DP Newsletter October 2020

DP NEWSLETTER

October 2020

Dear DP students and parents, Congratulations to our Grade 12 students who made it through their mock exams over the past two weeks. A different way to start the year, but it gives your teachers a solid foundation for making your predicted grades as you prepare to make your university applications.

Well done also to Grade 11, who have adapted impressively well to “the new normal”. It’s great to see you all back at school and your mature attitude has been commendable.

I would like to mention that the deadline for moving subjects in Grade 11 has now passed, so please do not request any subject changes, as they will not be possible: we are now more than 20% through the first year of the course, so you would not be able to meet the IB’s recommended teaching time.

There will be 3-Way conferences for Grade 11 on the 10th and 11th November. Further information will follow.

Thank you to those of you in Grade 12 who have submitted the exam fees already. A polite reminder that these payments are due on 5th December. Payment can be arranged through Ms Ceejay, in accounts: accountsadmin@ris.ae.

Well done once again to all students and parents for making it through to the half-term. Make sure you take some time to relax and refresh and we look forward to seeing you all on the 25th October.

Kind Regards, Andrew Tomlinson, DP Coordinator atomlinson@ris.ae Ms Nicola Hewitt, Assistant to the DP Coordinator, DPC-assistant@ris.ae

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HEADS OF GRADE Grade 12 Congratulations Year 12 on completing your Mocks! This rite of passage is always daunting, well done on getting through it. Your teachers will start feeding back results from the 15th of October (many grades will be finalized after the Mid-term break as it can take many weeks to mark). Predicted Grades for early applications are due by staff on the 15th of October and general Predicted Grades are due on the 27th of October.

Predicted Grades will factor both EE and ToK (based on a general EE Draft score and the Year 11 ToK Presentation score). Please make sure to have a conversation with your teachers if you are unaware of how Predicted Grades are generated in all subjects (mark-bands do vary, and teaches do not have to use official IB boundaries for the marking of a Mock exam, this is in keeping with IB requirements).

Please make sure you have clarification conversations.

The Mid-term break is a perfect opportunity to assess your previous term goals and re-establish new ones.

Good news is, Standard Level coursework will be reducing over the coming weeks/months, which will ultimately reduce your course load; Higher Level course loads will be tapering off after December too. IA’s are the major challenge moving forward, please utilize the expertise of your staff to help with these requirements. Many subjects have increased the weighting of IA’s (due to COVID-19 IB assessment updates), therefore, it is imperative that you hand in your best quality work (plan these deadlines out thoroughly). This break should be a time to re-group, re-focus and get back on top of what was lagging. CAS portfolios and Extended Essays should be on the table. EE drafts have been critiqued by your supervisors and now you have an opportunity to make the final changes before submission.

Make sure you spend time re-charging your batteries over the break; check-in on your friends to see how they are doing and spend some time re-calibrating yourselves for the coming term.

Have a restful break everyone, you have earned it!

Kind regards, James jjones@ris.ae

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Grade 11 Dear Grade 11 Families, We are so delighted to have most of our Grade 11 students back on campus after what seems like an eternity away from the classroom. School days look very different from what they used to and the students have adapted incredibly well to all the new restrictions and expectations put in place. Not forgetting our students who have opted to continue distance learning, we hope that you are still enjoying new and exciting course content during the initial phase of your time in the Diploma Programme. We look forward to welcoming you back on campus soon. This new phase of learning is still challenging for both teachers and students to adjust to so I wanted to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to adapt through unchartered territory.

I wanted to clarify some expectations in these new and trying times. If anyone in your household tests positive for COVID 19 please isolate for 14 days and let me know. I will ensure this information is communicated to the right people here at school so we can continue to support your child through distance learning. Please also be reminded that if you opted for in-school learning and your child is distance learning, they will be marked absent but can be marked present for individual classes. This is in line with ADEK expectations. Please ensure you contact absent@ris.ae citing a reason for your child’s absence if they are unwell or have another reason to be absent at the earliest point possible. This ensures we don’t have to follow up with an email or a phone call. If a student is late to school, they can get a late slip from Ms Nicola (she is located in the DP Study area on the mezzanine floor at the back of G Block). If she is not there, it is the student’s responsibility to contact frontdesk@ris.ae to inform them that they have arrived at school so adjustments can be made to their attendance.

