Most of these were written by juniors, to advise new juniors. The last several are written by sophomores, to advise new sophomores. They are otherwise in no particular order.
Finally becoming a junior after two years of pre-IB is a great feeling. Pre-IB is very different from the actual International Baccalaureate program that you will be experiencing in the upcoming two years. During your freshman and sophomore years, you may have slacked off since the work was less challenging. For instance, you may have played Mario Kart on your Nintendo DS with friends or played random games on your iPod touch during pre-IB years. However, you will lose this habit quickly once you become accustomed to the higher expectations from the teachers, the increased difficulty of the work, and the increased amount of work in the junior year since you mainly have AP and IB classes now. Junior year of IB is definitely tougher than what you have seen so far. Times can become stressful during this year but don’t be overwhelmed. If you’re undecided whether or not to stay in IB, you should consider the benefits of learning and becoming a well-rounded person. IB is the key to opening doors leading to success in your future. My advice to you would be to not procrastinate, manage your time wisely, and stay focused on whatever goals you want to achieve.
To begin with, let me give you a brief rundown on the courses you will be taking during your junior year of IB. I recommend that you take Biology because Mrs. Kennon is an amazing teacher that truly prepares you for upcoming exams with her numerous notes, worksheets, and labs. Taking Physics for your science may seem more fun with less work in the next two years, but I believe it has its downsides regarding exam preparation. For your sixth subject, I recommend that you take IB Design Technology instead of Psychology if you’re not interested in Art, because it is mostly independent study consisting of four design labs and one major design project for internal assessment. For Spanish, you should know the conjugations, the usage of different tenses, and vocabulary. For your half semester elective, I recommend that you take Statistics with Naki because he teaches in a way that’s easy to understand and it’s great to just sit back and listen to his hilarious stories. TOK with Mr. Guice will be an interesting class that provides new insight on ways of knowing and perspective. Keep up with Extended Essay deadlines, prepare your TOK presentation about an interesting knowledge issue, and do not wait to the last minute on the TOK essay although the presentation and essay are for practice. For Pre-Calculus, my advice to you would be to always pay attention during classes so you understand the material and, on a side-note, receive candy by catching mistakes. Plan and work on the portfolio tasks when you receive them so you can ask questions if you do not understand what is being asked in the question. Appreciate the notes that Ms. Frisbie sends because they are beneficial in reviewing for tests. Also, do not sleep or talk about off-topic subjects during the lesson being taught since Ms. Frisbie becomes annoyed. For English, I advise you to actually read the books rather than Sparknotes in order to pass the quizzes and tests and keep up with the journal questions although it is tedious, time-consuming work. Be involved in volunteering and accumulating CAS hours throughout the year as well as creating a CAS project with Ms. Smith. Propose your activity before you complete your hours and make sure you get evidence for the activity while you are volunteering. Right after you have finished a CAS activity, I advise you to complete the reflections so you do not have to write several later on. For American History, you should read the book, not just Amsco, and then review the notes and learning objectives before a test. Mr. Goss teaches in a method that allows you to remember the time, person, location, and significance of an event or a thing. You also become familiar with his unique expressions.
To wrap it up, have fun in your junior year of IB and be prepared to face challenges in the upcoming year. Junior year is a great learning experience because the teachers are amazing in preparing for AP and IB exams. You will feel constant stress from always having to complete a Biology lab, Design Technology lab or project, Group 4 project, Spanish or English oral, TOK presentation or essay, Pre-Calculus portfolio, internal assessment for IB classes, journal questions for English, American History essay, CAS hours, Extended Essay deadlines, or AP and IB exams at the end of the year. Although the teachers attempt to give these assignments at different times, they will most likely overlap during the same time. Always put effort in to your assignments and success will be reached by stress acting as motivation to do work. Come to a conclusion early on during the year that procrastination gets you nowhere and you should avoid it immediately. Good luck next year!
Prashil Patel
Dear New IB Junior,
Your junior year is the real start of the roller coaster. And, trust me, it’s quite a ride. Your teachers will be awesome, Mr. Guice, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Goss, Mrs. Frisbie, are all funny and easy to get along with. You’ll learn a lot from all of them, even if it feels like you’re just slogging through piles of assignments.
For Mrs. Smith — You’ll have your orals this year where you have to analyze pieces of literature or passages and talk about them. All I can say is do the journals! She will give you questions about the works; answer them and study them. It will make the tests and the orals a whole lot less daunting.
For Mr. Goss —He can throw you for a loop sometimes, but once you get used to his style, it’s a lot of fun. He may seem to be throwing random assignments your way, but it helps for the tests and for AP. Read your book! Pay attention to what he stresses in class, it will be on the tests!
I myself figured out a lot about being more efficient. I know maybe two people who somehow manage to get their work done way ahead of time, but for the rest of us mere mortals, it’s tough. I’m sure you know the feeling — you’ve got a history essay due, but you don’t want to write it. You need a break; you can watch a couple Youtube videos. It can’t hurt. An hour and a half later and you’re going nowhere fast —it’s rough.
Something that I found that helped was to plan my afternoons before I got home. On the bus I wrote down the order in which I was going to do my assignments. It saved a lot of time in which I would normally be wondering what to do. Once you’ve got a plan and you’re focused on it, things go much smoother.
Try to keep away from the temptation. I know it’s hard, but try and keep from turning on the computer until you absolutely have to in order to research something or type an essay. I know that the more time I spend at the computer, the more likely I am to be doing something that is not school related.
If things are starting to look really bad, when you’ve got a Spanish test, a history essay, a Physics Lab, journal questions, and psychology vocab cards all due in the same week, write down everything you have to do and cross things off once you’re done. Take things day by day; that’s all you can do.
Beside all that, you’ll make it through. I have to admit that there were a few weeks, particularly near the end, where I was convinced I would just collapse from the stress of it all, but amazingly enough the time passes, and before you know it, the year’s over! You’ll just be getting the criteria for the Spanish AP Test on the first day of school and then, bang! You’ve taken the test and it’s all done!
So, never doubt yourself fellow IB student. As Hagrid once wisely said: “What’s comin’ will come, and we’ll meet it when it does.”
Sincerely,
Caroline Bresnan
Dear Future IB Junior
You may have heard by now that junior year is one of the most difficult years of IB, and as far as I am concerned, this may be true, however I have not completed senior year yet. Junior year is very different from the past two years in IB, and if you are not ready for this change you may become discouraged and even give up like many of my fellow classmates had this year. Some of the things you need to know are which teachers are more strict on late work—which is almost all of them, the best ways to study for tests, and what else to expect—this includes work outside of school. If you follow this advice then you should be ready for junior year and will be able to enjoy yourself.
One of the most important things you must know and be prepared for to live through junior year is that the teachers are much stricter on late work then they had been in the past. Some of the teachers will not even collect the work from you if you do not turn it in on time. Ms. Smith, Mr. Goss, and Mrs. Kennon will pretty much wring your neck if you even try to turn in anything late, unless you missed school due to being sick. Ms. Frisbie can also be strict if you turn in late work but only if you use up all the late passes she gives you, but if you do that then you shouldn’t be in IB anyway because her assignments aren’t long or hard. If you want to pass the AP test for science then it would be in your best interest to take Biology or Chemistry, but if you just want an easy class then take Physics, also for your 6th subject class you should definitely pick this based on what interests you. Your choices are Psychology — which is fun and interesting and Mr. Gummow is a good teacher — most of the time, just don’t make him mad or you will get kicked out of the classroom — but the AP test is easy; Design — which is easy and you don’t have much homework, and the IB test is easy; Art — which I don’t know much about; and Band — which again I don’t know much about.
It would also be in your best interest to know something about every teacher before entering junior year. This information will be very useful. Mr. Webb — this is if you take physics, if you don’t then you should probably find out from someone else what to expect from Mr. Helmick or Mrs. Kennon — Mr. Webb is not too strict on if you show up late for class by a minute or two; however, I would try not to do this regularly because if for some reason you have a sub and the sub gives you a referral he is not going to be too sympathetic. He is also pretty lenient on giving you time for homework problems and labs. Ms. Smith, is also ok if you come to class a minute or two late but will not allow you to turn in work late. If you miss a spelling/vocabulary test because you are sick she will not make you make it up if it is the first one that you have missed that quarter. Mr. Goss is very funny and loud but don’t be late to his class and always turn in your homework on time because he takes a lot of points off for turning in late work. Ms. Frisbie is really funny and gives you two late passes every nine weeks but if you do not use them you can turn them in at the end of the nine week period to get up to ten points extra credit, five points for each pass, also if you like candy you should definitely pay attention in her class because if you catch her making five mistakes in a week you get candy. Mr. Guice well you pretty much already know him so I don’t have to go into much detail but TOK is fun. If you take Psychology, then you will have Mr. Gummow then you’re in for some fun. Mr. Gummow can be very funny, he has many sayings, but he also gets bored easily and off task as well as angry, when he gets angry either he will kick some students or the entire class out or he will leave the room himself.
Studying is something that is very, very important to learn how to do junior year. This is because you may think you know the material but then the teachers give you some crazy test that is all about the little detail. I will go through each teacher that I mentioned earlier. Mr. Webb, his tests can be a little hard but he lets you use the formulas when you take the tests and it is usually pretty easy to just pick a formula and apply it to a problem and get an answer. Ms. Smith, her tests tend have lots of quotes from the books so pay close attention to those and the characters and the themes and symbolism that she mentions. Also Ms. Smith gives spelling and vocabulary tests every couple weeks or so and you should definitely study for these because they can really help your grade. Mr. Goss, the only thing I can tell you is READ THE BOOK and then after word read the Amsco book and you should be good. Ms. Frisbie, I wouldn’t really know the best way to tell you to study for her tests because I understand the material just by doing the homework. Mr. Guice, take notes on the packets because when he gives you tests you are allowed to use the notes. Mr. Gummow, don’t do a mediocre job on the note cards because, believe it or not, they actually help if you take the time to do a good job on them.
One of the biggest things to start doing junior year is CAS. CAS may sound like it is going to be difficult to do but it is really not and it can be fun if you do it with your friends. For example, my boyfriend and I work four hours every Saturday at the Lakeside SPCA and and we have lots of fun doing it. Through the SPCA I have pretty much finished all of my CAS, except for the creativity section. I got those CAS through FCAT tutoring at Mulberry Middle School. CAS is very easy to get and can be very fun if you do it correctly.
Good luck surviving your junior year, I know most of you will make it, but I am sure some of them will quit. Trust me, as long as you don’t get behind on school work and relax, you will still have time to have fun and hang out with your friends and you shouldn’t get stressed. It really is not that bad if you take the time to manage your time as well as possible. Good luck!!!
Kerrianne Hippely
Hey up-and-coming junior,
Congratulations on getting into junior year of IB. There are TONS of opportunities here, and if you’re here you should definitely stay here. If you ever get down, remember that you are in one of the greatest high school programs in the world. Remember that there are thousands of other IB schools around the world with kids who are working just as hard as you. Remember that you’ll only benefit from the program: our school has a 0% mortality rate, and working hard here is going to prepare you for college, earn you lots of scholarship money, and give you an education that you can get in few other high schools. All you need to do is live by a few simple rules to take full advantage of your opportunities.
The first rule is to live your life on a schedule. Many theories exist on this subject. A former student, Will Crowley, once said, “never cheat in IB… well, if you do cheat, make sure it’s on something useless like Spanish homework.” He never was any good at Spanish. The truth is, your teachers KNOW what they are doing, and if they give you homework, no matter how tedious it may seem, it is worth your while to put your effort into it. Really try to do the best you can on every last assignment, and, as cliché as it sounds, I promise you will succeed. And, while it seems tempting to put those journal questions off and sleep, keep in mind that, when you wake up, they will still be there waiting for you. Get them done and sleep in peace. Try making a checklist of EVERYTHING that’s coming up, and keep it as small as possible.
