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IB matters A World for Learning April 2009 Douglas County High School 2842 Front Street Castle Rock, Colorado 80104 Volume 12 Issue 4 My Dream Trip to Spain & Morocco Many people much like me, when they were little, had certain dreams or long term goals that they wanted to see met and actually happen some day. I can remember that when I was a little girl I had a passion to explore and travel the world. I wanted to journey through every country and visit every place in the world. My dream was fulfilled last summer which in turn, rooted eagerness and an everlasting ambition to see more. Since I had never been out of the country before, I was filled with nervousness and anticipation for what was ahead. This was the first trip that I was making all on my own without my family or my parents guiding and protecting me: this was my first real opportunity going into the world by myself. My trip to Spain and Morocco became real life experiences that most people today, especially in the town of Castle Rock, never get the chance to go through. The people who never leave their homes believe that they are experiencing life through their books and classes and even the local movie theatre. In reality, the true experience of life is when a person identifies the fact that they are actually living it. In Spain and Morocco I knew I was living mine once I discovered the different smells, noises, sights, and people within these places. When I arrived in Spain I immediately got to witness the diverse culture within that specific country. We started in the city of (Continued on page 3) Looking for Your Dream Trip' Check out these exciting 2010 Opportunities Peru July 1st-July 21st 21 days for $3,800 Practice your Spanish and do a Service project CAS hours possible FUTURE JUNIORS AND SENIORS Up to 25 spots Fundraising possibilities Meeting 4/17 & 4/21 @ 6:30pm in 72S Teacher sponsor: Georgina Quintana Spain, Italy, France June 1st - June 12th 12 days for $3,300 Just a tour—NO service project OPEN TO MATURE, RESPONSIBLE STUDENTS 30 travelers only Fundraising possibilities Meeting 4/14 @ 6:30 pm in 72S Sponsor: Georgina Quintana & Annie Maechler If you can not attend a meeting come see Mrs. Quintana in 72S for information. “Dear IB Senior…” Dear IB Senior, When do you start studying for the IB Exams' How do I know WHAT to study' What happens if I don’t pass them' - Already Anxious IB Freshman Dear Anxious Freshman, Katherine Lewis, Derek Murphy, Elizabeth Crumb, Bryson Kissick (Thunderidge HS), Rachel Paroline (Thunderidge HS), Christiana Smith, Caley Potter, Tamara Thavarajah, Yvonne O'Niell, David Quintana (Future DCHS student) Normally, kids don’t start studying for their IB exams until second semester of the year the test will be taken. Throughout the year, you will receive information about what kinds of questions or topics may be asked. Each teacher also gives instruction on how to answer the questions to get the most credit, based on the grading rubrics. As it gets closer to testing, teachers will go over practice tests and will often hold numerous study sessions in preparation for the exams. Typing your notes periodically through your IB classes, and saving important papers connected to these topics will help, but the majority of studying occurs in the spring. Each IB test is graded on a scale from 1 to 7. Basically, you (Continued on page 6) Corner Coordinator’s Corner by Dr. Steve Fleet, DCHS IB Coordinator Student Potential Thrives in IB Program Education is desperately in need of new metaphors and models. Despite the prevailing rhetoric, education is not a business. Perhaps we should search the real and the natural world for apt comparisons. I think that the most powerful voices for authentic education, voices like those of JeanJacques Rousseau, John Dewey and Nel Noddings would agree. Education is a romantic enterprise with faith in the human spirit and hope for the future. Remove these elements and education becomes mere training while our culture becomes merely business. I am not going to try to develop metaphors here but I do want to draw attention to what authentic outcomes in education look like. I missed the presentation to the school board, as part of the district’s interest in student leadership, by the “Nourish Peace” group from Douglas County High School. I missed the presentation, but I understand the power of real student leadership that arises from an organic educational environment. I know that it is not about the presentation; it is not about school boards or administrators or teachers. It is about students pursuing opportunities, recognizing and expanding on their talents and making it into something real. The importance of real student leadership defies measurement because parameters and the human potential are incompatible. Nourish Peace as represented by several Douglas County students seeks to build and support schools in impoverished areas around the world, most notably Afghanistan. As an organization it believes that education promotes peace. At least two powerful forces operate in this student-generated connection to Nourish Peace. At the local level we see students identifying how they can make real contributions to the most noble of causes. On the international level we see how local education can help create an