These were written by juniors, to advise new juniors. The advice is theirs alone, and individual students sometimes contradict each other. Some of it is probably exactly what you would expect, and some of it is… not. They are in no particular order.

 

Dear Future IB Victim,

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably endured the first two years of high school; and hence, experienced your first taste of IB-related schooling. You’re probably thinking that you’ve been through hell and back already, and all those horror stories told to you by the scary upperclassmen can’t possibly be true. You’re also probably thinking that you can just go ahead and forget all of that information that your teachers attempted to cram down your throats this year, because obviously, you’ll “never use it.” Furthermore, you may be under the impression that your individual IB class is as close as could be possibly be true, and that you’ll never grow apart. I’m here to tell you that you’re probably wrong on all of those fronts, even if some of the statements seem somewhat valid. However, you’ll find that there is still hope at the end of the tunnel.

As far as advice, it seems rather futile to try to scramble around to find words that describe your junior year, when nothing can really prepare you for what’s to come. Don’t let this scare you, though, for this is only true because 11th grade is completely unique for each person. By junior year, you will have chosen your language, science, electives, and math courses which will set you on a more specialized path, and will also narrow down the other students in your class and the teachers that you see every day. There are a lot of typical suggestions I could offer for your upcoming year; as far as which are the hardest courses, how much you should study for which classes, warnings against procrastination, etc. However, all of those small tidbits of information that were presented to all of us last year did nothing but give us a false impression that we knew what was coming. The following musings are the few words that I wish someone would have taken the time to lay before me.

I’ll start by saying that procrastination is inevitable. It’s obvious that the IB workload is not a walk in the park, and it’s bound to happen… a lot. On the other hand, there are certain huge assignments that I would strongly advise you to not procrastinate on… namely, planning labs, portfolios, and IB orals. I can’t tell you how important it is to have at least looked over the portfolio assignment the day before it is due, when the frizz usually goes over the questions of your fellow, fore-thinking classmates. The questions are asked for a reason; it is confusing. Don’t miss the helpful hints just because you had no idea what they were in reference to the morning before the deadline. Furthermore, these three types of assignments not only take excruciatingly large amounts of time (you will pull an all-nighter), but they will also come back to haunt you later on if you blow them over. IB orals, for instance, count for 15% of your final IB grades that go towards your diploma. Planning labs for your sciences and portfolios are worth somewhere in the same area; obviously, it is not in your best interests to put anything less than a decent effort into them. As far as procrastination on other assignments? Go for it. By junior year, I’m pretty sure that at least a good part of us get a sick and twisted satisfaction from avoiding getting our work done. This most likely has to do with useless efforts to convince ourselves that IB doesn’t completely rule our lives.

Now that the fact that you actually must work hard some of the time has been addressed, it’s on to more realistic advice. It’s quite simple actually: don’t take school so seriously. Don’t misunderstand me, IB will take us great places; however, this is also the only high school experience that we will get, and it’s a shame to waste it being stressed out constantly. How did I keep things in perspective throughout this year? It’s as easy as slacking off every once in awhile. Whether it be going to a movie after school, heading straight to bed right after coming home from a dance class at night, hanging out with friends on schooldays (god forbid), or just locking your book bag in your car and not touching it until school the next day, you have got to learn to take breaks when necessary. Mind you, the breaks should be carefully scheduled, this is not a smart thing to do before your semester exams. Vocab sentences and normal math homework assignments, on the other hand, are worth a few enough points that it is not a huge deal to put them on the back burner once in awhile, in exchange for maintaining sanity.

Finally, and this may be the one thing that I hope to stress most to you, love your IB family. Even if your class is still completely infatuated with each other coming out of sophomore year, it is inevitable that you will drive each other half insane by Christmas junior year. This goes along with the territory of a strenuous workload, and most likely, very small amounts of sleep. Sooner or later, you will have one of those horrible days, when you would give anything not to be at school, and that silly pet peeve of the person sitting next to you in first period will make you tempted to rip their silly trigonometry-filled heads off. The important thing to remember here, is that at one point, you will surely be that annoying person sitting next to the kid having the horrible day. It doesn’t matter who you are. Despite all of this, however, you must love, respect, and be thankful for all of those people that are trudging to school to spend 8 hours a day, every single day, with you for four years. I can guarantee that they are not only probably the only people that can handle your grumpiness so early in the morning (they’ve become desensitized to it), but also the only group of people that you will be able to rant to about assignments and issues that will seem meaningless to anyone outside of the IB realm. These are your teachers, who stay into all hours of the late afternoon to ensure that you understand every aspect of statistical distributions before your final the next day. These are the principals and guidance counselors that you never need to schedule an appointment weeks in advance to see, who greet you in the hall by first name, and who know exactly what your interests and aspirations are without having to look it up on file during your junior conference. These are the kids that are willing to leave 15 minutes early for school, even though they already live 45 minutes away, just to stop and get donuts and arizona iced teas on the day they know you have your IB oral and a bio lab due, and are verging on mental breakdown. It’s easy to get annoyed with each other throughout the year, and complain behind each other’s backs about those idiosyncrasies that you can’t stand. In the long run, though, they are what’s going to be what makes the last two years of IB worth it, and it would be a great shame to take them for granted.

I’ve said all I can say; junior year will be a different adventure to each individual person. Enjoy it best you can, take the good for what it’s worth, and remember that it will be bearable if you take it one step at a time. After all, a full ten IB classes have survived it before you!

Good luck,

Lauren Kalogridis

 

Dear upcoming IB juniors,

Next year will be the beginning of the big game, the real deal, your chance to show everyone what you’re really made of. I’m sure people have told you different stories about your junior year. The truth is, everyone’s experience is different. It all depends on how hard you work and how well you manage your time. It also helps to grow out of the habit of procrastinating, which seems to be evident in most of the IB students. Here are some tips for each teacher and subject that you might find helpful. My first period was Mrs. Frisbie. She’s pretty cool, but she can be irritated when you ask her stupid questions or if you ask her a question that was already asked several times. Don’t talk while she’s giving a lesson… EVER! It’s pretty rude in the first place, but it annoys her a lot. You can usually do homework in her class, but I would advise you to pay attention because she explains things a whole lot better than the book does. She also gives you easy, blunt ways to remember things. There will also be a notebook quiz every nine weeks. If you can remember most of the vocabulary and equations and whatnot, you’ll probably do fine. However, if she goes over something important in class, you should write it down because it might show up on one of these quizzes. One of the biggest things that helped during Frisbie’s class were the chapter reviews she put online that helped you get ready for a test. She usually will go over things in class if you still don’t understand them right before the test, but that’s not an excuse to not study. Another important thing to remember about her class is to not put off doing the portfolio assignments. Each of them take at least six hours, sometimes more. You’ll want a few days to do these, so start as soon as you get them.

My second period was dance. Most of you won’t have this, unless you’re on the dance team, but if you do, just remember that Mr. Eckman will like you if you work hard, stay quiet, and don’t spread rumors. Drama is ALWAYS a bad thing on the team, so KEEP IT AWAY!

I had the pleasure of having Señora Salcedo to teach my Spanish class. I know that you guys have a different Spanish teacher, but just remember that as long as you try to finish your homework and really apply yourself when working on Spanish, you’ll be fine.

My fourth period was English. Mrs. Smith is a sweetheart if you don’t argue with her tactics. Don’t ever try to turn in work late to her, she doesn’t like that. Also, if you constantly forget to do your homework, she will think that you’re just making up excuses sooner or later. When she gets annoyed with you, she will let you know by growling at you, but don’t let that scare you. She’s really a nice person who likes to have fun and gossip. If you are light-spirited and compliment her, you’ll be her favorite student. Pay attention in her class and don’t be afraid to get creative with any project she gives you. She really likes creative, out-of-the-box type things. She IS an English teacher after all. She really likes poetry, so write her a poem for the literary magazine if you can. When she gives you journal questions, DO THEM! They may not look like a lot, but they seriously take a lot of time and it usually takes two days to finish them if that’s the only thing you work on that day and if you answer the question thoroughly. Read the books and essays that she gives you, too. Sparknotes won’t help on the quizzes and tests she gives you, especially when you get to House of the Spirits. When it comes to formal and informal orals, don’t panic. Your formal oral won’t suck if you take notes in her class and read the book. Being a productive worker during discussion time and getting involved in the explanations of passages really helps, too. Take about a week to do your informal oral, and remember that she likes them to focus on the connection between the author and the work, not just the contents of the work. This year in English is mainly diving into the purpose behind the work and the message that the author was trying to send the reader. As long as you pay attention, you’ll be fine.

Mr. Goss is one of the best History teachers I have ever known. I have an extremely bad memory, but he makes history easy to learn and understand. I would advise you to buy an AP book at the beginning of the year. He gives you an AP book, too. In order to pass a test, you really don’t have to read the book. DO THE WORKBOOKS! Don’t copy off of people. It’s okay to discuss answers, but if you go through the book and look for the answers, you’ll already know half of the material. After you do the workbook, read his AP book and your AP book. There are also chapter outlines for your textbook of course-notes.org. That website helps a lot. Keep your indicator word sheet when you get it. Keep it with you at all times. There will come a time when he randomly calls for a DBQ introductory page. You’ll see what I mean when you get it. He’ll tell you all about it. Don’t argue with him or tell him that he’s wrong about something. He’s old and I know that he might start to forget about some things. If you doubt him, just look up what really happened so you know it. Then you can laugh to yourself about it when you know that he’s wrong… but only tell him that he’s wrong if he’s teaching the class something that you are SURE is wrong. Be polite about it, too. Don’t just say “Hey, dipstick, you’re wrong,” because he’ll say, “Up your nose with a rubber hose” right back.

The first semester, I had Mrs. New during my sixth period. She’s a really fun person, with good intentions, but she doesn’t know how to keep her class quiet. I felt really bad for her when everyone in the class was talking and she was trying to explain something. Stay quiet when she’s trying to give you instructions because she won’t ever stand up for herself or yell at you to be quiet. A lot of kids take advantage of her being so nice. As long as you turn in the work that she gives you, you can pass her class. Psychology wasn’t that hard, but I would get an AP book if I were you. Most people think that the AP test will be a breeze, but there are still a lot of things that you need to know about Psychology before you take it. It is an AP test after all.

The second semester, I had Mr. Guice during sixth period. TOK isn’t a joke like everyone says it is. It really is an interesting class. Some people think that the things he gives you to read are boring, but if you take the time to read them, they are really neat. The class will tend to go an random tangents and conversations that might not end up at a real answer, but with several other questions. His class gives you the opportunity to finish work that you might not have had time to finish for other classes, but again, I would advise you to not use it as a last resort, but rather as a “oh great, I forgot about THAT that’s due today” time. It’s really important to turn in all of your extended essay papers, because at the end of the year, he will tell you that you need all of them in before summer. If you want to survive your senior year without rushing to get things done, it’s smart to finish or almost finish your extended essay over the summer. Mr. Guice is almost like Mrs. New in the fact that he is really laid-back, but he knows how to control a classroom. You will pass his class as long as you do the work, but make sure that when you do your presentations that you pick an interesting topic and that you use the sheet that he will use to grade you to develop your presentation. TOK was my favorite class.

Chemistry is really difficult. As long as you don’t argue with him and as long as you do all of your work and keep your notebook organized, you can pass. You might not, however, pass the AP exam unless you get an AP book. The best one to get would probably be Barron’s. Princeton is also a good AP chemistry book. The tests he will give you have questions that he uses over and over again, and he lets you use your notebook on tests, so you can look for the answers in the old tests. This method takes a long time, though, and it isn’t really much help if you want to learn the material, it would be best to go through your book and try to figure out the answers using your own abilities.

During the junior year, the students begin to get a little arrogant. They don’t respect their teachers and much and take advantage of those who don’t take charge. That has really annoyed me this year. The most important thing for you to do your junior year is to manage your time and not put things off until the last minute. This year will be full of things that might seem easy, but really take a long time. The year also calls for you to step up and start to be comfortable with making presentations to the classroom. It’s great practice for people who are nervous, so take advantage of that opportunity. Remember to respect your teachers and try to understand where they’re coming from. Talking during class only wastes time and people will probably just think that you’re an idiot for what you say anyway. When people try to make up rude comments to impress others, it tends to do the opposite. People just see them as a helpless kid trying to be big and bad by making themselves look witty. Just do your work diligently, give your teachers the proper respect they deserve, and remember that procrastination leads to destruction. It’s easier to say that you made a bad grade because you made a lot of mistakes than it is to say that you made a bad grade because you waited until the class before. You have to up your game this year, but don’t let it scare you. You’ve been well prepared for all that you have to go through. I’ve noticed that the students that get their work done early and pay attention in class had a much easier time this year than those that do their work during class or do all of their work at home and don’t pay much attention during class. Some teachers may play favorites without knowing that they are. It’s really important to establish that early that you are the student and they are the teacher and they have more knowledge than you do. That doesn’t mean that you can’t speak up when they make mistakes; no one’s perfect; but don’t act like you know more than they do. Self-righteous and hot-headed people are some of the most annoying on the planet.

Sincerely, your upcoming IB senior (hell yeah!),

Whitney Buey

 

This year has been rough… mainly because of the intense amount of homework that we have had the pleasure of having to do. There were too many things I wish I had had advice with so that I wasn’t such a fool in ruining my sleep habits, but you take what sleep you can get and make do. After hearing some complaints by others and listening to my own mind, I have amassed some advice that should be given to upcoming juniors before it is too late.

For starters one should not… let me repeat for emphasis… SHOULD NOT take biology because that class is more trouble than it is worth. After hearing about the ridiculous, painful, ungodly, ridiculous (did I already say that?) amount of homework the students of that class receive, I am most certainly glad I did not take that course. Even if the other science subjects up for the taking are not interesting and biology is, I still think one would be ill-advised in taking such a demonic class. Sure, those that take the class will most likely be able to pass the IB exams and such, but the amount of lost time and the decrease in life span of about twenty years from all the nights spent being awake doing homework until four in the morning make such a precedent quite invaluable. All the stress found in trying to finish the tons of homework, the C’s that come along on the report card that drop one’s GPA… the class simply was not meant to be taken, so why feed an insatiable beast? Do not take this infernal class… it is that simple.