When you get an assignment, big or small, try to work on as soon as you find out about it. Most of the time, when someone is completely overwhelmed, half the stuff they have to do could have been done two weeks before. A lot of teachers allow time in class to work on their big assignments. Although everyone doesn’t use it, it helps a lot.
Study hard for tests before you get to school. Read all of the books in English, and read the chapters and online notes for Mr. Goss. If you’re in physics, try to learn stuff, because the AP test will come faster than you think. Go over Ms. Frisbie’s notes from her e-mails, and if you’re lost any one of your teachers will gladly help you out after school. You have a lot of resources, so you should never decide to go into a test trusting the knowledge you had before you took the class. You will regret that one bad test grade for the rest of the year, so be consistent.
The last rule is as important as any other: try to stay positive. This will all be more worthwhile if you remember to laugh and smile now and then. Try to keep everyone around you happy. It’s pretty annoying if you let everyone know you got a better grade than they did, so don’t be vain. Friends can hurt you or help you, so surround yourself in good ones. Find the ones who will help you stay positive about the IB experience. All your work will be worth it when you follow all of these rules until you get your IB diploma.
Have fun,
Cameron Johnson
To me, junior year had the best and worst moments of my IB career so far. Our class has gotten a lot closer and friendlier over this past year, despite what Ms. Smith has been telling us (she kept saying that we will get tired of each other and fight all the time from all the stress). On the other hand, the workload definitely went on steroids this year – math portfolios, AP test preparations, Biology labs and tests, History tests, English journals, CAS, language competitions (if you’re into that kind of stuff). They all seem overwhelming, especially since a lot of them tend to clash all in one week.
IB has taught me to present the information in an organized way, so here, I’ll go through the advice in an orderly fashion —
- Pre-Calc. The beginning of the year is not bad at all, mostly review of Algebra II, with some extra stuff added on. Ms. Frisbie is an awesome teacher, she is willing to help (as long as you’re nice and reasonable in your pleas for help), so don’t be afraid to email or run by her room any time for help. Enjoy the little off-topic conversations, who knows, you might go on Jeopardy one day and win and it will all be thanks to Ms. Frisbie’s sharing of her knowledge. Pay attention when she’s explaining how to do the portfolios, it is an invaluable help, as you will often find yourself staring at the assignment, having no clue on how to approach it.
- Psychology (skip this if you’re not taking it :)). Gummow seemed like an ok teacher at the beginning of the year. Then he starts making you angry. I’m sure you’ve heard of his sayings that everyone quotes, but another one is “I’m bored, let’s do something else” while learning the material. Make sure you ask him (no, demand it, actually) to relate everything you learn, every experiment and term, to the psychological perspectives that are so vital on the IB test. I have not learned what’s going to be on the IB test and how to read the questions right the night before the test, without any help from him. It was not fun, believe me. The AP test is a breeze if you know your vocabulary, so do those flashcards he assigns.
- Biology. Oh my goodness. Lots of frustration over labs, but lots of fun discussing Lil’ Wayne and Facebook with Mrs. Kennon. Lots of frustration over tests, but lots of fun when she sometimes brings donuts on the days of the tests. Do not procrastinate on worksheets and labs, and do not log on to facebook chat the night before a lab or a worksheet is due – your procrastinating classmates will swamp you with questions that will only confuse you. Be confident in what you write in your labs – follow her guidelines, not what everyone else is saying, and you will get the points.
- I had Stats with Naki as my elective, and that is definitely not a math class. Other than a few clicks on the calculator, no confusing math will appear. Just do the homework before the day its due, and even read the book – it is hilarious.
- ToK won’t come for another half a year for you, but please don’t think of it as a class to do other homework in. Guice appreciates it when you are involved in the discussions, and do your journals and notes, they will help with the practice essay (I’m writing this instead of my ToK essay because I had bad journals and notes so I’m not sure how to write on the topic) <—- this is a nice way to take a break from confusing assignments in every class – do something that will take your mind off of the challenge, it will take off some stress.
- English. Read the books, seriously. They might not seem all that interesting, but just suck it up and do it, because it will help you, both on her tests and on your orals. Probably the biggest frustration in that class is the journals. She will NOT tell you when she will pick them up, but she expects them to be done before the test on every book you read. Try doing them as you go along, Smith will give you some time in class to get them done, use it. Don’t repeat our mistakes and blow off the journals – you WILL regret it when you have to do your orals in April. Many people say that the passages they got were reviewed in the questions.
- This next part will probably be for the lesser part of the rising junior class. French. Madame is a cool lady, she can joke around, but pas d’anglais!It is very hard to focus in her class, especially at the beginning of the year, when you are drowned in all the French after virtually no French speaking with Monsieur. Her homework is not bad, mostly workbook pages, so they don’t take a while. Really, that class if mostly stress-free. She reviews for the AP tests, you write some essays, but it all pays off when you take the AP test and get to eat crêpes at the end of the year.
- History. I really cannot give good advice on that class. I hated it at the beginning, I was frustrated, and I did not read the book. It just did not work for me. I still had a B in the class, although I don’t know how. The AP test seemed fairly easy (as compared to Biology, for example). Read other people’s advice for this class, it might help more.
This year in IB has really made me apathetic towards everything I do – I have a history test tomorrow? Eh, I’ll read the chapter outline online. People asked me if I was worried about this or another AP test. No. I just want it to be over. I was not too stressed this year (unpopular opinion, yeah), and I did not pull an all-nighter, ever. If you learn to prioritize, and realize how much time you need for this or another task and space it out properly, you will not need to lose sleep. Don’t stress out too much, either. It just deteriorates your health. Take it as it comes, and if something doesn’t work out too well, you can always fix it, one way or another.
Pretty much everything you do this year so for your own good. Don’t do it because teachers tell you to do it. Do it because it will benefit you, in one way or another.
Sasha Chopenko
Dear Incoming Pre-calculus students,
As you have probably noticed, each year is harder than the last. This year (I’m assuming you are an 11th grader) is going to test your resolve a lot. With orals and the AP test, you are going to go through a living hell this year. I cannot count the times I’ve thought of dropping out, but hang on and plow through, and you will get through it all.
There is some wisdom I can pass on having been through junior year. When Mrs. Smith assigns something do it that day, especially journals. Journals will come back and haunt you if you do not do them. You cannot do them in one night so do not try to. Journals are not assigned for busywork, they prepare you for the oral (which scare you to death) and for the test. Smith’s tests are killer by the way. Also when you are assigned to read, read. Mrs. Smith’s reading quizzes cannot be gleaned from Spark notes. The answers are obscure parts of the text. By the way, reading Macbeth and Hamlet will be awesome, because Shakespeare is awesome! Then start on your CAS hours NOW! I am having no problem because I initiated my CAS project in September and am pretty much set. THEN MAKE SURE TO LOG INTO MANAGEBAC! It is so much easier to log your hours if you do this. Precalc is an amazing class and Ms. Frisbie is an even more amazing teacher. (Word of advice watch out for her, she lies a lot to you). Do your homework and you will get a pretty good grade. Also watch out for mistakes to get candy!
On the subject of AP tests and Orals, do not worry about them too much or you will get sick. For AP tests. In US History take Goss at his word, he knows what he is talking about and you will pass the test. In Physics, take notes the entire year and pray you will pass, a good AP book would not be a bad idea either. Mrs. Smith does an ample job of preparing you. In French or Spanish all you have is hope so do not worry. Hopefully you’ll pass!
All in all the IB junior year is hectic and it would behoove you to “steel your mind” to quote Lord Blackwood from Sherlock Holmes. Do your best and that’s all you can do. Good Luck!
Jordan Gilbert
So, you did it. You’ve finally become a member of the actual IB school. That is quite the accomplishment, yet, at the same time it’s hard to believe that you’re only half way through with your high school career. No worries though, you can do it. I know you’ve heard that from nearly every person you pour your heart out to when things are rough, but it’s true. You have to believe that, and everything will turn out. Junior year is honestly, quite different than your previous years in the program. It’s definitely more rigorous and demanding when it comes to actual IB assignments. You’ll find yourself getting used to lack of sleep and doing things at the last minute. But procrastination is NOT your friend! Get it done, don’t put it off… another thing you’ve heard from everyone, but again finishing things ahead of time will make a huge difference when it comes to your level of stress.
Now for the more specific things. Don’t try to take the easy way out by taking the easiest classes possible. It’s understandable to take easy electives to give yourself a break, but as for the academic classes it seems to be more beneficial to take the classes that you know will prepare you for the AP and IB tests. That means biology. It isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be and Mrs. Kennon acts like a different person from freshmen to junior year, in a good way, she’s actually one of my favorite teachers yet. As for math, I suppose you will make the right decision according to your strength, or lack thereof, in the subject. For Goss’s tests read Amsco or an AP review book, it’s way simpler to grasp the general concepts than to read the two or three chapters of the actual text book that are going to be on the test. In English, do journals! I made the mistake of waiting until the last minute and not even completing some of them. When our oral commentaries came around I was nowhere near prepared.
Stress levels will inevitably escalate in your junior year. There’s no way to avoid it. For me being involved in things outside of school helped A LOT. I had cheerleading practice nearly every day after school last year, and will again this coming year. I feel like that put my mind elsewhere from school. Yes, it does make stress a bit worse at times, but I couldn’t imagine having every moment of my day revolving around school and work. Being involved also gives you good time management, which will, no doubt, be used all the time. You’ll also get to know people outside of IB. I know that everyone has friends outside of their IB family already, but it never hurts to get yourself out there.
After completing junior year in the IB program, you will feel great. Especially in our case, the class of 2011, we had several people drop, and honestly there were most definitely times that the ground seemed to shake beneath me. Making it through these times and doing it as one in only forty-six, makes the feeling so much better. So stick it out, and finish strong. Don’t contract senioritis at the end of the year, keep the right mind set. Don’t be afraid to ask any of the upperclassmen for help either, we’re all there to give advice and help you through the times that we’ve all experienced firsthand. Hope you have a great year, looking back on it I’m incredibly proud of myself and what I’ve accomplished, you will be too.
Kaley Keen 🙂
Dear Sophomores,
I know IB may seem a little overwhelming and EXTREMLEY stressful at times, but it really isn’t all that bad, I should know I’ve been in it for three whole years now. The main thing to keep in mind is DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! I know that every teacher tells you not to do procrastinate and that you just shake it off, but seriously your life will be SO much easier if you don’t procrastinate. Especially do NOT procrastinate on doing your math portfolios, English journals (for Smith), and internal assessments, these are the things that you will make you want to kill yourself for waiting until the last minute to get done.
Another word of advice is to listen to your teachers. We always seem to think that we know better than our teachers and we end up paying for it down the road. For example in English when you go over the passages in the books together with Mrs. Smith listen to what she has to say about the passages and take her advice and COLOR mark the books, they really will help you when you prepare for your oral commentaries. Also listen to Goss when he tells you to read the chapters in the book. If you read the chapter you will usually always pass the tests because a lot of the questions quote the book.
Finally don’t let IB run your life. Of course you should spend time studying and do your homework, etc., but don’t let it get to the point where that’s all you do. Find a healthy middle where you do your work and still do things that you enjoy. Also make sure that you have a group of friends who will help you through the hard times in IB by making you laugh and thus relieving stress. Trust me these two things will save you from going insane and letting IB consume you.
Sooooooo in short: do NOT procrastinate, listen to your teachers because they won’t lie to you (except Ms. Frisbie occasionally), do things that you enjoy and hang out with your friends.
GOOD LUCK!!
Stephanie Browne
Riley Clark’s Advice to the Incoming Junior Class
Hello! I don’t know a lot of you, and those I do know have already made it through the Pre-Calculus class. I am going to give you little tidbits of advice that can REALLLY help you throughout your junior year. The hardest part of the advice is to actually listen to what I and the other students doing this assignment are telling you. Throughout your first two years of IB, you have been able to slide through with ease. You might say, “No, this has been so very hard!” but no. I promise the beginning of the next year will slap you in the face. Hard. There are however key points that you can follow that will make the entry into the real IB program easier. Even though this is for my math assignment, I am allowed to discuss other classes as well so I am going to class by class.
