Most of these were written by juniors, to advise new juniors. The last few are from sophomores and freshmen. They are otherwise in no particular order.

 

So while this past year has been extremely trying, it’s been really pretty awesome. I’ve found that being an upperclassman (woman, really) definitely has its advantages. Through these experiences, I’ve gotten to know my classmates, as well as myself, much better. Hopefully, you’ll find the knowledge that I’ve gained as much of a help to you as it would have been to me at the beginning of this year.

First of all, I have to emphasize how important it is for you to enjoy your high school experience. I mean the entire experience, not just being in IB. Go to the football games, scream your lungs out, and go to the dances to be crazy with all of your friends. Take the opportunity to get involved in all the different clubs and sports and other activities that you can, because you really are only young once and your four years here at BHS will pass by too quickly. Most importantly, don’t let the stereotypes that others may place on you because you are in IB restrain you from accomplishing anything that you want to while you are in high school.

Also, don’t give in to the temptation to conform to being the same kind of person that the people around you may have become. One of the things that I love the most about Bartow is that we are such a community, but sometimes it can be kind of brutal. For instance, if you make a decision that many people may look down upon, then they will do so without shame and very explicitly. Thus, it’s really hard to try and stand out in this crowd. But keep your chin up!  Bartow doesn’t last forever, and channel the negative feelings you may have for it towards making sure that you can pursue some sort of higher education out of this area and around many new people (that would bring along many new ideals for you).

Lastly, don’t be afraid to be around new people while you are in high school that you would typically not choose to put yourself around; you’d be surprised what you can learn from them. I know that for the most part you may have already had to put up with this in IB (after all, IB does imply that some of the students are more unique then others), but even more so, be open to those that are outside of your IB class. Contrary to what may be held as the popular belief, there are other people than those that are in every single one of your academic classes that will be graduating with you at the big ceremony at the end of May (or later, depending on if you graduate later than 2008 or not). So, um, don’t you think that it be a good idea in that case to get to know these people?

Let it be made imperative to you that high school is the time and place for you to grow up, but the major way in which you grow up is by making some pretty big mistakes. Life goes on, and those who really love you will forgive you no matter what. Always hold tight to your hope in the goodness of others, and in their willingness to love and accept you for the true person you are. Believe in yourself, and all the things that you wish to accomplish aren’t too far off for you. I hope you can take my word for it, because I definitely didn’t even think that I could make it as far as I have come (not just in IB, but in so many other areas of my life, too). Best of luck in the future, and keep the tradition of the “Home of Champions” alive as long as you are a part of it.

Kimberly Bentley

 

Dear Future IB Juniors,

I am writing you this letter as a pre-warning to junior year that awaits you. For those of you taking Physics as your science — life will be a breeze, as for those of you who will take Biology or Chemistry, study on time and get as much sleep as you possibly can! Although you may think taking Biology or Chemistry is overwhelming it’s not and it certainly pays off in the long run, especially with AP Exams and IB Exams.

I want you to realize that procrastination is NOT your friend this year, this is the first year in your high school lives where procrastinating will actually hinder your grade. Your 11th grade teachers know when you are slacking off and I would greatly encourage you to avoid the embarrassment of getting picked on by teachers such as Mr. Goss or Mrs. Smith.

Last but not least, I want to tell you that it would be advisable to finish all of your CAS hours in your junior year, seeing as it is a pretty easy going year, and most of you will begin to drive. I hope that despite all the standardized tests, essays, journals, random tests, and CAS hours you will enjoy possibly the best of your four high school years. Good luck.

Anonymous

 

Attention: Ms. Frisbie, Future Students, and Fellow Procrastinators

If you’re looking to read my letter as a way to procrastinate, you must know that I wrote this in order to procrastinate studying for other final exams.

Foremost, I’d like to address one of the most spellbinding characteristics of my IB junior year — its teachers. Although I’ve found that many of my past freshman and sophomore year teachers have changed, I’ve also noticed that my junior and senior year teachers have been there since most students’ parents. What made my year so great surprisingly, was not my friends (although they supplemented the ride), but it was definitely those teachers, despite their crazy homework loads. In an attempt to give you all advice and to highlight my year, I’ll go through each class. The weird thing is I remember all of it, and if your procrastination will prove to take you to the end of my essay, I commend you because I know if I had to read all of what I wrote I would die.

Mrs. Smith, my IB English teacher, proved to be NOTHING of what I expected. I came fresh from the groves of Mrs. Hardee who loved me simply because I threw pranks on her and made class (along with my pals Jackie and Katie) eventful. Coming into Mrs. Smith’s class I was labeled “brown.” Hopefully, I changed the color spectrum for Mrs. Smith, showing her that brown people are probably the most superior color ever. Previous classes told me that since I was brown, my essays would be graded lower. This was a definite change for me since my essays were always graded higher in Mrs. Hardee’s class for being female. Luckily, Mrs. Smith’s grading did not put me lower than a B but at a steady 89. Another one bites the dust I suppose. Even though Mrs. Smith tends to bark and growl like a dog during classes, she never means it. I appreciate her TONS for her innocence and weird sarcasm. For example, she makes you think she’s super mad at your class, and when she succeeds, she finds pleasure that people took her seriously. It’s a sick joke, I know but Mrs. Smith is not a well person. Just kidding!

Moving forward, Mr. Keers, the TOK teacher and Mrs. Smith’s boyfriend, has got a lot ahead of him. I haven’t written my extended essay yet, he has to grade it, and I feel sorry for the man. Although writing the extended essay is a pain to my ass, it must be a pain to his to grade 50 4,000 word essays that many times have no coherence. Plus, I’ve learned that if you are in Mr. Keers’ class, it doesn’t matter where you sit to hide the fact that you’re sleeping, he knows. He has a strange resemblance to both Albert Einstein and Dr. Phil which is why I imitated Mr. Keers for my TOK project. He must have liked it because our group got the only A. Also, for my sake and for the Amazon Rainforest’s sake, please tell Mr. Keers his load of handouts is ridiculous. ALSO! Don’t eat the chocolate because it’s addicting and I swear you’ll gain 10 pounds and a tire around your waist, encompassing your butt. Never clean your table because I find that the dirty table and erasing the dirt to make pictures with my eraser is one way I can keep awake in the class. And, never look Mr. Keers in the eye, you’ll get either a load of sarcasm that you won’t know it is sarcasm OR you’ll start laughing.

So, I’m at MR. GOSS. He’s the most Republican man you will ever meet. If you took AP Euro with Mr. Shuff (which I have no idea why since I warned future generations already of my mistake), you’ll see that Mr. Goss is more right than Mr. Shuff is left. Be completely honest and completely true with Mr. Goss because you’ll find he means no harm, he just cares. Probably the greatest thing about this guy is his caring attitude. Since I was a basketball player and usually quiet in his class, he always looked out for my well-being, to the point where I think he thinks I’m anorexic. (I’m not, mind you.) His sayings probably stick more in your head than EVER (i.e.: pukin’, farfelhead, dumb jock, your momma’s left handed). And although it seems as though his demanding ways are too much, it actually does help. I walked out of that AP test room wanting to treat the man to Moe’s. By the way, if you want to get good favor with him tell him from the get-go that you LOVE buffets and you LOVE baseball and basketball and ESPN is your news.

Sweet, I’m half way done. My next teacher is Señora Anderson. This lady is crazy but all in good fun. The topics discussed are real life issues such as sex and drugs. It’s amazing to me that the things we go through today are pretty much transcendent over time. She’s probably one of the most sweetest teachers you’ll ever have simply because she cares so much about you to warn you of the dangers. However, I do advise you to buy an AP Spanish language book, because I found that this year we only studied AP Spanish literature. In all, I know I’ll pass that test but not the language which is very sad. Also, she makes you do these weird assignments that you haven’t done since the 5th grade such as making travel brochures and making pictures of donkeys. She does have purpose though. She sent ours in to some State Competition and we won first and second place in the category!!! I guess the award is elevated if I don’t tell you that we were the only school entered in that category. Ouch… we’re the best because we’re the only ones that entered. ALSO! Know that Senora Anderson sings Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison. If you have a karaoke machine, I suggest you bring it because you’ll be in for two things. 1) a class filled with laughter and a year full of memories and Anderson imitations AND 2) a class period with no work. I’ve also learned that if you smile and say “HOLA SENORA” every time you walk in, she’ll like you better.

I guess the next person on my list is Mrs. Kennon. You’ve had her your freshman year and she’ll be nothing like she was back then, I promise. Well she will to some degree. She’s not as uptight because she knows all of what you have to go through as juniors. She cares for her students to the point where she’s offered us her home to sleep if we didn’t want to go home to our own. I’ve never taken her up on that because frankly I feel weird if I woke up in the morning to her voice. No offense to her, I already told her that. My most recent memory of her is probably her lecture on the reproductive system. If you crack up jokes, she won’t get mad. Then again, it largely depends on if she likes you. She tells us every time that she doesn’t mind saying terms such as penis and vagina and other words, but every time she looks at me she starts to giggle. Probably because I’m squirming in my seat making funny faces. Also, the fact that I can always compare her scientific lectures to something we can all relate to, makes the class both easy and fun. We ended the reproductive system knowing that the mucus in your nose is the same as the mucus in a lady’s ahem. I’d also like to talk about her labs. They’re crazy but you’ll get over it, I promise. Always know that someone in your biology class knows what they’re doing. Make sure you have their number or screen name. Or you will die. Also, a word of advice: Don’t play a prank on Mrs. Kennon unless if you want to send her through a catatonic stage. I decided one day I would get someone to call her and say “Mrs. Kennon, this is Mr. So and So from Florida Southern and I regret to inform you that all of your AP biology test scores have been invalidated.” Let me tell you, when I came 10 seconds later to tell her it was a joke, the lady was making all the freshman shut up and was trembling. I felt bad but she took it okay. The next day most kids in the program knew, which I particularly found funny since I’ve been infamous for my pranks on Mrs. Hardee and Mrs. Harris-Craven.

SWEET! I’m at Mrs. New who’s probably one of the teachers you won’t forget in your lifetime. Or at least I won’t. She’s my psychology teacher and honestly I wasn’t looking forward to this class because it took me away from having a whole year’s worth of an elective. Luckily, it was a breeze class up until the AP test. Personally, that beast was tamed by me simply because I paid attention. So I guess a word of advice is to pay attention. I probably have more memories of this lady than any other and would share them all but you’d have to ask because many are not G-rated. It’s psychology for goodness sakes, nothing is G-rated. But I’ll go into depth nonetheless. Another word of advice: Don’t do anything to piss off Mrs. New. She knows how to DDT (a WWF move) and she’s got this… no fear for anything. Pretty much if you decide to do something, she’ll get you back. For example, at the Shakespearean festival, she was chosen to be at the pie toss. Basically, I bought two pies and shoved it in her ears. After others went, she decided to stand up and find me and hug me. Luckily, she got my best friend and not me. After hearing about this feat, I decided to buy another pie just because and I stuffed it up her nose and in her ears. And up to this day I’m scared of what she’ll do simply because I know she’ll do something. In fact I’m having an online conversation with her concerning tomorrow’s IB Paper 2. She’s real dedicated to what she does and that’s pretty much how most of the IB teachers are. Don’t take them for granted because nobody else I know has such a hard working group of teachers. Plus. Mrs. New doesn’t simply have sympathy but empathy. She’s been through more than most people and can pretty much say “yeah I know what you mean” and actually know. Oh and one last word of advice. Don’t take advantage. If you turn in ALL your work the night before grades are due, SCREW YOU. You deserve a B.

Last but not least. Ms. Frisbie. Now I’m not just saying this because she’s actually going to read it, but she IS the most dedicated person I know. Not even just dedicated teacher but dedicated person. She was in line to be the next Albert Einstein and invent something that could kill people across the globe and probably life outside of earth, but she was too smart, she became a teacher instead. She doesn’t know it, but I pride on telling non-IB students that I have a google search engine for a teacher. You can pretty much ask her anything and she’ll have an answer for it, even though sometimes it’s not true. She has a way of making you think it is. For example, the first day she asked us if we knew why m stood for slope. Nobody knew, and basically nobody in the math world knows… except for Ms. Frisbie. The reason why m is used for slope is because it was once called mlope. Stupid me actually believed her. And that takes me to why she’s like google and why you have to be careful. People on the internet make up things for gullible people like myself to use and teachers who are smart like IB teachers know that you got it off google simply because you’re wrong. Anyway, nobody else I know stays at school to make a website to post how to do a certain problem for review. The lady stays up in her class till FOREVER doing every single problem in the review sets ONLINE and posts them so stupid, incompetent math folks like me can understand it. It helps like a bunch so I suggest you use that. Save it on Favorites. Tell your friends about it. Or at least look at the Wise Words and What Not in order to procrastinate for later assignments. Basically, she told me something important yesterday that pretty much sums up why she goes through all of this. “My point is not to make your life a living hell,” and that’s true. Math is a living hell for me, but at least I got someone willing to show me how to do it.

That’s what makes IB so great. It’s what makes your junior year so much easier. I’ve found that I’ve grown to like my teachers more than my classmates which is really sad to some degree. But if you think about all the sacrifices made, you’ll eventually see why. The ride to college is long simply because either you wanted to come to IB or because your parents made you, but look at it this way, you’ve got 7 teachers that pretty much care more than the average teacher and you’re learning so much more than you ever would before. I hate this mushy gushy stuff simply because I’m not that kind of person to give advice anymore. It’s always been about sarcasm and wit with me. So I guess other stuff is CAS hours: do two sports and join some creative clubs. I’ve only got 20 hours left so it’s pretty sweet. Do swimming, it’s an easy way to get hours. And if you’re a complete baller like me play basketball.  So in closing, I’d like to say don’t procrastinate but I know you all will (it’s a legacy that makes us great) and quit IB before it’s too late. Just kidding!