To that end one should also be advised not to simply dawdle around in either of the other two science classes. The teachers… no offense to them, but one does not care whether you do the work or not (or pay attention for that matter), while the other apparently cannot teach a thing.

Don’t get me wrong, they know their stuff about the subject matter… they just can’t always express in a way that a student could actually learn something from. From day one, one should begin teaching himself the subject matter so that by the time AP test comes around it is not impossibly difficult. If one does not know everything there is to know when it comes to the subject matter in question, the AP test will conquer. Simple as that. Whereas biology is a torturous class that brings pain over an extending period of time, these other two science classes make “death” quick and easy as one realizes that he can’t pass the exam. So either begin early with the studying, or just don’t give a second thought to it and just go ahead and enjoy the high school life (perhaps laughing at the bio kids from time to time just for kicks).

The last tidbit of advice I give is to not procrastinate on Mrs. Smith’s cursed journal questions. The only thing worse than the pure evil found in those journal questions is the devil (or rather, biology). Even if one didn’t take biology (they made the right choice), should they wait until the last minute to start working on these messengers of death they will not enjoy their nights. If these things aren’t off one’s chest, they simply hang overhead as a couple buzzards, perhaps some hurricanes and tornadoes, thunderbolts of Zeus himself… not separately mind you, those are all together hanging over that head. Sleepless nights come with the procrastination of these foul beasts, but if one would just stretch the work out over a nice time period, they should be simple enough. By and far these are the worst things I think I have come across this year, but I can happily say I made it through these dark times. Except for the AP Physics test… that thing is still blowing my mind… Heed these words of mine, for they will greatly affect your stature heading into senior year (or the second semester for that matter… ). Good luck, and I’ll see you dead or alive the year after (hopefully).

Sam White

 

Dear Rising IB Juniors,

I am sure you all are excited about the end of the year and your advancement into the real start of the IB curriculum. However, I am also sure many of you are wondering what to expect and how you should prepare yourselves.

Well, the key to surviving next year will be good organization and time management. Plan everything out and get as much as you can done ahead of time. Do not complain when you are instructed to write a long essay or do a math portfolio. Just work on it little by little, pacing yourself, so you can complete the assignment and turn it in on time. Trust me, when you complain about assignments all you do is waste time, and procrastination is something you cannot afford. If you procrastinate. you will find large assignments piling up and end up wasting what little sleep you already get in order finish them. Now, that was simply some general guidelines to try to follow. However, others are probably interested in what to expect from each course.

I personally chose to take the Calculus route in math (pre-calculus for this year), Spanish for my foreign language, and chemistry for my AP science. However, no matter which path you chose, you call expect to run into your fair share of problems (some more so than others).

For math this upcoming year you will have no problem, especially if this is your preferred subject area. Your new teacher is great at teaching the concepts and if you do not understand something just ask in class, before or after school and she will be more than happy to help you. However, you may find this class less than ideal upon doing your first math portfolio. These assignments are designed to demonstrate your knowledge of math concepts in detailed manner. As I mentioned before, the key is time management. Just do the work in parts until it’s done rather than panic and do everything last minute.

Those of you who are taking Spanish, practice as much as possible. If need be, eat, drink, and think Spanish. The only way to truly master a language is repetition. So, try to find time to watch a television program in Spanish for a few minutes a day, force yourself to talk to other Spanish students in the language, or read online articles printed in Spanish. If you are not a fan of foreign languages, you may find this tiresome and boring, but it will pay off in the end. As you practice more your comprehension will begin to increase, and comprehension is an essential for passing the AP exam. However, aside from teaching yourself to practice consistently, Spanish will be fairly simple; just do the work and turn it in on time.

Those of you who are brave enough to take chemistry, all I can say is read the AP book. Your chemistry teacher is by far knowledgeable in his Subject area, but he tends to be unable to teach it appropriately. Unless you are naturally gifted at chemistry, you find the need to self-teach much of this course as even requesting help from your teacher can become quite frustrating. Also, feel free to address your guidance counselor or principal about these teaching issues. However, in the mean time do not sit idly by and wait for them to fix the problem. Form a study group and use your AP book as a guide in order to prepare yourselves for the AP exam. Aside from this outside work, though, your course work should be fairly simple with a lot of interesting labs. (Once again, simply do the work and turn it in and you will not have any problems with grades in this class.

All of you upcoming juniors, though, will he taking Theory of Knowledge. In my personal opinion, this is one of the coolest classes you get to take. The atmosphere tends to be fairly laid back and the key is simply in-depth thinking. You explore the ways in which we obtain knowledge and how to ascertain what knowledge truly is. If you have a tendency to avoid such in-depth thinking, you might find the class boring and come to believe you do little more than prepare your extended essay in this class. However, if you like such things, I think you will greatly enjoy the class            . Again, maintaining a good grade is fairly simple. All you need do is complete the work on time and turn it in (beginning to see a pattern?).

Next year will probably have its ups and downs, but do not worry it will be generally enjoyable overall. In summary: Do not complain about your work; just get it done. Manage your time wisely and stayed organized. If you can manage to generally follow those guidelines. you should not have too much trouble next year Well, until you have to actually worry about all this next year, enjoy your summer!

Sincerely,

Ben Shaia

 

Dear upcoming Junior,

There are many things you should keep in mind about next year’s classes, and school in general. First of all, is the golden rule that everyone tells you every single year: procrastination will be your downfall. I know, you are constantly told this, but it becomes increasingly true in your junior year. It may seem like it’s not a big deal at the beginning of the year, but towards the end, things will really pile up on you. From English orals to extended essay deadlines, you really don’t want to fall behind.

It is also important to keep up with your English journal. This is a class of “not procrastinating” all on its own. English journals take a really long time to do if you leave them until the last minute, and it will ruin your grade to not do them on time. It is also best to do them with plenty of time left, seeing as they will help you in senior year. They will also help you with the formal oral you must do next year. So in short: the better you do them, the better your grade, and the more you benefit.

The last bit of advice I have for you is to simply have fun! You are already halfway finished with high school, and IB. There is no use in dropping out now. Just enjoy it. These are supposed to be some of the best years of your life; don’t ruin it for yourself.

Sincerely,

Andrea Fontes

 

Dear IB Sophomores,

After completing my third year of IB at BHS I have gathered advice and tips to help you out.

The terrible habit that every IB student falls under in their junior year is procrastination. Students look at the immense amount of work ahead of them and simply put it off. Do not do this! Eventually the work will pile upon more work and you will soon be overwhelmed with stress. Fighting against stress while also trying to get work completed is one of the hardest tasks to complete. Stress may either make or break you as an IB student depending on how you handle situations. Always be calm, do not freak out about anything. Pick a pace for you to complete the work. Soon enough, stress will relieve itself.

Your schedule is another key factor in the plan to have a great junior year experience. Be sure to balance your schedule with a mixture of hardworking classes and fun classes. Obviously in IB you cannot pick all of your classes such as History, English, or T.O.K. classes, but be sure to choose classes that are appropriately balancing. For example, I chose Art and YJP for my electives instead of AP Environmental Science or AP French. My electives served as relaxing periods where I could cool off from my rigorous schedule.

Besides a balanced schedule and reduction of stress, a junior year IB student must have good relationships with fellow students and teachers. This is important, even if you do not like anyone at the school. Having a friendly yet serious environment at school is vital to a great junior year. The junior year IB teachers are friendly and knowledgeable enough to establish a great student-teacher relationship; you just have to be open.

After given this advice, you are now ready to start your journey through junior year of IB. Remember to have work hard and have fun.

Patrick Reddy

 

All right congrats guys on finishing and surviving the 2nd and final year of the pre-IB program at Bartow High School. Now comes year 1 of the real stuff, some say that first year is hardest, others say that 10th grade is the hardest, for me this past year was a beast. So I will give you advice on how to make this year as painless as possible. We’ll start with the curriculum, then CAS hours, and finally teachers.

Okay basically here’s the scoop, class wise. I recommend you guys take design tech, it’s less essay writing than Psychology, plus if you haven’t met him yet Harrison is a great teacher. And since you guys will be taking the Higher Level Course you’ll have plenty of time to work on your design project. By the way: DON’T PUT IT OFF! You’re designing a freaking new product, and it’s not cool working on it over spring break. I also recommend joining the Technology Student Association chapter at Bartow, Harrison will love you for this if you do a good job at the state level and it’s also a good experience. Okey Dokey then, time for science, as far as I am concerned you’re doomed either way you go. I signed up for physics and got chemistry, don’t ask me how. Rule of advice for chem: Buy a Princeton AP review book for chem. It will come in handy and read it over the summer. From what I am told if you choose biology you will need to prepare yourself for one of the hardest courses in your life. You will be swamped by labs and worksheets, but on the other hand you get to dissect a cat and you have a better chance of passing the AP exam. As for math take Frisbie’s precalc; that class rocks hard and Mrs. Frisbie can put the complicated stuff in terms you can relate, plus she has over a terabyte of music on her computer. If you’re like me and lazy, and you don’t feel like taking stats I recommend marketing essentials. Mr. Brennan is a great teacher with a good sense of humor, also it’s an easy A and a good refresher on economics.

Big thing about the junior year is CAS, here’s my advice: get ’em done and fill out the paperwork as soon as possible. Don’t pull the same mistakes I did and leave them till the last day of school, same goes with honor society hours. To get CAS hours isn’t that hard, for Action join a school athletic team such as swimming, for service actually read Cavanaugh’s emails; there are lots of opportunities. Now for Creative, if you can’t sing, dance, play an instrument, or paint, I recommend TSA because the industrial arts is still a form of art.

Now time to talk about the teachers themselves, let’s start with Mrs. Frisbie since I had math 1st period. Frisbie is pretty cool all around, she has a good sense of humor and actually can relate to some of the things you can be talking about, the only thing is try not to make her angry on C days. Next is Harrison, he might be one of my favorites because I’ve been with him for 3 years and he is the advisor for the TSA chapter, plus he has lots of cool stories and great quotes. Next comes Mr. Goss, he happens to be a conservative republican who hates pinko commies. Insults you might receive from him include: pinko pig, your mother’s left-handed, pukin’, farflehead, tree hugger, may a bird of paradise fly up your nose, and I am gonna burn your house down. He’ll call me Mauricy or MM so I usually refer to him as Gossy or GG. 4th I have TOK with Guice and you guys know him, and then I have Mrs. Smith, where can I start? Smith is interesting, plus you’ll hate those journal questions and that’s all I can say now. For my Frenchys if you think that Mrs. Dietert is like Lenker you are dead wrong. In her class you speak French from bell to bell, which makes me wonder why I didn’t take Spanish, and you know Helmick. Well that’s junior year in a nutshell, best of luck guys.

Tito Miranda

 

My first advice would be to complete as many CAS hours as you can during the summer before 11th grade. If the year has already started, then I suggest always having CAS forms on you handy. If you’re in the National Honor Society, remember that those hours can be used for CAS as well.

If you’re in Pre-Calculus, I suggest always doing the homework no matter how well you think you’re going to do on the exams. The sum of all the 10 point assignments can really help your grade. If you did badly on a test, don’t be lazy — retake it. Ms. Frisbie is a really good teacher and one of the most reasonable so you shouldn’t have any serious trouble learning the material, which is saying a lot coming from me because math is one of my worst subjects.

The most time-consuming assignments you will do in English are the journal questions. Do not procrastinate on these as they WILL build up. They will also help you tremendously on the orals you will have to take. On that note, prepare as much as possible for your orals. Study even the passages that seem insignificant as you never know if you will get it. Trust me on this one. I was one of the only people who studied for the orals for hours, but I ended up with the passage that we didn’t cover as much as the others and had relatively little figurative language to comment on. I ended up doing worse than the people who didn’t even study and got lucky with something like Macbeth’s dagger soliloquy. English is the subject I do best in so you can imagine the blow to my confidence after that. Also, I highly suggest picking one of the poets for the internal assessment presentations as the people who picked the novels like The House of Spirits ended up having a lot of anxiety trying to read an entire book and make a good presentation while finishing up homework for other classes and studying for AP exams.

I would give advice for Spanish class, but seeing as I have Sra. Salcedo and you have a different teacher, the advice wouldn’t do much.

For Theory of Knowledge, I suggest reading all the articles Mr. Guice gives you. In addition, for your TOK presentation, I highly recommend picking a partner you can rely on or just working alone. If you are in a group, remember that you are graded individually so if your partner ends up talking for most of the time, you’ll have less material to be evaluated upon. For U.S. History, make sure you are sitting in your assigned seat with your notes on the desk by the time the bell rings. Also, reading the chapters greatly helps you on the workbooks and in class. Try not to miss ANY of his classes as he hates people being absent and is not lenient about turning things in late. When you get to the Civil War unit, make sure you go to the extra-credit movie sessions. They help your grade immensely.

If you take Psychology, make sure you listen to Mrs. New because she knows what she is talking about and you’ll definitely appreciate her guidance come IB and AP exam time. Read all her E-mails, too.

If you take Biology, get ready for a challenging year. The first part of the year is full of labs, but it slows down greatly toward the second part of the year. However, the homework is much easier the first part of the year (content-wise), and gets more difficult toward the second part. Do not plan to go on vacation during Thanksgiving break because you will be taking care of fruit-flies morning to night. I felt the human physiology unit was the hardest and I highly suggest doing the extra-credit project for that unit as soon as possible. You can get up to 220 points on it, and trust me you’ll need it.

Junior year really isn’t “difficult” in a complexity sense; there is just a tremendous amount of workload. It will seem more like a “how much work can you do in this given amount of time!” type of year. Good luck.

Asami Wright

 

Dear (friend),

I hope you had a good sophomore year! Trust me — it gets harder. So I certainly hope you enjoyed your fun while you could. Junior year isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s definitely much more stressful. There are some things you should probably watch out for, to make your year better.

First of all, don’t leave your math portfolios until the last minute. I know how tempting it is — really — but it’s just not a good idea. Procrastination schedules never work out quite the way you hope they will and when you can’t start a portfolio until eleven or later because of other homework it’s basically a disaster. Not that I would know. On a similar note, don’t leave all of your English journal questions until the last minute either. That’s not really a fun situation.