Science — You have by now decided which science class you are in. I can only speak for the biology students, but what I have to say is important. Do the labs on time. Not the night before, on time. The fly lab IS NOT RIDICULOUSLY HARD just long. So don’t wait. You have the time to do that all through winter break, don’t tell your parents you don’t. Take advantage of that time. There is an extra credit assignment at the end of the biology class. It is a huge amount of points, and is VERY beneficial to your grade. It will take hours. I spent over 5 hours on each poster, and there were 11. That’s well over 55 hours. Use time wisely. If you wait until the last week, you will not finish.
TOK — You may take this as a joke class, but zeroes add up. Just because you are not watched like a hawk on turning things in, do not expect to go through the class turning nothing in and ending with an A. Mr. Guice is a great teacher, don’t take advantage of him.
History — Read the book. That’s all I have to say.
English — DO YOUR JOURNALS!!!! IM NOT KIDDING! I had many students tell me this and I did not listen. I cannot stress the importance enough, so just do them.
Math — Do the portfolios early. Don’t wait until the night before, you will receive a bad grade.
French — If you are in French, don’t worry. Everyone is struggling as much as you are, you are not alone. In the beginning, you may not understand anything that is going on, but it is amazing how much better you are at the end of the year.
So that is all I really want to say. If you notice, in most of these advice sections, I am stressing that you use your time wisely. I promise it will save tears and stress in the future. Have fun, because this year will go by quickly. Do your best and have a great year.
Sincerely,
Riley Clark
Dear Rising Junior,
As this year comes to a close, I reflect on it. There were many good times and just about as many bad times. Junior year is definitely the hardest year of IB so far. For those of you who are taking the same classes as me I have some advice that will hopefully make your Junior year a little less stressful.
First off, if you don’t get math easily, always stay awake in Pre-Calculus. Frisbie is the greatest math teacher I’ve had because if you don’t get a concept she’ll show you step-by-step how to solve an equation or function so that you can always repeat it. AP Biology isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. There are however certain things about that class you should be aware of. Always pay attention during notes because Kennon always adds in stuff during conversation that you will need for the test on that unit. Never procrastinate on labs because they vary in length, with some taking you only an hour and some taking you 8 hours. By the way, start the extra credit project in her class the moment you get the paper in March. You will not be able to do it all in 1 or 2 days, there is just too much to write, so start on it early and do little parts over time.
Always do your homework for AP Spanish because if you don’t you’ll end up with a mediocre grade for the semester. AP English is really easy but only if you read the books and do your journals. NEVER wait until last minute to do journals because you always have work to do as an IB Junior and you simply won’t have time in one day to answer about 60 questions on a book you didn’t read all the way through. You will be in a huge ditch that you dug yourself if you don’t have journals completed when Smith collects them. AP U.S. History is definitely a fun class. Goss is hilarious but serious when it comes to what he teaches. Read the textbook and you’ll be fine come test time, no matter what. AP Psychology may seem like your easiest class but try to read the textbook so that you don’t fail each of Gummow’s tests. And finally, TOK is the most interesting class you’ll have. Guice makes the class fun and entertaining but you also learn how to ask more in-depth questions that deal with some of life’s greatest mysteries like “Why do we exist?” and “How do we know anything?”
In conclusion, IB Junior year is not for the faint of heart. Do not procrastinate and slack off because if you do, your GPA will go down and your chances of getting into your dream college go down with it. Never forget that you’re in a very difficult program and it’s not supposed to be fun and easy all the time. You need to challenge yourself to keep going and don’t drop out because you think it’s “too hard.” Suck it up and get through it because there have been many more people before you who already came and graduated from this school.
Samuel Irizarry
Welcome Juniors!
Congratulations in coming into actual IB! You guys were in pre-IB for the past two years now, and here you are, all grown up. I know everyone is saying that IB is really hard, but honestly, it isn’t really that bad. If you work hard and actually do your assignments for each class, then you will do fine next year. It is true that all the classes are going to be a little bit tougher than the past two years, but that’s just the way IB works I guess; they just want to work your butts off until you achieve your goal in academics and extracurricular activities. That is where CAS falls in. Since IB did not want to become schools that make the students study all the time, they created CAS for the students to get out and help their communities. Even though CAS is a lot of work, it isn’t that bad. And since they changed the rule, you don’t actually need your 150 hours anymore, which is always a good thing.
Procrastination is definitely not a good idea, but I am pretty sure that you guys are probably still going to do it anyway, no matter how many times people are going to say it. Trust me, I know. Since there were C days this year, a lot of teachers decide to give us a quiz or a test that day, which completely sucked. But if you guys time everything out perfectly and not procrastinate on any big assignments, like a math portfolio, journal questions in English, or a lab write-up for any of the sciences, then studying for those quizzes or tests will be a piece of cake. If you work super hard and do NOT procrastinate, then junior year will be less stressful for you.
Finally, I would like to tell you about the classes. If you are taking psychology next year, then try not to do your internal assessment at the last minute. That would be really bad because the write up will take a while, since you have to make your own experiment and everything associated with the experiment, which is very time consuming. If you are going to take biology, then you better do all the work Kennon gives you, because they will help you in the long run. English is a fun class, but the journals were very time consuming. Even though they are boring, they really do help you prepare for the tests in her class and for the oral that will come up in April. Make sure you do the journals and keep up with them, because they are a hassle to do all of them at the last minute. History is a fun class also, because Goss really makes history interesting and fun. Make sure you do his little assignments, because somehow they really do help for preparing for the exams. And for pre-calc, make sure you pay attention in Frisbie’s class, because she teaches math very well and she really does help you if you are having any troubles. Her class is also fun because if you find five mistakes that she makes in a week, she will buy candy for the whole class. If you want Frisbie to buy you some candy, then you better pay attention in her class and catch those mistakes! Spanish and French: make sure you know your grammar and vocabulary, since it really helps in the outside world.
Good luck and have fun next year!
Jessica Joseph
Dear Upcoming Junior,
I guess I would start out by saying congratulations for making it this far. It’s probably been pretty easy, with the exception of a few nights. I’m sure you’re excited and nervous to be in the real IB program. To lay all the cards out on the table, I guess I should start out by saying junior year is difficult. This isn’t to discourage you. However, this is why it isn’t called pre-IB anymore. But no worries! There are a few things you should realize before you start freaking out.
For one, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. You’ll hear this a million times, but it’s probably the best piece of advice. You should make sure your priorities are in order. That may mean giving up watching some of the college football games once in a while or hanging out with friends over the weekend, but trust me when I say it will be worth it. When it comes to biology labs and pre-calculus portfolios, midnight is not the time when you should realize that you have done it completely wrong. All you have to do is spend a few extra hours studying and devoting time to homework and you should be good to go! Getting ahead has always been an advantage. You don’t have to be a genius to do well on a test. Just study! You will get many chapters to read for history, as well as multiple tests to study for on one day, but if you just study on time, you can get through it. I can honestly say that I never pulled an all-nighter, so you should definitely be fine.
Secondly, I’ll advise you what you should devote the most time to. Like I said previously, biology and history will probably take up most of your time. Pre-calculus will be fine if you do your homework on time and review for the tests. Don’t forget about mid-terms and finals, where the information you’re studying will come back. In this case, studying just to pass the test the next day may not be the best idea; you should try to truly understand what you are doing. Don’t procrastinate on journals either. Putting it off until the night before is definitely not the brightest idea. Spanish shouldn’t be too bad and if you’re taking psychology, there’s not much work to do, so you’ll be in good shape.
The last few things are really important. Remember that IB is manageable. Get along with your teachers as much as you can. They’ll be there for you when you need help. Don’t be intimidated by what you hear or how much work you have in front of you. Just get it done. There will be times where you look at your long lab write-ups or your math portfolio and be in awe of how proud you are of yourself. Believe that you can do it (as corny as it sounds) and maintain a positive attitude. You will probably be tired, but remember that you’re not alone. This is the year where your class will truly get closer than ever and become a big happy family. Don’t take the easy way out and drop out; you may not find yourself as happy as you think you will. Remember that you came to IB with a purpose: To finish it. Just remember to get some sleep and don’t over-stress about things. You’ll end up having fun in class (as hard as it is to believe). You should do stuff outside of school to have fun, too. I still can’t believe how fast this year has gone. Just savor every moment of it. This will be the year that you realize the potential you have and you’ll come out of this year knowing that you don’t have any limitations. These are the times you won’t ever want to forget.
Best of Luck,
Leena Philip – Class of 2011 🙂
Dear prospective Pre-Calculus student,
I want to start out by congratulating you for surviving IB so far! Every IB student should cherish this accomplishment. I advise you to always keep a positive attitude through these years of high school. “To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first,” – Shakespeare. If you constantly have a negative attitude towards school and homework you will never get through IB in one piece.
This year definitely flew by extremely quickly. It wasn’t easy. The work load was definitely a hundred times as much as last year. I’m kidding! J If you keep organized, with good study habits and NO procrastination then you will be just fine. It’s a good idea to master time management. Although, if you are the type who PROCRASTINATES you may… no… you will be sucking canal water. Gloo, gloo, gloo (Senora Anderson’s, my Spanish teacher, says this all the time). Do not procrastinate on English journals and read the history text book! History took a lot of my long time this year; even though there isn’t much homework, reading the textbook is vital. AP classes are very important! By passing all the AP exams you are able to earn so many credits for college so do NOT blow off AP test. Do not wait for teachers to prepare you! Some teachers do a wonderful job preparing students for the AP test but you need to take control for preparing for those tests yourself.
Moving along, it all depends on the classes which you take. This year I had a total of five AP classes which wasn’t easy. I took both Biology and Chemistry. I only recommend taking two sciences to people who absolutely love science. Anyway, I advise you to take an elective that you enjoy. Time is of the essence and it’s good to have at least one class which you can relax as well as have some time to breathe. You will learn to appreciate that class. Pre-calculus is a great class because Ms. Frisbie is very entertaining. She has great stories and will try to trick you. Do the homework and do not do Math Portfolios at the last minute! Always give yourself enough time to do your homework and projects. You want all your teachers to see the work you are capable of doing and time has an enormous impact on the quality of your work.
With one last piece of advice: keep yourself involved at school. Working on homework and projects will bog your life down; to solve this problem join clubs or play a sport to spend some time away from the books. I learned time management through staying involved. I am heavily involved with clubs at school such as HOSA, Key Club, and NHS; moreover, I created a club of my own called International Connections. We celebrate and learn about various cultures around the world. Just this year we put together an International Night which showcased various performances of various cultures. Putting together a show was something that I would have never anticipated I would do ever in my life, especially while attending IB. But I was able to juggle all the work and organizing a show. This show was my CAS project and I advise you not to leave yours till the last minute. Try to keep up with CAS and logging all your volunteer service hours as you complete them.
The sky is the limit! You can do anything if you put your mind to it!
I wish you luck next year and for years to come!
Sincerely,
Hiral Jivanji
Dear new juniors (and any new sophomores who are ‘fortunate’ enough to be taking pre-calculus a year early),
So you thought that last year was hard. Maybe it was, from what I can judge after hearing several complaints about World History and other classes. Even those of you who were freshmen last year might have thought so, if you were one of those who stayed up all night doing homework, like my brother. But it only gets more difficult as you progress through the IB program.
First of all, junior year is when you truly become part of the IB school. This means that requirement of a certain amount of community hours becomes an evil bunny with sharp, deadly fangs with the name of CAS. Okay, to be fair, it starts out being really horrible, but it ends up being more of an annoyance putting in all your hours and coming up with activities for hours, etc., all for getting one step closer to getting your IB diploma (and your soul back). I will tell you that while logging all the hours is very irritating, actually doing the activities is really fun, so go out and enjoy contributing to the community!