From the greatest ‘07 member,

Mae “Mawi” Mercado

 

Dear Newbie Juniors,

I begin with a warning to all the procrastinators: don’t expect much pity from me when it comes to your Junior year. You’ve been told over and over again how to survive: don’t put things off, get more than 3 hours of sleep a night, and don’t think that CAS will just take care of itself if you leave it alone. And you’ve also been told that you probably won’t do those things. Well, I’m proof of what happens if you actually DO what your upperclassmen warn you about: I have straight A’s for the first time in my life, I have 126 CAS hours recorded, and I got a very pleasant 8 hours of sleep last night. I’m even writing this 3 days before it’s due. So just for you, darling Juniors, I have compiled a list of things to help you out so that maybe you can enjoy a relatively stress-free Junior year like I have.

—On the first day of school, go around and ask for all of your teachers’ phone numbers and/or email addresses. These will save you. There has been more than one instance when I have desperately emailed Frisbie from the convoluted labyrinth that is Portfolioland and it’s never taken her more than just a few minutes to send me in the right direction again. (Note: It is also a good idea to determine the exact location of Gary Goss’s house, albeit for much less scholarly reasons.)

—Pick up a sport. Swim is a good one, for three major reasons. First, it’s a great source of exercise, and second, it’s great for collecting CAS hours. Third, take a good long look at Michael Phelps’s body. It’s like that, only everywhere.

—Choose your science elective with care. For you biology kids, there will be a period of time where you have multiple labs per week. But never fear: http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/sample%20ap%20lab%20reports.htm click that link, and thank me later. Chem kids, I applaud you for apparently understanding organic chemistry better than I do. And to anyone considering physics: prepared to be ridiculed by everyone who ISN’T in physics.

—And last but not least, here’s how to make your classmates really love you: Smith always distributes journal questions as the material is covered, but people usually wait until a week before it’s due to even think about where theirs went. Retype your questions and put them on the internet, and when that fateful week comes, link your friends to the questions online. This will make you by far the most popular person in your class, if only for a week.

—Junior year really is quite easy if you take it one step at a time, and make sure that each of those steps doesn’t have a due date within the next 24 hours. Believe me, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as sitting back and watching everyone else scramble desperately to get things done when you were done yesterday, not to mention getting more than 6 hours of sleep a night. Just keep your head up, your shirt tucked in (around Gossyboy and Frisbie, anyway), and keep on truckin’. You’re halfway there.

Kat Artman, class of ‘07

 

Dear Class of 2008,

I hope you guys have enjoyed your sophomore year, but its time to move on and try to fill the shoes of the best junior class ever (in case you can’t take a hint, that would be my class, 007 baby). The first thing I want to tell you is that junior year is really not as bad as everyone says it is. Yeah, it is more work than you are used to, but you’ve got really great teachers who are going to be there for you every step of the way. Some advice about the teachers and their assignments I wish I had known this when I started. First, Mr. Goss. He is not a person you should take seriously except maybe when he is reviewing for a test, because if you do, not only will you be horribly offended because he told you “up your nose with a rubber hose,” you will also end up in dead-end arguments with him and not get anything accomplished. He is a softie at heart, and as long as you don’t take his republican fascist chauvinistic sentiments seriously, you will learn to love him. And if he gets out of hand with the chauvinistic remarks, you can always call on Patsy, his wife in the 500s hall to take care of it because she definitely wears the pants in that relationship. I should also warn you that anyone who chose Bio, which is the majority of you, you have your work cut out for you to try and keep a 100% pass rate on the AP test (and yes, I know we haven’t gotten the results on the AP tests yet, but I can already tell you that we completely owned it). Bio is a hard core class, so don’t go in there thinking it’s going to be a piece of cake. Mrs. Kennon expects the absolute best out of her students, so you want to be up to par. But, if you want to get her off task, ask her about the vagina pirates and to draw the respiratory system for you. Just trust me. Portfolios in math, if you choose to take trig, are going to be another burden, but they really aren’t all that hard. Ms. Frisbie is really helpful and you can email her at 10:00 the night before it’s due and she will still help you. And, she knows almost everything, so if you are trying to do your history homework in her class, though she will probably be a bit annoyed with you, she will still know the answer and help you out. Another thing I should warn you about: you want Mrs. Smith to like you because she and Mr. Keers are dating, and if she doesn’t like you, you are screwed in two classes. For example, when you are upset because you just found out that all your journals are due next week and you haven’t started, that you choose not to vent in ToK with Keers. Yeah, about those journals, Smith will spring those on you, so as hard as it is, try to keep up with them because they will come back to haunt you and make your life hell. Please trust me on that because they succeeded in making my life hell for a few days while I rushed to finish. Even though it’s a lot, I really feel that you guys will be okay through junior year. Don’t get caught in the trap of hating everyone around you, because you are going to need each other more than you can imagine. Of course, you will annoy the crap out of each other at some point, but try to find love in your heart for them and move past it. You have way more important things to do than fight with your classmates. You also have a lot expected of you now by your teachers, your family, and your friends, so be ready to kick it up in the responsibility arena. A lot of things are going to change for you in the coming year, but don’t be afraid of it, just keep on trucking and everything will work out exactly like it’s supposed to. I wish you the best of luck as you try to get through the first part of the IB experience.

Katy Burke, class of 2007

 

Dearest class of 2008,

I won’t lie to you, junior year is stressful and a lot of work but if you can handle your time well you will do just fine.  This year is comprised of some of the greatest teachers you will probably ever have.  Use that to your advantage and stay on their good side, they may be writing your recommendation letters!  Also, the teachers are really easy to talk to and many of them stay late, I know it’s crazy we run out of school the second we can, but if you’re struggling it is really good to go talk the teacher.  Number one it shows you’re trying and number two they might actually be able to help you!

The classes are all interesting and all though some days the classes seem to drone on and on STAY AWAKE!  Tape your eyelids up, do whatever is necessary because what you’re taught in class does come back to haunt you!  Although you have a different Spanish teacher be sure to practice speaking!  It’s okay if you sound dumb with your friends as long as you’re getting practice. Theory of Knowledge class you get a lot of worksheets… DO THEM!  Also, discussions can be fun so if you have something to say you should just say it.  Trigonometry is a very good class and like I said before if you listen to Ms. Frisbie and you do her homework assignments all will go well.  Actually reading the books in English helps, a lot.  Spark notes doesn’t really help you get better grades on the test, on the quizzes maybe but not on her tests.    History, get used to Mr. Goss calling your mother left handed and calling you pinko communist pigs and hoping that the birds of paradise fly up your nose.  Study for the tests and read the book, that’s the most important thing.  His standardized tests are hard so you need to study hard for those.  Mrs. New is the psychology teacher and she is really good as long as you listen.  Don’t take advantage of her being nice by talking while she is, she knows a lot if you just listen.  I took chemistry for my science and it’s not all great and dandy.  You only have labs and tests for grades so you better do well on your tests.  Labs are usually pretty easy as long as you do them on time and show your work.  The tests are just ok so be sure to study. Overall what you need to do to succeed is do your work, talk with your teachers, and pay attention!

Out of the 180 days we go to school there will probably be 100 days where you think you can’t do it but remember that it’s possible.  I mean, I’m still alive and well for the most part. J   You will be stressed and at these times take a breather, know your limitations.  Support each other, too!  You’re all going through the same things, don’t turn your backs on one another. Remember, you’re a teenager, you’re supposed to have fun with your friends and you’re supposed to do stupid things but also remember you’re soon going to be an adult and you need to be professional and serious at times.  I wish you the best of luck next year even though I know that if you all put your heart to it, you can do anything.

Been there, done that and I feel your pain! J

Jackie Simons  c/o 2007

 

I’m sure that most, if not all, of you have already received valuable information and advice from other juniors about this year (or maybe not). Well, let me very briefly clarify one thing: Junior year is NOT impossible. In fact, from my experience, this year has been one of the greatest so far. No doubt you’ll find that the work load has increased, but don’t let that intimidate you or give you any false illusions. Remember that time when you asked your friend how that “Rhoden test” was and he or she told you it was easy, but it turned out to be difficult beyond reason? Junior year’s not like that. Only when you have experienced it for yourselves can you really make a sound judgment.

One thing that I’ve noticed: junior year was not “harder” than sophomore year (in fact, for many, it was the other way around). Sophomore year consisted of tests, essays, and reading, while junior year was work (but all VERY manageable, unless you’re taking biology where some worksheet questions seem like they don’t have answers that can be found in the known world yet). As of now though, here are some soothing words to quell your anxieties: Ms. Kennon gives you crazy amounts of extra credit in Bio II (take advantage of them; as for Bio III, I seek some advice myself). For Chemistry II, pay attention to those reviews right before a test. For those of you who love labs, hands-on experiences, leeway on assignment deadlines, and fish bowls constantly filled with chocolate and sweets, physics is the way to go. Above all though, make sure you pick a science that interests you; if you can’t choose between sciences, make your decision based on which classes you think will be most useful and will make your junior year the most memorable.

For Spanish students, make sure you really know the different tenses of verbs. If you are planning to take the AP Spanish exam, good luck. Prepare well. As for American history, you will definitely enjoy Goss’s remarks, stories, and class. If you’re not a history person, make sure you read the chapters. Goss knows what he’s talking about. The horror stories on journal questions have to do with English; however, as long as you manage your time well and stick to schedule, you’ll be fine. Read your books, pay attention to notes, and do not forget about CAS hours.

Finally, for Trig, embrace yourself for a class filled with nonstop learning about everything (really). Never slack on your Trig homework if you want to do well in Ms. Frisbie’s class. In addition, no one’s too good to take notes for the notebook quizzes (although some may think so; that is, until the second notebook quiz rolls around). If math is not your forte, ask questions that you need clarified (everything in math builds on everything else, so don’t leave a question unanswered). Ms. Frisbie knows uncountable ways to explain a single problem, and she’ll make sure you’re not left behind.

In general, enjoy all of your classes and remember that your teachers are not only mentors and friends; they’re human too. They like to see people getting along, laughing (as long as it’s not at anyone), and most of all, paying attention. This should go without saying, but at this moment in time, you should all know each member of your IB class pretty well (or at least recognize that those people exist). If not, start learning their names. In the IB world, it’s important to have a coherent class. Help each other out. Only IB kids can relate to long nights of anguish, turmoil, and sleep deprivation on a personal basis. With that in mind, start the year off right, and end the year feeling accomplished.

Ye Yao

 

Advice to upcoming juniors:

First off, you all need to think hard about which science course you choose to take. It will affect your entire junior year. If you choose to take one of the harder courses, like Biology or Chemistry, you’ll be spending hours studying and doing labs. If you enjoy that stuff then go for it, if you’re not really sure, then I advise you to take Physics. It will save you a lot of heartache. Also, if you are a lazy procrastinator, then do not take a hard science. You could very possibly ruin your grades this way.

Secondly, take advantage of this year because it is quite an easy one. Join clubs that you enjoy, get a car so you can go places, get into sports, and basically get involved. You’ll have fun, plus you can get tons of CAS hours so you won’t have to worry about them come senior year. So don’t waste your spare time by playing video games or watching TV, go out and do something!

Thirdly, keep your friends close because they’re so important in life. Even if you start getting annoyed with everyone around you; just think – it could be worse. So let little things slide and don’t get into nasty fights with people. Fights are bad. Plus friends are great for when you’re overloaded or feeling down, but they’re especially good for those crazy fun weekends that you’ll never forget.

Also, the teachers this year are probably the best that you will ever have in IB. They’re actually really understanding, and will work with you if you have problems or troubles. So take advantage of this and stay on their good side as much as possible!

All these things are important because you’ll be applying for colleges right after junior year. So you’ll need to keep your grades up.

Some random tips are to read all (or at least most of) the books in English. If you don’t read then you will bomb her tests and make things harder on yourself in senior year when you’ll need to know the works. Also, Sparknotes will not help on majority of the English tests. If you don’t listen to that advice, then at least keep up with her weekly vocabulary. For history, read the book! Basically his chapter tests are based word for word from the chapters. Don’t come in late for trigonometry because Ms Frisbie WILL give you a tardy, and tardies are bad. So are absences, so don’t skip school!

Lastly, I hope that by now you know how to handle stress. You all know yourselves better than ever, and know what you can and can’t handle. If you know you don’t have the ability survive all nighters, then don’t procrastinate. Learn to manage your time well if you haven’t yet. Have fun this year, don’t overload yourselves, but still study and do your best. You’ll have a great year!

Michelle Brumwell

 

To Jaclyn, my favorite incoming junior:

Get out. Now, while you still can. No, I’m just kidding. As your elder, this letter is to address what you should do next year as a junior in IB. I advise you to of course, take my advice, but I know you won’t. How do I know this? I didn’t take any advice that any of the seniors gave me last year.

First things first, STOP PROCRASTINATING! Seriously. Pulling all nighters for English journal questions, trig portfolios, and history DBQ’s is not fun. Not only is it not fun, it’s stupid, and your grade will reflect it. If you do procrastinate, I better not see any complaints on your live journal or hear you complain about the stress and how you can’t get everything done; it is your own fault. Don’t expect any comfort from me; I will laugh at you. In all honesty, I procrastinated horribly and it wasn’t really that bad. The side effects of procrastination are major loads of stress and looking and feeling dead. So yeah, if you have to procrastinate, do it, but there are a few things I highly recommend that you do on time. First and foremost, trig portfolios. Do them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. No joke, they blow hard if you put them off; it would be similar to castrating a whale by means of paper cuts. Basically everything else you can procrastinate with and be fine with. Oh yeah, you might want to do your psychology internal assessment on time as well.