I’m not sure which science you’re taking but on the off chance that it’s biology­ — prepare yourself for a lot of misery. It’s an amount of misery that’s almost insultingly more than what the other sciences go through. Mrs. Kennon is actually an amazing teacher and you’ll learn a ton, but you’ll also lose any semblance of sanity that you still have — as well as any real chance at sleep. And don’t count on an A. Really. On the plus side, you’ll be dissecting things! The cat was particularly disgusting!

As for English class, I would suggest enjoying it as much as you can. It’s really not a difficult class, provided you read the assigned material. Obviously, I would advise that you do that. The people who don’t read really struggle through the tests, as you would expect.

You’re taking psychology too, right? The most useful piece of advice I can give you for that class is pretty generic — don’t leave everything until the last minute. It’s a really relaxed class and she doesn’t really penalize you for late work so it’s very tempting to put it all off in favor of more pressing concerns. However, you should definitely consider how annoying it is to have to do a quarter worth of work in pretty much one night. It’s not impossible by any means, but it’s a pain and very preventable. Just try to stay somewhat on top of the work and you’ll be fine. And don’t stress about that AP test! Even if you feel like you know absolutely no psychology (I did!) one night of cramming before the AP test and it’s incredibly easy.

Basically, the most important advice is to just enjoy your junior year. The stresses of college and endless stretches of exams are approaching you pretty quickly, so have fun while you can. Whenever the stress seems like it’s just too much just try to relax and remember that whatever it is, it will be over soon. By the end of the year you’ll be so emotionally and mentally exhausted you won’t care anyway, I promise!

Kristin Mills

 

Being a Junior in IB

I have noticed that most of my classmates take completely opposite approaches to their classes. Some work all night and day to make an A, but are almost always tired and stressed. Others don’t work at all and are relaxed; a little too relaxed for having received low grades. I suggest finding a nice point in between that makes you feel good about your workload and your grades. Being a person that focuses on their work, yet also has enough time to hang out with their friends should make you very happy and you’ll have an easy IB junior year if you take it easy, just not too easy.

Now we should talk about how you should behave. Everyone says cheating is bad, but if you can find the little shortcuts of your classes (for example, the section B that’s online for Goss’s workbook) go for it. Don’t needlessly waste your time when everyone else isn’t and besides, there are much better ways to study than most homework assignments. Since you’re a junior, you should already have learned that it’s important to be yourself which is how you ended up making a plethora of friends. But I’ve noticed that many IB students are simply acquainted with their peers, and have no deep bonds with them, but simply have fun with each other, nothing more. Try and be the person that does favors for everyone and puts others before himself. You can do it if you plan your day correctly. If someone asks for a homework assignment, spend the time to IM it to them. The last thing about your behavior is to not complain. I’ve never seen a teacher at this school (except maybe Ms. Longworth) who gave into her students whining. It makes you look like a six-year-old and you’re probably just too lazy to do any work. Don’t make a fool out of yourself by complaining, a lot of IB students do. Just get the work done while everyone is still busy ranting.

AP exams! There are a ton of them this year! The biggest problem was that most of the students, including myself, were already shutting down for the year. They weren’t going to study like crazy after months of studying like crazy. But the truth is, the AP exam is what we trained all year for, and if studying like crazy will get you the highest score possible (yes it will), then you have to do it. Don’t use only the night before, use the two weeks before. Dedicate weekends to AP exams. Don’t think “but I hate studying! I’m done for the year!” Just know that it’s almost over and smile to yourself because most of your peers aren’t studying as much as you are. IB is a little competitive. Don’t just get your work done; get it done better than everyone else. Don’t go to Ms. Cavanaugh and ask for your class ranking for bragging rights, do it to see the fruits of your labor.

I just realized how stupid it was to waste Sunday nights doing homework. Try and get it done on Friday nights. Procrastination is the worst enemy for all IB students and it can take you down fast. If you’re ahead of the class, way to go, you’re probably getting good grades and plenty of sleep. But if you’re behind by a day, you’re getting straight 0’s. You’ll miss out on information and fail future tests as well. In the far future, even your AP exam grade will get hurt. So DO NOT procrastinate. I know you will, but you must resist it!

Steven Schrader

 

Dear incoming IB Junior,

You have now completed your two years of Pre-IB. Congratulations are not in order, however; the idea that you are halfway done with high school is an illusion. The amount of work completed in my junior year equals, if not surpasses, the amount done in my previous two years combined. Trust me, you’ve got a LONG way to go.

If you ask anyone who’s completed their junior year at IB for advice, they will give you a long list of intense assignments not to procrastinate on, including but not limited to not leaving your journal questions until the night before they’re due, starting on your math portfolios early, putting time into your Extended Essay this year, preparing for your English orals, and most importantly, recording your CAS hours as you complete them! While these instructions, if followed, would simplify the eleventh grade, they take the focus off what’s really important.

If success in my junior year were determined by whether or not I followed my own advice, then, by all accounts, I would be considered a failure. I have achieved the status of Master Procrastinator — I regularly practice the infamous “all-nighter,” and on countless occasions I have deemed myself Royally Screwed. While in the moment every fiber of my being was dreading the upcoming bio test that I inevitably failed to study for, those individual moments of self-loathing do not define the past year.

The fact of the matter is that in five or ten years, each “oh crap” moment will have been forgotten, and I will be left with the memories of what I did while I probably should have been studying. While English journals and bio labs blend into an ambiguous recollection of “school,” hand-sanitizer wars and thematic slow-motion races remain vivid in my mind. Stolen traffic cones and homemade fancy-hats are trophies of the most fun, most, and there is no other word for it, retarded times of my life.

Bypassing the fun times would have saved me from many sticky situations throughout the past year; I probably would have gotten better grades, too. Given the choice, however, I would choose the memories I have accumulated this year over freedom from panic any day. Memories, as they say, are priceless. Sincerely, and with no regrets,

Emily Helm

 

If I had to give advice to a friend that’s taking the same classes as me and is going to be a junior next year (and assuming said friend will actually take my advice) I’d have to start with telling him not to procrastinate on work. Sounds easy on paper, but people (like me) may often confuse procrastinating with prioritizing. For example, say as I picked up my Xbox controller, I was faced with the dilemma of having homework to do. I might put White Princess the Second: Love Adventure in the School That Follows the Principle of Convenience, Where It’s Okay to Stray From the Path or Stay on the Path¹, higher on a priority list than the homework (maybe I can get to level 189 today!), but I would in fact be procrastinating. So procrastinating is bad because you have to stay up forever and do work instead of sleeping. Quality of work is also affected and can lead to less-than-happy grades. Journal questions are something you don’t want to procrastinate on especially, it actually helps to do them as you go through the book, I tried it once and got a 100. Actually doing all of the work also helps, if you didn’t do a piece of math homework, for example, and found the problems on the test, you wouldn’t know how to do them. Not such a good thing.

Second piece of advice is to be prepared. For classes like history and physics, reading the new chapter right after taking the old chapter’s test is a great idea. It gives you an idea of what’s coming up so you’ll be better prepared. It seems like the stories in our Spanish book are a focus (in fact the entire Encuentros book is structured around the stories, something I realized a couple days ago) so skimming over them ahead of time helps. Reading the books in English tends to be a good idea, but more particularly going over the background, etc., and even reading ahead of time helps when you go through the analysis in class, and you can have doubts about the text cleared up.

Finally, (seriously, finally, I have this math final tomorrow and I need to look over stuff) I’d say to get as many CAS hours done as you can. Now. Join a sport, join a charity organization, join a band, heck, join a musical charity sport, but get as many CAS hours done in your junior year as is possible. That way you don’t have to do them in you senior year and stuff.

Amith Umesh

¹ Not kidding, it actually is a game. A popular game site used to run a Top-Ten Tuesday article, and one chronicled the longest game titles ever. This is a literal translation from some Japanese game, I’ve never played it, and reading over the title, it seems really awkward.

 

Dear Jose,

I understand that you are about to enter your junior year at IB so I have some advice that, if followed, should make your life a bit easier.

First of all, and of most importance, be proactive. This is a habit that must be developed if you want to have a more stress free year. Procrastinating to complete homework or projects will leave you with less time to complete them and therefore under a great amount of stress. Spreading out your work-load makes things much easier, and also increases the quality of the work you put out. Proactivity is much more important in your Junior and Senior years because you actually enter into IB and you will have an increased work load and things you need to do to graduate from the program.

A key component you need to stay proactive is to be well organized. Therefore you should make use of the planner given to you. Write down all of the homework you have and write down the dates when you have projects due or events to attend months in advance. This leaves your brain more free to think because you do not have to remember so many dates. The less brain power spent on remembering things means more energy can be devoted to improving the quality of the work you do; it also means that you will be less stressed out and leave you in a better overall mental state.

In your planning, also leave time for recreation. It is important that you spend time doing things other than just schoolwork. Without any form of recreation you will be more likely to have a mental breakdown or burn out. Recreation is a good way to reduce stress levels, and increase one’s physical and mental health. Getting involved in a school sport is a good way to do this because it allows you to get CAS hours while participating in a recreational activity.

I hope that you put my advice to use next year. Have fun.

Your Pal,

Robin Clark II

 

Dear Julie,

I know we’ve been friends now for two years and it all started back during basketball season when I broke up with Julius. But you know that I’ll always give you advice whether you like it or not. So of course I’m going to give you some tips for next year and this summer in order to survive YOUR IB JUNIOR YEAR!!!!

Ok, I’m going to start off with this summer because you’re going to be driving on your own for the first time and it starts this summer!!!! I know you’re excited because I sure am for you. When you get your license its going to be amazing — you’ll be able to go pretty much anywhere you want to go… but a word of caution, let your parents ease into the idea of you driving to far off places. Also being on time for curfew will be super important for the first year of driving. After that the parents will be a little more ok if you’re a few minutes late for curfew. Oh and one thing that you will have to do til you go to college is CALL YOUR PARENTS!!! Even though it’s going to seem like a burden at first if you don’t do it right away there will be severe repercussions. Trust me that’s what I always get in trouble for. Oh, most of all have fun this summer because it’s the only summer you have left, mine this year will consist of paper, college app, paper, reading god awful Pride and Prejudice, and stress!!!

Now for schooling the most important thing I could say is that the 3rd quarter slump is brutal. That’s when all your teachers give you assignment after assignment and like two huge papers due on the same day. It’s going to drive you nuts because you’re going to want to take it easy but trust me it’s not a wise decision. I did it and my grades are awful… this quarter I’m dependent on how I do on finals for most every class. Oh I know you already know but TAKE BIO for your science. It’s going to be an ass kicking at the beginning but come AP test your going to thank Ms. Kennon for making you do all that hard stuff. Every day when I go into chemistry I regret not applying myself more to take the tuffer course. Also whatever Naki tells you take Frisbie’s class — it’s amazing, she’s the best math teacher I’ve had. But you’re a lot smarter than me so I’m sure he’s going to refer you to take her course. Also for your junior year make sure you get all your SAT’s and ACT out of the way… I only took the SAT this year so I’m going to have to take it as soon as school starts again which is going to be a hassle. Oh Mr. Goss, he seems like a hard ass the first day of school but don’t worry he’s just trying to scare you. A word of advice don’t be gullible because if you are he can smell it and he’ll pick on you for the rest of the year like he did this girl named Abby in my class. It was hilarious but I felt bad for the poor girl.

Well girl I think that’s all the advice I have for you right now. But most of all just try and focus on having a great junior year. Because I already know senior is going to suck major. It’s going to be stressful but you get used to it. Plus all the people in your class will finally be mature. They’ll still be funny but just a little more grown up.

I Love Ya Girl,

Claressa Brekke

 

Going into your junior year in IB there is only one piece of advice that you really need to hear and that is: DON’T STRESS OUT!!!!!!

This advice may seem ridiculous and completely useless, but it is actually very vital in this upcoming school year. In fact, don’t be surprised if you’re told this repeatedly by your insensitive friends who aren’t going through the same stress as you. They may seem like a bad reference, but these people should allow you to see your situation in a different light. This is actually the most useful thing that you could be told at this point because I’m sure you have heard every other thing that people think would be useful to you, yet is mostly specified to one class or teacher such as “don’t ask Helmick questions, he will just confuse you more,” “don’t take Goss too seriously,” and “check up on Mrs. Frisbie’s ‘facts‘.” This advice will spread from class to class.

None of the things you are panicking about are really worth it. The only things that should actually stress you out are the internal assessment in your IB elective (which, in psychology at least, is much simpler and easier than it sounds), the portfolio in pre-calc (which you can mess up on one of them so don’t panic too much), and the beginning of the extended essay (which you can do over the summer if you lack the time during the school year and your ToK grade will survive despite it). Those are the only things that really need to be worried about this year and even they can be viewed in such a way that they are much less stress-invoking.

Stressing out will not help. This only causes more complications because you are rushing through and not thinking things through completely. The theme of the coming year will not be “stress out, panic, and try to get it done slap-dash like” it will be better if you only get it to be a “grace under pressure” situation. Stress will just cause you even more stress in your hurry to get done whatever it is that you are panicking about.

You are probably as likely to follow this advice as you are when someone tells you not to procrastinate. I’m not going to let it worry me that you won’t listen to me, but please at least keep it in your mind when you are stressing out that there is someone there who will tell you to calm down and not to panic so much about it because it is just going to make you do worse on it. This person may not be me, but there will always be at least one person there in this frame of mind.

Jennifer Constance

 

Dear friend,

So, I see that you are moving up to junior year this coming semester. Well, I’m going to be honest with you. This year sucked. Junior year will probably be your hardest year, but don’t get me wrong. The prize in the end will be well worth the work. Here are some pointers.

First off, for real, leave procrastination no time in your life. Procrastination is a gift from the devil. Dude, make sure you do things within a reasonable time away from the due date. Don’t be like me and wait until the day before it’s due to start. I mean, even this letter I’m writing is being done the morning that it is due. For real, it’s a killer. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! Also, make sure you actually read the chapters your teachers ask of you. It kind of helps. You really don’t want to be the person that causes the class to earn a pop quiz because you did not read your books. Most of all though, do your best to have a social life. Your friends are the best things you could ever ask for. It wouldn’t hurt to have a girlfriend or two either. You need to know how to relax and not be stressed out, that way you’ll do your best while in school.