Secondly, since you’re being a real IB student, you are now forced to raise the quality of your work to new and almost impossible standards. Well, they’re not impossible, but the standards are definitely higher than what you’ve experience your first two years (or one year, depending). This means that instead of breezing through classes, you’re going to have to actuallywork for your grade. Or, for those who struggled through their classes, you’re going to struggle even more – however, I will guarantee that you will make it through all the classes if you work hard and manage your time.
Time management. I would say that time management is extremely important in the IB program. Sure, you’ve heard (and maybe seen) a lot of IB students who have procrastinated on some project or homework. I myself will admit that I am guilty of this at times. In fact, IB students generally put things off so much that I believe that procrastination is one of the requirements to get into the IB program. Despite the widespread practice, waiting until the last moment to do things is a very bad idea, even more so if it’s a summer assignment, large project, CAS, set of journal questions for English, or big paper, like your Extended Essay.
About the classes you’re going to be taking: they’re generally fun, but at times you’ll be thinking, “I really don’t want to go to this class.” Maybe that’s the same thing you felt last year. I’ll give a rundown of each class, just so you get an idea what you’re in for.
No matter which science you picked (or will pick), you’re going to have to work long and hard, whether it’s going into the Pit of Despair with Ms. Kennon (aka Biology), taking Physics with Mr. Webb, or Chemistry with Dr. Helmick. For Biology, you’ll simply be assigned a lot of work that’s difficult and held up to Kennon-standards, which apparently are higher than high. However, you’ll most likely be able to pass your AP and IB tests. Physics (Chemistry might apply as well), on the other hand… you will have to work for completely different reasons. My advice is to gather a lot of outside resources and sort of teach yourself if you don’t understand what Mr. Webb is talking about. Also, hone your drawing skills; it will be useful on the AP test.
For those of you who have taken Mr. Shuff’s class, you have heard that Mr. Goss is extremely conservative and outspoken about his views. If you haven’t, then Mr. Goss is extremely conservative and outspoken about his views. Personally, I didn’t mind, because Goss knows that he is a vocal conservative, so he tries to give his classes both political viewpoints through his opinions and the textbook he assigns. Just remember to always have Goss’s notes printed out and do things the Goss way and you should be fine.
With English, you need to do your journal questions. Remember that this was one of the things you don’t procrastinate on? Well, that because these journals are a lot of points. Not only that, but they will help you when it’s time for English orals. The orals aren’t that bad once you’re finished, but when you’re up in front of the class about to present, or sitting in front of Ms. Smith getting ready to talk about a passage from Hamlet for twelve minutes, it’s the most nerve-wracking experience in the world. Stay calm, talk at a normal pace, don’t pause for too long, and don’t repeat yourself to fill up time. Also listen to what Ms. Smith says regarding orals; she knows what she’s talking about.
If you’re reading this letter, then you are taking Pre-Calculus with Ms. Frisbie. Ms. Frisbie is probably the most fun teacher I’ve ever had. Now that I’ve written that down, I’ve either boosted her ego or garnered some more of her indifference. That should tell you a little bit about the kind of teacher Ms. Frisbie is. I don’t have much advice here except to work hard, don’t procrastinate on your math portfolios (and have MULTIPLE backup copies. Trust me, I learned that the hard way), and memorize a bunch of stuff. You shouldn’t have a difficult time in this class. Also, try not to hate her or the class, because you’ll be stuck with her for two whole years unless you transfer to another school, drop out of IB, or manage to convert to Math Analysis fast enough. Speaking of Math Analysis, if you decide that Pre-Calculus is too hard for you, you can switch out, but you’ll be missing a lot of hilarious and amusing things. Just try to tough it out if you’re thinking about switching. You might be grateful some day that you didn’t.
Anyone who isn’t taking an IB class will have to take IB Psychology. Mr. Gummow teaches this class, and well… you might feel like you’re not learning much. He tends to get off topic, and for my class, that means it’s time to start talking about random stuff that nobody but them really care about and not about the important things, like concepts in psychology that we will be tested on. Please do not be like that. Take this class seriously, as it is one of your IB classes that you will need to pass in order to get your IB diploma. Besides, if you get a good score on the IB Psychology tests, you will have a little cushion for other classes that you might not be as good at, like Physics.
You will get to see Mr. Guice in ToK for two semesters, one the second half of your junior year, one the beginning of your senior year. Like Psychology, you might feel that you’re not learning much, because really, why are you learning about knowledge? It’s a fun class though (the various stuff on the board throughout the year ought to peak your interest), and certainly not boring. Plus it’s one of your required classes to get your soul back, so be serious about this class. In addition to that, Mr. Guice is the one who does all the Extended Essay stuff, so listen to him when he talks about both these things, do not procrastinate on those papers, and try to have fun.
If you had Mr. Lenker for the past two years (or year), then you will get Ms. Dietert your junior and senior year. Just hope you know enough French to understand her, as she talks pretty much all the time in French. Kidding aside, my advice to you French students is to practice speaking, try participating in oral activities, and memorize a bunch of stuff.
That wraps up all the required classes for junior year. It may look daunting at first, but it gets better. Of course, you won’t be able to believe me until you actually begin to go through a similar experience, so I’ll leave that judgment to you. Remember, the best thing you can do throughout the rest of your high school career is to manage your time and not procrastinate. I don’t think I can stress that enough, but I promise that if you follow that one suggestion, your life will be much easier.
I wish you all the best of luck as you enter junior year.
Alyssa Ren
To Whom It May Concern,
Sophomore year was a breeze, depending on what electives you took. If, like me, you took an AP Class, you might’ve had a harder time than others, but overall the year was probably the easiest you’ll have. And although everyone always says that senior year has the most work, junior year, in my opinion, is THE hardest year. It hits hard and fast, and unlike senior year, there’s precious little you can do to prepare for it. However, I have some advice for you that should make your year less “crapful” and strenuous, and more relaxing. Here are a few of the biggest pointers I have for you.
Always Micromanage Yourself
That’s right. My biggest chunk of advice to you is to BECOME YOUR OWN MOTHER. No, it doesn’t involve going back in time. Just act like her. Nag yourself to work. Give yourself that scathingly gentle reminder that you have a C and you should study. Force yourself to work ahead. DO EVERYTHING YOUR MOTHER TRIES TO GET YOU TO DO – IT ACTUALLY HELPS. Pretty soon, you’ll find yourself consistently ahead of everyone else. Why? BECAUSE YOU FORMED A GOOD HABIT. YES, IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS. Now, with your newfound ability to micromanage and finish your work in a timely fashion, you should be able to have some free time.
RELAX OR DIE
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. There are going to be many, MANY days where you’ll just have to stop, take a chill pill, and watch TV or take a nap. Whatever floats your boat. Or, you can take a one or two hour break after school every day to relax if you need it. And trust me, you’ll need to relax. There are going to be a few weeks in October, November, December, and March where everything is thrown at you at once, and you’ll need time to recuperate. Don’t ignore your fatigue and work mindlessly; take a short nap, or, if that makes you feel even worse, drink some coffee, take a walk, or watch TV. Just make sure you always feel mentally “fresh” while working. If not, you’ll die.
DON’T CHECK YOUR GRADES EVERY DAY
This is seriously important. If you constantly check your grades, they’ll really start to get to you. So what if you have a D and the teacher hasn’t put and work in for a week? Chillax. Just don’t look, and keep trying. Then, maybe one or two weeks later, look and see how your grades have changed. But if you check them every day, you will get unreasonably stressed about things that are no longer in your control. However, if it’s like, 4 days before semester’s end, and you really need to know what you have, THEN LOOK, LOOK LIKE THE WIND. But if it’s like the third week of a quarter, don’t stress out about your grades. It’s pointless stress.
KEEP UP WITH CAS
CAS is crap. But you gotta do it. But don’t wait until the end of the year. Ms. Smith will be checking your CAS at the end of the year, and if you haven’t gotten all your forms and stuff in order, then you could really end up screwing yourself over. And DON’T WAIT TILL SENIOR YEAR TO GET YOUR HOURS. If you do, senior year will be Hell. Just do like 80-100 hours junior year (they’re pretty easy to get. I did like nothing and still got like 110 hours). And besides, it’ll make you feel accomplished AND better about yourself!
CHOOSE YOUR SCIENCE CAREFULLY
Depending on what you choose, you’ll either end up toiling away forever, or you’ll know nothing. If you choose Bio, be prepared to work forever. But you’ll retain most of the information, and you should pass the AP Exam easily. However, if you don’t like science, don’t do Bio. If you like Math, do Physics. It’s pretty much a bunch of math equations, and all you have to know is what the variables mean. There’s not as many concepts in physics as there are in Bio, so it might be easier for you math types out there. And, lastly, if you want to do less work than Bio, but more work than Physics, or if you just like it, then take Chemistry. Also, from what I’ve seen, if you did well in Bio as a freshman, you’ll get about the same grade in Junior year. SO CHOOSE WHATEVER SCIENCE YOU DID BEST IN, NOT THE ONE YOUR FRIENDS CHOSE. (Personally, I think Bio’s easy and interesting, but a lot of people wish they’d taken a different class when they’re doing the labs/worksheets/etc.)
CHOOSE YOUR MATH CAREFULLY
Similar to the one above. If you’re good at math, take PreCalculus. But if you hate math with a fiery passion, take Math Studies. However, there is one big tradeoff. PreCalc and Calc portfolios are quicker than the Math Studies project, which is basically another EE, only with math (and maybe less works? I don’t know). The workload of both is basically the same, but while Precalc kids are doing quadratic functions, Math Studies kids are reviewing addition and subtraction.
LEAVE YOUR HYPOMANIA AT HOME
In Junior year, you don’t have time for pipe dreams or “what if”s. Just keep your head down, laugh while you can, and finish the work before it finishes you. If you make it through Junior year, you’ll be 75% done. THE LIGHT IS AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. IT’S JUST COVERED UP BY INTERNAL ASSESSMENTS, AP TESTS, SEMESTER EXAMS, AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION.
And that about wraps it up. I wish you the best of luck, and hope you make it through without giving up.
Ben Patterson
Dearest Underclassmen (Prisoners)
Well, whatever you have heard about this program, may it be good or absolutely HORRID, believe it. This program is NOT easy, sometimes all the stress builds up and you feel like you are going to shrivel up in a corner like a nasty little raisin and cry. A good way to avoid all this stress is to NEVER EVER procrastinate; this is coming from the biggest procrastinator you will ever meet J. I promise you that if you do your work when it is assigned to you and not wait till last minute, you will be a happy camper as u are observing all the other students struggling and stressing to get done. On the occasion that you do not listen to this beautiful piece of advice that I am giving you, NEVER PROCRASTINATE ON BIOLOGY, MATH PORTFOLIOS, OR JOURNAL QUESTIONS; it will be the bane of your existence. Oh yeahhh, get a jump start on your CAS project and don’t wait until your senior to get all of your hours; as a junior, I’ve already completed my huge CAS project, and let me tell ya, I already feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
Hmm….for those of you that completed your freshman and sophomore year and your thinking “hey, this isn’t so bad,” sorry to be the bearer of bad here news but this shin-dig gets sooo much more difficult and stressful. What you can do to block some of the stress away is to STUDY, STUDY, STUDY, like fo realz. When you are study you will feel at least a little bit more confident then you would if you didn’t study. Haha, and pay attention in Ms. Frisbie’s class when she is going over something, just so you know how to obtain the answer to the question plus won’t look dumb when she calls on you, WINNER! :o)
As for your social life, don’t worry, you won’t completely lose it. I mean, you can still get together with some of your friends, and hang out while you’re doing a project. Ok, just kidding, you will have time to hang out with your friends like you normally do, well that is if u listen to the advice given above. I also highly recommend that you join as many clubs and sports as you can. The more diverse you are, the better, plus, you can also meet new people in the various clubs or sports. YAY for more friends! Well, I know that without the Dance Team, I probably wouldn’t be at this school still. Seriously, these clubs and sports will keep you from going crazy while you are in the IB Program. Also make sure to make friends from Summerlin or Bartow, trust me, they will also help to keep you sane.