In regards to your teachers next year, watch out. If you take physics (which I recommend that you don’t), you will have the wonderful Mr. Keers. He is lenient, yes, but that is a bad thing. You will eventually get to the point where you will have an exuberant amount of work to do in his class and you won’t do it because you can turn it in late. That mindset, that physics work doesn’t matter, will hurt you SO BAD. It would hurt worse than getting run over by an eighteen wheeler and not dying; just having half of your body severed, laying on the pavement waiting for someone to stop and call the ambulance. I will literally slap you if you ever even begin to think that you can put off your physics homework. Mrs. New is also an extremely lenient teacher, but in her case, it’s a good thing. You can walk all over her to China and back and she will smile and tell you she loves you. I don’t want you to do this, because I really, really like Mrs. New, but if you really can’t get all of your homework done, just don’t do your psychology homework. Ms. Smith is a crazy old lady and that’s all you need to know about her since she won’t deem you a “brown person.” Mr. Goss is a conservative nut and a sports fanatic. If you are left-handed, I strongly advise you to learn to write with your right hand. According to him, I failed the AP test because I am a left-handed “FEL” (fish-eyed liberal). Also, when you write your DBQ’s, make your thesis at least a page long. He only reads the thesis… “If you don’t have a thesis, you’ve got feces!”. Mr. Keers for ToK is a joke. Procrastinate, a lot, but only until it comes to the extended essay. DO EVERYTHING FOR YOUR EXTENDED ESSAY ON TIME!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress the importance of that. You will get tired of hearing it, but you really do need to do that on time. Finally, Ms. Frisbie. Out of all the teachers, she is definitely the smartest. She also gets pissed off if you talk while she is talking, so don’t. Unlike many of your teachers, she will actually teach you stuff, which is useful for things like IB tests. Study for her tests and do all your homework because your grade depends on it. Also, don’t sleep in her class because it will affect you. Any other class is fine to sleep in.

Extracurricular activities… wow. Okay, so my junior year, I played soccer, ran cross country, stayed after on Mondays for ultimate Frisbee, and I have a job. Not to mention the various clubs I’m involved in and all the things I did for CAS hours. (CAS hours also are of great importance and you need to start them ASAP if you haven’t already.) Should you do anywhere near all of this? No, please don’t. Don’t quit cross-country, and you better do track next year, but do not, I repeat, DO NOT get a job! Do not participate in sports that overlap each other either; they are a pain in the butt. If you don’t take my advice and get a job and play sports that overlap each other, you will be so, unbelievably tired, all of the time. I missed so much school this past year because I couldn’t wake up in the morning. Ms. Smith had to start calling me to get me out of bed. When it gets to that point, it’s just bad. Even if I did make it to school, I would fall asleep during class and miss out on so much. No matter what else that you are doing, school should remain your focus, no matter what. Don’t let anything get in the way of your education, and I mean ANYTHING. You are too young for boys, so don’t even think about that. -_- My innocent Jaclyn will NOT be corrupted.

So Jaclyn, with all of this, I wish you good luck. I am 100% positive that you will be absolutely fine next year. JUNIOR YEAR IS NOT AS HARD AS EVERYONE SAYS IT IS. Trust me, you are a smart girl, all you have to do is keep it up = ). Be a champion and probe you inner self!!

Your CRAZY Adri!!!!!

Adri Eaton

P.S. BURN THE SCHOOL DOWN!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^

 

To The New Upcoming Juniors:

As you are entering a new era in your high school life, entering the real IB, you need to understand that all your actions now are going to have to consequences that could affect the rest of your life…. Yeah that’s what all teachers and your parents want you to believe; however  your junior year in this program could be one of the easiest or at least not as stressful as it may seem if you follow my advice and these little tips to get through this year.

First of all, you need to understand that choosing the correct science that you want may help you make this year much easier. If you want to make sure that you will pass all your exams either take Biology with Mrs. Kennon or Chemistry with Mrs. Bond both of them are amazing because they are the best at what they do; however, there are big difference between their classes: Mrs. Bond’s class is the one with the least amount of work but it has the hardest test that you will ever take and trying to keep a high grade is hard but not impossible, Mrs. Kennon’s is a hard class with very long Lab write ups and lots of notes taking but keeping a high grade… its not hard there Mama Kennon always has your back. If you, however like lots, and I mean a lot, of easy busy work and don’t really care about passing your exams then takes Physics with Mr. Keers that is the best choice if that’s the type of lifestyle you would like to follow. Choosing the right science is just the first step to making your junior year as stress free as possible.

To make your life much easier this year you will need to know some other useful information about your classes and teachers: Let’s start with History, Mr. Goss may seem at first as “pinko-communist pig” who will threaten you with “burning your house down” if you don’t do as he tells you, but honestly he is a great man that only wants the very best thing down at heart, even if you have to dig pretty hard to find it. Mrs. New and her psychology class are amazing, the class may seem boring and that you are not learning anything but Mrs. New does an incredible job and when it comes down to AP and IB test time you will see that her crazy stories and her “different” experiences truly have taught you more about life and psychology itself more than you thought. Ms. Frisbie, who teaches Trig and Analyt, is the best out of the best, you could not have asked for someone better. Her class is lots of fun, trying to catch her mistakes to get candy at the end of the week. One thing I do recommend to all you procrastinators — the only thing you might not  be able to get away with is the Portfolios in this class, do them as soon as you get them and don’t wait until the night to do it, it is not a good idea. Theory of Knowledge with Mr. Keers may seem like one of the easiest classes you have, and it is, however don’t try to miss this class too much because the amount of work you miss is incredibly huge and answering all those worksheets by yourself and in your own time becomes a nightmare. One class that most people tend to never forget is English with Mrs. Smith, this lady is just plain crazy. Remember that, and try to remember that even though she doesn’t like “brown” people much we are always capable of proving her wrong, at least I was even though my brown comes from  a completely different area of the world. Finally I hope you didn’t choose French as your foreign language but if you did the only thing I can say is pray that you are one of the lucky ones to which French comes easily, she is a good teacher but for some reason the class itself seems really boring and the idea that you are not good at this may truly bring you down, so just do the work and that’s all I can say there is no way to make this class easy or fun.

Well new juniors, that’s all the advice I have for you take it and make your life a bit more easier; I truly hope you have a great year and that all works out for you. Good luck at being Juniors and enjoy it because before you know it it’s done and there is no turning back.

Sincerely

Johana Rendon

 

Dear upcoming IB Juniors and Trig students,

I guess I can give you plenty of advice about what to do and not to do so that you can get through the next year successfully, although I know that you are going to make a lot of the same mistakes most of every other class, including my own, have made. That’s part of the experience: late nights, high stress, AIM or My Space chats (“study sessions”), and, of course, the cause of all of these things, PROCRASTINATION. Most of you have been through two years of this already, but you’ve only been exposed to a low voltage of what’s to come. Keep in mind, this advice will help if you take it, but I know that we IBers thrive on difficult situations; it’s basically a requirement just like CAS hours, except I’m sure we invest many more hours in avoiding our homework than we do helping the community. At least make an attempt to start the year off right by taking some of my advice to heart.

I think, for me, the most important factor in getting through this year was having a good mindset. You’ve probably heard rumors about the animalistic Mr. Goss, the growling Ms. Smith, the Bio labs or Chemistry tests, and so on and so forth, and some of you may already hate even the thought of being involved with any of these people or in any of these tasks. As bad as the rumors may be, you aren’t going to find a better experience than what our program has to offer. Your teachers, believe it or not, have proven themselves completely competent, and I think you will find that you will actually learn this year, not just memorize facts. The key is to enter your new classes with some assumption that you will enjoy what’s to come. There is something fun to be found in every situation, even if it’s just the people you have in your class. Just try it. Don’t be close-minded. If you give it a week and decide something still sucks, then maybe you have some justification. But give it a try.

For all of you who are forced to be in IB or just don’t think you could tolerate the kids from your home schools, and have no aspirations of enjoying the program (I think you will anyway), here are some pointers to make you hate things a little less. First, do your journal questions. You should be able to get a few books covered over the holiday breaks, and you’ll love when everyone’s scrambling to finish their work the night before, when you’ve been done for a month. It’s those big, tedious assignments which bog you down and overwhelm you, but you have TONS of time to do them. This goes for any of the big assignments, including portfolios and orals. Second, and this is for the Chemistry kids especially, keep your notes in a bound notebook (composition, spiral), that way they are accessible and don’t take up much space. Of course there’s that whole speech on not procrastinating, and although this helps SO much (I have been successful at this at times), I know it’s impossible not to procrastinate at some (many) points. Just make sure the work gets done. You know the drill.

Ya, the school work’s important, you kind of need it to graduate, but there’s more to life than the grades (haha). First, love your IB friends. If you can’t love them, at least respect them and tolerate them. I can tell you that our class is pretty much the most cohesive to go through the program, and compared to the class above us, which was divided into like a dozen factions, unity makes a big difference. The kids in your class are the only ones going through exactly what you are. When you really need to go online at 1:00 a.m. and ask for that assignment you lost, I hope you’re not stranded because the only people left online are people you’ve disowned or have disowned you. Your IB friends are your family, your tutors, your friends, your support group, and your equals. Seriously, take pictures, go out, have fun.

Finally, realize where you are. You’re in one of the best programs in the nation, if not the world. You’re surrounded by some of the brightest and most entertaining persons around, and to ignore all of this would be a waste. You will walk out of this program completely prepared for that transition into college: I already feel this way even though right now I’m stressing out about senior year and summer hasn’t even begun. You will look back at the end of the year and not even realize how much work you have done. The work is there and then it’s gone. You will get through it, and with any effort (and maybe a couple cups, or pots, of coffee), you will be successful. Just get the work done and find some time to enjoy where you are right now.

Jennifer Dowd

 

Dear sophomores,

Next year you finally enter into the actual IB program. It is a little different than pre-IB but it won’t be shocking to you since you are all prepared. The only real differences between 10th and 11th are some new teachers of course and you have to do trigonometry portfolios and journal questions. Those two were the main cause of concern for most…and also a lot of lost sleep. If you can, try to do them as she gives them to you and it will make a HUGE difference.

Your teachers next year each have their own distinct personality traits (i.e. making them very easy to imitate). Definitely don’t take Mr. Goss seriously and poke fun back at him because he has a good sense of humor. Then if you are a physics kid… you can have fun with Mr. Keers too. Don’t be scared of him and his stare downs haha. Some people find him intimidating but he really is a cool guy. Be sure to take advantage of his bottomless candy jar. Ms. Smith is really nice and kinda crazy. She’ll growl at you and makes other weird noises. Ask her about her daughter and her grandkid and she’ll go on and on. If you have 1st period trig, it is very hard but at least attempt to stay awake because there seems to be some kind of correlation between being awake and your test grades haha. Those of you who take French… I hope you cherished Mr. Lenker because there are no more promenades and trips to the ESE kids for food. Those golden days are gone, but you will become a lot better at your speaking if you aren’t all ready with Dietert’s help.

Not academically related, make sure you enjoy yourself and don’t stress. It’s important to still have fun and go out with your friends in order to stay sane. If you’ve been overly meticulous about your work in the past, try to loosen up a little because you will become a little ball of tension if you don’t. This is all the advice I would be allowed to type for this essay… if you want the dirty details of junior year, feel free to ask. (*:

Sincerely,

Sarah Nikdel

 

Hey buddy,

So you’ve finally made it out of Pre-IB and are headin’ for the big time. This year isn’t going to be any kind of cake walk, you will struggle, you will lose hope, you will hate school, but you will also have a blast, enjoy your friends, and really come into who you are going to be later in life. No matter how prepared, how ready you think you are, you aren’t, but that’s part of this year, realizing that IB, and all that it entails is no simple cake walk, you truly have to work in order to make it to Senior year. The following will be some of the most helpful advice that I could give a person in your shoes.

Procrastination, it is the IB disease, everyone at some point or another is guilty of procrastination, and that is just fine, you can procrastinate all you want, but you better be damn good at b/sing and be a VERY fast writer. If you can avoid it, try to. Should you not, make sure and get it done, so you can brag about how amazing you are later, and also avoid the zeros. Ms. Frisbie is really cool about doing other people’s work in her class, so long as you can handle ridicule. You can work on whatever, it’s not her grade that is suffering by you not listening, but she will notice, and make a point to ask what is due that day and for what class when she sees all the procrastinators in her 1st period class writing at warp-speed. At the current moment, the best procrastination I’ve heard of is my own, writing to paragraphs of a DBQ for Gossy in the last 15 minutes of Trig, followed by completion of the other three during YJP, with Goss in the room, and receiving a 5 from one of the most annoying DBQ graders there is. Beat it if you can.

Journals suck. They are the bane of the IB English class, and Ms. Smith LOOOOOOVES them. She will give you tons of questions, some the stupidest things and to extremely specific details. Do them as you get them, trust me. I procrastinate and I know it, but many times I didn’t even complete journals in one night like I thought I would. At one point, when we didn’t expect her to ever pick them up again, I had to stay up all night in order to finish every question, and I was DEAD at school for the next three days, and this also developed the bad taste in my mouth and many others for Ms. Smith and her cold, ruthless nature.

My final advice deals with one Gary Lyn, yes, I said Lyn, Goss. Use his full name whenever possible, but ONLY after her likes you, and if he doesn’t like you, don’t use it. Goss is a difficult man, he has his ideas and views, and you can’t argue with him, you can’t change his mind, and you’ll never be right. Always have your shirt tucked in BEFORE you get into his class, even if you’re tucking in right outside his door. The best chance for passing the class is to take all his notes, but also listen to him, as funny as some comments are; the man knows exactly what he is doing. Agree with all his crazy comments, and extra points to you.

So you have now been prepared to the best of my ability for Junior year. Don’t freak out, don’t stress, don’t lost your mind, letting the stress and other problems of your life take over will destroy any chances of getting your work done with an okay quality. No matter what happens, no matter how impossible the task, do it, keep your chin up, and know that you just kicked IB Junior year’s ass.