atmosphere that inspires young people to pursue the spreading of an atmosphere in which the creation of hope and possibility might inspire change. We like to take pride in our institutions, our democracy, our religions, maybe even our educational systems, but these institutions lose their vitality when they do not inspire us to relentlessly pursue the values that promoted their original creation. What is vital in our culture is a perpetual state of transformation. Ethical leadership seeks to assure that this transformation maintains its energy and does not fall victim to dogmatic, static complacency. Leadership seeks to assure that the transformative does not embrace the convenient at the expense the good. I see the potential in students everyday. These glimpses make my job the best job in the world. When students begin to venture into the realms of possibility not to fulfill requirements but because they recognize the necessity of doing so, they create the beautiful and they cast themselves in selfcreated roles that express all that is best in education. We should all be proud of such efforts, not because they are practical but because they are hopeful, not because they have guarantees but because they have promise. Nothing is more genuine that that. matters IB matters Huskie IBPO Board IB Coordinator Dr. Steve Fleet (303) 387-1131 Steven.Fleet@dcsdk12.org President Vice President Secretary Deborah.Wick@dcsdk12.org Treasurer Volunteer Coord Newsletter Comments, Suggestions, Articles Trish Kakenmaster newsletter@huskieibpo.com Hospitality Chair Website At-Large Karen Soules Suzanne LaRue Deb Griffith IB Administrative Assistant Deborah Wick (303) 387-1008 HuskieIBPO.com contactus@HuskieIBPO.com Carroll Lyn Steinberg Julia Radtke, Vicki Lucy Debbie Studebaker Trish Kakenmaster Barb Reinhart, Beth Farrar page 2 DCHS IB Matters April 2009 Spain & Morocco (continued from page 1) Madrid and experienced the urban part of this country. The city being a very old place going back to medieval times had a very unique quality to it. There were old ruin buildings and modern twenty-first century buildings right next to each other. I quickly grew accustomed to the traditions of this culture and learned of their siesta time. This is when people within a city will literally take a break from school or work and spend time with their families. They rest until later in the evening when they return to work. I learned of their style of eating and way of life. These adjustments helped me adapt to a completely different life style other than my own. Even in a bustling city such as Madrid, I understood how important cultural traditions are to the people of Spain. Family, religion, love and the ability to enjoy life is crucial to the people in Spain. This way of life was a breath of fresh air to me. Most people today in America focus on work and are always on the go; never valuing the time that they have. In Spain there simply isn’t anything more important than family and cultural identity. This way of life goes straight back to slower areas in the southern parts of Spain that I was given the opportunity to see first hand. The farther south we went in Spain the more culturally diverse everything became. Throughout the history of Spain there were three significant religious groups of people that at one point in time dominated the country of Spain until one took over the other. These were Catholics, Jews and Muslims. These three groups did not get along with one another and kept to their own groups of people. But if there is a cathedral standing today in southern Spain it was probably originally a synagogue and at one point a mosque in the 300’s and 400 A.D. These diverse groups have been intertwined and weaved together throughout history. In the Cathedral in Toledo the original capitol of Spain, there are stars of David on the marble floor. In Cordoba there is a cathedral with remnants of a Muslim mosque dating back to 300 or 400 A.D. In one section of the cathedral there is an immaculate golden cross of Jesus Christ and the entry way is still in the design of a mosque. Each place I saw had its own inimitable characteristics that specifically defined either the people who lived there or the cultural traditions among the people. As we continued our journey to the southern tip of Spain, I noticed that the language changed. Because of the diverse culture in Spain, the accent of the Spanish language is not the only change that people will notice. Rather, the actual language itself changes. Once we reached Costa del Sol, or Coast of the Sun, people were speaking Ladino which is a mixture of Spanish and Hebrew. My Spanish teacher Senora Quintana spent a summer in Spain. Being a native speaker of the Spanish language, she could simply ask the tour guide what accent the people used in the area and she could converse immediately with the people there. She enhanced my whole experience in Spain and Morocco. She belongs with the rare group of people who are so experienced and rich with culture that the gift she gives to others is truly experiencing the world. This is a special quality that common everyday people do not possess normally in life. She helped me converse with people in Spain and taught and introduced us to certain traditions in Spain; one being a bullfight. Most people frown upon this tradition, but