Alright, so there you go. Those are the best tips I can think of for you. Make sure you do those things next year. Trust me when I say that using these tips will help you avoid having such a miserable year like I did. I’ll see you next year buddy.

pCe,

Mario Perez                                         

 

To the Current Sophomores,

Perhaps the best advice I could give any of you would be to keep up with all your work. Nothing is more important than keeping up to date with everything… don’t fall behind!!! Other years you might get away with it, but procrastination will hurt you more in your junior year. Actually do your journal questions when you get them (even though it’s tempting to wait to the last minute.) You won’t receive as much busy work, so take everything seriously. The work is actually helping you learn the material, so take advantage of it. There’s more to learn this year, and so if you try to cram in everything at the last minute, you won’t be able to truly learn what you need to know. For example, if you have a teacher that’s absent frequently, or a teacher you don’t feel is very capable, don’t stop working. Always remember that what you learn is for you, not for them… if you fall behind and don’t learn the material, it’ll only hurt you. When you go to study for the AP tests and find that you haven’t done anything all year, you’re the only one to blame. You’ll end up frustrated, or even apathetic… and that sure isn’t good.

Be proactive!! Get involved in your own education. Don’t just stick to the teacher’s syllabus and what they provide. Go out of your way to learn the information. If you need help, almost all the teachers will be glad to help you (as long as you’re seriously trying). If you need to, find alternate text books or other ways of learning the material. Find out how you learn. If you’re visual, make charts and graphs. If you’re auditory, repeat the information to yourself. Also, you should monitor your grades and clearly identify where you’re struggling. Don’t be afraid to approach a teacher if you have any concerns, and if that doesn’t work, go to either Ms. Cavanaugh or Dr. Vetter. You’re getting older and school is almost over — it’s time for you to stop having adults hold your hand.

Here comes the advice everyone wants to hear — have fun!! Junior year is more stressful than before, but if you create BALANCE, you’ll be able to manage. Manage your time well. All-nighters don’t have to be that frequent if you manage your time well. You’ll see that there’ll be periods in which you have little work, and then one or two overwhelming weeks. If you work hard during the easy weeks, the harder ones won’t be as severe. Sometimes having finished one paper will make the other five you still have left not seem so impossible. (Oh… and if you do your portfolios a little bit at a time, you’ll be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad. If you don’t, well, you’ll see…) Also, be sure to balance your social life. If you’re more social outside of school, spend free time working, such as at lunch or after a lesson is over. Be sure to party, as well. Set aside time to hang out, go to parties, and just chill. If you always focus on school, you’ll burn out and all your work will suffer. I recommend going out Friday nights, that way you forget about school, spend time with friends, and still have the rest of the weekend to work. If you don’t have fun, apathy will kick in pretty hard.

Hopefully this advice has at least made you think about next year. I also have some advice for the summer: forget you’re in IB. Go out, have fun, and act like a normal teenager (except for the occasional colormarking of The Scarlet Letter, and maybe a few CAS hours here or there.) Summer will end soon enough, and you’ll have a difficult year ahead of you.

Jessica Gonzalez

 

Dear IB sophomore,

Junior year in IB has most definitely been the hardest so far. You will start to appreciate how simple freshman and sophomore year were as soon as you get hit with the word ‘oral’. You will find out the terror of that word soon… but don’t worry too much just yet. One tip though: your journal questions will help on your orals so do them and do them yourself. On top of that all of your classes are either IB or AP so there is no ‘easy’ class… at least second semester. First semester go for it and take the easiest class possible but I’ll give a fair warning: you might then be in shock from the sudden lack of easy classes. I personally took stats because it boosted my GPA and I really like Naki as a teacher, and my amazing math skills helped too : ). So your half of an elective is up to you but chose it wisely!

I’m sure you are already experiencing the IB curse of procrastination as a sophomore, but it just gets worse and worse. You will be so overwhelmed with what you need to do for the next day that there is no time to do things ‘early’. While procrastination is a terrible thing and we should all learn not to do it, it really is inevitable. In fact, you begin to get so used to it that your best work comes out while you are under pressure and you simply cannot write an essay unless it’s at 10:30 the night before it is due.

Also, my parents have always told me I need to read more so I can increase my reading speed and be able to study faster. I have somewhat listened but I really wished I listened more as soon as Mr. Goss’s AP American History class started. The one thing that will help the most in that class is reading the book. It’s not as boring to read as the world history book I don’t think but the authors do talk about events for longer than they need to. So you need to be able to read as fast as possible… and I hear being American helps in the ‘knowing basic American history facts’ department. That was probably one of my flaws too.

So good luck in your junior year! It will go by faster than you can imagine so be prepared when suddenly you have AP tests in two weeks or you need to worry about CAS forms being signed. OH there is another point, fill out CAS forms as you do the hours… Do not wait until the last week of school to figure out what you did all year.

LOVE,

Melissa Adams  : )

 

This year has been by far the craziest to date. The homework was seemingly insurmountable at times, and proved to be so on a good number of those times; some of the classes were ridiculous, whereas others were rather easy, and thus allowed for time to do work for the harder of the classes, and the time goes by so fast. Some of my highest highs and lowest lows all came around this year, and I have some advice to try to help incoming n00bs to be able to survive this insane year.

My first piece of advice is just to warn you ahead of time that it’s definitely a trap. Drop out now, while you’re ahead, you can graduate by taking only two more classes! No, I’m kidding, don’t even think about it. The main thing that I can say is to try, however hard or pointless it may seem, to not procrastinate, especially about CAS. I put everything off as long as possible, now I have to go back and see Ms. Smith again next year about these stupid forms… Sometimes, if you procrastinate, the work load will truly be unbearable, so try not to do it all of the time, it will definitely save you a lot of stress and long nights. The main things never to put off are the portfolios and the journal questions, I can tell you now that I lost so much sleep the nights before those beasts were due, it’s intense. Another, and possibly more important thing is to just keep your cool. Things will get rough this year, no doubt, but it’s imperative that you don’t lose your mind because of it, and stress is definitely an enemy if you can’t cope well. Just pace yourself throughout the year, and don’t worry too much about what’s going on, just get what you need to get done done. Don’t panic! If the work is too much at one time, tell the teachers, most of them (except Mr. Goss) are quite understanding about that and will usually move it or let it slide somewhat. Don’t abuse that privilege though, it will come back and slap you in the face. The final and most important piece of advice I have to offer is to be sure to make time to just hang out with your friends. The best way to relieve stress and enjoy yourself is to just chill with your homies.

Overall, this year is whack to sum it up in one word, but you’re nearly done, next year you’ll be seniors, then off to college. All I can say really is to just take your time, lay back, and be responsible, and this year could be one of your best I’d imagine, just stay focused and do everything you need to do and it’ll be behind you before you know it. Keep up the good work, and strive to be the best you can.

Joshua Newell

 

Advice to Future Juniors

Overall, my junior year has been mostly good. I’ve enjoyed most of my classes and done well in all of them. Through this experience I have gained insight into many areas of school that I had no idea existed before this year. I think that I am now able to give fairly good advice based on my failures and successes to any upcoming juniors.

My first bit of advice, and by far the most important, is that if you hope to sleep somewhat regularly and maintain a fairly easy, by IB standards of course, schedule, DO NOT TAKE BIOLOGY!!!! I shall reiterate again just in case you don’t understand: DO NOT TAKE BIOLOGY!!!! No matter how much you may think you like Mrs. Kennon, do not take this class. The work load is outrageous and either your GPA or health one will suffer, the latter in my case. Go to Mrs. Cavanaugh as soon as you can and get out of this class before it is too late. If you can’t find your way out of biology then at least be ready for a long, hard year. My best advice to someone in biology would be to do the extra credit like your life depended on it. It is the only way to maintain a respectable grade. Also, follow this next piece of advice.

Other than biology, I feel the need to urge you not to procrastinate on major assignments. Procrastinate all you would like on math homework, Spanish book work, or history worksheets. However, on all major assignments, don’t wait until the night before. Major assignments include: Internal Assessments for all classes, biology labs, biology projects, and journal questions. Procrastinating on this is going to guarantee one of two things without fail. Either you will get between one and three hours of sleep or you will fail miserably. I stand as living proof of this, on nearly every major assignment. I lost a plethora of needed sleep because of it. That might not sound so bad now, but by the year’s end, you will regret your lack of sleep.

I also feel the need to impart some smaller, less important tips for your success. When it comes to history, read the book. You could never take a single note and make an easy A, like me, if you read the chapters. For math, it is often useful to do the homework in class while or before she actually teaches the material, especially if it is material you learned in Algebra II. This saves tons of time not doing homework at home. Read whatever books Mrs. Smith says, and then read spark notes for journal questions and tests. Use Theory of Knowledge and Design Tech as homework classes and you might occasionally sleep. Finally, no matter what anyone might try to tell you, Wikipedia rules, especially on biology worksheets. If you take these tips to heart, your junior year will be a breeze, especially if you do not take biology.

Alex Ervin

 

Dear Friend,

Junior year is tough but definitely doable. There is some advice however, that you must take into consideration as your junior year draws near; such as staying organized, not procrastinating, and taking it all seriously, but don’t forget to have a life outside of IB.

First of all, organization is key — take it from someone who knows about the negative effects of being disorganized. It shouldn’t be difficult to keep your materials together if you start off with them in order and file your papers in the correct places as soon as you get them, don’t just stuff them in your backpack. The easier is to find your assignments the more likely you are to actually do them, and on time. Every time you get a new assignment write it down in your handy planner, so that you may refer to it later. It is much easier to do your homework at night, and much less stressful if you know what your assignments are rather than trying to track your classmates down to find out from them. Being organized and knowing where to find everything greatly reduces your everyday stress and makes your life that much more peaceful.

You will also need to work on the p word — procrastination. Although I’m sure you have heard this about a million times, it is absolutely necessary to keep your work under control and to not procrastinate. Plan ahead, make a schedule for the day or the week and try to stick to it. This will decrease the likelihood of you wasting your own time with mindless nonsense or by skipping around from one thing or another. As anal as that sounds, it is a great way to keep yourself on track and to insure that you get some rest. Procrastinating does nothing for you or your work; if you are up in the wee hours of the night working on an assignment due the next morning, chances are the quality of the assignment will be greatly lacking. So, once more… don’t procrastinate!

Lastly, we all know and believe that school and education is very important or else we wouldn’t be here, but in order to make the best of your junior year, your must remember that there is more to life than getting A’s in all of your classes. I’m not saying you shouldn’t strive for excellence, because you should, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t forget about your interests, your passions. Despite the fact that colleges like to see that you have outside interests, you also owe it to yourself to indulge yourself with your own personal interests such as sports, pleasure reading, art or riding bikes, whatever it is for you, pursue it. It is necessary in a happy balanced life to have something which takes your mind off of studies and allows you to recuperate. For me, I love to dance, and I look forward to the hour and a half spent dancing, indulging in the music and movement, letting the stresses cease for the moment. This time for me is essential, and I advise you to take an interest in something productive. Also, you can’t forget about your friends and family, those who listen to you complain about school day in and day out. The bottom line is, you need to make time for yourself every once in a while, try and balance trying to do the absolute best you can in school as well as being healthy and happy.

There you go future junior, I hope you take my advice to heart and try to follow it as much as possible. You may find other methods of coping with and making the best out of your junior year, but whatever you do, stay strong and work through it because junior year of IB is probably the most important year as far as your academics go.

I wish you the best of luck,

Amanda Sanchez

 

Attention any Sophomore that is already paying attention:

This is extremely important information for your success at IB. Well, maybe not for everyone, but I had to learn this information through taking the courses where as you could just take my word for it.

For starters: your IB portfolios for Frisbie are important. Don’t use the excuse that you are busy doing something else at the time and can’t complete them early. You need time to proofread these, so that means you have to get them done before the day they are due. Frisbie takes a long time to grade these because she is looking for near perfection. Give it to her — it makes her day or at least makes her smile.

For any of those classes that you think, “oh, well, my teacher sucks at teaching” or “she’s not there why should I do the work, I can always turn it in later” don’t get caught in the trap. You’ll be cruising along in the year and realize that the AP test is right around the corner and you haven’t read the last 5 chapters. You won’t be as prepared, which means your AP grade will suffer. You have to keep up your perseverance. Keep on track with the teacher.

This doesn’t mean that you should take AP chemistry and think that “I’ll just follow him.” You really can’t follow him and you end up more frustrated and confused. If you are looking to take an AP Science and actually try to pass (unless you are savant in science) take biology. The work probably sucks, but her pass rate is awesome. Overall, taking Kennon is the best choice because she will prepare you for the IB exams. You’ll get your labs you need to get completed with her, whereas it is worse when you are with Dr. Helmick or Mr. Webb. I’m not trying to vent my frustration on these teachers, but I wouldn’t take their class after taking this year and seeing what’s in the future.

Cheating happens just about every year. How you deal with it, what your personal opinions on the subject, doesn’t matter once you get caught by a teacher because it will have consequences. If you rat someone out don’t expect that everyone is going to love you for it, because most people aren’t going to respect that you did it, either.

Next, being dual enrolled at PCC is a good way to boost you GPA. It would be a weighted class that can be as simple as a BHS elective. Yet, it all depends on what you take. If you take College Algebra and you suck at math I’m not saying you’ll be getting a 100, but if you take something like sociology then it can be considered easy. All you need is transportation.

Keep in a good frame of mind. Your friends might complain and vent and you might need to at some point, but venting for an extended period of time doesn’t help your grade. Do what you have to get the grades you’re looking for. If you feel stressed, which you will, handle it how you personally know it’s going to help you. If you know breaking down for an hour and then pulling an all nighter is going to get the job done, do it. If you can’t do it that way, then don’t procrastinate. IB students can stress so much that they develop medical problems. Don’t let that happen to you — take care of your mental and physical health, they’re intertwined.

Have a successful year,

Student who’s trying to help you out

(Kim Parker)

First off, whatever the juniors and seniors have told you that junior year is hard …they were right. It’s so easy to shrug off work and then stress about it later. That’s my first bit of obvious advice: don’t procrastinate.

