and discuss the matter.
3. If it is found that the student engaged in academic dishonesty:
4. If a student engages in further academically dishonest behavior (in the same class or in a different class), the same procedures will be followed, but the disciplinary conse-quences will increase, which may result in the removal of the student from the IB course.
• The teacher will contact the parent/guardian of the student to discuss the matter;
• The teacher will write a disciplinary referral to the student’s administrator, who will meet with the student and assign a disciplinary consequence;
• No credit will be given for the assignment;
• The student will be required to redo the assignment and resubmit it for a grade.
20
Creativity, Action & Service
What is CAS?
Creativity, Action & Service involves students in experiential learning through a range of artistic, sporting, physical and service activities.
· Creativity: arts and other experiences that involve creative thinking
· Action: physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing aca-demic work elsewhere in the Diploma Program
· Service: an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the stu-dent
For student development to occur, CAS should involve:
· Real, purposeful activities, with significant outcomes
· Personal challenge – tasks must extend the student and be achievable in scope
· Thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress, report
· Reflection on outcomes and personal learning.
All students should be involved in CAS activities that they have initiated themselves, in-
cluding in at least one project involving teamwork that integrates two or more of creativi-
ty, action and service, and is of significant duration. Work that is part of a student’s study
of a diploma program subject, TOK or EE may NOT be counted towards CAS. Students
must complete a minimum of 150 total hours of CAS over the course of their junior
and senior years, with a reasonable balance between creativity, action and service.
What is NOT CAS?
CAS is not a points-scoring exercise. It should be an interesting variety of activities that you find intrinsically worthwhile and rewarding, and which are mutually beneficial to you and to your community. Generally, CAS is not taking place when you are in a passive ra-ther than an active role. There should be interaction.
21
CR
EA
TIV
ITY
A
CT
ION
S
ER
VIC
E
Art –
photograp
hy, painting, air
brushing, sculpture, pottery,
grap
hic design
Personal fitness – aerobics, weigh
t
lifting, training
Model United
Nations /A
mnesty
International
Technology –
designing an
app/
video gam
e/web
site
Team sports –
basketball, football,
soccer, field hockey, volleyball,
baseb
all, lacrosse
Green
Team/E
nvironmen
tal C
lub/
Clean
Sweep Program
/Key Club/
International Club/N
ational
Honor Society activity
Music – choir, ban
d, drama pro-
duction, or learning a musical in-
strumen
t
Individual sports – gymnastics,
cheerleading, swim
ming, track
Exchan
ge program
Studen
t new
spap
er/p
ublication,
speech/d
ebate
Athletic activities –
Martial arts,
dan
ce, 5K run/w
alk, m
arathon
Hospital/h
ospice/nursing home/
soup kitchen
visit
Culinary –
learning to cook
something
Hab
itat for Human
ity /Anim
al
Rescue / Scouting
Atten
ding/participating in a
sporting even
t
Fashion/talen
t show
Studen
t Council / Assem
bly con-
tribution / Fundraising project
Craft –
Sew
ing, scrap
booking,
knitting/crocheting
Peer Tutoring
22
CAS is NOT:
· any class, activity or project that is already part of the Diploma Program
· an activity for personal reward, financial or benefit-in-kind
· simple, tedious and repetitive work
· a passive pursuit done purely for enjoyment (e.g. a rock concert)
· part of family or religious duty
· work experience that only benefits the student
· fundraising with no clearly defined end in sight
· an activity where there is no responsible adult on site to evaluate your performance
· activities that cause division amongst different groups in the community
CAS responsibilities of the student:
· Self-review at the beginning of their CAS experience and set personal goals for
what you hope to achieve through your CAS program.
· Plan, do and reflect (plan activities, carry them out, and reflect on what you have
learned).
· Undertake at least one interim review (set up in September-January of senior
year) and a final review (set up in April-May of senior year) with your CAS advisor.
· Take part in a range of activities, including at least one project, some of which you
have initiated yourself.
· Keep records of your activities and achievements, including a list of principals ac-
tivities undertaken using the website www.managebac.com.
· Show evidence of achievement of the eight CAS learning outcomes.
23
7 Learning Outcomes
As a result of their CAS experience as a whole, there should be evidence that students
have:
· Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth
· Undertaken new challenges and developed new skills
· Planned and initiated activities
· Worked collaboratively with others
· Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities
· Engaged with issues of global importance
· Considered the ethical implications of their actions
CAS Reflection
24
Of any activity, it is appropriate to ask the following questions: what did I plan to do?
what did I do? what were the outcomes, for me, the team I was working with, and others?
Reflection can be written (journal), oral (presenting their activities to peers, parents or
others), physical (scrapbooks, photo essays, videos/DVDs or weblogs), in portfolio format
(containing different types of reflections), or private (student reflects individually).
Students should consider the following as part of the CAS reflection for each activity:
· How did you feel before, during and after the activity?
· What did you perceive?
· What did you think about the activity?
· What did the activity mean to you?
· What was the value of the activity?
· What did you learn from the activity and how this learning might apply more wide-
ly?
Other questions to ask would be:
· How successful was I in achieving my goals? What difficulties did I encounter and how did I overcome them?