the reality is this is the tradition of a totally different culture from that of an American. I learned how to respect the customs and way of life of another culture. This is a lesson most people never get to learn because they haven’t traveled and some do not have the patience to learn it. I continued to learn this once we reached our final destination, Morocco. We went to Tetouan which was the opposite from a tourist destination in Morocco. Here, I witnessed a third world country and saw very eye opening situations containing poor and desperate people who are simply trying to survive each day. The merchants were desperately trying to sell goods to us so they could do what families in America do every day, taking care of their family, feeding them and providing a roof over their loved ones’ heads. The experience in Morocco was border line scary, but in the end it was very rewarding. I got to see the world first hand and those are experiences that an individual needs to be able to treasure, because one learns more from these types of experiences than others. My journey that I went on with Senora Quintana fulfilled my dream of traveling the world. I gained so much more knowledge and appreciation for the world and my own life. Once I arrived back home, I remembered how grateful I was for my family, my friends, my home and my country. All of this was mine. I was grateful for the knowledge and experience that I had gained, but I was mostly thankful for who was waiting for me once I arrived back home. I also learned the value of loved ones and home. I learned to really appreciate what I have and what I had gained. This is a life experience worth learning all on its own. -Katherine Lewis ‘10 IB COUNCIL WEBSITE UP AND RUNNING! IB Council has taken the initiative to create a website for students, parents and faculty. This was a project created during the beginning of the school year that has been finally implemented for future years of IB. On the website, there are many tabs to allow people to understand what IB Council is and other important information such as AP and IB test dates in May. The most important part is the "contact us" tab that emphasizes the importance of leaving suggestions and comments to either email us at ibcouncil.dchs@gmail.com or to leave a note in the IB Council purple suggestion boxes that are placed in Mrs. Fleet, Mr. Umbach, and Mr. Craven’s rooms. These comments will be taken seriously by IB Council in order to make DCHS’ IB program a more successful one for future years to come. Please visit the website at www.freewebs.com/dchs-ib -Albert Hwang, ‘10 DCHS IB Matters April 2009 page 3 IB Bulletin Board Seniors—Give Thanks! Before you leave us! Remember your thank-you notes to the teachers and counselors who have helped you with college and scholarship recommendations letters, and especially, your extended essay! Juniors—Register for summer Essay Workshop! An Extended Essay Workshop will be held for DCHS juniors June 8-11 at Univ. of Denver. Sponsored by the IBPO, the workshop will cover essay components, guidelines, rubric, and research methods. Cost: $60, which includes $10 for a DU library card. Registration forms were mailed out last month to all juniors—register ASAP . . . first come, first served! Thank You to . . . . . . Waiting for names for helping Ms. Hire with conducting the Senior English orals in January. . . . Cheryl Monroe, Karen Soules, Susan Barz, Beth Moreau, Deb Whitelam, Jenny Follmer and Michele Hayden for helping fold the February issue of IB Matters. On the Huskie IBPO website (www.HuskieIBPO.com) . . . We received a couple of questions for ‘Dear IB Senior…’ about CAS. A complete description of CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) requirements is available on the website (see ‘Opportunities’ page). ACT Test at DCHS on April 22 All juniors throughout Colorado will be given the ACT test during the school day on April 22 at no charge. Many colleges accept this test for admission purposes, however, some colleges require the writing subtest of the ACT, which will NOT be included in this state mandated test. In any case, this is a great opportunity for students to test for free. There will be a delayed start on this day for all freshmen, sophomores and seniors (12:00), who are being asked to provide their own mid-day transportation. However, a supervised “study hall” will be provided for those that need to take the regular district transportation. 11th Graders—Senior Options for Next Year' If you have registered for Senior Options for next year, remember that you must submit ALL of the required DCHS (not CAS!) community service hours to the Counseling Office by May 1. You can get the form at the front desk in the Counseling Office. … Special Thanks to Debbie Studebaker and Barb Reinhart for arranging the IB display in the North building hallway Destinations for 2009 Internal Assessments Math Studies Math SL Math HL Biology Chemistry Physics Psychology SL Psychology HL Philosophy History English HL French B SL French AB SL Spanish B SL Music SL Group Performance Music HL Solo Performance Music HL Composition Dance HL Performance Theater HL Germany Kenya China Brazil Argentina Zambia Australia United States—Florida United States—New Jersey United States—Virginia United Kingdom United States—Virginia United Kingdom Argentina