For American History with Mr. Goss, remember that Mr. Goss is always right, and seldom accepts the fact that he may be wrong. Always study for his tests. You may do well on the first few without studying, but as you hit the 19th century, it gets way harder to remember things. He focuses more on dates and the like.

For English, DO THE JOURNALS. Do not procrastinate on these, because you will be up all night doing them, and if you don’t do them, you’ll regret it. Your grade will go down and come oral time, you will fail.

I can’t really help you with Spanish because you have a different teacher. But for the AP exam, make sure you can actually understand it when it’s spoken.

For TOK, make sure you don’t fall behind on the extended essay assignments. I did, and as I write this essay, I have to write a 1200 word essay and make an outline for my extended essay. Try and listen to ol’ Guicey too, sometimes the material is boring, but you do need to know it.

Pre-calc is not that hard if you a) took stats and b) like math. Mrs. Frisbie can always teach you the material, but if you don’t pay attention (like me) then you have to study more come test day. Also, the portfolios are not as bad as we make them out to be. I never tried too hard on them, and I got 16 marks, which is pretty decent. I imagine if you really put some effort and didn’t procrastinate like me, you could easily pull a 19 or 20. Physics is the mind-killer, some would say. It’s easy to get an A, but nearly impossible to pass the AP exam. Please pay attention to Mr. Webb, he’s not strict so it’s hard to, but if you don’t you’ll be like me who has to learn a full year of physics over the summer.

Psychology is the easiest class I had this year. It’s easy to get an A, and if you actually study for the IB exam, it’s a piece of cake. Make sure you read her emails before the exam, they saved my life.

I don’t know if I stressed this enough by the way, DON’T PROCRASTINATE.

Good luck.

Jacob Amis

 

Advice to a friend who is a year behind me… if you’re taking biology as your higher level science — don’t spend too much time studying for those tests. Your test scores might be very similar whether you study or not, and you have to make a conscious decision as to whether or not it’s worth it. If it seems like Gary Goss is yelling at you, he’s not. That’s just his way of talking, and you’ll have to get used to it. He’s a fine young gentleman and apparently old enough to personally know every president you study. If you’re going to take psychology, it should be fun. You won’t learn much the entire year, and Mrs. New will contract malaria or dysentery every other week. If you’re anything like me, you’ll homecoming-style dance all year, singing “Push it” by Salt N Pepa in your head… and then when testing time arrives, you will pass a brick through your digestive system (to put it mildly). Then, maybe a few days before the IB tests and the AP test, you’ll cram like you’ve never crammed before, and you’ll feel confident during the test. I must say, it was worth it. AP tests… it seems like you’ve got a lot of them this year, and you might feel inclined to freak out. Don’t study too much in advance. If you end up reading the entire review book the night before, you’ll still be fine. From what I hear, the AP chemistry and AP physics tests were marked with bodily fluids… tears, sweat, drool (if you just slept through it). Good luck with that. Don’t be one of those kids who stays up all night to study for some test. It couldn’t possibly be worth it, and that test, in the grand scheme of things, is probably really insignificant. I also suggest that you “rock and roll all night and party every day” (but only during the weekends). To do this, I suggest copious amounts of caffeine. Coffee is on its way out, and Bawls is the new sensation. It’s my personal belief, however, that caffeine should not be used for any sort of educational purpose. It’s lame and ultimately ineffective. If you happen to be walking to class and a few belligerent kids are engaged in a scuffle, throw in a few kicks and punches. It won’t make a difference. Just kidding. If you want to release some of your aggression, buy some Sock’em Boppers (More fun than a pillow fight!) and let loose. It’s not smart to hit teachers, though. Goss punches back, and it’s mildly painful. Naki grabs your fist mid-punch and somehow twists it to where you’re doing Asian flips. Mrs. Smith bites, scratches, and occasionally breaks out the rusty scissors to perform an under the table glossectomy. Enjoy junior year; it’s going to fly by.

Courtney Campbell

 

Dear upcoming junior,

As someone who has completed their junior year and knows full well all its evils, I feel the best advice to give you is DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. No matter what, just don’t. It may not seem like a big thing, just a bit of French homework or your math assignment due the next day. but, as I’m sure you have experienced, it piles up. All those little homework assignments that were so easy to blow off become a huge mound of assignments, impossible to complete in one sitting. And when the homework you procrastinate on is a math portfolio, journal questions, or the bio extra credit body posters, you are done for. It is much more worthwhile to get things done early; there is such a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence as well as the good grades.

Another helpful bit of advice is to keep up those good relationships with your close friends. Your friends will become a source of help, comfort, and, occasionally (or very often), an ear that will listen to you vent about the latest disasters in chemistry or the twenty labs due next week in bio. When the going gets rough, you will want that friend you can trust to help you get through. Just remember, you guys are all in IB together; you need to stick together. All the people around you are going through the same things that you are going through and will understand where you are coming from more than your parents, siblings, or friends can. Not that I’m saying you need to only be friends with IB kids. Just know that when it comes to venting about surprise exams and massive workbook assignments, other IB kids will understand you.

Last bit of advice. Teachers are not as scary as they seem. Really. They will be there to help you — always. No matter how many times Mr. Goss says that a bird of paradise will fly up your nose or that your mother is left-handed, he is always available to discuss battle dates or civil rights movements. Ms. Frisbie is in her classroom every lunch period and after school to help with rational functions and normal distributions. Mr. Guice always welcomes questions about extended essays or ToK presentations. I cannot tell you how many lunches I spend in teachers’ classrooms asking whether I should focus on sickle cell anemia in my extended essay or making euphoric conclusions about trigonometric graphs and capillaries. All you have to do is ask and they will help you.

Good luck and enjoy junior year!

Abby Lubin

 

Dear Younger Friend,

You are about to embark on amazing journey. Plunging into the depths of the IB programme, you will discover the limits of your patience and overall endurance of large amounts of work and stress. Your junior year will not “suck” as many people say it will, it will lead you down a path of introspection. You will find that you can do much more that what you believed you could. You will also gain certain abilities that you though were out of your reach.

To begin, I will lead you down the path that I had to undertake this year. First, I had Frisbie, strange that I don’t put Ms. before that, I don’t mean any disrespect but you will find that she is basically your friend and will respond to many of your mathematical needs with prompt correct responses (and sometimes well placed sarcasm that will leave you laughing). Don’t worry she is very easy to get along with, although she will not hesitate to point out your stupidity, nevertheless you will also get the chance to point out hers too, and maybe even get candy, but you will find out about that later. Next, I go to Mr. Harrison, who is the Design Tech teacher. Fun to talk to, easy class, easy work, but at the end you will worry about the IB exam, which will be your first. Although Mr. Harrison will make this year seem easy, do not be fooled, his lack of drive to give you too much work only means that you have to create work for yourself that will help throughout this course. Like getting started on your Design Project soon, do not follow his deadlines, they are way too lenient. Get on with it and finish it! Mr. Harrison as a person has his head firmly on his shoulders and will entertain you with many stories and experiences. Now to U.S. History, I will have to warn you that history is not my “forte” so you might not have to work as hard as I did. Mr. Goss is a prankster by nature and will joke with you. Some of his jokes might seem offensive but just take them lightly he means nothing by them. His humor and ideas give a new perspective to history. I recommend that you read the book. Read the textbook first then print out the reviews to the chapter (which can be found at www.course-notes.org) and then finally read the Amsco book which he will provide. That way you will have a sure B in his class. If you are an outstanding history buff, and can remember the exact date the Spanish Armada fell, you will surely get a high A in his class. So no worries there. After, I used my half-elective to take Statistics with Naki. He is another outstanding mathematician, and a great story teller. I point out that I did not call him Mr. Nakamura which is his true name; he is basically one of the gang. So Naki will suffice, plus it’s a lot shorter (like him) and easier place into conversation. I do recommend you take Stats because it was a tough class, and would probably seem impossible in college. Now on to Theory of Knowledge, which one takes second semester. In this class do pay attention to all deadlines, Mr. Guice is very flexible on his deadlines, but it will help to keep up with them. He has a manner of speaking which I still can’t quite pin down its origin. I don’t know why but I’m sure I can point him out of a crowd just by the sound of his voice. This class is a breeze, the only thing to worry about is the presentations you have to do, the extended essay, and the ToK essays, I recommend you pay lots of attention to those things. So now for English, with Mrs. Smith. She is like your grandmother (the kind version of a grandmother), she will support you in almost all of your endeavors, if you need advice she will advise you to come to her. That sounded redundant but hey, that’s how it is. She likes chocolate so start stockpiling, since you will need that stock for the end of the year when you are rushing to get your CAS hours done. Do the paperwork as you complete them or suffer the consequences. They aren’t that harsh but you will be thankful you finished the paperwork early later on. Phew! Wow. Are you tired yet of all of these things you have to lookout for in each of them? Well whatever, now for French. Frau Dietert (yes I used German) will be your French teacher, she also speaks German. She knows her French, trust me. It is the closest you are going to get to a native but non-native French speaker. I hope that made sense if not, you will figure it out later. Her classes are less enjoyable than that of Monsieur Lenker, but you will learn much without you knowing it. She does leave homework every day and sometimes gets so caught up in the class she forgets about the time, and may have you rush out of class while writing the homework on your hand. Basically if you like French you will be fine, if you don’t why did you choose it? But not to worry you may struggle a little bit but be certain you will pass the IB French Exam. The last class of the day is Chemistry. Now I’m going to be completely honest. You should not have taken Chemistry with Dr. Helmick. He is great, he is patient, he is knowledgeable, but he seems to not know how to take advantage of these abilities to instruct his pupils. He will not teach you much, unless you remember everything you learned in Chem 1. If you do remember everything, and I mean everything, then in class instead of paying attention you should read the book, and look for help online on topics you need help in. That is all I’m going to say about that class.

So anyway that is what you should look out for, but not to worry this year is not going to be that bad. You will get through it, and be more than prepared for your senior year. Do not let the discouraging voice of other people get you down, do what you have to do and you will fly right through the year. Good Luck!

A Concerned Student,

Sergio Palomares

 

Dear Rising Junior,

Congratulations on making it to junior year! As you know junior year (particularly 2nd semester) can be very stressful; however, I would like to give you some advice that will perhaps help you succeed. Since you’re taking the same courses as I am, I’ll give you some tips for each course.

Let’s start with American History. Mr. Goss’ class is really fun. I would recommend that you take good notes while he lectures, it may help you for your test. Also, be sure to read AMSCO before each exam. It’s extremely helpful. I’ll tell you how I studied for each exam (granted I probably go a little overboard). I would start with printing an outline of the chapter from the textbook’s website, and I would read this while I read the chapter in the text book. Then, I would read AMSCO. During lunch on exam day, I would look over my class notes.

Now for Biology, which I’m sure you know is a lot of work. First semester is much easier than second semester; so, I would recommend getting as high a grade as possible during first semester. Labs are very time consuming; thus, you should start them at least four days in advance. Additionally, you need to read the chapters for most all the exams. They’re never just from the notes!

Moving on the Pre-calculus, Ms. Frisbie has a very useful website. Before taking each test, work on the review problems posted on the website. It’s extremely helpful! Also, be sure to take good notes, because you will have a notebook quiz at the end of each nine weeks.

Next, I’ll talk about English. The most time consuming assignment in English is journal questions. Please don’t wait until the night before to do your journal questions. Trust me you’ll regret it. Also, the formal oral can be really intimidating to some people. I didn’t find it to be that challenging. All you have to do is select some passages and practice analyzing them.

Psychology is very easy; almost everyone makes an A in there. Try to read an AP review book as you go along, it will save you a lot of grief when AP exam time rolls around. Also don’t forget you have to take an IB exam in that class. If you want to get a jump on studying go to the Cranepsych website.

I don’t have to say too much about Spanish since you’ve already taken it for three years. It’s pretty much the same. Just keep practicing and listen to as much authentic, spoken Spanish as possible. They talk really fast on the AP exam! Additionally, you don’t need to worry about TOK. If you meet your deadlines for the extended essay and turn work in, you’ll make an A.

Hope these tips will help you,

Maggie Holland

 

To all IB Sophomores,

Junior year is when IB really starts!  The work load            gets greater, the nights get longer and the stress gets higher. But, I’m here to give you some helpful hints about your Junior year to make it a little bit more enjoyable and stress free as possible.

The first thing is deadlines! FOR REAL! Get your work done before the night before the assignment is due. When it comes to Frisbie’s class and those grueling Math Portfolios it is absolutely crucial you start a few days before. If you do not do this you will be killing yourself trying to get all the work done! Also, Journal Questions! They are your biggest enemy in English. If you don’t do the questions as they are assigned “It’s your funeral” (famous quote by Gary Goss). It is really easy to spend 20 min. doing the questions as they are assigned then waiting till the end of the book and spending hours on questions that you have already forgotten the answers for. When it comes to history, just read the chapters, it’s as simple as that! Other than the work load, your Junior year should be a good one! You are now Upperclassmen and you should start acting like it! Don’t let it get to your head though, C/O ‘09 still presides over the school and you will bow down at our feet when we walk through the halls!

Well, there you have it. All of the advice you will need is contained in this letter. LISTEN TO MY ADVICE, IT WILL GET YOU FAR! Enjoy Junior year, you’re already half way through.

Jonathan Morris

 

Dear IB underclassmen,

Junior year is the one that weeds out the wimps. I hope you realize that. If you make it through this year, congratulations, because you’ve got a considerable amount of perseverance and diligence. However, junior year isn’t as hard as it’s cracked up to be. Or at least it wasn’t that hard for me; I can’t judge its difficulty without knowing how smart you are. Your challenges will be pre-calculus (if you take that route), history, and biology (again, if you choose that path). Juggle A’s in those classes, and you will be set. During the first semester of pre-calculus, you will be lulled into a sense of security, not necessarily false, because you will basically be learning in more depth the stuff you learned in Naki’s class. However, brace yourself for second semester, as that’s when the new stuff really starts to come at you. Do the assignments, pay attention in class, yada yada, and you’ll do fine. Just remember that the portfolio assignments DO, in fact, take as much time as everyone says they do, so I don’t recommend trying to tackle one of those in one night. As for history, I never really figured out how to study for the tests, but glided through with an A anyway, so I guess it’s one of those things that you either succeed at or you don’t. You’ll find that dear Mr. Goss is a fine young gentleman, even if he does occasionally threaten to burn down your house or incites the bird of paradise to fly up your nose. If you’re taking biology, good luck. You will not regret it, even if the class seems ridiculous at times. Your other options were physics and chemistry…those kids never fare too well. Just make sure that you don’t pour your heart and soul into bio; regardless of how hard you work, your grade will be more or less the same. If you plan on maintaining your sanity, be able to distinguish the fine line between keeping good grades and trying to attain perfection. If I’d attempted to accomplish the latter, I wouldn’t be here today.