One final expectation is regarding DP uniforms. We have been a little lenient with students as their return to school was relatively sudden. After half term, we will be checking uniforms to ensure the students are dressed professionally and in line with the school’s expectations. Please ensure your child has a pair of smart black trousers/pants (no jeans or leggings), a pair of shoes that are completely black and a DP shirt with the Raha logo on the front and black piping around the sleeves and pockets. With the weather becoming cooler, students can bring a sweater/cardigan with them as long as it is completely black with no colours or logos. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to finally work face to face with most of the Class of 2022. I am very impressed with their maturity and level of enthusiasm for this year already. I look forward to seeing how the students challenge themselves this year and what they can achieve during their time in the DP. Please reach out if you have any further questions or concerns. Wishing you and your family a well-deserved break over the coming week.

Christine Armstrong, Head of Grade 11

carmstrong@ris.ae

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UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS DP Classes: It is such good news that our DP students have returned to attending classes at Raha campus. The synergy coming from interactions amongst students and staff reminds us that learning is a social activity. We still have some limitations based upon us, but what we have already is worth each restriction.

Night School: We have had three Night Schools so far, which included the UK, US and Canada. The Loom session recordings doesn’t have the live interaction, but the recordings do allow you to re-visit each session. Our next Night Schools will take us to mainland Europe, where these countries are offering more and more English Instruction at the bachelor’s degree level.

The price is also considerably less compared to North America and the UK, especially for international students. On November 8th, the Night School session will cover Northwest Europe, which includes France, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Ireland. Then on November 25th, the Night School session will target the Scandinavian region in Northern Europe. Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland will be covered. In 2018, Finland just started charging International students’ tuition, so cost should be reasonable.

The Night School expectation for DP students/families is to attend/view at least one Night School session for each of your possible university destinations.

University Virtual Sessions: The virtual sessions have created an enormous opportunity to get access to universities than ever before.

The sessions tend not to be taped, so you have to attend the live session. Often, you need to register to gain access beforehand. We will maintain the Upcoming University Events live document throughout the year.

Most universities are cramming in sessions in October and November, so schedule in some time.

Universities will usually return again in March, but the fall rush has the highest quality.

Brian Marshall – bmarshall@ris.ae

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CORE SUBJECTS

CAS CAS Newsletter

Have you seen the new Handbook? Check it out here

http://gg.gg/CASHANDBOOK

G12 students; It’s time to get going with the reflection sand evidence for all the wonderful initiatives listed in your portfolios! As soon as these are completed, we can begin closing them out.

April 30Th CAS portfolios will be locked!

This is the time to close out the experiences/projects listed in your portfolios before the next round of exams!

Emails have been sent to the parent of students in the concern list.

G11 CAS We are in Week seven and there are many portfolios that are still blank! Remember that many things that you already do (take music classes, sports, etc) can coint towards CAS! You do not need to go far out of your way to get some CAS done. Anything that meets: • • •

One (or more!) of the strands (C.A.S) One (or more!) Learning Outcome Is worth your time recording a reflection/gathering evidence for

Can count towards CAS! Have you recorded your interview yet?

Over half of the cohort managed to record the first CAS interview using Microsoft Forms. I have pasted your answers in your portfolios as a note. The next step is to check-on with your Advisory teacher and they will leave a note to mark the interview as complete.

The purpose of this interview is to ensure that students have a clear understanding about the CAS program and what is expected. This is recorded as a voice note and uploaded to ManageBac. Students that have not started their CAS portfolios or recorded their interviews have received a personal message from me via ManageBac. I’m happy to report that many students have started uploading reflections and evidence to their portfolios. Some of the highlights include beach clean-ups, Triathlon practice, sports tournaments, speeches and art projects.

If you would like to be featured in next month’s newsletter, ask Mr. Carlos to have a look at your portfolio!

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Extended Essay Muge Okur mokur@ris.ae Dear Grade 11s, Welcome to the EE, a requirement of the IB Diploma, and a core component of the programme.

The Extended Essay process has started with the launch presentation on October 4th. It is now time for all Grade 11 diploma students to spend time reading and researching on their topics of interest. The goal is to come up with a good research question, with the support of their supervisor, a question that will lead to sufficient critical thinking within the subject of choice. When students have ideas, they must speak to the teacher of the subject to ask to be their supervisor. When approved, the information should be entered on ManageBac including teacher and subject choice, by November 19th.