Ok, just remember, despite all the negatives you may think this school has, IB will look like a shiny new penny in the sea of blah on you college applications (meaning, it will look fantastic). Also, remember to be nice to your IB peers, you are going to be seeing them a lot, so get over it. Be nice to your teachers, because they are always willing to help out no matter what. Your IB peers and the faculty will basically become like a “family” to you, and you will eventually learn to appreciate it.
Blah, blah, blah, ok I’m done. Good luck to you all.
Janelle Botardo
Dear sophomores,
You have heard lots of things about junior year. So. Many. Dreadful. Things. Maybe these “things” came from the large class of 2011, possibly the classes before that. This next year will definitely come with its ups and downs and won’t be a cakewalk. The hardest part of IB isn’t getting in. It’s staying in. So, here’s some advice to make your lives a smidge easier for next year:
Don’t procrastinate. SERIOUSLY, YOU GUYS. I know I sound like a broken record, and that the entire world since day one has been telling you to not procrastinate. But this is coming from someone who is writing her ToK essay, this essay for you guys, and her journal questions for English the night before the last day of school (but has NEVER EVER pulled an all-nighter. So it IS possible to procrastinate and get some sleep, though I do not condone it). If you don’t procrastinate and get things done before they’re due, you’ll be satisfied in seeing that your work is done while everyone else is still working. There is always time for everything; you just need to manage it accordingly. Don’t wait until the last minute to get your English journals done (because you’ll NEVER know when they’ll be collected. Ms. Smith likes to hint that a certain class will have theirs due, but then she’ll sometimes pick names from a hat to see whose journals will be collected), and don’t wait to get your ToK stuff done either. We all know that Guice is a very lenient teacher, but sometimes deadlines seem to never have existed. CAS will seem to be the evil wizard holding your IB diploma hostage. Get it out of the way, and don’t wait to put everything on managebac at the last second. At times you’ll feel as if you’re way too stressed and can’t handle anything. Just know and remember that you’re not alone. You’re the only constant in your life, so treat yourself with some dignity.
Oh yeah, read all of the books Ms. Smith assigns. COLOR MARK THEM, OR YOUR ORAL COMMENTARIES IN THE SPRING WILL BE TERRIBLE. I don’t think color marking has helped me more, and I regret not color marking Hamlet as seriously as I should have. That being said, you should also read the history chapters Mr. Goss assigns. His tests come straight from the book, and I can proudly say that The American Pageant has helped my test scores by a landslide.
That being said, you and your class will become much closer than before. So will you and your teachers. Goss will invite you guys to go to Moe’s with him and Patsy, Kennon will take you to McDonald’s the morning before the AP test, and Smith will tell you guys about her stories as a rebellious teenager. In fact, all of your teachers will at some point get on a tangent and speak about their personal lives (i.e. Goss, Kennon, Smith, Gummow, etc). If you’re pleasant to your teachers, they’ll treat you right. E.g., if you talk while Ms. Frisbie is speaking, you will not be a happy camper. You just made one of the best teachers in the IB program upset, which is not cool. But if you’re always punctual and on time, your teachers will be more than happy to assist you. If you ever hit an obstacle while trying to understand something, your teachers will work with you to help you understand what you do not. That is one reason why they’re here.
Most importantly, try to have some fun this year. Don’t complain (because you’re wasting valuable energy doing so, and no one likes a fish-eyed farfelhead). Don’t start drama, because Lord knows that’s the LAST thing you all (we all) need. All it does is add stress. Unless it’s drama like our class had (we had essentially no drama this year, so we decided to make stuff up, i.e. telling Goss that Chip had two dates to prom [Heer and Leena]. Our entire class was in on it, even majority of the faculty, except Goss. It was hilarious). Don’t take everything Goss says TOO seriously, because most of the time he’s (figuratively) pulling your leg (otherwise that would be awkward). Get used to not sleeping. Buy a coffee machine. Do your math portfolios when they’re assigned, not the night before they’re due. Don’t sleep in class, that’s just a lack of keeping it classy on your part. Know your idiomatic expressions in Spanish, the AP examiners LOVE THAT STUFF. By the way, GET OFF OF FACEBOOK (as Mrs. Kennon so lovingly puts it), and don’t distract yourself from homework with such commodities as the Internet and television. Don’t believe that Goss will burn your house down, because he’s just being facetious. Get involved in something you love (for me it was art club, and now I’m president of that club and Epicurean club and am very happy). Learn when to work and when to relax, and manage your time well. Take this year day by day, and don’t dwell on things that are out of your control and cannot fix.
If the thought of dropping out ever crosses your mind, stop and think if that’s the road you really want to take. Make a list of pros and cons, talk to a teacher about it (even Mrs. Cavanaugh or Dr. Vetter), and take a deep breath. Our class had lots of people drop out (as I’m sure you know darn well), but almost all of them had a justifiable reason in doing so.
I’m glad you all made it this far in the IB program, and in reading this long, convoluted, and long-winded advice letter.
I hope all of you stick it out to the end, and good luck!
Kyna Patel
P.S. — DO NOT CHEAT.
Hm, I don’t have much to say to most of you because I’ve talked to at least half of your class over the course of this year. I suppose that the biggest chunk of advice that I cannot stress enough is DON’T PROCRASTINATE! Yes, I’m aware you’re probably smirking to yourself right now thinking, “You’re preaching to the choir.” Well guess what, I’m the Sydney Opera House. I have wasted so many nights senselessly banging on my keyboard, mindlessly filling in Biology worksheet answers, and killing myself over labs that I have lost at least 10 IQ points. Coffee + Mountain Dew + Monster become a lethal concoction that will eat at the gray matter in your brain. Do not do the “all-nighters”. Yes, you will look cool the next day because for some reason in the junior year it becomes a competition to see who gets the least sleep a night (no matter what you spent your time doing). But it’s really not worth it in the end because you’ll end up dozing off in some stickler’s class (like Goss) and be forced to stand up in the back of the room to prevent you from napping (and nothing’s worse than falling asleep while standing and waking up as you hit the floor. JOY.) I would like to say that “friends” are the answer to surviving the hell that is this program but honestly, ignore them. Your “friends” will suddenly (if not already) complain and talk about (all the time) homework, stress, annoyances, lack of sleep, and anything else it pleases them to gripe about. Granted, you will have great fun, hopefully, in your high school years “hanging out” and what not but there will be days when everyone can do nothing but bitch about everything wrong with their lives. These are the times when you need to whip out and MP3/iPod and DROWN THEM OUT. They will do nothing but bring you down with them. It’s an awful process that occurs. Human nature constantly reminds us that “misery loves company”. Please don’t allow a classmate to talk you out of doing the extra credit or not studying for the Biology test or blowing off the TOK homework—just because they don’t do it doesn’t mean it’s going to disappear magically.Reality check: You needed that extra credit to get an A for this quarter, if you don’t study you will fail, and Guice is still collecting that assignment. If you haven’t noticed by now, allow me to be even clearer: YOU have to want to do this. Your parents aren’t going to do your homework and your friends want your spot in the top ten. So, what do you want? A diploma? Valedictorian? Because what you want is what you’ll work to achieve.
Good luck and best wishes,
Jackie Owen
Hey, folks!
First I want to congratulate you for coming this far through the (somewhat painful) IB experience. It’s a tough program, as you know, but the best advice I can give you is to keep in mind that going through it vale la pena* for sure. If you’re the practical type, you should know that the IB class of 2010 was awarded some $5 million in scholarships collectively. While I give them and all the students here in IB at Bartow High great credit for their natural intellectual abilities, it is absurd to think that without the teachers here we could achieve so much. Also, although I’m afraid I’ll come off as about eighty years old, the IB program does a lot to strengthen character, build work ethic, and help you learn a lot about yourself and the people that go through it with you, so it’s worth more than just the money.
Second gem of wisdom (free of charge, you understand, so listen well): don’t stress out over trying to be perfect. Your parents might expect you to continue to get straight As, as you probably did throughout elementary and middle school, but I want at least you to understand that the same standard doesn’t apply anymore, especially in your junior and senior years. Sure, freshman and sophomore years your grades should be basically ok; classes doesn’t really get difficult until junior year, when you’re required to take about six 5.0 courses. You don’t have to get an A in every single one of those classes – if you do your GPA will be north of 4.6 by the second semester. You can get into good colleges without that kind of grade point average, especially if you test well. Relax, never do work on Friday nights, and don’t break Hiral Jivanji’s and my rule of going to bed so that you get at least five hours of sleep every night. (Don’t ask anyone if I follow my own advice here; do as I say, not as I do!)
Finally, work with your teachers. Most of them actually care about you a lot, or at least that you perform well in their class so they look good. I will try to be serious now. Ok, in all seriousness, then, they are extremely dedicated individuals and will do just about everything they can if you’ll just tell them what you need. Whether it’s extra help on the concepts with which you struggle, general advice about their own class and others, and from time to time something to laugh about (ask Mrs. Kennon how she feels about Lil Wayne, for example), most of them really want to help. Appreciate them and be glad you’re not lost in a crowd at some big, public, impersonal school – they only make us work so hard because they know it’ll pay off eventually.
Best of luck in the coming years,
Macey Valenti, Class of 2011
*a Spanish idiomatic expression that here translates to “is worth it” and which sounds way cooler than its English equivalent
Dear Juniors,
Surprise! You’re actually in the IB program, after two long years (but after this year, they’ll seem so very short) of preparation. It should be celebrated, yes, but with each pound of cake there should be a grain of salt. Luckily, you have such fabulous upperclassmen to help dish out that salt.
Salt #1) The last two years were preparation, and will help you with this year, but by no means should you rest on your work ethic of those years (unless you were freakishly efficient before). Sophomore year was a piece of cake, even with the first AP course of your academic lives; you were used to the pace of pre-IB and could easily gauge how long it took for you to finish homework. However, IB’s a marathon, and pre-IB is like the six months of training beforehand. There’ll come a time when it seems like all the teachers are incompetent, your friends are super whiney and CAS is just a waste of time — but that doesn’t mean time stops. The teachers may be “incompetent,” but they still expect their homework to be done, your friends may be whiney but they have to let their stress out somehow (and let’s face it, you’re probably whiney, too) and CAS… it is important (even the paperwork is hefty). IB’s a marathon and it keeps running, even if you want to time-out — the only thing you can do to keep up is to pick up the speed a little.
Salt #2) The best way to pick up speed is to just DO IT. The only thing that feels better than deciding you have the hardest life in the world is going to school with all of your homework done — trust me, as someone who rarely did that, it’s like getting a full eight hours of sleep.
Salt #3) Have as much fun as possible. Not many people were excited for Pinning — “We go through all this work and get a dinky pin” — but that’s because they couldn’t see the beauty of it. Barely any teachers give any homework that night, you get to dress up all fancy and there’s free food. What’s better than that? Around testing time, you’ll get so stressed that you’ll start going a little insane — but don’t get worked up and make yourself even more stressed out, embrace it! You’ll say weird things, feel euphoric because it’s too tiring to be sad with an hour of sleep and everything is a lot more hilarious.
I don’t quite know how to end this, but GOOD LUCK!
Christina Keefer
One of the most important tips I can give any student attempting to survive Junior year is to not procrastinate: get CAS done, don’t let essays and projects pile up and save yourself a lot of stress. I realize that most people say this in their essays and most Juniors don’t listen to it anyways, but you will be saying the same thing at the end of next year when you have three essays to do all in one night.
One other tip I can give is to not rely on Sparknotes for Smith’s reading quizzes — the questions that she asks are so precise you will fail if you do not read the book. One important thing to do is to keep all your future AP and IB tests in mind throughout the year — begin studying early and try your best to take good notes that will help you study.