Chris Broadhead

 

In my experiences as an 11th grade IB student, I’ve learned many things, certainly not the least of which have been non-academic in their nature.  In fact, I’d wager that the most important thing I’ll be taking away from this year is something of a sense of how to survive in the programme.  For those of you who will succeed me as new juniors, I have a few small tokens of advice. First of all, take psychology.  This class will prove indispensable as it allows some much needed relaxation and tremendous leniency in regard to assignments and the like.  Also, you will definitely find as you go along through your first year in the IB programme that you don’t seem to be getting the sleep you normally would, and psychology is certainly good to remedy that, due to the teacher’s relaxed attitude.  Overall, psychology has been one of my greatest blessings, even though when it comes time to turn in the whole 9-weeks’ worth of work, it may not seem like it.

For a second morsel of wisdom, I tell you to avoid my lifestyle, and do your work.  You cannot fathom how much help it will be when journals are coming due if you’ve already done them.  Trust someone who has received the worst grade ever given to someone who actually turned them in; you want to do them ahead of time.  I’m hardly one to be stressed over school, but I’ve never been so nearly driven to leave the program as I was while attempting to complete 4 units worth of journals in three nights.  On a similar note, the same rule can apply to any of the other “horrible” things you do.  Portfolios, while completely possible to complete satisfactorily in one evening, are hardly fun to do in such a way.  The same applies to biology labs, for those of you in bio; for chemistry and physics students, it seems from my observations to be perfectly possible to do every ounce of work in psychology.

I would like to conclude with a few more remarks.  First, do your best to have English after lunch, you’ll realize why once the first reading quizzes start to roll around.  Second, when it comes time for you to join TOK, don’t miss school, the make-up is mind-blowing, and get a group that will let you have some fun with the subject, also, avoid the topic of Mr. Keers’s personal life, he doesn’t seem to enjoy mockery.  Finally, try to have a social life.  It’s imperative that you have friends, and get out and do something with them, this will hopefully keep you sane through the perils of your junior year.  In a closing note, don’t forget to roll Goss’s house, don’t worry you’ll be ready after a few weeks, and don’t get addicted to guitar hero, it’s bad for one’s work ethic.

Joe Stidham

 

Dear Upcoming Junior Friend,

Your junior year in the IB program will be the best and worst year of your IB journey so far.  The classes will become more stressful and your amount of spare time will diminish almost completely.  Procrastination is not your friend, the worst thing you could possibly do next year is procrastinate on your journals or your portfolio assignments.  It is a really good idea to get a head start on journal questions and portfolios when they are first handed out, instead of waiting until the last minute and pulling an “all-nighter.”  It’s way easier said than done, but you should try to make the effort to not procrastinate that much.  It will save you in the long run, otherwise everything starts piling up with your classes.  Don’t get me wrong, the year will still be really fun; and if you make it through your junior year, you will be a senior almost ready to graduate!

A lot of big projects take place in your junior year, and it’s quite easy to feel overwhelmed.  Next year you will begin to receive IB grades, which count towards your diploma.  You will do Math portfolio assignments, English formal and informal orals, labs for the science you are taking, and if you take Psychology, an internal assessment study.  You should put a good amount of effort into these assignments, because your score on them directly influences whether or not you get your diploma.  It would be horrible if you spent four years in this wonderful program and then had to graduate from Bartow High School.  Focusing on these assignments is definitely worthwhile.

Lastly, enjoy your year!  You are only in high school once, so make the most of it.  Being involved in school and community activities is vital to your sanity.  Spending all of your time studying and working is no fun.  Remember the saying, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  Being involved in an extracurricular activity like a sport is a good way to relieve stress as well.  The other good thing about extracurricular activities is that they can be counted as CAS hours.  It is a really good idea to get 35 hours over the summer, so as to get a head start on your CAS hours.  It is better to get hours during the summer when you have free time and not so much school work, than to try to get hours during the year when other things are going on and assignments are due.  It is very important to document your CAS hours as you get them and have tangible evidence for each thing you did.  Getting a head start on your CAS hours is very important and can influence the other aspects of your school life.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but truthfully it’s not unbearable whatsoever.  The most important thing to remember is to have fun and not put too much pressure on yourself.  Before you know it, you will be writing a letter like this to the current freshmen, telling them about your junior year!

Sara Beth Rawlings  

 

Dear Ricky,

Your next year at IB will be the most trying time of your life, so far. You’re going to be expected to do more work than you’ve ever had to do. Be wary procrastinators — falling behind is miserable and you’ll be the one laughing if you do your work on time.

The most important piece of advice I have for you is to do your English journals on time, when they are assigned. I tell you this, but you won’t listen. Even if you plan to do them, you won’t. That is the nature of journaling, it’s depressing, but when you finish, especially before everyone else, you feel great. Again, you probably will wait until the last minute, and you are going to rue the decision when you are up all night.

My other tidbit of advice is easier said than done — sleep. If you can get as much sleep as possible, you will be able to do so much better than the rest of your class who stayed up late to talk online. Do your work when you get home, take the rest of the time to have a life, and you’ll get through school very easily.

Follow my advice,

Calder Wilson

 

Looking back on this year, I would tell any upcoming juniors that, as usual, this year in IB was not as bad as it was made out to be. Although I had heard junior year was the hardest year in IB, I found that it was possible to keep up with the workload as long as I stayed focused on what I’m trying to get out of IB.

Along with staying focused on your goals, it is important this year to work hard and not procrastinate. It seemed to me that this year there were much more opportunities to turn in work late. Throughout junior year you must be self-motivated to get the work done and turned in on time. If you do this you won’t get a backlog of work that just weighs you down more and prevents you from doing other activities such as sports.

Another thing I would advise is to leave adequate time to enjoy yourself instead of working on homework. Also, I would suggest playing on at least one sports team, because for me it really enhanced my experience at school this year.

Michael Kleissler

 

Dear John Doe,

Are you ready? Your junior year is upon you and you are about to officially begin the International Baccalaureate program. Difficulties will undoubtedly arise, but the many fun times you will have will balance them out.

I have just completed my junior year, and though I am excited about being a senior, I must say I have academic regrets. Therefore, I am advising you to not take your abilities for granted and perform poorly as I have. Being gifted academically is something to treasure and develop while in IB. Homework must be a priority over sleep and frivolous activities, and you will be successful. However, be sure to be active in activities other than school so that you won’t be overwhelmed.

Athletics are a great interest and passion of mine, and they keep me going. I want to play basketball in college, and having strong academics greatly enhances my status as a prospective player. But, even though it may sound cliché, there comes a time when school is more important than sports. When you are able to differentiate and correctly prioritize, you have matured and are finally able to realize that you are a young adult at the end of your high school years.

I hope you enjoy IB as you work to sometimes what you think may be your wits’ end. At the hardest of times, just remember it will pay off . If you give it all you’ve got, then you’ll have nothing to regret. Good luck!

Best wishes,

Erin Carey

 

Dear IB sophomores,

I am a junior who will soon become a senior just as you are a sophomore ready to become a junior. You are about to enter the big time, real IB. Your junior and senior year will be some of the most stressful times of your life. There are, however, certain things you can do to ease your burden. The most important thing of all, and something you have heard countless times over ht years, is don’t procrastinate. You can get away with some procrastination your freshman and sophomore year, but not so in the junior year. Such large assignments as labs, portfolios, and English orals take lots of time and usually cannot be completed in one night.

One of the biggest procrastination mistakes is leaving a portfolio until the night before it is due. Portfolios are important to your IB math score as two of them account for 20% of your IB grade. I ran into a serious problem with my first one because I tried to do it all in one night. My grade suffered accordingly. The next one though, I started a week in advance and my grade was much better. Much the same could be said for English orals and labs.

As important as getting all your work done on time, it is just as important to relax. School is not everything, and sometimes putting a test score in perspective is helpful. It is important to spend time with your friends as well, as that increases class unity and gives you a chance to relax. It is also important to get active and exercise as this is very helpful in relieving stress. Not procrastinating is also important for relieving stress. Some people just don’t worry so much, more power to them. The important thing is to find a good balance between study and fun that you feel comfortable with and that gives you the greatest chance of success.

Buddy Valenti

 

Do your work when at all possible. Work does pile up and quite quickly. Trig portfolios are not as bad as they seem, but try and get some of it done during breaks. English sucks, the books are boring, and English journals suck. Orals are easy as long as you have half a brain. American history is amazingly easy, so don’t stress about that class at all. Do your work in your science because you will fall behind if you don’t. Psychology is the greatest because Mrs. New is just great. Perhaps not the best teacher but the class is so much fun.

Don’t get a job; it is not conducive to your schoolwork. Don’t stay up very late, because it all catches up to you in the end. Sleep is very important, as in without it you will crash and burn and sleep in class.

Don’t do drugs or any mind-altering chemicals. They are bad, this is not from personal experience but rather for the fact that I need a third paragraph. The end is here.

Andrew Schmudlach

 

Dear Rising Junior,

Welcome to the IB program! This is just the beginning of many sleepless nights and tons of work. Even though at times this next two years will seem impossible to conquer — it is possible! There are some important things you should remember for the upcoming year. First, you should only be in this program because you want to. Also you need to have a support group. Thirdly, you have to live in the present.

Of the utmost importance is dedicating yourselves to the program for your own aspirations and not for anyone else’s. It becomes very difficult to put forth all of your effort when the only reason you are here is because your parents are telling you that you have to be here. This education that we are receiving is so valuable and I believe that it is important that we appreciate it as well as utilize it. And how sick this might seem there will come a time when you do appreciate and acknowledge the value of the IB education. Just wait! You will be so proud of yourselves when you turn in your first 18-page portfolio.

One of the only ways I remained sane this year was thanks to my family and friends. For the three years I have been at IB, I have always had the best support group. You do not know how important it is to surround yourself with caring, fun, and supportive people. Don’t worry, there will be times when you will feel like you have hit rock bottom, and it has been at those times that my friends and my family have helped me back up. It is also important to have fun every weekend — go to a movie with your friends or bowling. Whatever it is, be able to forget about school and just enjoy spending some time with the people you love!

The last and one of the most important pieces of advice I can give you is live in this moment. I know that IB does an awesome job of preparing us for the future, but you should never consume yourself with what is going to come. Enjoy being a high school student, because remember, high school only happens once in your life. Trust me, there will always be time to worry about the future, but it is your responsibility to live in the present. I think that many IB students are so consumed with being the best that there is never enough time to realize that your happiness right now, in this moment, is what will make you successful in the years to come.

I hope that you learned something from my past year’s experience. I wish you all the best of luck!

Courtney Sela

 

Dear so and so,

You are about to start the hardest year so far in your life. So a few things to help you be less stressed. The most important thing to do is to finish your journal questions as you get them. I found that out the hard way by trying to do them in the two days before they were due. This is not a wise idea. You can save a lot of time and stress by doing them just after you read the book, because you forget stuff about the books. Second off, in the second semester, you’ll take TOK. Mr. Keers grades mostworksheets, docent activities, WOSYs, and journal questions for completion. In many cases one sentence will suffice.

There are a couple of teachers that seem intimidating, Mr. Goss and Mr. Keers, but they are o. k. once you get to know them. If you are a brown/tan-skinned person — beware. Mrs. Smith seems to not like “brown people” or people who speak Spanish (in public). She is a sweet old lady who cares about all her students, so wait a while before making an opinion about her. The best thing to do is have fun with your spare time — or do CAS hours. Anyway, have fun this summer and don’t worry about school (except summer assignments) until maybe the week before school.

Sincerely,

Andrew Heneen

 

Dear Rising Junior Friend,

First off, I want to get this one message out there: DON’T PANIC. I will repeat myself for effect and tell you again not to panic. Seriously, stop it. No matter what people say, you’ll live through the next school year. There’s no need for trite and cliché advice about how to be an “effective student.” You’ve just got to somehow get past the tried and not-so-true method of freaking out over every little thing. I know, it’s an IB habit, people have been doing it for centuries, etc. But to be honest, it won’t do you any good. The best advice I can give you is to just do your work and not let the little stuff get to you. Because trust me, there will be little stuff out there just aching to make you lose your cool.

First off, it’s a good plan to at least have sort of an idea of what you want to do with your life. You know the deal; where you want to go to college, what you want to major in, what career you’re ultimately looking for in life. I know admissions officers will tell you that it’s okay to be completely clueless until say, you’re 45 and living in your parents’ basement, but quite frankly, it would be handy to at least have a clue. Knowing a general interest area helps you in major ways. First, you’ll know what sort of college you’re looking at, be it a community college, a university, or an Ivy League school. Knowing this will help you set some goals for high school. You’ll know about what SAT scores you need, the grade point average to strive for, and the sort of extra-curricular activities you need. Contrary to what some parents will tell you, you don’t always need a perfect SAT score, straight A’s, hundreds of extracurriculars, and valedictorian status to get into college. Obviously, always try to do your best, but don’t kill yourself if you slip up and make a B, it most likely won’t be life-shattering.

I promise you, there will be kids in your class who will be convinced that IB is the shining moment of their lives and thus the most important thing ever. Don’t let them get you down. There is no need to feel inadequate with a 95 in a class, even if someone is sobbing over not having a 100 anymore. Because I’ll let you in on a little secret: IB kids are crazy. Where else are you going to go to school where people get really upset and disappointed in themselves when they have a 4.5 GPA? This directly leads to one of the big pains of IB, having an extraordinary GPA and still being in the 20’s or 30’s in class rank. It’s frustrating, but don’t fret too much, because Mrs. Cavanaugh is your friend, and she’ll put your class rank out of Bartow High and IB combined, making it look much better. Finally, I suggest to IB kids not to get too cocky about being in IB. Because think about it, it’s not like you wouldn’t get into college if you went to a normal high school. Also, I really doubt that, when you’re looking for a job, they’ll (1) even know what IB is, and (2) care at all whether or not you went there. Being in IB isn’t going to put you on the fast track to life. You’ve still got to work, and you’ve still got to have a head on your shoulders. Contrary to apparent belief, you can’t coast through life on an IB diploma alone.

So, my darling new juniors, getting ready to jump into the sea of sunshine and rainbows that is junior year, I wish you good luck. Don’t get burned out quite yet. A final word of advice: always remember to do your homework, get a good night’s sleep, and never, never forget to eat your Cheerios in the morning.

