Greeting parents of future Vikings in the South Iredell IB programmes. This email will address the six issues below. Sorry, folks. This is going to be a long one, but that means you will leave this email well-informed:
- Who will be teaching in the MYP and DP at SIHS
- Reminder about Movie Night
- More reasons to be IB
- Revised Coffee calendar
- Math update
- Email questions
1. Who will be teaching in the MYP and DP at SIHS: We have 90 percent of the DP team and 60 percent of the MYP team set for next year South Iredell. We have already begun meeting weekly and are ahead of pace, having gleaned many lessons from the processes already in place at the IBO World Schools at Mount Mourne and Northview. We expect to be able to provide you with most of the teachers names and biographies in the next few weeks.
2. Reminder about Movie Night at South Iredell High School
Who: All current MM and NV Level 3-5 students or anyone considering attending the IB programs at South Iredell (even if you’re on the fence) as well as SIHS students
What: Movie Night (Bend it Like Beckham) and discussion about what it’s like to be a teenager in other parts of the world
Where: South Iredell High School’s Media Center
When: 6:30-9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28
Why: We are trying to build community between MM, NV and SIHS, expand our international-mindedness, but really just raise money to begin the IB Booster Club, a fund that raises money to provide for needs of the IB program at South Iredell High School from technology upgrades to additional teacher training to any other expense that could enhance the programs’ ability to impact your child’s IB education in a positive way. We are suggesting an optional $5 donation.
How: If you are looking for someone to carpool with, feel free to post that with your snack / beverage sign-up.
Required: Please bring a snack (preferably healthy and homemade if possible) or a beverage and sign up on my webpage. Please check first before buying anything.
Brief synopsis: Bend it Like Beckham is a PG-13 comedy that won dozens of awards when it debuted in 2004. It features a teenage Sikh girl who lives to play football (soccer) in England, but dreams of playing collegiately in America. Despite her considerable talent, she hides playing from her traditional father, who would not approve of a girl playing football. Along the way she falls for an English boy and befriends a teammate, with whom she is mistaken for dating by members of her close-knit community.
Parents are encouraged to check it out on IMBD: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286499/. We hope to see you there.
2. More reasons to be IB: A Level 5 parent sent me the attached file, which lists college acceptance rates for students who are seeking the full diploma as well as students who just dip a toe into the Diploma Programme and receive subject-by-subject certificates. Unfortunately, our Level 5s will not be diploma-eligible, but you can see in the three columns on the right the profound benefits that still exist for certificate candidates.
3. Revised Coffee calendar: The snow days were good for one thing—forcing me to rethink how to make best use of the Coffee with Coordinators to your advantage. Instead of doing a DP week and MYP week, Tammy Russ, Keeley Ward and I have planned out the next four months of Coffees and will offer two sessions for each meeting. The calendar below lists the dates and the topics that will be addressed so you can plan accordingly. As before, all of the meetings will be at the South Iredell High School Media Center and run from 9-10:30 a.m. Feel free to come by, if only for part of the meeting, after signing up using the link on my SIHS webpage. This way we can plan for the correct amount of materials.
Feb. 2 and 9: How can I support my MYP student in his or her Personal Project?
We will divide up elements of the assessment rubric for the PP and generate and share best practices for helping our children be successful without doing the project for them.
March 2 and 9: How can we create a Creativity, Action, Service program for the DP that serves the needs of and grows all of our students?
We will have a Socratic seminar about the relevant issues of a DP’s C.A.S. program and how we can create a fully inclusive and meaningful one at SIHS. There will be a brief reading parents will need to complete prior to these sessions, so please email prior to the session in addition to posting your intention of attending on my SIHS webpage.
April 6 and 13: How can I support my IB students (DP and MYP) at home in the 10 traits of the IB learner profile?
We will divide up the Learner Profile and produce a home list of best practices to support student growth to be Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators and Reflective and create in them the dispositions of being Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Balanced and Risk-takers.
May 4 and 11: How can I be more internationally minded at home?
We will observe and discuss ways to integrate the international focus of the DP and MYP into your daily lives to better prepare your children for life in the 21st-century world beyond secondary school.