Now let’s talk about CAS! CAS is crap. Period. You will not enjoy it. It will not make sense. You will not understand it — ever! Ask Smith lots and lots of questions in the beginning. Go see Delk (senior English teacher and CAS god) if you must. Get your CAS Project done as soon as you can and put ALL of it online as soon as you finish.
The most important thing you can do is to surround yourself with friends who know you had have crazy fun on the weekends goofing off — keep your sanity!
Samantha Hughes
Dear Aspiring Junior,
A Round of applause, I commend you for making it thus far… because you know what happens to IB dropouts…
First of all, before you read any farther, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, smell the roses, take in your surroundings, anything! Relax. Junior year is one heck of a roller coaster, and one of the best things you can do is to not be afraid of the ride.
This is the year where EVERYTHING BEGINS, and at times it can be quite overwhelming. But do your best to not let it scare you (too much). And what do I mean by EVERYTHING? Well, you are officially entering IB, hence your impending IB Pinning ceremony you have to look forward to! But entering the REAL IB means ToK, CAS, five to six AP/IB classes, clubs and sports to continue and much more. Jawdropper, yeah, I know. But close your mouth, for I am here to do my best to guide you through the year!
One of things you have to look forward in this upcoming year is Theory of Knowledge. It is an interesting class, but let me warn you Mr. Guice has raised his standards! There will be some note taking and article readings, but this class will still be one of the easiest you have to look forward to because you get to play games like Blind Soccer or Knives. A word of caution, however, ToK occurs in the 2nd semester, and therefore you have half an elective for the first semester. CHOOSE WISELY. Talk to some teachers first to make sure that the course you are interested in is okay to finish over two years.
“Gotta care for the world when CAS deadline is near…” Well, you don’t have to worry so much about the deadlines if you can get a head start. Take it from someone who knows. Come up with your CAS project idea well ahead of time so you can bank those 35 hours over the summer easily. With CAS, there are some restrictions on what counts, which is why proposals are important. Seize every volunteering opportunity you can. The hours will add up nicely.
Okay, by now you are probably curious about your Academically Problematic classes, right? Well, they’re not soooo bad… sure some of you will have bio labs and math portfolios due on the same day, but what else could be more exciting… One of the important things to remember is to have a good work ethic and do your best to get your work done. It’s not as easy doing it as it is in writing, but we all try our best. Do your best to NEVER LET YOUR GRADES DROP. They are IMPORTANT. Colleges want to see you doing well both junior and senior year, and this year is definitely not the year to slack off. Biology students, enough said. You know that you are going to have to work really hard, but for a good ending. In Pre-Calculus, do your best to PAY ATTENTION. You never know, Ms. Frisbie might have an off day where she’ll make 5 mistakes, and you will get CANDY!!!! J (although, it is not highly likely that she will have an off day and make 5 mistakes, but you might still get one or two; don’t “awww, man”; come on, be realistic: she’s Ms. Frisbie. J) Ah, history… Mr. Goss is definitely is well studied in that subject and will definitely be able to teach you with his charismatic demeanor and his snapping finger thing. And in English, the books really aren’t that bad this year! Many of you will be taking your first IB exams this year, too, which will not bring your Imminent Breakdown. IB tests are not as bad as they sound. IB is lazy like the students, which means that many times the format is the same, etc, making your job learning way easier.
It is important to continue participating in clubs and sports. Get some fresh air, meet new people, try a leadership position, be an IB student, meaning you must be WELL ROUNDED, not square.
Our campus has many great clubs and sports to offer, so make the best of it. Some of the activities you participate it can get you CAS hours, which is the whole purpose of Creative, Action, and Service.
Best of all, MAKE MEMORIES! This year may not be senior year, but it should still be one full of friendship and memories. Take pictures, and try to have fun. There will be bumps in this roller coaster, but you can scream your head off with your friends who are also on this same lengthy ride.
Yours Truly,
Neha Shah
To the new IB juniors,
Congratulations! You’ve survived this far into the IB program, unlike others in your year who have probably dropped out. Yay you! Anyway you are now entering the REAL IB, with the Extended Essay, Internal and External Assessments, English orals, and the dreaded CAS, as well as the year of the many AP exams, and of course your first IB exam. But don’t be scared and don’t drop, for junior year is a pretty splendid year.
First of all in order to survive the IB JUNIOR YEAR, don’t procrastinate. Yes I know, everyone will be telling you the exact same thing, but really don’t procrastinate if you value sleep at all. I’m glad to say I’ve never pulled an all nighter, but I know many who have, and they have not enjoyed the experience, and for some the work would pile up so much that they wouldn’t sleep for an entire week. Now, as for CAS, put all your information on managebac right away, don’t leave it for later, or you’ll be like all the juniors right now, who are attempting to finish all their CAS stuff far this year before the end of school in about 5 days. Also don’t stress about CAS, you’ll find that there are many volunteer opportunities that are actually fun. Also for your CAS project get together with friends and create one, it’s surprising how enjoyable it can be.
Now in your junior year you will have many new teachers and classes. Let’s start with the sciences! By now you will have chosen your science to pursue for the rest of your IB years. Both Biology and Chemistry are crazy hard, according to students in those classes. Now I took Physics… yeah. Physics contrary to popular belief is not an easy A class. Anyone who tells you that you will do nothing in AP/IB physics is a liar. LIAR! If you actually plan on passing the class you need to work! Every week you will receive about 30 physics problems to do in the book for homework, which are not easy and are very high level. We also do labs, but they are pretty easy compared to the bookwork. Mostly you need to teach yourself Physics if you plan on passing the AP exam. Your next class will be AP/IB English. I loved this class! Ms. Smith is one of the best literature teachers ever, and you’ll get on fine with her as long as you do work. This means having English journals and vocab done. Journals are very, very important to your grade, and can mean a pass or fail, and also help greatly with orals. However all the books this year are great, and the class in generally fun, just wait for the Canterbury Party! You will also have your two oral presentations to do for IB, which are actually not difficult at all for Ms. Smith teaches you well. For AP US history, you will have the great Mr. Goss. He’s a fantastic teacher who will like you as long as you listen and actually read the book, and do the essays correctly, and laugh at his jokes. By the end of the class you will know more about US history than you probably ever wanted. Assuming you are taking Pre-Calculus, you will have Ms. Frisbie, who is one of the best math teachers I’ve ever had. In the class you will have many interesting if not off topic discussions, such as my class’s constant discussion of zombies. If you just do your work in the class you’ll be fine. If you’re in French, you’ll have Madame Dietert. You will do about 10 times the work in here than you did with Lenker. There is always homework, but by the end of the year you will actually know all of the grammar and will become a much better speaker. For junior year, you’ll have to choose an IB class to take. I took Psychology. Psych is a pretty easy class and is easy as well as interesting. Gummow is a good teacher, but make sure he gives you more than two weeks to do your IA, we were not given long enough! Finally you will have Guice for TOK for a semester. TOK is a great class and probably the most laid back, apart from the Extended Essay and TOK projects. And of course you already know that Guice is an awesome teacher.
So there you have it, what to expect and how to survive junior year. Most of all just remember to enjoy junior year and spend time with your friends, for the workload is manageable. Before you know it, it will be your senior year.
Good night and good luck,
Katy Piotrowski
Dear Sophomore,
First of all, congratulations on getting through your freshman year! Ninth grade enabled me to comprehend so much, not only academically, but also things about myself that I never really knew before. Freshman year might have been a little blurry here and there, with some obstacles including the peculiar transition from middle school to IB, but overall you made new friends, established your high school reputation, and had the most wonderful opportunity to be taught by some of the best teachers.
Now you’re a sophomore, so basically you aren’t the baby of the school anymore. You have an idea of the stress that is awaiting you, and you now are experienced in the ways of the International Baccalaureate School. Plus, you are taking IB Pre-Calculus a year early, so by all means go ahead and feel really excited about yourself. Pre-Calculus is a fun class, and Ms. Frisbie is one the most dedicated teachers in the whole school. She sends the math notes to you via e-mail, and hardly ever makes a mistake (but if your class catches five mistakes you get to have candy, so catch mistakes for the sake of the poor candy which is dying to be eaten). Make sure you pay attention because everything that you learn now is a foundation for Calculus, which you will be taking next year. If you review all the notes from class, do the homework, and keep up with the chapters, you will be set for Pre-Calculus.
High school so far has been a conglomeration of so many emotions. There is not just one word that sums it all up perfectly. But here’s the thing. No matter how late I have stayed up studying or finishing a homework assignment, I have never felt irritated or annoyed at the rigorous curriculum. The more challenging IB becomes, the more I fall in love with the fact that I have the chance to take part in the program. Now that you are a sophomore, you have more responsibilities and more decisions to make, but honestly this year is going to be exciting. You are now in Advanced Placement courses, and I recommend you take them very seriously. These courses are challenging, but they are not by any means difficult or impossible. I guarantee that if you study the courses thoroughly and make your own plan based on your own personal schedules, you will achieve the score you want.
With all the studying and activities that you have, make sure you have some place to expel all that unnecessary stress. For me, this means channeling all my emotions towards playing the violin, writing, running, and spending time with my family. Keeping all the stress on the inside will be completely counterproductive, because you will become overwhelmed quickly and the anxiety will inevitably spill everywhere. Whatever you do, make sure you that you are satisfied. Have passion for what you do!
Finally, there’s one piece of advice that I would like to give; however, somehow I feel as though if I told you, I would be a hypocrite. Stop worrying, if you are prone to doing so. When I have exams or presentations (Spanish!), I have a tendency to worry excessively. What I have realized though, is that even if I have studied for millennia, I will still occupy myself with worries until the exam is over (which in the end I usually end up getting high scores on, so my parents always get to have the “I told you so” in the “Stop worrying, you’ll do fine” routine.). If you have studied, totally feel free to be chill, and just review slowly. Don’t let your heart rate go up to 999 beats per minute if you are about to be evaluated on your Spanish presentation for example!
Be respectful to your teachers, and if anything try not to sleep in class. I can proudly say I have never slept in class, but have probably dozed off a couple minutes with my eyes open. Turn in your assignments on time and always have a firm grip on your grades. Be honest with the work you turn in, and everything you do will be so easy for you. You are not in IB because you are naturally smart, you are in IB because you work hard and consequently, that is what makes you incredibly smart.
You are going through an adventure and one that you are capable of getting through unscathed from the stereotypical “IB TERRORS.” There are no such terrors, unless you think that your stress level will metaphorically transmogrify into a paper monster (made out of the heaps of paper on your desk) in the middle of the night and give you a paper cut from which you will bleed to death. Oh yeah, IB gives students a great imagination 😉
You are capable of achieving anything, and always remember that if you need help with a class or just somebody to talk to we are always there for you!
Best of luck this year!
Jude Nawlo
Dear upcoming pre-IB sophomore,
Congratulations. You have made it past a year of pre-IB. Take a second and congratulate yourself. Done? Good. Now, you are ready for year two of pre-IB and then two more years of the real deal (not to mention whatever you plan to do after high school). Yeah, now the whole “one year of pre-IB” doesn’t sound like a huge accomplishment, but it really is. Think of how far you’ve come since the beginning of your freshman year. You’re no longer “fresh meat” and you’re probably a bit taller. You’re ahead of the rest of your class because you took algebra II as a freshman. You sat through hours of horrible economics lessons and goofed off in Longworth’s class while thinking of the terrible amounts of Kennon homework you were either going to have to face next semester or already had faced and probably would face again as a junior and senior. You survived Wuthering Heights, even though you have no clue how to explain the weird sort of family tree going on in that book, and you did it all while trying to learn a new language.
Now, say goodbye to the good times. Maybe some sophomore has misled you and told you that sophomore year is easier than freshman year. If you believed this, eliminate the thought from your mind immediately. It is the IB’s biggest lie. However, even though I can’t yet tell you from experience, your sophomore year will not be the worst, nor will it be too unbearable. If you survived freshman year, you will survive sophomore year. I initially intended to write this as a detailed letter delineating (yeah, remember that word from Harb’s?) each class individually, and I actually did, but being the dorky, overachieving IB student that I am, I decided to rewrite it, this time giving generic IB advice. Before I get started, I know you’ve already gotten this advice a million times, but if you’re anything like me, you’ve heard it but never really listened to it. So here goes nothing:
First piece of advice: listen to all of this advice. And when I say listen, I mean LISTEN. Got it? Good.