Sincerely,

Andrea Grossman

 

Looking back at my experiences in this school year, there is a lot that I regret and advice to offer a friend who is a year behind me. Overall the year was one of the easiest years of IB so far until the second semester took in. The most important factor that determines the difficulty of the eleventh grade year is how well you stay on task and up to date with the work, it really sucks to have to do 30 physics and TOK worksheets the last two or three days before grades are due. Time management is extremely vital this year, lettering in three sports I can actually count my days without a practice or game on two hands. The weekend becomes tremendously valuable when you recognize that you can get a lot done in two days off of school. Also, as a junior I grew a lot closer to my fellow classmates and realized that good friends are exceedingly useful when you need help.

In the eleventh grade you have several classes that allow you to complete last night’s math or physics homework, which helped a lot. I did at least 3 times as much homework at school this year than I did at home, I’m not recommending this though, as it would obviously be more beneficial if I did my homework at home. When you do get yourself behind, just make sure you know you can use class time and YJP very effectively. Basically the most important thing is to stay on task with everything, especially when it comes to English journal questions. It’s almost as if this assignment exponentially increases as each week passes. The journal questions don’t stop coming, you receive new ones all year long and they all end up being due too soon. You would save yourself a lot of havoc and stress if you complete the journal questions as they are given to you.

The biggest hardship I faced this year was getting myself involved with the wrong people and activities. I was almost expelled towards the end of the year, but luckily I had many people backing me up with everything and I somehow got out with a ten day out of school suspension even though I was nearly convicted of a felony. This event affected every aspect of my life especially my relationships with people and my school work. Essentially I’m trying to point out that it’s good to have all types of friends, because in the end they help you when you need it the most. More importantly though, just be careful with who and what you get involved into, as It might destroy everything you’ve worked so hard for.

Eleventh grade is as difficult or easy as you want to make it. You are first introduced to extraneous AP and IB testing this year, and helps that you don’t have to worry about trying to complete late homework or trying to cram before each test. Take and complete each thing as it comes. Eleventh grade is fun, better than the first two years in IB, but don’t get too behind because it could destroy much of the happiness and contentment, the junior year brings.

Brent Delph

 

Dear Underclassman,

IB isn’t so bad. You have been told or `heard’ that junior year is by far the worst year… this is absolutely untrue, I promise. Junior year has some of my best memories. I found a new passion in the form of sport and had some sweet times. I probably had a really great summer too, despite the massive amount of work I already have to do. My message to you is a simple one, and it speaks right to all of you that are floating in the middle or bottom of your class.

At this… place, we can generally categorize ourselves into three groups. Group 1) intelligent people who also work very hard. These are the ones at the top of your class. Group 2) People who work hard (but are less inherently intelligent than group 1). Group 3) Those who are inherently smart and have little or no work ethic. I get some work done. But it’s not enough. All the people at the bottom will say that the `study bugs’ just don’t understand “life.” All the ones at the top will say everyone else parties way too much. This is my message to you, just do the damn work. Honestly. Make yourself stay on top of it. It will make everything so much easier. I have a friend, right now, who has several failing grades that will be turned into Cs by the end of this quarter because of some last ditch effort. I am only slightly above that. This same friend has spoken (in my presence) at least two languages other than English with a proficiency which indicates actual understanding. Spanish and Arabic. I wish I was that smart.

All of us came here for a reason. Mine was dumb luck, I was considering   not going. I had good friends at GJ. Then a teacher from Mulberry Middle asked me, “Dave, how can you even consider not going? I have kids that are dying for spots there and would give anything to have that one shot…” You are in a somewhat prestigious position, so find a way, any way, to make yourself WANT it. Intellect is not something we are allowed to waste, so have fun, but at the same time know why you are here. You’ve been given a gift, and more importantly, an opportunity to use it. Don’t muck it up.

David Schell

 

Dear Unfortunate, delusional, naive IB wannabe brainiac,

For some advice, I’ll just give you a quick heads up on your classes for next year.

I’ll begin with trigonometry, a class that seems to never, ever end (just kidding Ms. Frisbie). Many IB students tend to think that they are too smart to actually pay attention in a measly math class, so they use trig as a study hall or to sleep (yes, I am guilty too). I’ve learned, however, that it saves a lot of hair twisting, book slamming, and uttering curse words under your breath later if you just listen to what Ms. Frisbie has to say during those mere 90 minutes. She clarifies many things that make it easier to complete your homework later that night and also gives you interesting ways of remembering little things that may show up on a test or quiz. Also, taking notes will benefit you later during notebook quizzes, an easy A if you pay attention during class and jot down notes. Listening will also save you late passes that can be turned in for extra credit later, because you’re less likely to be confused during homework. Finally, listening makes it more likely that you’ll catch a mistake, which will earn you candy! Woohoo! So basically, don’t be too arrogant to pay attention in a stupid math class.

Next, you’ll have English with Ms. Smith. Hope that you get into a good, small class, because she tends to like those more than the larger, rowdier classes where groups of friends are inclined to be talkative and obnoxious. Also, read the books and always bring them to class because she has periodic book checks, and you don’t get that many points per nine-weeks in her class. Journals, I’m sure you’ve already heard, but really try to do them on time. It isn’t impossible to do a good job and start the day before deadline (…for 4 books too; yeah, I am impressive-just kidding) but those nights are really stressful and you get very, very little sleep. Furthermore, do your best job on your summer assignment and your first few essays because the first impression in English is definitely a lasting one.

Thirdly, Mr. Goss will likely get on your nerves in American History with his uber-conservatism. You’ll even probably wish for Rhoden again, at least I enjoyed him more. But Goss has his moments of humor, but he’s a stickler for rules so always, always, always tuck your shirt in… he wrote Mattina up for that…little ‘ole Brendan! More class related though, don’t worry about copying notes off of the overhead, he rarely uses those on the tests, just listen to his lecture and jot down the points he emphasizes. When it comes to studying for the test, just read the chapter because they usually cover all the material that’s on the test. Amsco is a lazy person’s studying guide, and they usually don’t do well on tests. Seriously, read the chapter and you’ll do well, it worked for me and I’ve earned an A every 9-weeks so far. Oh, he likes to eat so mention Moe’s Restaurant, and if you get a chance to, TP his house — he doesn’t care.

Then, ToK is probably the most boring class you’ll take — in your life. Just make sure you are in class because Mr. Keers kills so many trees per day that if you miss a class, you’ll have a whole forest of makeup work to do (haha, forest, trees, paper is made from trees, pun… never mind). He’s also fairly comical, so pay attention and you may actually find yourself amused. Other than that, there isn’t much more to say about that class. However, Physics is another matter. Always take notes because most of the questions from the worksheets are answered in the notes he gives. Don’t really worry about reading the book, because quizzes normally just come from the notes, worksheets or labs. Labs are fairly easy, but they build up fast so try to do them on time. If you get behind don’t worry, he only takes off 5 points every day that it’s late. But usually, you get behind on a lab or two by maybe 3 weeks, if you do, then take a weekend to get caught up. There are so many grades in this class that you don’t have to fret too much, just make sure you don’t get too behind on work and you should get an A.

Finally, Psychology is a class that is really easy to do well in. Keep up your notebook and study for quizzes and you’ll be fine. Also, do your preview questions on time. More importantly, get involved in the school. Participate in a sport or club, something you really enjoy. Go to dances and enjoy time with friends because before you know it, junior year will be over and you’ll be just one year away from packing up and moving out, for-ev-er (Sandlot reference).

– Senior (I like how that sounds)

Spencer Duhm

 

Dear IB Class of 2008:

I know a good portion of your class knows or at least has seen me around either in Naki’s room during lunch, the hallways, or the bus the last few years. My goal is to impart some of the knowledge I have gained during my Junior year in the IB program. I am just going to go through my schedule and give you some advice on how to deal with the teachers I had and what to expect from them.

First, my 1st period teacher, who we affectionately call “Frizz.” First off. she is a great teacher who, as you will find out, really is committed (as you will find out by realizing the inordinate amount of time she does writing preview questions and grading homework tests and especially your IB portfolio assignments) to bettering her students’ academic lives as well as their lives after high school. Her humor may sometimes seem off-the-cuff but she is very funny, in her own unique sort of way. She is one of the few teachers who you will find that you can get in touch with on an almost on demand basis via email which is very helpful concerning talk about make-up work and the eves of a test. I think you will thoroughly enjoy her and appreciate the fact that if you are going the Trig-Calc course in your math studies you get her for TWO years.

Second. Mrs. New, IB/AP Psychology. The youngest of your teachers you will find that she is the most connected with the students because it hasn’t been too long since she was enrolled at Bartow High School enduring the painful jokes of Mr. Goss just like you. She also has some pretty funny stories to tell when her class is getting a little boring during the mundane, but VERY necessary preview questions from the textbook which will prepare you very well for the AP and IB tests. (Please actually do the questions so that you do not disgrace our school’s reputation. We Seniors are very creative when it comes to harassing you for stupidity to the point of tears.) If are lucky enough to have her either at the very beginning or very end of the day you will find that she occasionally will let you our early you give you a break on being tardy in the morning. (I think this is mostly because she gets to school a little late sometimes also.) She is also generous when it comes to late work in comparison to other teachers. Just don’t take advantage of her generosity too much or her generosity will decrease very quickly. You will like her, trust me.

For 3rd Period I had Sra. Anderson, which none of you will have so I will skip my impression of her.

4th Period TOK I had Mr. Keers who I will elaborate on more when I get to Physics, which was my 7th period.

Mr. Goss (5th period)… I’m not really sure what to say (just kidding). Ok first things first. Don’t argue with him. Not because he will hate you or anything, you just won’t win. You may prove him wrong with complete certainty, but his stubbornness will always come out on top. It may be a good idea to zone out during a good portion of his lectures because most a fraught his neo-republican conservative viewpoints which will help you none in passing the AP US History test. But there is always a portion of his lectures which if you listen at least will further your knowledge considerably. Also, be prepared for some of his outrageous and senseless exclamations. Here is a list of some of them:

“Up your nose with a rubber hose!”

“May the bird of paradise fly up your nose!”

“I’m gonna burn your house down!”

“I don’t give a flying puke*!”

“You are an L 7 !”

*He uses the word “puke” as an ad-lib for our more often used 4-letter words if you know what I mean.

Some will hate him, some will love him. Either way he is a surprisingly good teacher who really does care about his students’ welfare.

Ok, 6th period, IB English III, Ms. Smith. I can describe this crazy woman in 4 words: Out Of Her Mind. Is she smart? Yes. Caring? Yes. Reasonable? Yes. But, trust me when I say do the journal questions as they are given out. They can make or break your grade. Vocabulary sentences and quizzes are also easy puntos (points en español). I highly suggest at least reading MOST of the books you cover in her class. Her tests are crazy difficult to a lot of us. She is cool though. She will really talk with you guys about a lot of interesting philosophical and political issues that can lend themselves to great class discussion. Often times she refers to her and Mr. Keers’ odd relationship, which I will let you guys find out more about on your own. If you do what she tell you to do you will be well prepared for the AP English Lang test & your IB formal and informal orals. Which, trust me, if you don’t stress about them, will make your life much more peaceful than it is for some of the spazzes in your class.

Ahh… Mr. Steven G. Keers, the TOK and Physics teacher. Highly organized and very anal about what and how things should be done. It would be a good idea to stay on top of your Physics   worksheets and labs, which can pile up in a hurry. The best thing about him is his quiz monologue, which, without fail, he gives before EVERY quiz. I’ll type it word for word here, as you will know it by heart by the end of the year also.

“Please keep the quiz, not you, face down on the desk. Please take a quiz for your very own self. Turn it over. In the appropriate space write your name. It is February Fools Day, all day. We have made it to period 7. I get to do the score. Before you begin, please read the directions, including the word OVER in the lower right-hand corner of the page, which doesn’t mean that the quiz is over, but turn the paper over, and answer the questions on the other side. Please begin.”

You will have it memorized by Christmas Break, trust me. Also. Keers is hysterically funny because he has a very dry sense of humor and RARELY ever laughs. He often busts out into some crazy foreign accents to add comic relief. I also, highly recommend paying very close attention to his less than exciting lectures in Physics though, especially second semester. For those of you that had Shuff & thought he was boring you haven’t seen anything yet. The odd thing is that Keers could possibly be the coolest and the un-cool teacher you have simultaneously.

Well guys, sorry for the length of this discourse but I honestly think if you listen to my advice, which you probably won’t anyways because I didn’t either, you have a much higher chance for success during your Junior year of IB here at BHS.

Sincerely,

Daniel F. Cook

 

Dear future IB student,

Every serious student loves advice about triumphing in their future years of education, it can be the most valuable gift passed on from the experienced upperclassmen. Due to the rigors of our IB program, I have provided following suggestions so that our legacy of success is within easy reach of the upcoming classes.

The most stressful assignment of this year was Ms. Smith’s journal questions. During my junior year. Ms. Smith collected journal questions a grand total of three times; therefore, every time they were collected anywhere between forty and eighty questions covering three or four literary works had to be completed. The reason why these questions were so stressful was that, while Ms. Smith gave us a week’s notice to finish them, the majority of us had accumulated the questions over time. On the day that the questions are due. IB classrooms have a suffocating, lethargic atmosphere because most students ‘pulled an all-nighter’ in order to finish the assignment. To alleviate the pain and loss of sleep from this tedious. occasionally ambiguous task I highly recommend that you   complete the questions as soon as you receive them. In addition (for those of you who are conveniently sick on important deadlines), Ms. Smith never accepts late journal questions without a legitimate note from your parents or the doctor.

