IB Program Info for Sophomores

Dear Sophomores & Parents/Guardians,

Sophomores will be signing up for their junior year courses soon! The purpose of this newsletter is to give you some information about the IB Program and hopefully answer some frequently asked questions. IB courses are an option for students in their junior and senior years. These courses are rigorous, collegiate-level courses that are designed to prepare students for success in a global world.

We have two options for students: the full diploma pathway or individual course pathway. Below, you will find resources you can explore as you decide which path or courses you'd like to take next year. Guidance counselors will be going into English classes to have students select their courses for next year. Students will be given a course selection sheet where they choose their courses for next year.

I can be available for meetings (in-person or virtual), or email me with questions at jnormile@mcs.k12.ny.us.

Warmest regards,

Mrs. Jan Normile

IB Program Coordinator

In this updated visual arts course students learn how to create, communicate and connect as artists. Students engage in creative practices and processes working with a variety of art-making forms and creative strategies, and learn art-making as inquiry. Teachers and students can adapt the curriculum to their unique contexts, interests and passions. Together, they are invited to transform the classroom into a contemporary visual arts studio. This becomes a collaborative, inclusive, creative and conceptually rich space where students develop their art through personal lines of inquiry guided by artistic intentions.

This course develops understanding of the techniques involved in literary criticism and promotes the ability to form independent literary judgments. In Language A: Literature, the formal analysis of texts and wide coverage of a variety of literature—both in the language of the subject and in translated texts from other cultural domains—is combined with a study of the way literary conventions shape responses to texts.

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Students completing this course will have a thorough knowledge of a range of texts and an understanding of other cultural perspectives. They will also have developed skills of analysis and the ability to support an argument in clearly expressed writing.

The IB DP language B course provides students with the opportunity to acquire or develop an additional language and to promote an understanding of other cultures through the study of language.

These courses are dual-credit courses. For an additional fee, students can earn up to three transferrable college credits through SUNY Potsdam.

The IB Diploma Program standard level psychology course aims to develop an awareness of how research findings can be applied to better understand human behavior and how ethical practices are upheld in psychological inquiry. Students learn to understand the biological, cognitive and sociocultural influences on human behavior and explore alternative explanations of behavior.

This course is a dual-credit course. For no additional fee, students can earn up to three transferrable college credits through SUNY Canton.

The business management course is designed to meet the current and future needs of students who want to develop their knowledge of business content, concepts and tools to assist with business decision making. Students will examine how business decisions are influenced by factors that are internal and external to an organization and how these decisions impact upon a range of internal and external stakeholders. Emphasis is placed on strategic decision-making and the operational business functions of:

• human resource management

• finance and accounts

• marketing

• operations management

This course is a dual-credit course. For no additional fee, students can earn up to three transferrable college credits through SUNY Canton.

The DP history course is a world history course based on a comparative and multi-perspective approach to history. It involves the study of a variety of types of history, including political, economic, social and cultural, and provides a balance of structure and flexibility. The course emphasizes the importance of encouraging students to think historically and to develop historical skills as well as gaining factual knowledge. It involves a challenging and demanding critical exploration of the past.

This course is a dual-credit course. For no additional fee, students can earn up to three transferrable college credits through SUNY Canton.

This course explores the science underpinning physical performance and provides the opportunity to apply these principles. The course incorporates the disciplines of anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, psychology and nutrition. Students cover a range of core and option topics, and carry out experimental investigations in both laboratory and field settings. This course is good preparation for courses in college related to sports fitness and health, and serves as useful preparation for employment in sports and leisure industries.

Biology is the study of life. By studying biology in the Diploma Program, students should become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. Students have opportunities to design investigations, collect data, develop manipulative skills, analyze results, collaborate with peers and evaluate and communicate their findings.

This course is a dual-credit course. For no additional fee, students can earn up to three transferrable college credits through SUNY Canton.

Biology is the study of life. By studying biology in the Diploma Program, students should become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. Students have opportunities to design investigations, collect data, develop manipulative skills, analyze results, collaborate with peers and evaluate and communicate their findings.

Physics is concerned with an attempt to understand the natural world; from determining the nature of the atom to finding patterns in the structure of the universe. It is the search for answers from how the universe exploded into life to the nature of time itself. Observations are essential to the very core of the subject. Models are developed to try to understand observations, and these themselves can become theories that attempt to explain the observations. Besides leading to a better understanding of the natural world, physics gives us the ability to alter our environments.

DP physics enables students to constructively engage with topical scientific issues. Students examine scientific knowledge claims in a real-world context, fostering interest and curiosity. By exploring the subject, they develop understandings, skills and techniques which can be applied across their studies and beyond.

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Topics include:

1. Space, time and motion

2. The particulate nature of matter

3. Wave behavior

4. Fields

5. Nuclear and quantum physics

The IB mathematics standard level (SL) course focuses on introducing important mathematical concepts through the development of mathematical techniques. Students apply the mathematical knowledge they have acquired to solve realistic problems set in an appropriate context.