My next advice column consists of time spent outside of school. I’ll begin by saying that under no circumstances should you pull an all-nighter. I’ve made it through three years of this without once wasting precious sleep on an assignment that will most likely be insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Similarly, caffeine should be used for recreation, not academics. Drink Bawls or other juiced-up caffeine stimulants to stay up for the heck of it. Don’t waste your money on buying said drinks to prolong your stress into the wee hours of the morning. Also, don’t spend every spare moment studying; live a little. I’ve lived quite a lot this year, and don’t regret a bit of it. If I can rock and roll all night and party every day, and still maintain straight A’s, so can you. Maybe. I guess that too depends on who you are.

One thing that annoys me more than most other things is when “IBers” feel the need to fit into a little box of what they’ve been told is normal IB kid behavior. IB stereotypes are not cool, or at least they aren’t when you try to fit into them. Reading posts saying things like “You know you’re in IB when…” and doing your best to adhere to some weird generalized IB kid doctrine make for people that are, well, annoying. If one or more of those IB presuppositions applies to you, great. They’re what make IB all the more charming. But don’t go out of your way to make them apply to you.

Last I leave you with a bit of advice I consider paramount to the rest: don’t cheat. Even if it seems like the right idea at the time, I assure you it’s not. Cheating incidents tend to happen every year in IB, in one form or another, and don’t make for much good publicity. Keep to the straight and narrow (regarding academic integrity, anyway), and you’ll reap the benefits, I promise you. Make good decisions.

With all that being said, I rest on your shoulders the weight of junior year. Thanks for taking it off mine. And good luck filling the shoes that came before you.

Brought to you courtesy of the red, white, and blue.

Rachel Bouchillon

 

Dear almost-band-juniors (except that one kid),

IB pretty much sucks. You don’t get much sleep, you do a lot of work and your GPA plummets. There will be tons of parties you can’t go to and even more homework than you can imagine. Plus, for some odd reason, there is more homework after the AP Exams than there was on a regular day. You’ll have 20 essays and 50 multiple choice quizzes to fill out, just to make sure you know you probably failed the AP Exam.

Your friends stay up with you in the late hours of the morning as you try and figure out that last Spanish sentence. You’ll cry because your calculator just died, and that matrices packet is due tomorrow. You’ll BS your way through chemistry wondering why in the world that man became a teacher. You’ll never know when what’s due in Theory of Knowledge. You’ll forget everything you know about history only when you have the test in your hand. And you’ll mix up Hamlet and Macbeth, constantly.

However, the bonds you make with your classmates, the opportunities open to you, and the laughs you have with fellow chemikers is more than worth it. Don’t give up. Work hard, take long laps on weekends, and look into getting some ADD medicine until they find a non-procrastination prescription. You’ll make it, I promise. You’ve gotten this far.

<3 Ashley Earls

 

To the new IB Juniors,

Although you may have thought that the 2007-2008 school year was slightly challenging, be forewarned, this year will be much more so. The days of Pre-IB are over, welcome to the “real deal.” Without taking proper measures and precautions, this year will undoubtedly be one of the toughest you can/will face. Fear not, however, for there are some very easy steps that can be taken to “lighten the load,” if you will.

Step one, and yes, I know this one has been said before, but believe me, it’s a precious nugget of knowledge, DON’T procrastinate. Procrastination only leads to late nights working and usually sub-par grades, so unless you’re some sort of glutton for punishment, avoid the procrastination. A much better idea is to actually do the work either on the night it’s assigned, or the night after. By completing it at home, you’re saving yourself the trouble of the rush to finish the work the day it is due at school.

Step two, get the 75 (or 85, the correct amount evades me at the moment) CAS hours your junior year. Seriously, I only got 20 hours, and then I found out that there is a limit of 35 hours over the summer, which means that I have to get 95 hours before spring break of my senior year. This will undoubtedly cause me a lot of trouble, with the increased workload of the senior year, keeping up with a job (most likely), and maintaining my social life (or at least what’s left of it). If you get 75 hours in your junior year, and 35 hours over the summer, you only need to get 40 hours your senior year, which is infinitely easier to get than 95.

Step three is a step that applies mainly to psychology. Mrs. New tends to give a fair bit of leeway in turning assignments in. Generally, as long as you have the assignment in by the end of the nine-week grading period, you’ll have it graded and entered in. However, try to turn assignments in when she asks that they be. A few of my friends this year decided to just turn in their work at the end of the nine-weeks for all four grading periods. Consequently, the night before, they had a butt-load of work to do, and their grades for the projects weren’t that great. Mr. Guice has a semi-similar outlook on grades and all, but you new juniors have already had experience with that side of things.

So there you have it, three easy (or at least, seemingly easy) steps which will lead to an easier junior year of IB. With that being said, Most of my friends (and myself) chose not to do these things, and so we’re essentially experts on what NOT to do. These steps (well, excluding step two) aren’t exceptionally time consuming, so failing to do them is just a failure on your part.

Sincerely,

Adam Roberts

 

Dear upcoming junior,

I am pleased to inform you on many aspects of your new chapter in the epic four years of I.B. You will now enter a year that will take you on a wild adventure into the realms of knowledge that will both frighten and inspire you. This year you will discover the theory of knowledge and further appreciate the miracle that is the car. You will no longer wish to bum rides and answers to homework from your friends, for this is the year of officially almost being independent.

One interesting event that occurs in this year of years is the one in which you will be “pinned” in the I.B. pinning ceremony. Some speaker talks about how important he is and how he was just like us at our age; inspiring, hard-working, ambitious, determined and very boring. You will be congratulated by your friends and family and promptly go home to continue your bio-lab. This year you will also witness the awkward love exchanges of your fellow classmates and wonder at their bravery in how gushy they are toward each other, for this is the year of profound P.D.A. You will certainly wonder at the sanity of your teachers as they gleefully endow you with copious amounts of homework, all at one time. The extent of the amount of paper that you will consume will astound you. You are wondering “It can’t be as bad as this last year, can it?” The answer is yes, yes it can. A well-working pen or pencil will be coveted by your classmates as you discover the power of working under pressure produces the most beautiful B.S. known to mankind.

My dear junior, I wish you all the luck and blessings available for you as you undertake school in the fall and continue the cycle within I.B. As your numbers diminish in your class, take comfort in the fact that after you complete I.B., you will never have to undertake something like it again, at least until you get to college. Take advantage of early SATs and ACTs. Start to explore where you wish to further you education after you are released from I.B. Think hard my dear junior, make good decisions, and appreciate the time you have because after this summer, your life will change, forever.

Brittani Cole

 

To the Rising Junior Class of 2010,

As a student who has successfully completed her junior year in IB, I feel I should give you some advice to make your year easier than mine has been. (I am also writing this for a grade.) Anyway, listen to me and you’ll go far, at least farther than I did.

1. Stop procrastinating. I mean it! STOP! I know you’re already doing it, so stop now before you get addicted. It takes a lot of stress off of you, especially if you decide to start your twenty page Drosophila lab BEFORE the night before it’s due. You should also finish your summer homework before going to orientation, even if it means reading the last chapter ofThe Scarlet Letterin your car. Things will turn out better this way, trust me.
2. Read the books you are assigned. You may have gotten by the last two years reading Spark Notes and asking your friends what happened in the Count of Monte Cristo at 5:30 in the morning on the pitch black bus ride to school, I admit I’ve done it too, but the madness must stop. It makes things a lot easier when you’ve actually read the books you’re assigned, especially when Ms. Smith gives you pop quizzes.
3. …hmmm…what was number three? Oh right, you should stay awake in class, and you can do this by getting a good night’s rest. This happens when you go to bed early the night before. Refer to number one on how to do this. All-nighters may seem rewarding when you’re at school the next day bragging about how you only got TWO hours of sleep when everyone else got three, but actually that’s nothing to cheer about. It’s actually much more fun to say that while everyone else was doing their Bio extra credit and review sheet for the final you were fast asleep by 10pm. (Unfortunately I never had the pleasure of saying that.) Sleep is good and it’s a lot more comfortable in your own bed than in a desk in the middle of class, trust me I have experience.
4. Don’t forget, the base is the base is the….wait I mean an A is an A is an A. An 89.5 is just as good as a 100, and contrary to popular belief among girls named Asami, an 89 is NOT failing. I am very proud of a certain girl named Asami that has overcome the “89 is a failing grade” disease. But anyway, don’t worry about if you are number one in the class or number 30, just try your best.
5. Choose your science carefully. This year has been a year of complaining. Chemistry kids dislike Dr. Helmick because they say he doesn’t teach them anything, Physics kids say they didn’t pass their AP test, and Bio kids, well, taking Bio gives you the right to complain about anything. Choose carefully young grasshopper. As an experienced Bio student, I would recommend taking Bio if you are willing to work, because you will learn a lot and will be better prepared for the AP exam than you think. Also, it may be torture, but you’re not alone. There will be a least one other person in your class, and the support really helps. And even though the class is hard and the Bio kids are always the ones with more homework and bigger bags under their eyes, they are also the ones that get to see the inside of a cat (and a starfish, and a frog, and…).
6. Take Math Methods. Enough said. Frisbie’s class = Fun to the extreme. Sometimes you get candy, and you learn tons of math. Being in fifth period is the best, bring Mrs. Cavanaugh chocolate and maybe she’ll give you that privilege, and while you’re buying chocolate, pick up some for me and Miss Frisbie too.

Well, it’s 12:27am on a Saturday, WHAT?! Did I really write this EARLY? WHOA! Way to go non-procrastinator! Anyway, I must go to bed now, because I have to work tomorrow. Jobs seem to be a rare occurrence among IB students, but it does happen. I hope you enjoyed my rambling and hopefully you got at least one thing out of this: Take Math Methods.

Until we meet again,

Cassidy Lancaster

 

Dear Upcoming Junior,

There has been quite the rumor going around that “junior year is the hardest,” and even though I personally haven’t braved my senior year yet, I think that this rumor isn’t true. I’m not trying to sound all cocky as if it was a breeze, because it wasn’t, but it’s manageable. First piece of advice: time management is key. I’m a horrible procrastinator, just like most of my classmates, and maybe even you. However, I procrastinated the “right” way. So if you don’t plan on changing your procrastination habits, you should consider altering them slightly so that you don’t spend some nights slapping yourself in the face and hysterically trying to finish your journal/portfolio/TOK presentation. Now I know all of these things may sound foreign to you, I remember reading a letter last year and thinking, “WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?” To be honest, you probably won’t figure it out until you have to write this letter, and that’s okay. Moving along with my second piece of advice: don’t panic. If you procrastinate, and you probably will, remember that it’s not the end of the world. There’s always a way to pull through, whether it be doing homework in between classes or just accepting the grade you’re given and trying harder next assignment, the sun will come up tomorrow (hopefully). Referring to what I said earlier about procrastinating the “right” way, what I would do is move easy assignments to the day before they were due (NEVER the morning before because you never know what could happen in the morning, always be prepared when you walk on campus) and work on the longer assignments a couple days before they were due so I could spread them out a couple days. Also, accountability partners work great. My boyfriend this year was a senior, and he had almost as much homework as I did. So we would refuse to talk to each other until we finished our homework, and even though it didn’t work all the time, it helped. A friend also helps when it comes to panicking because they help you realize it’s not the end of the world.

Um… I lost my train of thought. So now I’ll discuss each class and what to expect. US History: Don’t let Goss know that you’re a good typist, he’ll make you type until your fingers bleed notes on the French and Indian War.  All in all, it’s an interesting class, I recommend reading the book, it doesn’t take as long as you’d think and pays off in the end. TOK: Go into the class with an open mind, and if he answers your question with a question (GRRRR), then there’s nothing you can do about it I guess, and if there is I haven’t figured it out yet. AP Spanish: If you have Spanish, you’ve learned all the basics, now it’s just details and vocabulary. I don’t know your teacher, but ours comes up with some pretty random things to talk about in Spanish, like micro credit… The AP Spanish test is no fun, at all. The only good part about it was spending 6 HOURS (SIX!) with my friends away from school, and not having to make up anything. English: Mrs. Smith is adorable and makes school worthwhile when she assigns food days. Don’t forget to cook, or you’ll feel like a loser. Journals are a menace, conquer them slowly and do them as you read the book. (I didn’t, but it seems like a really good idea.) READ the books too. Don’t try and coast on Spark Notes because it will bite you in the butt eventually, while you’re trying to write in your journal, during your tests, or maybe even on the IB test. Trust me, trying to answer very detailed House of the Spirits quizzes is no fun when you know you’re doomed to failed. Math (Pre-Calculus): Do all the homework, it’s usually a small amount and if you don’t understand it, take advantage of having Frisbie’s knowledge available and ask questions. Psychology (if you have it): Mrs. New is really understanding and has the best stories, turn in all your work before the end of the nine weeks and your almost guaranteed a good grade. Chemistry: This is the best piece of advice I can give you: Don’t take it. If you’re in it, drop out. You all took chemistry this year so I don’t think I need to say more. Those are all of your academic classes in a nutshell.

My final piece of advice: Spend as much time with your friends as possible, they make it all worth it. Don’t go crazy and forget about homework and studying, because studying with friends can be fun, but try to do something at least once a week that you can look forward to while you’re at school and at home under a pile of homework. Also, drama should be avoided at all times. This is no time to get in a petty fight with your best friend and waste half the year ignoring her, you only have two years left with your class. Try and get along with everyone, it makes everything easier, and you never know when you’ll need someone else’s help.

Wow, this is much longer than I intended in the beginning. Thanks for paying attention if you did. I guess all that’s left to say is…GOOD LUCK. =]

Love,

Cheyenne Kiddy

 

Dear younger friend,

How can I sum up the experience that is junior year, the first year of the real IB? Well, it’s crazy, in all good and bad senses of the word. Due to the somewhat OCD nature every IB student possesses that is developed even more in junior year, I’ll breakdown my classes for you in the order that I had them and offer some advice.

