News from IB Diploma Coordinator
We have now reached the end of the first term of the Diploma Programme. Students have been allowed to review their choices and I would advise them now to settle into their courses and work towards optimizing their performance.
As stated many times, the IB Diploma programme is a rigorous pre-university programme, consequently students have to develop academic behaviors that will help them cope with the demands of this programme. As Mr. Randall stated in the last newsletter, good study habits are crucial to success in schools. It is even more so in the Diploma: students have to change their attitudes towards their work, they need to be able to manage their time among all the different components of the Diploma. More importantly, students have to develop study skills that will help them manipulate, process and apply all the information that they come across. Rote learning and reproducing content on paper is no longer the way to succeed in the Diploma. IB students as stated by the International Baccalaureate should develop thinking skills, social and communication skills as well as research skills.
It is challenging for students whose first language is not English to operate at a high academic level, therefore we have decided to offer an activity for our students where they will be guided towards developing skills in reading and writing that will help them reach their highest potential. Mr. Ramirez, our English DP teacher will be meeting students for this activity on Tuesdays from 3:00-4:00pm. I would advise parents to encourage their students to sign up for this activity in order to develop important skills which will help them in their studies.
Our Grade 11 students have also started their CAS programme. CAS stands for Creativity, Action and Service. Every full Diploma student is required to complete a variety of CAS activities over their 2 years of the IB. I introduced them to CAS back in September and they have all been given a CAS Handbook which will help them organize their activities. IB requires the students to come up with Self- Initiated activities- that is the students have to think and reflect on what type of activities they want to do, have a conversation with the Coordinator and write out the description of their activities. All their activities will be supervised by either a GAA teacher or a coach outside of school should their activity be one that is not within the school. The school is using ManageBac- a software used by all IB schools to keep track of their activities. Every student has been given access to this site and have already entered their activities. I am very pleased with this group of students: they are all very committed to complete their CAS and they have come up with some very interesting activities. This goes to show that left on their own, students can be very creative and independent.
Information about Assessments in the Diploma have been sent to all Grade 11 parents a few weeks ago. A parent’s information session on Assessments and CAS will take place on Monday 17th November. I hope many parents will be able to attend this session. A separate email will be sent to this effect.
An important message to all our Diploma Students: ‘Proper preparation prevents poor performance’.
Useful website: www.ibo.org
Jaimala Quinlan
IB Diploma Coordinator
Fall College visits
NOVEMBER
16th – Vassar College & Grinnell College, USA, 1:30pm
17th – Queen’s University, Canada, 12:00pm
19th – Bennington College & Wartburg College, 9:15am
16th – Vassar College & Grinnell College, USA, 1:30pm
17th – Queen’s University, Canada, 12:00pm
19th – Bennington College & Wartburg College, 9:15am
GAA SWIMMING UPDATES AND TRYOUT INFORMATION
Swim Tryouts will take place next week Sunday November 9th - Thursday November 13th 2014
From November 9th through to the end of May 2015, GAA will host advanced swimming training for students from KG2 - Grade 12. These are competitive swimming teams and are for students interested in representing GAA in competitions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Due to limited spaces, swimmers will be required to meet specific skills and endurance requirements to participate in this opportunity. Given the limited space and volume of interest, the strongest and fastest swimmers will be selected
Sunday and Tuesday, November 9th & 11th Open for KG2, GR 1 and GR 2 students After school Time: 3:00-4:15
Monday and Wednesday, November 10th & 12th Open for all advanced swimmers from GR 5-12 Time: 3:00-4:30
Tuesday and Thursday, November 11th & 13th Open for students in GR 3 - 4 Time: 3:00-4:15
Entrance Requirements (at coaches discretion)
If you do have any question or concerns, please contact [email protected]
From November 9th through to the end of May 2015, GAA will host advanced swimming training for students from KG2 - Grade 12. These are competitive swimming teams and are for students interested in representing GAA in competitions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Due to limited spaces, swimmers will be required to meet specific skills and endurance requirements to participate in this opportunity. Given the limited space and volume of interest, the strongest and fastest swimmers will be selected
Sunday and Tuesday, November 9th & 11th Open for KG2, GR 1 and GR 2 students After school Time: 3:00-4:15
Monday and Wednesday, November 10th & 12th Open for all advanced swimmers from GR 5-12 Time: 3:00-4:30
Tuesday and Thursday, November 11th & 13th Open for students in GR 3 - 4 Time: 3:00-4:15
Entrance Requirements (at coaches discretion)
If you do have any question or concerns, please contact [email protected]
Check out our 8th and 9th Graders during their exploratory EcoVenture trip!
Secondary students enjoyed dressing as their favorite character for the Day
during our Fancy Dress celebrations
during our Fancy Dress celebrations
Here is our Community and Secondary School Calendar - Scroll through the months to see what's planned for this year at GAA
Please make sure you check this calendar regularly for updates and new events