4. Math updates
For current Level 5 families (This does not apply to current Level 4s and beyond): Next year, when you are a junior at South Iredell High School, you will be tracked based on the math level you have completed by the end of this year.
If you are currently in Pre-Calculus, next year you will take Advanced Placement Calculus AB and Advanced Placement Calculus BC as a senior.
If you will have completed Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry by the end of this school year and did decently well in the process, next year you will take Pre-Calculus and have your choice of IB Math Studies SL or IB Math SL as a senior. But we will recommend that you try the more rigorous IB Math SL. If you have not completed Algebra II or Geometry, you will need to take an online version of that course this summer so you will be prepared for Pre-Calculus next year.
For some students in the Algebra I-Algebra II-Geometry sequence that have struggled consistently, we will recommend a junior-year course called Advanced Functions and Modeling. Those students will take IB Math Studies SL in their senior years.
For current Level 4 (and for down-the-road thinking Level 3) families: There is no need for you to take online geometry in the second semester of this year or over the summer. We have received this question many times, but let’s dispel the misinformation that is circulating. First, our students are already a year accelerated. Because some Level 5 students are taking Pre-Calculus, there is an incorrect perception that students can benefit from taking online geometry over the summer. There are several reasons why that not only provides zero advantages for our Level 4s, it may prove damaging for SAT purposes.
1) Level 4s are diploma-eligible, unlike Level 5s. Therefore, the typical Level 4 math progression will look like this:
Level 3: Algebra I
Level 4: Algebra II
Level 5: Geometry
Junior year in the Diploma Programme: Math Studies SL or Math SL
Senior year in the Diploma Programme: Math Studies SL or Math SL
All IB courses are two-year courses, and students will determine which math they want / need to take by what they envision their university and career path will require. Current Level 5s will have one-year IB classes, so some may need to get ahead of usual pace. Students will choose from one of the following:
Math Studies SL covers the equivalent of Algebra III, Advanced Geometry, Trigonometry, and a strong background in Statistics. It is designed for students whose university course of study will not regularly incorporate math, perhaps those pursuing careers in the arts, humanities, languages or language use, law or others.
Math SL covers the equivalent of Pre-Calculus, A.P. Calculus AB, Statistics, and other math not typically taught domestically. It is designed for students who will use mathematical concepts in their career, such as business people, doctors and engineers.
2) Since the SATs math sections are so Geometry-dependent, students who will take their PSATs as sophomores and then SATs as juniors would be best-suited to have a classroom teacher as their Geometry instructor, unless they are particularly adept at learning online. So that makes taking Geometry as sophomores a best fit. There are a handful of Level 5s taking online maths but that is to get them to the point of Pre-Calculus by junior year, only because they will not be eligible for two-year IB classes. All of our Level 4s will be fine to take IB courses with the Algebra I – Algebra II – Geometry progression.
3) We’re going to work you plenty hard during the year. Enjoy your summer. If you want some math enrichment, that can be arranged. But you need not base your summer around online Geometry.
Emailed Questions
Will there be after-school buses for activities at SIHS such as sports?
Iredell-Statesville Schools does not provide shuttle transportation for athletics or after-school activities for any school and will notbe adding this service.
If a student leaves the Middle Years Programme before Level 5 (sophomore year) and wants to re-enter for the Diploma Programme as a junior, will that be allowed?
Provided there is space in the DP classes and a student is academically eligible according to their grade level and has met all pre-requisites for entry into the DP, that student will be welcome back.
Will the class of 2014 be the first to be eligible for the IB diploma?
Yes, currently Level 4s (freshmen) will be the first cohort that will be diploma-eligible.
On the intent form students are filling out this week, if students check off that they are returning to their home schools rather than continuing in the IB programmes at SIHS, can they change their minds before the end of this school year?
Provided there is space in the IB classes, students will be able to change “Not attending” declarations to “Attending” if they change their minds later in the year.
If a student is in the SIHS IB programmes, either MYP or DP, will a younger sibling have priority in the lottery to get into either Mount Mourne or Northview?
IB siblings have priority regardless what point in the IB programme the older sibling currently is.
Keep the questions coming and keep your children informed, too. Please let me know how I can help.