· What did I learn about myself and others through this activity/project? What abili-ties, attitudes and values have I developed?
· Did anyone help me to think about my learning during this activity/project? If so, who helped and how did they help?
· How did this activity/project benefit others?
· Did I maintain full attendance? How many sessions have I missed? Was I punctual? How would I summarize my effort and commitment?
· What might I do differently next time to improve?
· How can I apply what I have learned in other life situations?
· What have I learned about development issues that are evident in our local commu-nity? How do I feel about this? What are my views on these issues? What have I done to address these issues?
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Example of poor reflection
“Today I got to the nursing home at 2:00. Talked to some ladies. Passed out popcorn at the movie. Went home at 4:00. When you volunteer at the nursing home, the residents really make you feel appreciated. It makes it all worthwhile.”
This student reflecting on their social service missed the point. This student was sur-
rounded by human drama. On every side were loneliness, love, struggle, joy, death, digni-
ty, injustice, need and concern. There were more than a dozen health-related, trades-
related, professional-related careers to observe and experiment with. There were people
with wisdom to draw upon and pains to ease. From their observations and reflections,
these students experienced nothing.
Examples of good reflections
Writing poetry (Creativity) - “For the past two years I have kept a journal of poetry and
stream of consciousness pieces that I have written. It now contains about 30 works. I write
in it rather sporadically, either as ideas come to me that I feel would make good poems, or I
feel the need to vent my emotion on paper. I have shown this journal to certain teachers and
friends, and I have submitted several of them to Mosaic. For me this journal is a way to stay
sane, sort of catharsis for my soul. By writing poetry about situations that I am in I can
think through my options and how best to deal with them. Similarly, it helps me to under-
stand better what I am feeling. And if someone else can benefit from my writing through
Mosaic, all the better. After all, art is not only beneficial for the artist, but also for the ob-
server of that art.”
Volunteer at the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital (Service) - “… The children were
very open in accepting me. They were always the ones who made this brief interaction be-
tween two strangers seem comfortable. Through the compassion I constantly saw in these
very sick children I was exposed to an amazing outlook on life. One of the false assumptions
I made about working at Children’s was that as a result of my work I would feel good about
myself for giving my time to these children. In fact, I did feel good about myself but it was
not because of what I had given. Instead it was the children who gave to me. From them I
learned how positive and selfless people can be… ”
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Advice to the incoming juniors from past graduates
of the Eastridge IB Diploma Program
1. Keep a calendar of assignments and responsibilities either on paper or
by using one of the many calendar apps available. Your life is too busy (and
it will only get busier) to try to keep all of your responsibilities in your
head. Relieve yourself of this mental task by keeping track of what you need
to do in a calendar.
2. Don’t procrastinate! It’s easy to underestimate the amount of time you
will need for your academic work. Start assignments and projects as early
as possible and reserve regular amounts of time to work on these. Chunk-
ing your workload is a highly effective strategy for managing a heavy work-
load.
3. Stay current with your workload. The amount of work you get will only
increase as the year progresses, so make sure not to let the work build up to
the point where it is overwhelming.
4. Carefully manage your schedule including your academic responsibilities,
work and your senior year obligations, such as applying for college. Take
inventory of what you wish to accomplish this year and develop a plan to
make it happen. Choosing a college and then applying is one of the most
important tasks of your high school career. Do as much as the Common Ap-
plication process as early as possible including starting to write your col-
lege essay.
5. Learn to prioritize! When you find yourself getting behind or over-
whelmed, make a list of what you need to do, prioritize the most important
items and attack those first.
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6. Take advantage of feedback from teachers by making sure to turn in
rough drafts. For IB classes, there is often a limitation set by IB on the
number of times a teacher can read a rough draft or give feedback/
comments. If the rough draft is not turned in, you end up forfeiting this
valuable feedback that could make your final assessment much better and
increase your overall grade.
7. Ask for help when you need it: from your teachers, from your peers,
from the School Counseling Staff, from the Librarian and from the IB DP
Coordinator! You are not alone—we are hear to support you!
- Successful Graduates of Eastridge’s IB Diploma Program
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Sources of Support / Help
While you will be primarily responsible for your studies, you are entitled to all of the support you require; it is important that you seek out assistance when you need it. No one is expecting you to be perfect. However, we do expect that you will be concerned enough about your performance that you will seek the help you need. This means…
• doing work before deadlines arrive so that you aren’t stuck at the last minute;
• asking questions about assignments before you leave school for the day;
• arranging study groups with friends/ classmates
• bringing any concerns you have to the IB DP Coordinator or another staff member.
The types of resources available to you vary by the situation:
• Are you feeling overwhelmed? Do you have a problem with a class or managing your workload? Do you want to change your schedule? Do you have a general concern/problem? Contact Ms. Black.
• Homework questions?
ask your classroom teacher before you leave school;
consult the classroom’s teachers Schoology page or school web page;
consult a trusted classmate;
email classroom teacher;
contact Ms. Black.
• College Questions—contact your school counsellor or Ms. Black.
When in doubt, always feel free to email ([email protected]), text or call Ms.
Black (585) 356-0951, or visit in room L107!
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Recognized as the leader in international education, the International
Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program
cultivates the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that
enable students to excel in college and beyond.