Second piece of advice: do not procrastinate. You’re probably thinking, “not this again.” And you think I’m kidding, trying to tell you this for probably the millionth time in your brief high school career. But I swear, I’m not joking. In fact, to demonstrate how straight-faced I am as I write this, I will underline it. Do not procrastinate. Let’s move on.
Third piece of advice: in the immortal words of Dr. Vetter: “Do not collude.” I mean, really. It’s not worth it. Sure, maybe you’ll ace a test or two, but if you ever get caught, you throw much more than just your grade out the window. You essentially rip out every shred of respect that anyone ever had for you, stomp all over it yourself, and hand it back.
Fourth piece of advice: be nice to your teachers. And no, I’m not just writing this because I want Ms. Frisbie to like me as she reads this letter, I’m being dead serious. If you are nice to them, they will be nice to you and your grade. Get to know them, let them get to know you, and eventually, they might actually be able to believe you when you say “I left my homework at home.” Trust me, it works.
Fifth piece of advice: listen to your teachers when they are trying to teach you something. “But they’re boring!” you might argue. My response: “well, boo-hoo for you. Now deal with it.” If they’re saying it in class, it’s probably important. Granted, you’ll never get a question on a test about zombies or Disney, but those conversations are just worth tuning in to because they’re funny.
Sixth piece of advice: don’t be a nerd. You might argue “I’m in IB, I automatically am one,” but that’s not true. What kind of an IB student you want to be is entirely up to you. You can be the kid who locks themselves up in their room, shoves their face in a textbook, eventually falling asleep on it and hoping to learn via diffusion (which, by the way, doesn’t work), or you can be the kid who has friends and still has good enough grades. If you’re lucky, you’re the middle ground. Get involved in clubs around the school, and get your name out there. This goes along with prioritizing. Some assignments just aren’t worth all the effort. Focus on the big stuff. You don’t want to be the kid that nobody knows at graduation and thus doesn’t get cheered for.
Seventh piece of advice: Sleep is your best friend. Over the course of this year, however, you may notice that Sleep is avoiding you for some reason. This is because your other best friend, Homework, is pounding Sleep to an untimely death and thus driving Sleep away. When Sleep is avoiding you, revert to your second best friends: Coffee and Candy. One way to get to hang out with Candy without having to pay is to catch mistakes in your pre-calculus class. Do it.
Eighth piece of advice: carry Germ-X. It’s so helpful, whether something possessed you to actually use a bathroom on campus or because someone thought it was funny to write all over your hand in Sharpie. Also, some smell good.
Lastly: Have fun. I can see where perhaps this letter isn’t the most encouraging, but you also have to understand that it will all be worth it, or at least convince yourself that it is. If you do, you’ll be able to say, by the end of this, your sophomore year, that you passed AP tests, made it through Physics and Chemistry in one year (something that no other student in the state of Florida can say), and that you are still, incredibly, sane.
Best of luck,
Steffanie Munguía
Well, first off I have to say I don’t really want to write this. Since I have to I will say there are some things you may find beneficial for this course and other courses. Firstly, you need to learn that Ms. Frisbie is one of the best teachers you will ever have and just because you think you know it all doesn’t mean you do. You can and will learn something in there every single day you keep your eyes open. This leads me to another suggestion… stay awake. I, Joe Bacon, had lots of trouble with said even which lead to quick removal from the email list. After talking to Naki I realized it is very disrespectful, and you shouldn’t sleep in classes. No matter how much you can’t stand some individuals in it.
On another note, it would be beneficial to realize that if you are a sophomore and are actually reading this… you probably don’t have a life but if you do then realize that sophomore year is the best easiest year you’ll have. Don’t procrastinate, like I am writing this latter at 12:02 the night before the final. It’s not a good thing and never benefits you. In Pre-Calc you’ll probably find a lot easy but if you don’t do your homework it will kill your grade. Furthermore, you need to see that her “GRQ,” grade recovery quizzes, are gifts from god. They will help you so much if you can remember. Even if you don’t want to do them and only go in and randomly answer it will still raise your grade, most likely.
Hmm not much else to say so I will just say respect the good teachers you have that want to actually teach and have fun in the classes that the teachers don’t want to. It will be a fun year and you will learn a lot. I hope the best for all of you and I hope I do well on this test and Spanish tomorrow. Oh, study Spanish… it’ll help you… and take stats. It’s an easy but real life, practical class. Just do it.
Joe Bacon
My Fellow Juniors (and a few sophomores),
I have some advice for you guys. My advice might not even be read because of the tons of other long pieces of advice, but if you are reading this, here goes. This 10th grade year was pretty laid-back and easy compared to the coming year (11th grade) where we officially enter the INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM. What’s my advice to the sophomores? Enjoy the year and start picking up some good study habits. Try not to procrastinate because everything is worse the day before a math portfolio is due and the assignment sheet is still unread — or so I heard. I was one of the “nerdy overachievers” who did the math portfolio on the weekend when I had a lot of spare time, you know? Don’t worry about people getting mad at you for starting early, and don’t get lazy when it comes time to start big assignments. Just think about all the spare time (and sleep) you’ll get on the weekdays while a lot of other people are suffering. Just kidding. But seriously, sleep feels good.
Which leads to my second piece of advice. DO NOT FALL ASLEEP in Frisbie’s class! I was tired one day and fell asleep, and the habit picked up since then. No matter how hard I try to fight the sleep, I can’t break the habit. Frisbie is a very captivating teacher (yeah, I know, suck up) and catching her mistakes DOES lead to great rewards a/k/a candy. So do not sleep in her class! Sleeping may in fact cause your mathematical skills to be less than amazing. Not all of us can be Asian and be mathematically endowed (but not at the level of Frisbie) with the ability to sleep and still manage to “beast” every test. It helps to do the homework thoroughly and show all your work so that Frisbie can catch your mistakes and even add little pieces of advice to better your method. She explains how to arrive to answers for various problems very well, and you might miss the chance to learn something if you’re asleep. The most important time of any to stay awake is when she is giving you background and relevant information pertaining to your math portfolio. This information is like gold. It’s like getting a huge hint(s) about the dreaded project and makes it a heck of a lot easier. There are various ways to stay awake: take notes, take notes, slap yourself with a rubber band (I actually tried this), or walk around a bit by going to the wonderful bathroom. However, don’t interrupt Frisbie’s lessons with random pointless comments. You WILL get a glare. Trust me.
My final piece of advice to you is to chillax man! Yeah, I said it. Even though Pre-IB and IB can get stressful at times, it’s important to enjoy high school a little. Join some clubs or sports teams. Watch some T.V., play some videogames, or express yourself in music or art if you’re into that sort of thing. Just don’t make these two, three, or four years a horrible memory for the future. If you have a well-balanced schedule and you have things planned out, you have no need to get stressed. Just be diligent and proactive and life will go well for you. One more thing for the sophomores: pay attention in your AP classes like World History. It may seem like you aren’t learning anything but at the end of the year if you go over a review book, you’ll remember a lot more than you think.
Good luck,
Sam Phen
Dear IB kids taking Pre-Calculus during the 2010-2011 school year,
It’s difficult to address you all at once, since a good portion of you I don’t know at all since while I’m writing this, you are freshmen who (whom? I never understood that rule) I have never met or had classes with, and the rest of you I’ve had the pleasure of spending two school years with. Anyways, I’m supposed to give you advice for how to succeed and such, so I’ll give a few general tips. No matter how many hints I give you though, the most important factor that will lead to you accomplishing everything you want is a sense of purpose. If you don’t want to be here or somehow don’t see the point in what you’re doing, it’s going to be extremely difficult to get anything done. Don’t be reluctant and lazy. Just do what needs to be done, and then the rest of your life could end up being a lot easier.
I suppose I’ll give you hints about Pre-Calc. The main thing you need to worry about in this class is portfolios. They take HOURS. Do not ever ever ever leave them for the day before they are due. The best way to do portfolios is to work a decent amount, like maybe 1 hour a day, every day, starting the day it’s assigned. Also, don’t attempt to BS your way through these. If you don’t understand something, just email Ms. Frisbie. The portfolios are really important for IB, so do your best work. Aside from the portfolios, this class really isn’t that difficult as long as you do your homework and score decently on the tests. There’s a significant amount of extra credit available from unused late passes and knowing random facts for the extra credit on tests, so take advantage of that. Class can be occasionally fun as long as you don’t anger Ms. Frisbie with silly comments or questions. Expect to get off topic though just like with Naki. Also, don’t believe everything Ms. Frisbie says. I’m sure you’ll know what I mean soon.
Other than that, I don’t have much more to say. I think everyone has their own way of studying and balancing time, so I won’t force my ways on you. I do think some of you stay up unnecessarily late, though. Maybe if you just concentrated for one or two hours when you got home, you could finish and have the rest of the night for facebooking and such. There’s nothing overwhelming about the work we’re given most of the time. You can do it! I know there’s those nights when you feel like you’ve been handed more than you can handle, but just push through. The easy way out now will just lead to the harder way through later, if that makes sense, so don’t give up. Don’t underestimate yourself. Have fun too though, of course. That’s all I have to say.
Sincerely,
Alexis Alvarez
Dear incoming IB sophomore:
Congrats! You’ve successfully completed your first year of high school – and Pre-IB. Reflecting on the past 180 days of school, I’ve realized that sophomore year really wasn’t as bad as I initially thought it was. It’s the only year where you will receive the exceptional opportunity to choose two electives. It’s also the first year you take the PSAT, which will give you an idea of how you will score on the SAT (and prepare you for the National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test the following year), and for many, it’s the first year you will take an AP course (world history). I wouldn’t necessarily consider the following few paragraphs ‘wise words’ – they’re just an attempt at compiling my observations and experiences from this year.
There are two main ways to complete work for school: either procrastinate, or finish the assignment as soon as the paper falls in your hands. After extensive examination and application of these methods, I’ve found advantages and disadvantages to both. Finishing the assignment as soon as possible ensures your work will be turned in completed and on time. Plus, you don’t have to worry about it the night before it’s due when everyone else is fretting. However, I often end up using all of the time I have to complete a project – so if I start two days before, I use two days working on it, but if I start a week before the deadline, I usually spend the full week working on it and waste some time. Procrastinating, on the other hand, limits you to a rather brief time frame to complete your assignment, and you know you will get it done in that time frame. In essence, you’re able to spend the time you would have wasted had you started the project earlier doing other activities, and you don’t spend an excessive amount of time completing the project. At the same time, however, using this method can be extremely stressful and risks a degradation in quality and hence a lower grade. One thing I would NOT advise procrastinating on is a math portfolio.
As for electives, I chose Band and AP Stats. Stats. Personally, I love the math part, but I didn’t really like the gray area of analyzing and interpreting data. Nonetheless, knowing statistics helps quite a bit during the last semester of pre-calc (of course, it helps with many other things too), and Naki is a fantastic teacher who will help you understand everything you need to know. I’m glad I took that class and would recommend it to others. Band is my outlet, a class that isn’t as stressful and academic as some of my others. On that note, I’ve found it is important to find a niche – something enriching that you love and can pursue, be it in or out of school. Not only will it help you ease anxiety or develop a talent, but it will also build you as a person. Regarding the other five required courses: I don’t want to diverge into an extensive spiel on each one which probably won’t even describe them accurately. I must say, though, that the informative yet arbitrary mini-tangents in Pre-calc with the mastermind Ms. Frisbie (e.g., cattle prods) and engrossing discussions in English with the remarkable Mr. Guice are a lot of fun. I’m surprised at how much I’ve learned in some of my classes – even when it seems like we’re not doing much. I’ll leave it at that.