Spanish: If you got your license late and are stuck with a parking spot all the way on the other side of the lake, this is not a good class to have first period, considering it is all the way on the other side of campus. Walking at a normal pace, it takes about seven minutes maybe to get to class. Then, if you arrive at 7:00… of course you’ll be late. You may try speed walking, but when you are weighed down with your backpack and other various books, it’s not very effective. You WILL be written up if you are even the slightest bit late (at least if you have Salcedo), so if you have a problem with this, I recommend changing your schedule so you don’t have her first period, and you have more time to do your homework. In the case that you are written up, when you are called to the discipline office, try to go to Coach Murvin. If you are polite and take responsibility for your tardiness, no matter how ridiculous it might seem, he’ll probably be reasonable with you and give you detention instead of say, work detail.

Salcedo is very willing to help you with anything, just ask her.

English: Having Smith’s class first thing in the morning is a perfect way to start off a B day, which are a whole lot better than A days. Her southern accent is comforting and she has a certain charm that you can only associate with her. She can be fun to mess around with, but you can’t get away with sleeping in her class. Smith teaches a lot and makes herself available if you need anything. Buy the books you read in her class ahead of time! She does book checks and gets onto you if you don’t have them. The biggest challenge in this class is the dreaded journal. You’ll learn what journal questions are. DO THEM AHEAD OF TIME! There are often numerous questions and when you find yourself having to do them for a whole book the night before, it’s not a good situation. So just do them as you go along. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

History: Oh, Mr. Goss. He is definitely one of the most interesting teachers you will ever have. Goss manages to relate every event in history to the current presidential election, compare every bad person to Clinton or Obama, and infuse his conservative, communist hating ideals into every one of his lectures. If Goss tells you to do something a certain way, do it that way because he won’t accept anything else, even if his method makes no sense to you. Despite the copious amount of homework he piles on you and the stress that can build up in his class, Goss lets you know he cares about you. He’s concerned about you kids, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to let up on the work. He is willing to change the schedule though if things are crazy, and they usually are. You can find him saying “puke” or some form of the word every ten seconds, and he considers calling someone left-handed an insult. I am left-handed, but he managed to like me. Read the book, stay on top of things, ask him for help (he’s extremely willing), and you’ll be fine in this class. Also, Goss likes to play random songs for historical events, like Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” for when the British were bombing somebody or when they were being bombed, I forget.

Statistics: I’m sure you’re already acquainted with Naki. I found statistics to be not that bad at the beginning, but that was when we weren’t actually doing math. When we started doing math, it became quite hard. My advice is buddy up with someone who knows what’s going on, or ask Naki for help. I only had this for one semester, but I hear the second semester of it is easier, let’s hope so. Oh, and if you play a little game in there called Greed Pig, I’m the champion of that game, and I got a Starbucks gift card and calculator case from Naki. It was pretty cool.

Theory of Knowledge (TOK): Guice is entertaining and out of all the teachers the one that’d most likely be your buddy outside of class. He likes to deem things “awkward” and explains things in a fun, interesting way. While you don’t really do much in the class itself besides reading things and the occasional worksheets, it’s a good time to complete homework that’s due for later periods. Some worksheets I did in there helped me to know myself better, hopefully the same goes for you. The ultimate goal in this class is to complete your extended essay… and pass.

Pre-Calc: Of all the math classes I’ve taken, this has been my favorite. I am really not a math person, but I’ve managed to do pretty well for my standards in this class. Last time I checked, I had an A in there! This might change after the final though. But anyway, A’s are more rare to come by as IB progresses. Frisbie is able to relate all the lessons to a song, played at the beginning of class. She explains things really well and can help you pretty much anytime if you ask her. Her classroom is a good place to eat lunch if you need to finish homework without too many distractions.

This is a really good class to take. I was worried that I wasn’t cut out for it at the beginning, but trust me, you’ll be fine even if math isn’t your strong point. Frisbie is a really great teacher.

Psychology: Mrs. New believes that you need a class that you can take it easy in, as compared to your other classes. Thus, her class does not really stress you out like others this year will. She knows a lot about psychology and is very knowledgeable. Considering she’s the youngest of the teachers, you may also find her the easiest to relate to. Come time for IB exams, you’ll be prepared, even if you don’t think you will be. The AP psychology test isn’t something to worry about either. Overall, the class was pretty easy and enjoyable, just do all your work.

Biology: Oh jeez, this was definitely my hardest class this year. Kennon is one of the hardest teachers at school, and I think bio is definitely the hardest of the three sciences. If you are really into this stuff, go for it. But if you chose bio because you don’t like any of the other sciences, well, you may find it tough. One advantage of choosing bio is that you really get to bond with your class, because you all rely on each other and work together to get that worksheet or lab done. Those things are beasts. Kennon can get hyper and at times it can seem like she’s mad, but that’s really just her personality. This year I let bio go over my head. You should definitely do the work before hand, also read the book and study earlier. Getting an AP book even at the beginning of the year helps you review for tests. So bio is hard, but work hard and you should be fine.

Junior year has definitely been the toughest year for me. With all the work, college stuff to deal with, AP tests, and everything else, it can be easy to drift away from people. Don’t let this happen. You need your friends for moral support, and who else are you going to copy homework from? So try the best you can to stay close with your friends.

Also, make use of your teachers! This year, I felt like each and every one of my teachers really cared about us and were willing to help us with anything, so we’re lucky to have them, even when we hate them for giving us so much work. Oh, also stay on top of those CAS hours, and don’t wait until the end of the year to document them all because you’ll just make your life more complicated. Just push through the two weeks of hell (AP testing), and it’ll be over before you know it.

Work hard, stay close with your friends, talk to your teachers, and you’ll make it through this year alive. Good luck!

Your fellow IB student,

Christine Tallo

 

So, this essay asks that we think back on our experiences in this school year. While I’d rather not, I suppose I have to. Where do I begin?

Seeing as this is meant to be advice for to-be juniors, I’m going to be blunt. Junior year sucks. It is definitely not for the weak. It is a lot of stress, late nights, confusion, agony and anxiety attacks. It is a definite change of pace from sophomore year, but if you can make it through sophomore year without dying, you’ll probably survive junior year as well. The assignments are fewer, though much more tedious and complicated, and you’ll find yourself with bearable teachers for once in your life. I think having teachers you like makes the year much more tolerable. I cried today when I said goodbye to Ms. Smith, which has never happened to me before with any teacher. By junior year all your classmates and teachers seem like family, this is the aspect of IB I like most. It’s the main thing that got me through junior year.

To give more subject-specific advice I wish I hadn’t learned the hard way, I’ll just go through my schedule. In Frisbie’s class, do all the homework. Don’t rely on late passes, because you will say you’re going to use them but then ultimately have so much other work throughout the following week that you forget to or make it a low priority and then don’t do it. Also, do the online reviews on Ms. Frisbie’s website before each test, they usually prepare you for the test very well. Start working on portfolios as soon as you get the assignment, it cannot physically be done in one day, trust me! If you take art, do your IWBs! That was my downfall. I highly recommend taking southern lit as an elective. You get to spend more time with Ms. Smith, and the class is a ridiculously easy 4.5 credit. Just make sure you don’t strangle the BHS kids that take the class, consider themselves to be taking an IB class, and conclude that IB “can’t be that hard.” This was a daily struggle for me. TOK — while worksheets you get seem like unimportant busy work, make sure you actually do them, because they do affect your grade, and to make anything less than an A in that class is pure laziness. English, READ the books. Do your journals. That’s all there is to it really. History — if you read the chapter in the book before tests and keep up with the 10,000 worksheets and workbook assignments Goss gives you, you’ll be fine. If you’re taking physics, godspeed. Spanish — learn it. If you follow all of this advice, you’ll have a good year.

So now that I’ve given away all the secrets to success, I would basically advise upcoming juniors to stay strong. Remember, a bad grade won’t kill you. You’ll have your classmates and teachers for support when you need it. And it’s fun to think you’re smarter than everyone else because you’re in IB. Remember to breathe. Good luck, and try to enjoy it. It is high school after all.

Jana Hammett

 

So! Now you, my friend, are a Junior!!! An Upperclassman! Congratulations, you’ve earned it! However, there is some advice that I could have used, and now I am passing that knowledge onto you.

You have always said that the IB program in Freshman and Sophomore year was difficult, and, at times, it was. Overall, however, it was probably not too difficult most of the time. The first semester of Junior year is no different. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and if it has worked for the past 2 years, it will still work now. But what of the second semester, you ask? Well, my friend, my dear, dear friend…..RUN! RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!! IT GONNA KIIIIIIIIILL YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!

Actually, the second semester of Junior year is probably not gonna be that bad, probably.  I make no guarantees.  The program definitely gets more difficult during the second semester. But, you should be able to make it if you try, just learn your limits on how long you can procrastinate (this essay was typed the morning before it is due! To my defense, however, Microsoft Word kept on crashing in the 30 minutes I tried to fix it last night). Which brings up another point, be sure to factor in Murphy’s Law into your estimate of how long it will take, you’ll hate yourself if you don’t.  Beyond just developing your skills even more from sophomore year, there is only one more point I can stress. This year, your grade will probably drop a bit in your classes, yes, it probably will. No, it will not kill you, but again, I make no guarantees. I am the exception to the rule, as my GPA actuallyimproved this year, but that was due more to me being super lazy freshman and sophomore year, and realizing that Hey! Grades Matter!! Don’t be stupid like me, they do. Really. Anyways, back to the much more common GPA falling issue. To minimize this, you need to work on working smartly not hardly. And both definitions of the word hardly apply here. Example: work more on an class w/ an 87 than an 83 if you bring up the 87 to an A, you come out ahead, rather than pulling up the 83 to an 88, where your GPA doesn’t change. This may be difficult for some people to do, it seems to be against their morals or something, but, itmust be done.

Beyond that, it’s all just common sense stuff, so, as an IB student, you have no idea what to do. I pitched in my two cents, go take someone else’s advice now!

Daniel Kryger

 

Stephanie Bandyk,

Thinking back, I learned not only about history and math, but also about the life of an IB student. There are a few essential tips you should know before beginning your IB career.

First of all, DON’T SWEAT IT! Everything at first seems unbearable. All the sudden you may have a history, math, and biology test all in one day (yep, I met this beast on more than a few occasions)! This may seem like a 90 degree slope they expect you to climb, though with a few deep breaths and an occasional, “I can do it! I have my coffee jug and phone to call friends to review the material with,” the steep mountain transforms into a bunny slope. Stressing on homework that is too difficult, or an overly packed schedule only makes matters worse. Not to mention, your face will probably break out too, and no one wants that!

Second, those piles of homework may seem extremely intimidating, but by beginning the homework the day it is assigned saves you time, and your saneness. Of course, if you attend IB, you value your grades somewhat. Staying on top of your homework allows you to focus on it and complete it to the best of your abilities. However, finishing a bio lab 2 minutes before it is due… well let’s hope you can ace the next test!

Though reaching the end of my junior year and having only one more year left in high school, I stress getting to really know everyone in your class. Everyone has something in common, though you may think otherwise. It has been a joy making new friends, but it’s even better to see other people get along with one another.

So in conclusion, my advice to you is to do the homework with small steps at least a week before it is due, while having side conversations in Goss’s class about commie-pinko-pigs.

Good luck,

Margaret Frates

 

Dear sophomores,

First of all, you know when people told you that junior year is hard? They weren’t lying. But it’s also been one of the more fun years. I’ll tell you some things that you should probably know, which were probably told to us too… that we should’ve listened to.

First of all, this is the year to take SATs and ACTs, don’t put this off. Believe me I did not want to think about them, still don’t. But you have to. You should register as early as you can and take both tests. Honestly, speaking, if you give yourself more time to do the whole, “studying” thing, you won’t. Then you’ll end up not having time to retake the tests to improve your scores. So work from what you get the first time. Do study, it actually does help. Those ETS people are crazy with their tests, as you’ll find out at the time of AP tests.

Speaking of AP tests. You’ll have at least four next year. Don’t sweat it. Do your homework and pay attention, especially in classes such as Spanish and English. Spanish because you cannot learn a language in a week and English because you’ll learn to analyze things through the books you read in class. As for history, it definitely helps to connect it to Mr. Goss’s odd sayings of his stories. You’ll remember things. Always do the workbook pages the best you can, they’ll be your saving grades if you are not that great in history. Starting this year I thought it was impossible to study for math. You either know it or you don’t. NOT TRUE! Studdddy! Do the reviews in the book, you’ll get amazing grades. And portfolios, do not put those off! Use the whole week you are given to work on them.  Also, journal questions, try to do them as soon as you get them. You do not want to spend all night working on them because you find out at eight P.M. that they are due the next day. Read the books/stories/poems/plays. They’re not that bad, and your test grade will be better. I know that it’s like a high school kid thing to procrastinate, especially in IB. But, don’t. And yes everyone says this… make your class the one that listened.

Oh, and do make sure that you go out with friends, have fun, go to parties, throw parties! These fun times, will make the work a bit more bearable. Don’t skip out on all the fun stuff to do homework, but make sure you set time aside to do that work. Homework is not asexual, it will not do itself. Oh yeah, and don’t quit IB, you’ve already gone through a lot, finish it!

Sincerely,

Shivani Patel             

 

Dear upcoming IB junior,

You must be excited to be leaving your sophomore and to be entering your official IB years.  This may be a rite of passage as a member of the IB program, however it does have consequences.  First of all, AP classes are no longer a joke.  World History was an easy class compared to these upcoming classes.  In addition, the classes that are IB and AP combined do not have a strong concentration of the AP aspect of the class.  So you must not solely rely on you teacher to fully prepare you for the test.  Do your best to study for AP exams on your own.  Don’t get me wrong, the teachers so a good job in teaching, it’s just that there is not enough time to cover everything.