This course is a dual-credit course. For no additional fee, students can earn up to three transferrable college credits through SUNY Canton.

The IB DP Mathematics: applications and interpretation course recognizes the increasing role that mathematics and technology play in a diverse range of fields in a data-rich world. As such, it emphasizes the meaning of mathematics in context by focusing on topics that are often used as applications or in mathematical modelling. To give this understanding a firm base, this course includes topics that are traditionally part of a pre-university mathematics course such as calculus and statistics. Students are encouraged to solve real-world problems, construct and communicate this mathematically and interpret the conclusions or generalizations.

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Students will study the following topics:

1. Number Algebra

2. Functions and equations

3. Geometry and trigonometry

4. Statistics and probability

5. Calculus

This course is a dual-credit course. For no additional fee, students can earn up to three transferrable college credits through SUNY Canton.

Students learn how to create, communicate and connect as artists. Students engage in creative practices and processes working with a variety of art-making forms and creative strategies, and learn art-making as inquiry. Teachers and students can adapt the curriculum to their unique contexts, interests and passions. Together, they are invited to transform the classroom into a contemporary visual arts studio. This becomes a collaborative, inclusive, creative and conceptually rich space where students develop their art through personal lines of inquiry guided by artistic intentions.

The study of music encourages inquiry into creative practices and performance processes. Music study develops listening, creative and analytical skills, as well as encouraging cultural understanding and international-mindedness. In this way, music is a catalyst for expanding critical thinking—a crucial life skill. When we understand others and ourselves through music, we are empowered to make positive and effective change in the world.

In this course, students and teachers engage in a journey of imagination and discovery through partnership and collaboration. Students develop and affirm their unique musical identities while expanding and refining their musicianship. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to explore music in varied and sometimes unfamiliar contexts. Additionally, by experimenting with music, students gain hands-on experience while honing musical skills. Through realizing and presenting samples of their musical work with others, students also learn to communicate critical and artistic intentions and purpose.

Certain courses are to be completed in one year, while others are to be completed in two years. At the end of each course, students will be required to take the IB examination. The examinations occur over a three week period in May. In addition to exams, there are also mandatory internal assessments (IAs) that occur throughout the year.

Please note two important practices we have instituted to ensure that students maintain the high level of effort needed to be successful:

• Students must complete all requirements of the first year of study in order to move on to the second year of study. This includes IAs, final exams, projects and any other assessment given by the first year teacher.

• At the end of the first 5 weeks of course, a student’s progress will be evaluated. If insufficient effort or achievement is evident, a conference will be scheduled and the student will be placed on probation for 5 weeks. If improvement is not seen at the end of this probationary period, the student may be removed from the course.

• Theory of Knowledge (TOK) - this course (taken both junior and senior years) encourages students to think about the nature of knowledge, to reflect on the process of learning in all the subjects they study as part of the Diploma Program and to make connections across them.

• Extended Essay (EE) - The extended essay, a substantial piece of writing up to 4,000 word, enables students to investigate a topic of special interest that they have chosen themselves. It also encourages them to develop the skills of independent research that will be expected at university.

• Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) - Full diploma students must engage in experiences outside of the program that allow them to be creative, active and responsive to authentic community needs.

The full diploma track does offer some advantages. Many colleges (especially highly selective ones) will give the IB diploma more weight in the admissions process. It signifies that a student is highly committed to a challenging course of action. Some colleges will offer more scholarship money or financial aid to students who are awarded the full diploma. A full diploma student is also more well-rounded because they are required to complete the CAS, TOK and Extended Essay requirements.

Absolutely! Each year, several full diploma students are 3-sport athletes. Most are in several clubs and different music groups. Full diploma students are some of the most well-rounded students in the building.

This is a really difficult question to answer. It depends on the student's choices. If they choose to test in 2 courses their junior year, the junior year will be full, but the senior year opens up. The combination of courses the student selects will determine how much room there is for electives.

A full diploma student typically takes 3 Standard Level (SL) courses and 3 Higher Level (HL) courses. Click the button below to view some examples of combinations the student could choose. These are just a few of many possibilities.

Each college has its own policies when it comes to granting college credit. Therefore, I always suggest that a student contact the admissions department of the college to get specific answers. The IB has worked diligently to gather information on many universities, so you can click the button below to search for the particular college you are interested in.

There is a sliding scale for fees. Refer to the image to the right.

The school district pays the remaining portion of the exam fee. If a student qualifies for free/reduced lunches, the school district will pay the entire exam fee as long as all the paperwork is filed with Food Services.

No. It is our philosophy that any student that is interested in challenging themselves should be afforded the opportunity to do so. IB teachers value hard work, progress and growth over high grades. Some courses are sequential and do require successful completion of prerequisites. Talk with a Guidance Counselor or refer to the course handbook for more information.

A student’s overall IB score is based on their performance on external assessments (examinations/written assignments) and the IA. Students are rated on a scale from 1 to 7 points according to the following scale:

7 = Excellent
6 = Very Good
5 = Good
4 = Satisfactory
3 = Mediocre
2 = Poor
1 = Very poor