Another stress-generator during the junior year is Mr. Goss’s AP U. S. History class. According to him, any student who does not read the textbook chapters and take notes on post-its will not pass his tests; however, I have maintained an ‘A’ in Mr. Goss’s class throughout the year even though I stopped reading the textbook in October. To save time, the recommended study routine is to read the chapters in the Amsco book (an AP preparation book that is provided to you) that correspond to the assigned chapters in the textbook; then, visit www.course-notes.org to study a concise outline of the chapters in the textbook. You should also glance at the notes that Mr. Goss gives in class because they supplement the information in both books.

Other ideas for success in American History include the fact that Mr. Rhoden’s idea of a thesis is not identical to Mr. Goss’s idea of a thesis. To have a worthy thesis in Mr. Goss’s class, you must not write a thesis statement but a thesis paragraph, in which you restate the essay question, answer the question, and reference to a few specific incidents of history that bolster your answer; however, Mr. Goss is not easily pacified and the previous formula does not guarantee an instant ‘A’. He will push you to your essay-writing limits and he will cause you much frustration, but this is one of the reasons why he is an excellent teacher.

The phenomenon of CAS hours is yet another cause of anxiety; however, if you forget to have Ms. Smith pre-approve a proposal form you should not worry. Just talk to her about the activity, even if you have already started it. She is wonderful about understanding the complications of being an IB student, but beware of waiting too long to get her to pre-approve an activity because she may refuse to do so. Along with the proposal form, do not forget to get the supervisor’s signature in a timely manner, to log your hours on a CAS log form and to write a short reflection paragraph for each activity in addition to all of the paperwork. The most important thing to remember about CAS, though, is that proof is necessary. Pictures of you doing the project work are best, but programs, brochures, or tickets are enough.

The last important piece of advice that I may bestow upon you is that you follow my words of wisdom. I had to learn through trial and error the best ways to go about completing what is said to be the hardest year of the IB program. By simply remembering my advice, you will not only get more sleep than I did, you will also have a more enjoyable junior year.

Good luck!

Raihan Duzan

 

As you are reading this letter, I am assuming that you have decided to take Trigonometry — congratulations! Honestly, Trig is not that bad of a math course; granted, you have homework nearly every night, but this course is not full of BS (“busy stuff,” if you will). Overall, I would say that Trigonometry covers the vast majority of those math topics that you are a bit fuzzy on, those topics that you knew were coming eventually, and even a little more than that. My advice regarding your math choice, however, relates to you as a person; if you enjoy math, or if you understand math concepts fairly quickly after some explanation, then Trigonometry is probably the best math choice for you. If. however, you have despised mathematics for the majority of your school years, I would highly recommend that you switch from Trigonometry to Math Analysis; it will probably suit your personality more so than Trig.

The teachers that you will have this year are really spectacular, and the majority of them are willing to work with you whenever you realize that you need additional help for whatever reason. All Juniors will have the joys of spending a year with Mr. Goss in American History, Mrs. New (unless you chose to take art in lieu of Psychology), Ms. Frisbie (if you are taking Trig), Ms. Smith in English, and Mr. Keers in Theory of Knowledge (commonly referred to as ToK). You will additionally have your foreign language, your science class, and your elective the first half of your Junior year.

There are some comments and general pieces of advice that I would like to share with all incoming Juniors:

• The one part of English class that nearly every member of the Class of 2008 has been informed of is the journal questions. If I have to come and personally smack you with a book every time you choose to procrastinate on your journal questions, I would do it. Honestly, the journal questions are really annoying, and it is much easier to procrastinate, but it is most definitely in your best interest that you do these questions as you receive them in class. I can tell you from experience that all-nighters are not so great when you have a C-Day ahead of you; just do the journal questions as soon as you possibly can, even if it means giving up a few hours on a Saturday afternoon — you will not be sorry in the long run!
• Focusing on your CAS hours really does matter — the teachers aren’t lying! Even though you may have no desire to give up some of your vacation time, I would highly recommend doing some volunteer work when you are at a slower point in school — Thanksgiving break, near the beginning of the school year, etc. It will really take a lot of stress off of you if you get your CAS hours out of the way ASAP.
• Some classes give you the opportunity to turn in work late (example: you get 2 late passes every 9 weeks for Ms. Frisbie’s class) — it is not a crime to take advantage of these opportunities! If you are having a stressful week or are having difficulties focusing on the many things going on at that time, take a short break and use the late passes. It will be alright if you lose those 5 extra credit points.

Overall, the Junior year in IB isn’t as bad as you may have heard. All it really takes is some discipline and perseverance, and you’ll make it through your first year in real IB!

Best of luck,

Marissa Coake

 

To My Dearest IB Sophomores-Soon-to-be-Juniors,

As I begin to write this letter (the night before it’s due, of course), it dawns on me that   our class of 2007 has somehow VERY quickly made it all the way to our senior year of high school. They’re not lying when they say that your high school years pass by the quickest of all. If there’s anything that I can tell you that will prepare you for next year — the workload doesn’t get ANY lighter, and the procrastination only becomes even worse. But, by far, this year has been the best out of the three that I’ve been here at IB, so just stick with the program… you’ll make it out alive, I’m sure. Some helpful hints and tidbits to get you through the next year:

• Don’t be lazy like me – find a sport to play so you can get your CAS action hours out of the way.
• Oh, and speaking of CAS hours… you might actually want to fill out the forms for your hours before your activity, and not wait until months later to do so.
• Procrastination is ALWAYS an option… if you want to stay up until ungodly hours of the night/morning finishing journal questions or a portfolio for Trig, and then have to wake up (or not even sleep) and drive the next morning. That’s what I did the entire year… and I sorely regret it. And as for classes…
• When you choose your science, definitely go with the one you understood the best the first time you took it. Don’t just choose Physics because it’ll be the easiest. In fact, definitely consider taking Biology… Mrs. Kennon is awesome, and a great teacher as well (Just don’t play any pranks on her… you’ll send her into a state of shock, and then make her cry). And well, for those of you who liked Chemistry… you’re on your own. I have no advice about that, because honestly, Mrs. Bond scared me to death, and I didn’t understand it well in the first place.
• Make sure that you take Psychology with Mrs. New, if you can. She’s an amazingly cool teacher, and the subject is interesting. Besides, do you know any other teacher who can DDT someone?
• When it comes to history, you’ll have good old Mr. Goss, the Republican-loving, pinko-commie hating history teacher. You’ll love him, even if you don’t agree with his political views. And make sure you roll his house at least once before the year is over. I’ll let you find his address on your own though… that’s part of the fun.
• If you take Trig, with Ms. Frisbie, you’ll have a blast. She’s just about the smartest person I know, and she’ll teach you well, even if you don’t enjoy math. Oh, and try to catch the mistakes she makes on the chalkboard… if you get up to five within a week, she’ll give you candy.
• Oh, and then there’s Ms. Smith. You might think you like her at first, but about, let’s say, February or March, she’ll really get on your nerves, and you’ll begin to strongly dislike her. The main reason — journal questions. She’ll give them to you for each book/play/poem as you finish them, but then wait until about spring break to tell you that she’s collecting all of them for a grade. So, make sure you actually do the questions when she hands them out, and not within the few days before they’re due — you’ll love yourself for doing them on time. (I speak from experience — don’t wait until the last few days and night before they’re due to complete them — I ended up getting about an hour and a half of sleep on that Thursday night.) Also, make sure you actually read the books she assigns you to — her reading quizzes will bring your grade down if you don’t know the answers. Oh, and the orals for this class really aren’t too bad — just be prepared and you’ll do fine.

And last, but not least, y’all: don’t forget to have fun in between all the work. You will not have any less of a social life than you did last year. Party, hang out with each other, go out to dinner and a movie with everyone, and hang out with your non-IB friends just to keep yourselves sane, ok? You will make it through the year in mostly one piece. You’re not the first ones to encounter what you will experience, and you know that there is always someone a grade ahead of you that you can talk to for advice. In the words of a character from The Waterboy: “ YOU CAN DO IT!!!”

Lauren Bedford

 

Dear aspiring IB Junior,

There are a few things about the IB junior year that you will hear constantly because none of us ever abided by the rules I am about to tell. Procrastination ruins your life in IB junior year, not as much as it will in senior year though. There are too many IB required papers to write and internal assessments to do for you to slack off These things that I just mentioned are not simple assignments that you can turn in late or do a crappy job on, they require time and effort or basically, you can’t expect that IB diploma come July after your senior year. To be more specific, I give you some advice on all IB assignments.

Trig portfolios require at minimum a good read through of the assignment before the night before; however, it would especially benefit you to start a couple days before just in case you have questions for your genius Trigonometry teacher. She knows all and is quite good at passing a lot of the information in the Princeton-studied brain onto you. Doing the review in the math book always helps on tests and if you don’t understand something don’t give up, just go online and check out the review problems completely worked out by Miss Frisbie. Pretty awesome! But I will warn you that she is a hard grader; I’m sure she is fair though.

Now, in the beginning of the year psychology may seem like a joke, but then you get into crash mode when that Internal Assessment comes around. Have the rough draft turned in on time or else you will not get feedback and basically be turning in a rough draft. It will increase your grade significantly. Find a study that you are actually interested in or performing the experiment, generating graphs, and writing 1500 words will suck even more. Also, don’t slack off in the class. At least pay attention to the lectures because believe it or not just about everything she says sticks with you even past test times. Her little sayings for memorization really do help, sometimes even in other subjects. For example, in distribution, “You can tell by the tale.” It comes in handy. Although I didn’t read the book, before the IB exam I did and it helped immensely so I would suggest reading parts of it throughout the year. You’ll know what is important and what isn’t.

Final class for advice would have to be English. It can be bloody awful and useless at times. There are these journals that I’m sure you’ve heard about and well they are as bad as they sound if… you slack off. If you complete the questions as she gives them to you, you will not have to complete consecutive all nighters and still get a crappy grade. These journals seem so useless until it gets to oral time and then you have a study guide right there. So the quality of work you put into will make the other works better quality. Don’t stress over orals, but do start to prepare about a week in advance. The AP test is easy so don’t worry. It doesn’t seem like she teaches you a single thing about AP and I still don’t think she did, but you’re smart and will do well.

Overall advice. Don’t hate each other because you are only half way through and if you think the first two years have been long, you just wait. Lean on each other for support and talk to each other online through all nighters unless you think it will be distracting. We need each other to get through this program whether everyone is willing to admit it or not. I gladly will. Please listen.

Your junior, soon to be senior friend,

Ashley Pitts

 

Dear Future Junior,

This past year in the nerd haven of Polk County, Florida, has been swell. You may dread the upcoming school year because it will be the first big step of your life from Pre-IB to yes, the big thing. However, before you panic take a moment to read this letter. It contains valuable information that will help you to survive next year. First of all, choose an elective and science class that will suit your work ethic best. If you are one of those diligent, meticulous students who will not settle for less than a 95% A then I suggest you make the wise decision. Take an AP-level elective so that it will boost your GPA and perhaps Biology where it is required to write pages upon pages for labs. However, if you are more of the slacker/procrastinator type then I suggest you take an easier elective like Art or Cooking where the class is easy and enjoyable.

Secondly, make sure to plan your days out so that the number of things to do does not accumulate at the end. For example, if you have a lab report due on Friday and a Trig assignment due on the same day, try to finish the Trig assignment a few days prior to Friday so that you have an extra hour to work on your lab. I know, I know everyone says not to procrastinate but the wise student will actually heed the advice. Trust your senior upperclassmen, they know from experience. Besides not procrastinating, do not leave the most boring, hard assignment for the end. It will only come back to bite you later. If you’re smart, you will finish the hard assignment first so that the easier assignments will take less time to complete.

Thirdly, it would be wise to get plenty of sleep every night. It is not comfortable sleeping on the bus nor is it safe driving while extremely tired. It always helps to feel fresh because it makes paying attention in class much easier. I know you may think it is super-humanly impossible to stay awake during first or perhaps even second period, but it is easier to do so when you’ve had at least six hours of sleep. Sometimes drinking coffee or caffeine may help but not when your system has become immune to the effects of the stimulant. In addition, if you are the type who is addicted to chatting online to the wee hours of the night… don’t. Many go online to chat with friends about pointless subjects, and although this may be entertaining, it is a huge waste of time. Not only does it get boring, but it takes away from either doing homework or sleeping. You will only regret staying up late the next day when you are sitting in the back of the classroom… and your head slowly begins to nod… Oh, if only you had a bed… or a pillow…

And finally, try to enjoy the year. Take pleasure in the little things, like maybe going to the coffee shop to study for a test with a friend. Or even driving to books-a-million to buy a needed book for English. As nerdy as this may sound, it is helpful. By making the most of every day, and every week of the month, it will all add up. Before you know it, the dreaded school year will be over and the much awaited summer will arrive. Look forward to the breaks and vacations, but don’t dwell on them otherwise you will become disheartened and dread coming to school every day. Also, cherish your friends because they will make the school year more endurable. Do not fret, you are not alone, everyone else in your class is probably just as worried as you are. And with that I leave you, so good luck for this year, and remember to enjoy every moment because you will never get to be a Junior in high school again.

For the upcoming juniors, I would advise working on CAS hours. During the summer before your eleventh grade year, there is a maximum of thirty-five hours to complete. You will definitely need these hours. It is very difficult to do community service over the school year, and the combined seventy hours over both summers helps so much in the total CAS requirement. Also, these summer hours should be spent in the area that you find hardest to complete service in. For instance, if you think that Creativity is your weak area, then do these over the summer. Do your paperwork! It backs up quickly, and signatures can be hard to find months later.

Regarding testing at the end of the year, it is best to start studying as you go. If you wait until the week before, it gets tough to cram it all in. So far, you have only taken a couple AP classes, so be prepared for having three or four in close succession this year. If you study ahead of time, you will have much less of a problem when trying to remember sooo much information.

Also, read the books for your English class. They help on the tests so much, and you WILL need them later on. The first four books of the year are more important than the others, because these are where orals come from. Read these, and when orals come around, you will be significantly less stressed. The same applies to history. Goss does actually expect you to read the book, and tests typically come from here, so it helps.