Also, another important aspect of your new found IB career is the completion of CAS.  Do your best in trying to complete most of it the first semester of this grade, this is the least busy time of year.  I would suggest trying to fulfill the type of CAS hours that will be the most difficult for you to fulfill, so later you won’t have to try so hard for last minute hours.  Besides completing your hours, the most important part is filling our all the paperwork.  Try to fill out the proposals before you do the activity and do the rest of the paperwork immediately after the activity.  If not, you may forget about the hours that you did or the paperwork will pile up, furthering your procrastination.

Lastly, as you start thinking about colleges, you must know that they look to see what extracurricular activities you have participated in.  I suggest concentrating only on a few of your activities.  Make sure to become very involved in them and try to become an officer of at least one of them.  Don’t join a club or an activity just because you are told to do so, do it because you enjoy being a part of it.

I hope all the best for you and that my advice will assist you in your junior year.

Your friend,

Suma Metla

 

Dear friend who is about to take the same courses that I have just completed,

With two years of IB now under your belt, you have undoubtedly come to realize that this program is not for the faint of heart. Well here is some excellent news for you, it gets worse. I will make the assumption that you are as much of a procrastinator as myself, and not one of those smartypants overachievers. I’m sure that you have gotten used to doing homework everywhere but your home and that you wait until the last possible moment to do things.

I’m sure that I’m not the first person to tell you, but you really should try to kick the habit when it comes to procrastination. I’ve found for myself that the work is a lot easier when it’s done before the last minute. This problem is a tough one to overcome, and  I still haven’t absolved myself of it fully. But when I have seen the light, I find that the stress is significantly reduced. The temptation to procrastinate is a strong one and it’s easy to give in to it but I can tell you that it is worth the effort to try and plan and organize your work. I know it’s a bit hypocritical of me to be giving this advice, since I still procrastinate, but I want to warn you not to follow the same path.

Well, this has been a rather dull letter, I know, and the continuity might not be the greatest since I’m writing it in class and I do have to look up from time to time, but I hope that I’ve helped you down the right path. IB can be fun, in fact it’s a lot of fun, just work on defeating your laziness to lose the stress. The End.

Signing off,

Will Wysong

 

All right, so basically I’m going to tell you what you should do to succeed. This entails things I probably should have done, or would have done if I wasn’t such a lazy person. Also, procrastination is not a very wise decision… and yet, I seem to be stuck with this terrible habit. If you can, fight that habit (if you have it, that is) as it will save you from so much stress it’s not even funny. Oh, and if it’s at all possible, get some sort of head start on your extended essay — it will help you greatly in the long run.

Okay, I’m going to break this down by classes I had before lunch and then classes I had after lunch; of course, with some basic advice on how to survive each class. For physics, the most important thing you should do is buy an AP review book, or borrow one from someone that has already taken the course, as early as possible. You should work with it throughout the year as you cover each topic in class and be sure to do the labs as best you can. As for design-tech, it’s not an extremely difficult class — just be sure to study the vocabulary, the topics, and the options. Doing so will prepare you well for the exam. Also, put forth a decent effort for your design project and the investigations you’ll have. History is not my forte, so I had to express more effort and dedicate more time to it. Basically, read the chapters and take your own notes as well as pay attention to the notes you’ll be given during class. The last class before lunch has been English. It’s a pretty straightforward class — read everything you’re assigned, do all the journal questions, learn the vocabulary and you should be set.

After lunch was all right most days, to me anyway, ha ha. For precalculus, it’s not too bad. Be sure to take notes, as you’ll want them for the notebook quizzes. Pretty much, do the homework and you should be fine for the tests. That is, unless you’re as terrible at probability and statistics as I am — that complicates things a bit towards the end of the year. Theory of Knowledge, commonly referred to as ToK, is a great class. There’s not a whole lot you have to do, but be sure you do all of the extended essay stuff. Failure to do so will kill your grade so fast, you won’t know what hit you. Then there’s Spanish. There’s really not a whole lot to say about this class. If you’re not too great with foreign languages, befriend some native speakers or the peers of yours that are fairly confident in their abilities.

On a more generic note, to finish things off, I’ll give some basic advice that could apply to any class. Do your best to pay attention during the lectures in class. If you can take notes based on the speaking of the teacher, go for it. You should also definitely at least attempt every problem, assignment, etc., to your best abilities, no matter how boring, difficult, tedious, whatever it is. Also, be sure to make friends with as many members in your class as possible. This will help greatly as some of them are bound to be able to help you with subjects you’re struggling with. It also helps when you’ve forgotten the homework and didn’t write it down. So yeh. Try not to make the same mistakes I did and just do your best.

Jacque Dalton

 

Dear Cora,

Yes, junior year is the hardest one yet. In order for you to get out of it alive, I suggest that you do the following:

• Sleep!Sleep as much as you can at home and pay attention in class.
• Eat: Eat well. Your body will thank you. Eat breakfast before you leave the house because Sra. Salcedo and Mr. Goss won’t let you eat in their classes.
• Don’t Procrastinate!Always be sure to leave enough time to study for Bio, History, and Spanish; complete a bio lab and History workbooks when they’re all due the same day. Plan ahead and make a schedule.
• Relax: Take some time for yourself. Go for a walk, do some artwork, take a bath, but neverlet the stress of it all overwhelm you. That doesn’t end  well. Trust me, I know.

Now here are some things I wish I’d been told before I became a junior. Remember, Mr. Goss likes to say strange phrases over and over again. At first, you won’t understand them, then they will annoy you, but in the end you just chuckle and ignore them. Also Mr. Goss likes to bang on things so if you’re as jumpy as I am, you might want to bring ear plugs.

If you have Spanish first period, you might want to invest in some Red Bull. It will help you stay awake when Sra. is speaking rapidly in a language you don’t understand.

Don’t be scared about taking Pre-Calculus. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my IB career. If you’re anything like me, you will understand it much better than you did Algebra II, and your grade will stink a whole lot less.

As far as IB Art goes, be sure and do a good job on your IWBs. By doing them you get  a lot of your frustration out and you may come up with creative ideas in the process.

Above all of these, make sure you keep in touch with your IB friends. Make your bonds with them stronger. They will stand by you, and these friendships will be everlasting.

Love,

Shelby Flynn

 

Dear little IB sophomore soon-to-be junior,

You may have heard that junior year is really hard… a whole lot harder than sophomore year. Well… I would love to tell you that it’s just a piece of cake, but it’s not. Junior year is definitely more work than sophomore year, but that’s because you’re getting into all the real IB stuff. But it is definitely doable! You have to stay in IB. Don’t get discouraged by anything. If you put your mind to it, you can get everything done and finish your junior year. It went by so fast for me. And now I am one year closer to graduating.

The one big change that happens in your junior year is CAS hours begin. These are definitely not normal service yours that you’re used to. I think that it takes longer to fill out the paperwork for the hours than it actually does to do the hours! Just kidding! But you do have to fill out a bunch of paperwork. And you most definitely should not procrastinate filling all this out. Trust me. that is like the worst possible thing to do! You do not want to spend the last days of school running around trying to get signatures and remembering exactly what you did and when you did it. And make sure that you get at least 25 hours completed in each category. Doing and filling out CAS hours promptly will definitely make your junior year easier.

The most important thing that I think an IB student needs is really good friends. For me personally I couldn’t have gotten through everything this year. And since this is high school, unnecessary, ridiculous drama is inevitable. And that kind of stress you do not need on top of all your IB work stress/pressure. Make sure you don’t let that drama get in between your good friendships because you need them to help you get through everything.

Yes, junior year is harder than freshman and sophomore year, but yes, it is possible as long as you keep up with your work and don’t let everything turn into a stress. Make sure you have a little fun every once in a while.

Emily Minter

 

To all IB sophomores:

You all have just finished your sophomore year in IB. So far your lives in IB have been pretty easy. Things are about to change. The courses get harder and the nights get longer.

Your social life will seemingly disappear. How to deal with your courses: Don’t Procrastinate. Take all the help you can get. If you can, take the AP Statistics course with Mr. Nakamura. It helps a lot with all other math-related classes.

Don’t stress out; if you pay attention in class, you will pass. The AP tests do get semi-boring and routine, but it’ll be okay.

Good luck next year,

Mathew Cummings

 

Dear Juniors,

Good luck. You’re gonna need it. So, to start off I’m going to help you through this. Hopefully you won’t fail TOO badly. CAS; Ugh. You need to get all of that stuff done as soon as you can. Get at least half your hours in 11th grade; if you don’t you’ll be in trouble. Make sure to get all your forms signed and turned it BEFORE the last week of school — it’ll be hectic enough without the added panic of attempting to get numerous CAS forms completed and turned in.

Secondly, finish your summer assignments as soon as you can. You’ll think you’ll have plenty of time to finish it the week before school starts, or even the night before; you won’t, so don’t even try. Just do it at the start of the summer. It shouldn’t take too long to complete.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Just do it. Seriously. You’ll THINK you’ll be fine without it, and can still pass the tests, which is possible. But your grade will die, regardless of how well you do on the tests, or projects. Some of the assignments are going to take forever, but it’s worth it in the long run, trust me.

So that’s about it. Just do what you have to, as soon as you can, and you’ll be fine. I know it isn’t much, but that’s about all I can say.

Trevor Wagner

 

The courses you will be taking your junior year are… not easy but manageable, as long as you make the right decisions. The most important, of course, is don’t procrastinate if you can help it. Usually you have so much homework every day that you don’t get a chance to work ahead, but if you do get that chance then you should definitely take it. This will save you stress at the last minute, lack of sleep, and give you time to relax when everyone else is worried the night before it is due.

Turn in everything that you can on time. This helps you get better grades, of course. It also keeps you from getting behind, having to catch up on makeup work, which can become an endless cycle since you never have time to do the work due the next day because you are working on what was due the day before. A note about lunch: always, if you are able, bring your own food. The food the school provides for lunch is not worth it at all; you will be much better off if you just bring your own.

In history, always read the chapter the night before you take the test. Don’t worry about anything else, everything you need to know is in the book. In English, always keep up with your journals. They seem impossible to do because there is so much work, but if you get behind on your journal you will be very much behind on everything else and will get an even worse grade on your test. Read the books assigned in English so you can get all the details, then find some way to analyze the book because, contrary to what the teacher may say, you will not learn everything you’re supposed to know for the test in class. In Spanish, do your best to use the language outside of class. Try to think in Spanish whenever you can. Expose yourself to the language and culture. This will help you immensely in your language studies. Also, in chemistry, read your AP book as often as you can. In general, you won’t learn anything at all in class; however, you will take a test almost every class on everything that you haven’t learned. So do everything you can to learn outside of class, even though you won’t have time at all to do so.

After awhile, you may feel like you are going to die because of all the work you’ve had to do without having time to sleep or do anything fun. This is when your own health supersedes the importance of school and grades. Take a break at that point. Go lay down for a few minutes, go outside and try to remember what the sun looks like, or just go to bed early. If you do these things, you should be able to come out of your junior year in relatively good health and with pretty good grades.

Anna Irby

 

Reflecting on the year as a whole, I’d say it’s been a tremendous experience; I could sit here and whine about the work and the lack of sleep, but seriously, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I’d like to first say that there is a definite difference between pre-IB and IB; before this year I would have thought 10th grade was as hard as it got and nothing could ever top it. Well, my eyes were quickly opened. Junior year is a separate universe aside from 9th and 10th grade. Personally, I’d advise any upcoming junior to first and foremost find a passion that you can ground yourself in when things get hard; find something that can relieve your stress and bring you happiness. Never let your workload get the best of you; somehow, someway, it will ALWAYS find a way to get itself done. Have confidence in your abilities and don’t doubt yourself when you begin to be confronted with internal assessments and `IB’ things.

Those of you taking Biology love Mrs. Kennon for who she is and embrace her ambiguous tests and worksheets. Go with the flow, accept the grade, and DO THE EXTRA CREDIT. There will be times when you think taking bio was the worst mistake of your life, but when exams roll around you’ll be able to tell your physics and chem friends that you are confident that you passed. Mrs. Kennon will take care of you and see that you are successful, so don’t sweat the little grades, and remember the average of them is what counts. Next, Mrs. Smith is feisty and full of energy; you’ll be able to relax and enjoy English this year. She doesn’t assign frivolous work, just be sure to do the journal questions, ON TIME. And, read all of the books, it will be to your benefit, seriously. Mrs. New’s class, psychology, is loads of fun, no work all play. You can plan to do other work in her class, any day, any time of the year. However, much to everyone’s amazement, you WILL be prepared for the exams.

I know you guys will have a different Señora, so basically keep on trucking and have confidence in your knowledge of Spanish. What you know by the end of the year will surprise you; take the AP test confidently. TOK is a blast; Guice, as you all know, is tons of fun. TOK will be even more relaxed than your 10th grade English class. Don’t sweat TOK presentations, just talk about perception and stuff like that, you’ll be A-okay. Mr. Goss is amazing. He is hilarious, ultra-conservative, and he gets it done. The tests and work are all relatively easy. Just enjoy him, and pay enough attention to history to make the grade. His notes aren’t as all-important as he says, read the book and listen a little bit, no worries my friend.

And lastly, Ms. Frisbie. Those of you freaking out about math, have no fear. As I’m sure Naki has told you, she’s great, and like Goss, she gets it done. All you have to do is pay attention, take notes, do the homework, and use her for the great resource that she is. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because they will always be accompanied by perfectly clear answers.

That’s about it. Remember to take everything in stride and put it into perspective when it becomes overwhelming. Best of luck!

Anna Mae Gibson

 

Junior year can be hectic. Your junior year will be pretty crazy. The workload might not be as much as sophomore year, but it makes up for it in difficulty. Quality, not quantity, is what you have to look forward to. There are just some things you need to make sure you do.

One, BEWARE DR. HELMICK!!! Get the AP practice book. Most of us learned more from that in two days than from Helmick’s lectures in an entire year. Also, make sure you get him to give you a practice planning lab, but do not let him give it to you the last week of school or your life will be hell.

Two, be sure to read the history chapters and do the workbook. The workbook especially helps with the information you will need on the tests. Do Goss’s planning essays, they will help ready you for the time limits on the AP exam.

Finally, do not procrastinate! That will be the death of you. It is worse than Dr. Helmick. Your life will be an absolute nightmare if you have to stay up until midnight to finish your homework or projects. Portfolios are also not that stressful if you start them as soon as you get them. Good luck next year!

David Holdaway