Ireland United Kingdom Argentina United States—Minnesota Switzerland DCHS IB Matters April 2009 page 4 Q & A with Sarah Johnson, DC IB Alum Sarah Johnson graduated from the IB Programme at manage the schedule and have taken the lessons I DCHS in 2006 and went on to attend the University of learned about time management with me to college. Denver. Here we visit with Sarah about how IB influIBM: Who was your favorite IB teacher/s' enced her and how her college experience is going. SJ: All of them! I remember playing intellectual jokes on IB Matters: What’s your major' How did you decide on Dr. Fleet (ask him about the post-it notes, or the critical analysis of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I remember Mr. that' Sarah Johnson: I am a theatre and anthropology dou- Umbach having us debate the meaning of a random ble major. The two majors complement each other very piece of tape on the table. I remember Mr. Whigdal askwell. I began college as an anthropology major, planning ing Lauren to put her quote on the wall. Most of all I remember that they were all invested in all of the students’ on a career in archaeology. Throughout my studies at DU, I discovered my passion for the theatrical arts could education, and teaching us to be people of the world. be explored in different avenues, I began looking at theatre as a cultural expression, and changed my focus to cultural studies in anthropology and dramaturgy and literary management in theatre. Dramaturgy and literary management deal with new play development and research for theatrical productions. Cultural studies allows for me to combine my two academic disciplines into a career and passion. IBM: You spent the last semester in Mongolia. What was your purpose there' What were the best and worst experiences you had' SJ: Mongolia was incredible. Everyone who has the opportunity to study abroad, should. The experience taught me invaluable life lessons about humanity, compassion and hospitality. I lived in another world for 4 months, and learned about myself as well as the people I stayed with. I was able to complete a month long research project concerning the foreign theatre in Mongolia and the effect of cultural and literal translation on productions. Hopefully, this is the beginning of my graduate level research, which will be focused in performance studies, the critical analysis of performance in culture. Mongolia is an incredible, hopeful nation, with unique cultural surroundings. I can’t wait to go back. IBM: What activities were you involved in at DC' SJ: Marching band, theatre, IB, Amnesty International, speech and debate, and National Honor Society. IBM: You were the lead in the musical My Fair Lady during the spring of your junior year. How did you manage that with all of your IB courses' SJ: Well, it was a lesson in time management. It can be tough fitting in all of your classes and various other activities, but I found that they were all worth it. I was able to IBM: Do you think that IB had any impact on your goals in college or beyond' SJ: Absolutely. IB gave me the discipline to achieve my goals and the exposure to new things to find them. While my college experience has been distinct (college is VERY different from high school, even IB) IB taught me how to handle new situations in the classroom and manage high level critique. IBM: What would you say to those who are considering whether or not to enter the IB program' SJ: Try it out! The first two years of high school are essentially the same track as AP. When you get to your junior year, you can look at the two programs and decide which one suits you best. IB provides a complete, interdisciplinary view of education, that was interesting and challenging. If you are up for a challenge, you will love IB! IBM: You're at DU, and graduating in 3 years. How were you able to do that' SJ: With my IB diploma, I brought in almost a year of credit. I was able to take a couple of summer courses and finish my two degrees in 3 years. Sarah Johnson, center, with her homestay family in Mongolia. DCHS IB Matters April 2009 page 5 “Dear IB Senior...”Advice from those that have been there (Continued from page 1) need 24 points in total on the 6 IB tests to get your diploma. So if you do poorly on one of your tests, it is still possible to receive your diploma (though there are a few specific conditions that affect this). Also, you can get bonus points by doing well on your Extended and TOK Essays that add to your overall test point total to help you reach 24 points. However, IB credit is still useful even if you don’t get all 24 points. Colorado state colleges won’t give you their automatic credits for getting the IB diploma, but they (and most other colleges) will often give you course credit (for the high-level exams and often for standard level) if you do well on individual exams, just like you would get for good AP scores. I hope this helps! ~ IB Senior Studying Hard Dear IB Senior, Did you take all three sciences in high school' Cause I hate Physics but I love all the others. I'm testing in Bio and Chem and I have even taken science electives but Physics, come on! Anyways Dr. Funk recommended it highly and I want to get a non-biased opinion. ~ IB Science Crazy Sophomore Editor’s comment: We received six responses to this question. Half of the seniors who responded