Claudia Phen

 

Dear upcoming juniors,

Up until now, all of you have been part of the Pre-IB program, so I would like to congratulate all of you on becoming members of the real IB program. I know everyone has told you how hard this year will be and that in order to survive you shouldn’t procrastinate. Although that may be true, we all know that no IB kid pays attention to that advice. so I’m going to give you some tips for each of your classes that are a little more useful.

For the majority of you who are taking Trig, I have some fairly simple advice for you — pay attention in class and take good notes. Not only is a good notebook handy on the notebook quizzes, it also helps you prepare for tests. Also, make sure you do your homework on time, this will help you be ready for tests, and the extra credit from the unused late passes will give your grade a boost at the end of the nine weeks when hen you need it the most.

For English, my advice to you is to actually read all of the novels assigned. She will give you little quizzes that may seem pointless, but they will actually make or break your grade so make sure you’re prepared. Another thing, do NOT procrastinate on your journals! I didn’t take that advice myself and I had to stay up nearly all night finishing those questions when they had been assigned to me months in advance. Please don’t make the same mistake I did.

None of the upcoming juniors will have Señora Anderson, so I really don’t have much advice for you in your foreign language course since most teachers are different. However, you should practice speaking Spanish with your friends or at home if your parents understand it, the extra practice really will help you.

All of the Art kids pretty much know what they’re doing by now. just work at a steady pace and keep up with your RWB. Also, when it comes time to pick a concentration, pick something you truly enjoy, it will make your last semester a little more bearable.

For History, make sure you read the book and pay attention to Goss’s lectures. You may think his information is flawed at times; but let me tell you, the majority of the questions on the AP test were in his lectures word for word. Oh yeah, don’t argue with Goss, he’s right and you’re wrong. If you accept this concept from the beginning, you will save plenty of class time that could be used for notes instead of arguing.

In TOK, just do the work and you will have a 100 in his class. Don’t waste class time talking and get the work done, it’s an easy A.

Those of you who are taking Physics are going to enjoy yourselves. While the Chemistry and Biology kids are writing huge write up labs and taking incredibly hard tests, you will be doing fill in the blank labs, fill in the blank notes, true/false quizzes (not tests), and 40 point extra credit word searches. I do have one warning for you though, don’t fall behind on your work! Do the labs and worksheets the night they’re assigned and you’ll have an A for sure!

Although junior year seemed intimidating at first, it turned out to be the best year of high school for me. Make sure you stick close to your friends — when you’re up late and are in desperate need of help on an assignment, you’ll realize that having good friends is what will carry you through junior year. Not only can you work on homework together, you can rely on each other to talk out your problems and get rid of some of the stress.

Also, allow yourself to have some fun every now and then; after all, you are still teenagers. This is all of the advice I have to offer; now it’s up to you to carry on the prestigious IB legacy. Good luck to you all and have fun!

Amanda Hansell

 

Dear future junior,

First and foremost I want to congratulate you on finally making it to the real IB and passing pre-IB. The workload is going to be more intense this year, but don’t be afraid, just follow my advice.

Do the work. Don’t find easy ways out, like cheating. Cheating can ruin your entire life. Either you get caught and have the world scorn you or you don’t and never have the drive to do the work that you’ll ultimately need in the real world. Getting caught is not that fun and neither is guilt. Neither is an angry Dr. Vetter. So don’t cheat for Dr. Vetter.

Please do not procrastinate. I know that it’s hard, and no matter how many times you’ve been told you just can’t work ahead — but do try. It makes everything a whole lot easier in the end. Especially the journals you will be doing in English. I have learned firsthand the evils of journal questions, and even had to pull my first all-nighter in completing a whole pile of them. So do yourself a favor and do them when you get them, or you will seriously regret it. Do all of your CAS paperwork when you do the activity. And actually do as much CAS as you can, it will keep the teachers off your back. Also, starting to stop procrastination now will help you later when you are assigned the Extended Essay! Fun!

Work hard! When the last day of school comes, and you finally get those senior privileges (legally), it will all be worth it. You will be able to rub it in all those puny sophomores’ faces as you get out for lunch early and get out of school early. And that’s only a taste of what’s to come your senior year. There’s no use leaving now, just do the best that you can do and even if you’re sad that you’re not in the top ten, Dr. Vetter still thinks you’re a winner, so act like one.

So, dear future junior, I hope you take my advice because it really does help keep your life in order. Before I go I just want to point out three things to remember: 1) You can do it; 2) You can do it; and 3) You can do it! So get ready for a fun year, and don’t get too stressed! Bye!

Former Junior,

Sarah Stone

 

Dear Class of 2008,

What is the most important piece of advice that I can give to you as upcoming IB juniors? Simply, enjoy your life. Find time to laugh, to spend with friends, to just sit on the couch and watch some good ol’ mind-numbing television. Whatever makes you happy, find time to do it. The hours spent at IB will come and go faster than you think. Without those memories of friends and laughter, IB will have become nothing more than a prison.

Another minor piece of advice is not to procrastinate. Although I must admit that I am a complete hypocrite and have never followed this advice. For example, rather than completing journal questions for English promptly; I decided to wait until Mrs. Smith told us the due date to begin writing my responses. Needless to say with over 170 questions, each question requiring approximately a paragraph long response. I spent an entire week and weekend frantically attempting to finish my journal. Procrastination is an IB epidemic, so don’t catch the disease.

Another recommendation would be to make a friend with an upperclassmen. It is perhaps the most beneficial advice that I can give. Not only can they provide support they are also a good resource. Having already completed your courses they are a great resource for the answers to your questions about the teachers or any other matter. The upperclassmen truly love to torture the underclassmen with horror stories of being awake for 72 hours before journals are due, or of the tedious hours put into completing a trig portfolio, or for the biology students who write fifteen page lab reports. All of these tales you will discover to only be half true when you reach these points in junior year.

Crystal Dick

 

Dear upcoming IB juniors,

The year ahead of you is a challenging one. Your teachers expect a lot from you. Enjoy your full nights of sleep this summer because you won’t get much sleep next year. One bright side is that you don’t have summer school this year. I learned a lot this year, and I can give you some advice to help make your junior year less hectic.

One of the most hated assignments in junior year is the English Journals. I doubt that you could find a single person in our class who enjoyed them. My advice to you is to answer the questions as you are reading the books, even if they are not due for another two months. Mrs. Smith has a tendency to tell you that she will give you plenty of notice as to when they will be due, and then announce on a Thursday that they must be completed by the following Tuesday. That is not much time to answer 127 journal questions, don’t you agree? That Tuesday at school, everyone will be comparing how much sleep they got… and almost no one in our class got more than five hours of sleep on the night before journals were due. I also advise you to do a good job on the journals and be very thorough. The journal questions may seem pointless and painstakingly long when you are doing them, but they are actually quite helpful for IB English orals in April.

I also advise you to get as many CAS hours completed as you can. Take advantage of the opportunity to get 35 hours the summer before senior year. If you don’t, you will already be behind come August. Join a school sport for one season in 11th and 12th grade and your 50 action hours will be completed. No past experience or training is required to join the swim team and everyone is welcome, so this team is a good choice for CAS hour completion. Service hours are the easiest hours to earn, so save those for last. Focus on getting the creative hours done, because those are the ones that most people have trouble completing.

Get ready for lectures about writing a thesis in Mr. Goss’s class. Especially the few weeks before the AP exam, Goss will go on and on about how “if you don’t have a thesis, you don’t have a paper.” Then, when he gets your green inserts back from the College Board, he informs the class that he thinks over half of us failed. How encouraging. Another word of advice for history class is to fail the pretest as badly as you can. Don’t even guess, just answer about 20 and leave the rest blank. This will maximize the extra credit that you can receive at the end of the year. Fourth quarter is the hardest because you have the least points in the class, so 25 extra credit points are a nice addition.

Despite all the work you have to complete, don’t despair. The teachers are some of the best ones around. They care about you a lot and will go out of their way to help you. Ms. Frisbie is super smart and can answer almost any question… or she can just make up an answer if she doesn’t know and still make it sound believable. Mrs. Kennon is hilarious, and her personality makes Biology the best upper level science, despite the horrid labs. Mr. Goss is great, even though he might burn your house down if you fail the AP test. Mrs. New is amazing, and so is her husband. Basically what I’m trying to say is that many of the teachers are more like friends, and if they see that you’re struggling they will help you out.

Friends are what make IB tolerable. Don’t stay locked up in your room doing homework all the time, have some fun once in a while. Go see a movie with your friends or if you’re one of those guys, play some poker. Get with friends and have one of those “study parties” where not much work gets done. These are great ways to relieve the stress of IB life. Encourage your friends not to procrastinate. Because basically, we all procrastinate, but life would be so much easier if we didn’t. Whether you have to do bio labs. English Journals, Trig portfolios, History DBQs, or Psychology internal assessments, getting them done and out of the way before the night before they are due is one of the best gifts you can give yourself I hope you enjoy your junior year as much as I did, and don’t let the rumors about the work get the best of you — you can still have a life, play sports, get a job, and do the things you enjoy.

Best of luck for next year,

Katie Kaminski

 

Fuzz’s Advice

You have decided to stick with the International Baccalaureate program for another year and you will enjoy one of the best and worst years of your high school career. What should you expect in your junior year of IB? The junior year at IB is said to be the worst year overall because of the large amount of work expected to be done on time by you. Sometimes the workload may become too much for you and you will think of quitting while at other times you will become confident in your ability to handle all the stress. As a student who has just completed his junior year, I offer you some tips on survival.

All of the IB teachers will tell you that they want you to pass. Believe them. Even the teacher of your hardest class is not out there to get you. All of them understand how much is asked of you and they try to work around important assignments in your other classes. Ask for their help and they will give it to you. Earlier this year I could not get anything higher than a C on Ms. Smith’s essays; however, after a few one-on-one talks with Ms. Smith about my writing technique, I was able to improve my writing. She spent her own time to help me get a better grade in her class. Teachers at IB will do that for you if you seek them out. I suggest you ask them all you can because you will need all the help you can get.

If the work does get the best of you, talk to someone. If the IB program was meant to punish only you, you would not have classmates going through the same things you are. Your classmates and friends are there to help you. This does not mean to go to them for answers to all the busy work Mr. Goss gives. They will build up your confidence when you need it. This year I spent most of my third quarter thinking of dropping out. I could not handle all the work and my family situation was not helping. I was not going to tell my classmates about my problems because I knew they would tell me not to leave without even thinking about my problems. It turns out that it was just what I needed. Some of my closest friends heard I was going to drop out and confronted me with a list of reasons why I should not. My teachers found out about it and gave me reasons why I should stay, too. I could not believe the amount of support I got from everyone. If you ever feel like dropping out, go to your friends and teachers for support because they know just what you are going through.

Although you may think you are the best at procrastinating, do not let the work pile up. Those of you who have never studied should start working it into your schedule. Having to do one of Ms. Frisbie’s internal assessments the same night that you start working your English internal assessment is far from fun. Just because you have two weeks to do the assignment does not mean you should wait until the last minute to do it. Things have changed from your freshman and sophomore year when the majority of your grade was determined by small assignments. Your internal assessments are not only going to be a class grade, but they are also going to go towards your IB grade. Screwing up on one of these assignments is the last thing you need. Create a schedule that works for you so you do not have to turn in or present a half-done project because it will hurt you.

The IB program is worth finishing and junior year is not going to be impossible to complete. Get your teacher’s help when you need it. Go to your friends for comfort and confidence because they will help you get through the hard times. Try not to procrastinate on every assignment because this year is much more important than the last. Find a schedule that works for you and adhere to it. For those of you who are gullible, do not pay attention to everything that Mr. Goss and Ms. Frisbie tell you. Enjoy your high school years because they can be the best time of your life if you want them to be.

Andrew Capik

 

Dear Junior,

Congratulations, you are now officially a member of the IB program! The last two years of your high school education have proved to be somewhat challenging, but you have survived. This coming year will prove to surpass the previous two in every way, however, I would like you to keep in mind one simple thought as you begin your journey, “without struggle there is no progress.” As you suffer through the journal questions, orals, portfolios, and internal assessments, remember that you are doing this for a purpose. You are paving the way for your future. It is you who will prosper from your sleepless nights and hard work. You WILL prevail and graduate IB, once you have done this you will be able to contribute immensely to your field of study and your society.

Time management, yes I know this concept has been drilled into our already bursting minds, unfortunately I have come to agree with it. In the long run it does no good to procrastinate on any aspect of your life; however, this is especially true when it comes to the rigorous IB curriculum. One of your busier and perhaps more difficult classes next year will be English and it will reveal that without adequate time management skills you will become stressed and lose large amounts of much needed sleep. This year you will be assigned an insane amount of journal questions that have a funny way of sneaking up on you as the due date approaches rapidly. The oral examinations serve as a constant reminder that you need to read all the material assigned and ask questions if you don’t understand, as well as the looming AP test at the end of the year. I recommend using your planner or a calendar daily in order to keep up with your many assignments and due dates. Without mine, I would utterly be lost until it returned. Do Not and I repeat Do Not underestimate the hours required to complete a project, you know yourself and your study habits so allow an adequate amount of time for you to do your best. Plan wisely, just think of one hour of TV a day results in 365 hours a year that you could have spent doing something more valuable with your time.

I know that we are often overwhelmed with our workload and our backpacks never more so than when we head home for the weekends. However, it is extremely important to your mental status that you take time for you. For me this relief comes by hanging out with friends going to movies, to dinner, playing poker, or just simply talking in good company. Our class has grown extremely close over the past three years and I would like your class to be able to do the same. Don’t take the ability to form close relationships for granted. High school is the basis for your education, but do not let it inhibit you from relating with people, service jobs are numerous in today’s society and it is important that you can communicate with those around you. As the year comes to a close, another class graduates, and everyone moves up the food chain,  do not forget what it was like to be at the bottom, treat everyone you come across with respect and courtesy. This is all the advice I can offer you at the moment for I am still learning, discovering, and creating just as you will continue to do. If you have any questions or need someone to talk to that can relate, you know where you can find me. Enjoy your summer and soak up the sun!