Supervisors will help students to formulate the research questions to provide the best “map” for the extended essay. This process does and should take time, so the research question is due on March 2021. I encourage all students to consider options and be prepared to go through many variations of their research questions before they have their final one. If any student struggles to choose a subject, they should come and see me, I will do my best to go through their subjects and guide them in a direction to find the best topic for them. There are resources in files on the Class of 2022 team/EE channel and as links through the Extended Essay worksheet on MB. Especially the “EE question checker” is a very useful tool at this stage. One of the best strategies at this stage is to review the subject-specific criteria requirements from the online guide, and review samples. Most of the information and guidance on initial steps can also be found in the Extended Essay Student Booklet, posted on MB and on your class team.

I am excited to start a new cohort of extended essays, please contact me for any questions!

Thanks!

Dear Grade 12s.

We are approaching the final stage of the Extended Essay with the class of 2020! At this point in time, all draft EEs should have been submitted to supervisors for feedback. The deadline for final essays is January 3rd, 2021. The feedback on first drafts is most valuable at this stage. The final submission will be done through ManageBac calendar. After that date, the essays will then be checked, and reflection 3 meetings will be held before we are ready to send the essays to the IB. An important note: It is crucial that your registration information matches the subject for which you wrote your extended essay.

Make sure Mr. Andy has the correct information, and your MB worksheet shows this as well. If you have written a World Studies EE, and if you have not sent me the details of your theme and subjects registration yet, please do so. The theme of the WS extended essay acts as the “subject registration” for those essays, and this may impact the grading of the essay, so please make sure we have the correct and latest information.

A final reminder to all students to make sure they follow the format requirements correctly in their final product. There is a document called “Criterion D-presentation” on MB files to help with this.

We are almost there! Let me know if you need EE support.

Thanks!

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Theory of Knowledge Aoife Abushaqra aabushaqra@ris.ae Happy TOKtober! Theory of Knowledge is concerned with understanding what it means to “know”. Rather than studying a particular subject, TOK looks to pursue more conceptual ideas of what it takes to acquire knowledge and how to apply that to real-world scenarios. This year the TOK curriculum has been revised by the IB with much welcomed changes to the assessment model with the introduction of the TOK Exhibition. At the beginning of the school year a group of MYP and DP subject teachers completed an online professional development workshop to familiarize with the new course expectations and to develop TOK thinking skills among subject teachers. I look forward to seeing TOK thinking emerging from each classroom this year!

Grade 11 students have begun the year by exploring the core theme “Knowledge & the Knower”. This theme encourages students to reflect on themselves as knowers and thinkers, and to consider the different communities of knowers to which we belong. I have been impressed by the unique personal connections our students have been able to make. In a recent formative task building up to the TOK Exhibition, students selected objects connected to their personal culture e.g the Palestinian Kuffiyah or Japanese Caligraphy, making cogent links to prompts such as “Does some knowledge only belong to certain communities of knowers?”. We have since begun to explore The Arts with consideration of how we define Art and the nature of interpretation. Why not visit a local art gallery such as Louvre Abu Dhabi or the Theatre of Digital Art in Dubai over Midterm break to put those TOK thinking skills into practice?

Following Mid-term break, our Grade 12 students will concentrate more heavily on their final assessment, the TOK essay. This assessment is externally graded by the IB and students will follow a strict process for drafting their essay between now and early February. Students will write a 1600 word essay in response to one of six prescribed essay titles that have been published by the IB in September. Students will work closely with their TOK teachers and are strongly encouraged to reach out to their subject teachers to help develop their essays.

Finally, in celebration of our school’s inaugural TOKtober, we are launching the Talk the TOK podcast. This offers an exciting CAS opportunity for students to come on board to help with editing, social media promotion and content creation. For one of our first episodes we are joined by PYP teacher Mr. Kim Halavatua to discuss the Tongan community he belongs to, his thoughts on the importance of preserving indigenous knowledge and the unique challenges faced by indigenous communities in the modern world. Follow @talkthetok on Instagram for more details about upcoming episodes and opportunities to contribute to the discussion.

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