IB Program Info for Juniors

Dear Juniors & Parents/Guardians,

Juniors will be signing up for their senior year courses next week! 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.

Guidance counselors will be going into English classes, and students will be given a course selection sheet where they choose their courses for next year. If you have questions, please reach out at jnormile@mcs.k12.ny.us, or I can be available for meetings (in-person or virtual).

Warmest regards,

Mrs. Jan Normile

IB Program Coordinator

For some of our courses, seniors may enroll in the first year of course only. Although the student would not finish the course and receive an IB certificate, the student's transcript will include that they took an IB course. This looks very attractive to colleges that want to see that a student has challenged themselves, especially in their senior year. The student also benefits from being exposed to challenging material ahead of college!

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.

Through the study of DP biology, students are empowered to make sense of living systems through unifying themes. By providing opportunities for students to explore conceptual frameworks, they are better able to develop understanding and awareness of the living world around them. This is carried further through a study of interactions at different levels of biological organization, from molecules and cells to ecosystems and the biosphere. Integral to the student experience of the DP biology course is the learning that takes place through scientific inquiry. With an emphasis on experimental work, teachers provide students with opportunities to ask questions, design experiments, collect and analyze data, collaborate with peers, and reflect, 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.

Through the study of DP biology, students are empowered to make sense of living systems through unifying themes. By providing opportunities for students to explore conceptual frameworks, they are better able to develop understanding and awareness of the living world around them. This is carried further through a study of interactions at different levels of biological organization, from molecules and cells to ecosystems and the biosphere. Integral to the student experience of the DP biology course is the learning that takes place through scientific inquiry. With an emphasis on experimental work, teachers provide students with opportunities to ask questions, design experiments, collect and analyze data, collaborate with peers, and reflect, 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.

The IB Diploma Program visual arts course encourages students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It is a thought-provoking course in which students develop analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking, while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. In addition to exploring and comparing visual arts from different perspectives and in different contexts, students are expected to engage in, experiment with and critically reflect upon a wide range of contemporary practices and media. The course is designed for students who want to go on to further study of visual arts in higher education as well as for those who are seeking lifelong enrichment through visual arts

The IB Diploma Program standard level music course seeks to develop students’ knowledge and potential as musicians, both personally and collaboratively. IB Diploma Program music students are required to study musical perception and actively listen to a wide range of music from different parts of the world, musical cultures and time periods. They also develop aural perception and understanding of music by learning about musical elements, including form and structure, notations, musical terminology and context. Through the course of study, students become aware of how musicians work and communicate.

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.

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 also click the button below and 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