Your fellow IB-er

Caitlin Capps

 

There’s a couple things that will facilitate your transition into IB. Get important crap done on time, but feel free to slack off on regular homework.

Do your orals, bio labs, trig portfolios before they’re due so you don’t have to worry. Each one feels like a pack of bricks that gets taken off your shoulders, so when they’re done, they’re done. Listen to the goody-goodies who say don’t procrastinate, but only apply it to major works.

For regular homework, slack off! Do it during school, in class, whenever. Don’t kill yourself over 10-point assignments. Always remember that being absent means having an extra day or two to get that useless crap done.

Alejandro Lopez

 

Take care of your textbooks, especially the history ones. You don’t have to lose the textbook to be charged a fee: I lost $25 because I returned a “new” book in “good” condition. So be careful, OK? And don’t sit on your backpack.

Join band. Really. I just can’t see how everybody gets along doing nothing but sitting at a desk and taking notes all day, besides all the extracurricular stuff. Take band, and find out what you’re missing: It’s a completely new and different experience from the classroom. It’s re-energizing. At least always take an elective where you can get out of your desk for an hour a day. You don’t know how much you need it.

Tackle assignments upon their assignment. Teachers plan their due dates independently, and important projects will overlap frequently and randomly. Fact of Life.

You are crazy if you try to get a job during the school year. It is undoable.

Zachary Weatherby

 

Dear Rebekah Wise,

The year of 2006 has finally come to an end… that means that you are no longer a “freshie.” You will be entering the world of an average IB sophomore and being that I have just completed my sophomore year, I have some words of advice for you.

Most importantly, I know as a freshman you can easily put off projects and homework until the last minute and get away with it, but in tenth grade you should be more careful because most of the work you get may take longer than an hour. Not only is it a good idea not to procrastinate because you need the time, but you also have less stress. Once you get it down, it’s done, unless you have to present it. It is just so much easier and you may actually have a small amount of time to live your life again.

I know most of the work is hard, but no matter what you should always stay strong and try your best. If work starts to get a little too hard, then you can always form a small little study group or just have a study buddy so that they may be able to help you through it all in your time of need and stress. If no other student understands what you are having problems with, don’t hesitate to ask your teacher for help. I believe most of them would be more than happy to help you.

To be more specific, some work you receive you can do with a partner(s) and when it comes to group work, never let the other group members be the reason that you didn’t get the grade that you wanted. Either do the work yourself and don’t complain or let the teacher know that those students didn’t help you at all. Basically, don’t let anyone pull you down, if you fail it should be because of you, not because of someone else.

You should be able to make it through your sophomore year as long as you remember to try your best and never get too far behind in your school work. Good luck and I always need help myself so if you need a study buddy, you know where to find me. Make smart decisions in IB (and everywhere else of course, but especially in IB).

Sincerely,

Karissa Hansen

 

(upcoming junior)

When I look back on this school year, I only see the flaws in what I did and chose to do.  This is why my advice to you will be based on those flaws more than on my accomplishments.  You can use this advice for your sophomore year or ignore it completely, but at least consider it.

First of all, here is a little advice on what classes not to take as an IB student.  Do not take Personal Fitness; it is an absolute waste of time due to the fact that it is designed to be easy enough for the dumbest kid in high school to pass it.  It is also very difficult to learn anything in there.  If you feel that you are having a hard time in your classes and need some breathing room 2nd semester, then take either Law Studies or Weightlifting.  Besides that I do not have any other advice to give you on which classes you should not take or actually take.

Now comes something that might appeal to you a bit more: how to survive the workload.  All sophomores have to take the following classes: AP World History, Chemistry, English 2, and Algebra 2 or Trig/Analyt.  All of these classes handout a lot homework, not counting studying for tests.  The first thing that must be stated is to stick to any commitments you make to yourself.  If you decide to study Chemistry on the way to school in morning, do it, don’t let yourself go to sleep or talk to anyone else.  When Mr. Rhoden (World History) tells you to read the chapter, start reading it on the way home because the chapters tend to get very lengthy and hard to follow, so if you read half of the assignment one day and the rest the next day, you will be better off than you can imagine.  On days that you have tests in Chemistry, make sure to take your Chemistry book with you not only to study but also so that you can get started on the notes for the next chapter after finishing the test.  This is a heads up for you Ms. Hardee (English 2) likes to give pop vocabulary tests.  The moment she gives you the vocabulary list start studying because you will regret it when she hands out one of those tests and you’re not ready (Reading the books she assigns is also very helpful in passing the class).  For those of you taking Trig/Analyt next year, do any homework you can if there is time at the end of class, that way Ms. Frisbie can help you.  If at any point in time you notice that your grade in Trig is really bad and you need to ace the next exam, put some questions together and talk to Ms. Frisbie the day before the exam at the latest.  One more thing, do your homework and turn it in, even if you only did part of it.

Now for my last tip to you, do not be afraid to socialize a little with kids from your class.  A big mistake that I have always made is to try doing things on my own and deal with my own problems.  Do not make that mistake yourself.  Talk to other kids in your class, trade phone numbers or e-mail addresses, help each other out without cheating on your teachers.  Whether you believe it or not, your friends can teach you how to do something without giving you the answer and you can do the same for them.

That is all the advice I can give to you about the IB, the rest is up to you.

Moisés Rivero

 

Advice to an upcoming sophomore

Congratulations on completing your first year in the IB program! I’m sure you’re feeling proud of yourself, but, beware; the worst is still to come. One of the first things you must realize is that the sophomore year is much. much harder than your freshman year. Make sure you adjust the amount of effort you put into your work accordingly. I made the mistake of lazing through my first few weeks, and my grades took a nosedive. I had to scramble during the last weeks of the grading period in order to get my grades up to an acceptable level. Don’t make that same mistake. Go in with 100% effort from the start.

If you are strong in math, you can take an IB Trigonometry class with IB Juniors. This class is extremely rewarding, and it helps your GPA if you can get an A or B in it. At the beginning of every quarter, you will be issued 2 late passes that will allow you to turn in homework up to a week late. Heed these words: late passes may be a tantalizing way to put off work, but save them! Unless you absolutely must use them, save them until the end of the quarter. You can then turn them in for 5 extra credit points apiece. Needless to say, this will greatly boost your grade.

Finally, study for chemistry! Chemistry is easily one of the most challenging classes I took last year, and with tests weighted at 200 points each, slipping up badly can destroy your grade. Make sure you regularly check the calendar you get and know when each test is.

I’ve given you the main pointers you need to ensure a successful year. The rest is up to you. Don’t allow yourself to become lazy and let your work slip. Keep pushing through till the end. Summer will be much more rewarding that way.

Rohan Khurana

 

Looking back on this year, I have little regrets, which is definitely a good thing overall.  The overwhelming majority of circumstances and choices I made this year (concerning classes, what work not to do, arriving late, etc.) were favorable. However, there are a few things that I would suggest doing differently to you, an incoming sophomore.

First of all, taking two art classes as my electives is the best choice I have made. It gives me two classes in which I have easy A’s plus more time to work on my stuff. Also, because I have two classes, Pie lets me study, sleep, and read if I have nothing else to do. It’s awesome. And that reminds me of another fabulous thing about sophomore year – sleep. There was really only 1 class this past year in which I wasn’t able to sleep. That was chemistry. Mr. Rhoden will let you sleep just so long as you’re not doing anything in class. Mrs. Hardee really doesn’t care what you do with your time in her class, just so long as you get your work done. Ms. Frisbie will let you sleep, but for small amounts of time (hey, you take what you can get). The ready availability of sleeping time was probably the best part of this past year, no doubt about it. Hmm… towards the end of this year, teachers have gotten really lenient. That is also a definite plus. Oh, and being tardy is not that big of a deal… depending on the teacher. I was very lucky to have relaxed 1^st and 2^nd period teachers who would kind of wag their finger at me if I was late, but never really counted it against me. Try to work your schedule so that you can be late to school without serious repercussions. Like, don’t have Ms. Frisbie first thing in the morning – she doesn’t seem to like tardies. I’ve seen how stressed out my sister gets worrying about whether or not she’s going to be late to her class. It’s a dangerous thing. Furthermore, towards the end of the year, skipping class becomes a way of life. I know that sounds terrible and it doesn’t work for everybody, but if I didn’t skip class every now and then, I’d go crazy. Especially Spanish class – I cannot be in there 3 days a week. It’s torture. So if you ever feel that way about your classes, just don’t go. J

Now onto things I’d do differently. Well, I would’ve studied more for my last chemistry test. If I did that, I wouldn’t have to freak out about my final and whether I’ll get an A in there or not.

To help you out, here’s some generic advice that I pretty much followed and that worked for me. I guess I’ll tell you not to procrastinate or whatever, but nobody listens when they’re told that and nobody really means it when they give you such advice, unless they’re Dr. Vetter. Don’t stress out. Ever. There is no point whatsoever. And typically, the work that you choose not to do, turns out not to be due anyways. At a certain point, you have to choose sleep over work – duh. Try not to be uptight about grades – it’s not healthy and doesn’t help you in the long run. Not being in the top 10 is not the worst thing that can happen. Nobody likes those top 10 snobs anyways. J The rent-a-cops won’t stop you if you leave school early – they’re old. If you don’t get sucked into Myspace, you will have so much more time to do homework. (I never followed that advice.) And most importantly, party it up whenever you have the chance! You’ll get to love your classmates much more and be able to relax at the same time. It’s a miracle.

So all in all, enjoy your years at IB. They’re not that bad when you look back on it.

Dana Harbaugh

 

Freshman Tips

• Shop ‘Til You Drop- You need to buy tons of paper, pencils, and pens because IB uses so many that it’s ridiculous.
• Play Nice-Be nice to your class mates because you’ll have to deal with them for four years and you don’t want them breathing down your neck the entire time.
• Make Friends-Make a lot of friends so you can get what you want, be really nice to the ones that look like they’ll take goods notes.
• Learn Yoga-  Find a way to release your stress because you will be up to your ears in it, especially if you procrastinate.
• Procrastinate-  Procrastinate because it adds an unexpected thrill to your everyday life, you never know what’s going to be due next.
• Use Late Passes-  To assist in procrastination use Frisbie’s late passes, they help when you just don’t feel like doing it or have portfolios.
• Sleep-Talking on-line is not nearly as much fun that you’ll have sleeping, it’s very relaxing, you should try it.
• Portfolios-  Two weeks in advance make sure your printer is working because your printer will always break while printing portfolios.  By the way, you might want to start, at least, once you get home from school the day before it’s due.
• Sign Up For French-  French is much better than Spanish hands down.
• Library-The library is your best resource, you’ll need it to do your English during lunch.
• Food-  Learn how to store food in your book bag, you’ll get very hungry since thought takes a lot of carbohydrates.
• Clubs-  Join many clubs and sports so it will appear as though you have a life, although it may only be a simulation.
• Humility-  Learn early off that IBers are competitive and take all competitions very seriously.  Competitions are competitions, nothing personal.
• GPA-  People in IB are very competitive about GPA, don’t care about it, it’s stupid.  Simply get A’s and don’t care about anything else.
• English-Actually read the English books, they are fairly interesting and yes, Mrs. Harb will know.
• Lockers-Lockers are your friends, they are good at lightening your book load and saving your spine from total destruction.
• Vetter-Dr. Vetter (Mr. Ed) is nice, and don’t be really freaked out when on the first day of summer school he already know your name and acts like a freaky stalker.  Simply don’t get on his bad side because you don’t want to see his bad side.

Reagan Lee

 

Dear freshmen,

Welcome to the IB at Bartow! I, at the moment, am a freshman, just like you. You are probably scared and all that other good stuff… but don’t be. What you should first consider, is why you want to come. If your parents are making you, wrong idea. Go because you want it. I have wanted to go the IB since the second grade. Yes, I realize that’s crazy.

Also, let me mention that IB isn’t as horrendously anti-social as some may put it. You may meet some people like that, but not all of them. In fact, those kids may start out like that, but they grow on you. Some kids may seem intimidating, but don’t let them make you feel inferior. Even if you’re not in the Top 10, you aren’t stupid; there are just some people who are anal-retentive about GPA’s. If you’re so desperate to make the Top 10, don’t go off CHEATING. Instead think about the fact that you’re already the cream of the crop of Polk County. Be proud.

Okay, on to academics. So, personally, TAKE FRENCH, that’s a command. I mean unless of course you are just one of the kids of parents who are like “no one speaks French anywhere, it’s useless!” The first year of summer school is one of the best! Everyone is still first getting to know each other. I have found out that branching out to people out of your middle school is the best way to go. After a short period of time, you just can’t stand each other… hehe. Don’t hesitate to make a fool of yourself or act “nerdy,” everyone does it.

Hmm… the teachers, your guidance through IB. Starting with Lenker, oh wow, what a thrill! Ask him to put his leg behind his head. Don’t get Patton upset; she’s one of the sweetest teachers ever. Ooohh, Kennon, make sure your labs are very thorough and keep a planner handy for your semester with her. With Longworth, her class is pretty lax, but study, her tests are difficult. Bring a deck of cards to her class or a hacky sack. Lastly, Harb, the English freshman teacher; all I can say is get her fifth period if you can. We call her Mama Harb; our fifth period is practically like family.

Here are some valuable tips:

~Get to lunch early if you are buying it.

~Don’t drink the Bartow juice.

~Take a Bartow class. (Good study halls)

~Watch the 400 hall during 6^th period, very crowded… ice fights

~Join clubs and get involved

~Play sports. (Trust me you have the time.)

~Make friends with the upper classmen.

~Bus rides…yeah nap time

Good Luck!

Caitlyn Soriano

P.S. If you are taking trigonometry as a freshman, watch those portfolios Frisbie gives…