As always, balancing schoolwork, various extracurricular activities, and social life poses a challenge (does the International Baccalaureate board of governors1 not want us to sleep?), but if you survived last year, you’ll be fine this year. If you ever have questions/concerns about what sophomore year will bring, please don’t hesitate to talk to one of us (and remember to return the favor to the sophomore class after you). I’ve found that talking to another student who’s been through the same classes helps me prepare for upcoming challenges far more than any other method of preparation.
Bianca Mulaney
1The International Baccalaureate governance is composed of a board of governors which appoints the director general and six committees (one of which is the education committee). If you really want to find out more or find someone to blame for your sleeplessness (well, technically, you can’t blame them for your sleeplessness), you could view the IB governance chart at http://www.ibo.org/council/documents/Govstructure-February2010.pdf. (I looked it up.)
Dear Incoming IB Pre-Calculus Student:
If you found Algebra II to be a breeze, and you also found Geometry to be a breeze, then IB Pre-Calculus should not be a major ordeal for you. Since this will be your first true IB class, you should be prepared for what you will be confronted by. Other classes that should bring you quite a bit of trouble are; Spanish 3, AP Statistics, and English II. In these classes, especially Spanish, you will ALWAYS have some sort of homework and you will ALWAYS work in class till the bell dismisses you. The other classes that I have not yet mentioned should not cause you too much trouble. If you follow some simple tips I am about to give you then you will be successful during your 10th grade year here at IB.
The following classes absolutely will NOT cause you any trouble what-so-ever: Physics, Engineering, Chemistry (as long as you suck up to Dr. Helmick and bring him paper towels), and AP World History. In each of these classes you will do pretty much pointless work in class that will not really help you to learn the subject. You should simply do the work, even though you will not understand most of it, and bring something such as an iPod that will keep you busy during the class. If you can listen, then I suggest that you do but many people seem to drift off and be brought back only by the bell. That’s pretty much everything you should know regarding your participation in each class. Homework though, is a different story. DO THE ASSIGNMENT RIGHT WHEN IT IS ASSIGNED TO YOU! If you are assigned an assignment and you don’t have much homework that night, do the assignment. You will feel much better later on if you have it done. Also, try to go above and beyond on lab write ups. The science teachers will love you if you show them perfection. One more thing I should address is your Mini-Extended Essay. Use the time that Mr. Guice gives you in class to write it up! That is all I have to say regarding class work and homework.
How can you relieve stress in your life? Well my solution is that I play a sport each season. Sports really help to relieve my stress and provide me with exercise. If sports just aren’t your thing (most IB kids seem to shy away from sports), then try clubs and also you need to socialize!! Socializing keeps you sane and it’s nice to have some free time with your friends. Your friends will keep you in touch with the real world and you will keep your friends in touch also. Bartow students won’t mess with you! I had a Bartow class, engineering, and as it turns out, I hung out more with the Bartow students than with the IB or Summerlin students. They like to play country music on their phone and they like to have fun in class. Not too bad if you ask me. If you use your common sense and the tips that I am giving you then you should be fine. Don’t worry at all; you’re going to have a great year!
Your Friend,
Corey Craig
Dear Future CEO’s, Doctors, and Presidents,
Congratulations on making it into the International Baccalaureate program (or, such as in my case, taking pre-calc in your sophomore year). As I am sure you already know, this is an achievement in and of itself. Seeing as you’ve made it this far already, you really should try to stick it out. As I currently don’t have experience with the junior year curriculum, I could only relate the horror stories of Biology and APUSH, which I am sure you have heard as well. In order to save your time and mine, I will discuss how you can be successful in Pre-Calculus with Ms. Frisbie.
Ms. Frisbie is without a doubt the best math teacher I have ever had, with Mr. Nakamura a close second. She might just be the best teacher I have ever had (And I’m only sucking up a little bit). Ms. Frisbie spends so much time at school that I don’t know why she doesn’t just get a bed put in her classroom. She will literally be at school before the sun is up, and leave after it’s gone down. If you ever don’t understand a concept, or need help with an assignment, you can just walk in and ask her any time of day and she will tutor you, no questions asked. Many kids would rather get bad grades than embarrass themselves in front of the teacher by asking a question. DO NOT DO THIS! Asking questions is the best thing you can do in her class, or if you’re not comfortable with that, then go in after school. That’s why she is there!
Another element of Pre-Calculus is the homework and tests. The only real advice I can give you on homework is to do it. Seriously. During the third quarter this year, I let about eight homework assignments slip by with partial or no credit, and I wound up getting the first C in my life. The next quarter I finished all the assignments and got a 94. And to be honest, you actually need to be a serious genius at math to pass all of the tests without practicing at least a little bit. Since most of us aren’t, we’re stuck with the homework. Tests are a totally different issue. Some of the subjects are review from Algebra II, but these are the ones that are deceptively difficult. You think that you remember the subject, but when it comes to the test, you will totally blank out. You’ll find that you have an aptitude for certain subjects in Pre-Calc, and on these tests you want to capitalize as much as you can, to balance out the chapters at which you will suck. Another way to gain an advantage on tests in Pre-Calc is to take AP Stats. It will help with all of the probability and statistics tests.
The last major element of Pre-Calculus is the dreaded IA Portfolios. UGH! These things are not fun in the least. I personally despised every minute that I wasted on these Internal Assessments. There is, however, some advice I can give you on how to do them with the least amount of headache and stress. First of all, start on it THE NIGHT THAT YOU GET IT!!! Even if you just read over it, you have to start on it. I made the mistake of not doing this on both the practice portfolio and on the first portfolio. The week that you have to do the portfolio will pass in a heartbeat, and it will leave you agonizing over having to pull an all-nighter and get a crappy score on the portfolio. And you do NOT want to get a crappy score on the Portfolio, since it will help you pass the IB Math. The second piece of advice I can give you is to listen very intently on what instruction Ms. Frisbie is allowed to give you, as it will undoubtedly be instrumental to completing the portfolio.
Thank you for reading the advice I had to give you on IB Pre-Calculus with Ms. Frisbie. Her class is, for the most part, incredibly enjoyable and informative. I wish you all good luck with her class and great success in your endeavors that you will surely undertake throughout the remainder of your lives. May this essay live on in infamy…
Todd Lockwood
Dear Oncoming Pre-Calc student,
I know that the prospect of taking a class with the word calculus, let alone having Ms. Frisbie as a teacher, is a terrifying prospect. Here are a few wise words for you.
First of all, the main purpose of every class should be to take a nap. The secondary purpose is to stay alert and pay attention. That should only occur if for some reason you cannot sleep. And if you cannot sleep, it’s best to be extra attentive so that you can catch all of the mistakes she may make.
Secondly, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. This is essential to the class. If you do this, you should get a good grade. Also, review before tests. Reviewing before the tests, or doing the reviews in the book, helps immensely!
Now you are ready to take the class pre-calculus. Good luck.
Drew Koretchko
Dear Bob,
Tenth grade year was an interesting and tough year. Mr. Guice’s class is a great class because he is an amazing teacher. Pre-calc is also a great class since Ms. Frisbie can relate anything to math. Mr. Webb and Dr. Helmick are both interesting and they help you kinda refine your career choice by your choice in science.
Mr. Guice’s class is very interesting because of his outstanding behavior and over-the-top expressions. However although Mr. Guice’s class may be fun, you should still listen and pay attention, otherwise Mr. Guice will give you more work. This same principle applies to pre-calc because Ms. Frisbie can get mad if you continually ignore her or complete her sentences for her.
Finally, Mr. Webb and Dr. Helmick, along with your electives, will help you decide your sixth subject and your career maybe. Mr. Webb has his own style, and so does Dr. Helmick, but as a warning will only allow you to call him Doctor Helmick. As for choosing a science for junior year, it’s up to you and what you want to do with your life.
AJ Greenhill
Sophomore year has definitely been one of the best and most interesting school years in my life, and it would be an understatement to say that some strange things have happened. As far as my classes go, there are many things that I wish I had known at the beginning of the year.
The biggest thing I wish I were able to do is manage my time better. Not being able to begin projects or even smaller assignments when I got them did eventually hurt me. Especially the next day when I was barely awake to present the project. There was more than one occasion where I was up much later than I wanted to be doing a lab, portfolio, or essay. Don’t do this. BAD IDEA. It’s much better to do your assignments before the last minute, and once you begin, finish.
The classes I took weren’t necessarily bad, although some could have been better experiences. Pre-Calc wasn’t much of a problem for me, but there were still times when I needed to study. Even so, it’s important that you pay attention or you won’t learn anything at all, you can’t teach yourself. Stats was completely worth taking too. Not only was it a fun class, but the material really helped me in a surprising number of classes (and provided several inside jokes). Spanish was, well, Spanish. While I don’t particularly like the class I still wish I studied better earlier in the year. Physics and Chemistry were, to say the least, odd. Many people say both neither teacher teaches, but this isn’t necessarily true. Both teach, if you’re willing to listen. Engineering, the most interesting class this year, provided the ultimate stress relief. You shouldn’t have to worry about anything in this class, just keep on top of your work. World History was a strange course. I highly recommend getting a review book as soon as possible because if you’re anything like me, you won’t get enough from the course alone. Also, READ THE TEXTBOOK. English was a very relaxed class. There isn’t too much work, but what you do get should be done as soon as possible (mini-extended essay). The books were much more interesting than freshman year but still should be taken seriously. Overall, classes this year=great.
It’s important to remember not to worry too much about anything this year. If you do get too stressed, try and find something to relax with, whether it be video games, sports, rock collecting or something else. And whatever you do DON’T PANIC.
Corey Valdez
Now answer truthfully freshmen: How many of you are so anxious that when you imagine next year, your teachers are villainous fiends, donning black smoking jackets and playing a thunderous pipe organ in the shadowy light of a candelabra while a lightning storm rages outside their classrooms?
None of you? Well, maybe that’s for the better.
10th grade has been a whirlwind for sure, but I agree that there’s nothing to be afraid of. There are, however, multiple things to be aware of Below, I’ve listed several classes, some precautions, and a bit of advice to get you through the year.
World History:
Brush up on your Harry Potter trivia and develop a penchant for Bollywood movies. I guess you could do the assigned readings, but really, all you need to pass the actual AP test is the review book and a basic knowledge of Mel Gibson films. FREEDOM!
Math:
Be prepared to expand your vocabulary to include, er, Frisbie-fabricated vernacular. Words such as algebratize, geometrize, and decrapify. Oh, and don’t wait until the night before to do your portfolios. That’s more likely to kill you than jumping into oncoming traffic or riding in a car driven by Todd.
Physics:
Don’t want to do your specific heat lab? Take a bit of construction paper, cut it into shapes, and spend the rest of the class period convincing Mr. Webb to find the Hidden Mickey’s you’ve placed around the room! Extra points if you can justify the mysterious disappearance of his Mountain Dew with String Theory’s purported ability to generate wormholes.
French:
Volunteer to be the evil dude when you get around to reading Suivez La Piste. Not only do you have the most lines, but essentially all of those lines contain French swear words, which quite frankly, you remember long after you’ve forgotten how to conjugate in the subjunctive tense. Zut!
English:
Actually read the book. Or at least put in the effort to print out the Wikipedia synopsis. Honestly. Also, feel free to lock people in the book cupboard. Just, don’t forget to let them out when the dismissal bell sounds…
Art:
Make sure to get to the stereo before someone puts on contemporary Russian folk music and you’re forced to contemplate taking your own life by means of sharpened paintbrush. We’ve lost many a student.
Anatomy:
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. About anything. At all. At first, it’ll be awkward, but you’d be surprised how laid back everyone is at the end of the year when we’re finishing up the reproductive system. I mean, we have coloring worksheets. Of the reproductive system. My unseen eyebrow raise should be rather evident here.
In summation, you have a lot to look forward to in the coming year, and even more to talk about with your therapist!
Good luck and best regards,
Sofia Ouhri