had taken all three sciences and half did not. The half that did not, regretted not taking the third science so the overall answer was that you should try to take all three sciences if you can. Elizabeth C. expressed it best. Dear Crazy for Science, The answer to your first question is tricky. I tested in both Chem and Physics but I did not take IB Bio. I did take bio as a freshman so I don’t know if you would count that as taking all three sciences. Something else that makes answering this question tricky is that I planned to take AP Bio this year (my senior year) but the class wasn’t offered. I did however take Genetics first semester and Anatomy and Physiology sec- ond semester because I like science. I tried to take all three sciences in high school and it didn’t exactly work out for me. Now, as for the question should you take Physics I would absolutely say yes. This is probably because I really enjoyed both years of the class. I took both Physics and Chem as a sophomore and a junior and tested in both at the end of junior year. I intended to use one as my science and one as my sixth subject but let’s just say I didn’t do so hot in Chem (I am using psychology as my sixth subject now). I don’t know what your experiences with Physics are and why you say that you don’t like it but I would tell you that there is much more to physics than you think. I know that I was surprised by what I learned. Physics might also be helpful to your plans after high school. By taking all three sciences you become a well-rounded student which colleges like to see. Another thing to consider is the interconnectedness of all of the sciences. It is amazing to me the overlap that occurs within the sciences and an understanding of them all will help you immensely. So should you take Physics' It really depends on how it fits into your schedule. It also depends on if it will help you later in life. But my favorite thing to consider is if you want to truly embrace the spirit of IB and step out of the Chem and Bio comfort bubble. Look at it this way; you can try Physics now because I don’t think that there is any better time to try something new than in high school because if it turns out that you are really bad at Physics you have friends to suffer with you and an amazing group of teachers to help you succeed. Personally I hope that you take a risk, sign up for physics and let yourself be amazed by Mr. Kingery’s really, really bad jokes, well that and the wonders of Physics. Good luck with whatever it is you choose. ~ Elizabeth C. ‘09 Have a question for an IB Senior' Email: newsletter@ibpo.com (All questions and names kept confidential) Mrs. Hire and Mrs. Clever work with Juniors at the March mini-Extended Essay Workshop page 6 DCHS IB Matters April 2009 Did You Know . . . ' . . . that Colorado is ranked 3rd in the U.S. for IB Diploma pass rate for 2008' Diploma Pass Rate Michigan New Jersey Colorado Florida Missouri Washington Virginia Maryland New York Minnesota Oregon 89 % 81 % 80 % 77 % 74 % 74 % 73 % 70 % 70 % 70 % 69 % No. Exams Scoring 4 or above 86 % 86 % 86 % 84 % 79% 79 % 78 % 78 % 74 % 66 % 81 % No. of Diploma Candidates 198 188 870 3,714 190 460 1,112 641 904 227 415 No. of Diplomas Awarded 177 153 700 2,864 140 339 814 451 629 158 285 No. of Schools 8 9 21 49 8 14 35 19 35 12 14 Average Candidates Per School 25 21 41 76 24 33 32 34 26 19 30 . . . the top U.S. colleges that were sent IB student transcripts/test scores (2008)' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Univ of Florida Florida State University Univ of Central Florida Virginia Polytechnic Institute Univ of Virginia—Charlottesville Univ of Washington—Seattle Univ of California—Berkeley Univ of North Carolina—Chapel Hill Univ of Colorado—Boulder Univ of South Florida—Tampa George Mason University New York University Boston University Virginia Commonwealth Univ UCLA Univ of Texas—Austin Univ of Southern California Univ of Michigan—Ann Arbor Univ of California—San Diego James Madison University Univ of California—Irvine Univ of Georgia Cornell University Univ of Pennsylvania Univ of South Carolina—Columbia 1,204 397 393 365 362 361 349 339 280 273 265 247 239 236 235 232 221 220 205 199 190 183 179 178 175 . . . that DCHS students did SO much better than both North America and the World on their Extended Essay scores in 2008' 2008 Extended Essay Scores World 50 40 Percentage 30 20 10 0 A B C Grades D E North America DCHS Information source for all charts: IBO Website page 7 DCHS IB Matters April 2009 DCHS IB Calendar APRIL 20 22 23 24 26 28 NO SCHOOL — Parent / Teacher Comp Day ACT Test at DCHS DCHS Band Concert 7pm Annual IB End of Year Celebration 6:30pm-9pm Spring College Fair—University of Denver Ritchie Center 1pm—4pm DCHS Orchestra Concert 7pm MAY 1 2 Last day of school for IB Diploma Candidate Seniors PROM @ Mile High Station 4-22 6 14 21 IB EXAMS ACT Make-up DCHS Choir Concert 7pm Finals Periods 1, 2, 3 Graduation practice 1pm Honors Convocation 6:30pm 22 25 26 27 GRADUATION 9AM NO SCHOOL—MEMORIAL DAY Finals Periods 4, 5 Finals Periods 7, 8 / Last day of school JUNE 8-11 Extended Essay Workshop for Juniors at Univ. of Denver Douglas County School District International Baccalaureate Douglas County High School 2842 Front Street Castle Rock, CO 80104 NON—PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 388