IBDP Orientation DP-1 & DP-2

Last Friday, we held the IBDP Orientation with the new IBDP Parents, DP-1 & DP-2 Students, Faculty and also Alumni!

In our 2 years of doing the IB Diploma Programme, we have substantially grown our IBDP Batch from 4 students in 2016//2017 to 15 students in 2017/2018. The Academic Year 2018/2019 has 21 students. As hectic and demanding as the IBDP Journey is, the returns of it are much more.

Our DP-1 Batch this year have just started on the 2 year rigorous journey of pursuing the Diploma Programme, and to ease them in, last weekend we had an Outbound Activity for them at Stone Lodge (Hyperlink Stone Lodge).

The orientation on Friday was held to introduce new and older families to any and all information that they would need on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. What is it all about? What do students study? What do they need to pass the diploma? What are TOK, CAS and Extended Essay? So many questions were to be addressed in the span of 2 hours.

The Orientation started with Dr. Fatma Odaymat explaining ARIS Core Value which is – “We are a Diverse Group of Learners that is committed to Inspire, Empower and Transform for a Better Future.” She also took parents through the ARIS Educational Model (hyperlink) wrapping it all up by stating that the learner is at the core, and that change is always in the menu, at ARIS!

Our Head of Secondary also spoke to parents about our plan by the next Academic Year, of which one of the highlights is IBCP Authorization Processes. (IB Career Related Programme is a parallel programme to the IBDP – can be pursued during the same period)

Our IBDP Coordinator, Mr. Harwell Asorwoe, started his presentation by showing ARIS’ important DP numbers. To attain the Diploma, the highest overall grade is 45 and the lowest is 24 (among that, there are conditions to get a specific grade in Higher Level Subjects and Lower Level Subjects and core courses like TOK, EE and CAS). In 2017, we graduated 4 IBDP Students, out of which 31 was the highest grade and 19 was the lowest grade. In 2018, we graduated 15 IBDP Students, the highest grade of which was 39 and the lowest being 25. This was not only considerable progress in just two years, but also 100 percent attainment of the Diploma. “Next year, we will hit the 40s!” Mr. Harwell said.

Mr. Harwell also took the parents and the DP-1 students over choosing 6 IBDP Subjects, of which 3 must be Higher Level and 3 in Lower Level. At ARIS, this Academic Year, we are offering 3 new subjects for the gifted and the talented students to explore their strengths and passions in the Diploma Programme – Music, Theatre and Sports Sciences.

The IB Diploma Programme exemplifies the value of International Mindedness not only through the 6 higher subjects but also the Core Elements. The 3 other Core Elements to attain the Diploma Programme are Extended Essay, Creativity Action & Service (CAS) and Theory of Knowledge. Our Extended Essay Coordinator, Madam Dorinda Tham, introduced the Extended Essay to the students – the Independent Research Project that students embark on for the period of 2 years can be on any subject that they are passionate about, irrespective of their subject choices.

She spoke about picking a topic, the weekly Extended Essay workshops, the meetings, picking a supervisor, the limitations of the role of the supervisor, hours spent on Research, bi-weekly drafts, viable references, Academic Honesty, collusion and more! Parents were also given an idea on the limits of their support to their wards, pursuing their Extended Essay – they cannot write portions of the paper, they cannot edit it, they cannot get outside sources to write the research. Parents can, however, be aware of the IB Calendar and deadlines, provide emotional, mental support and follow up how they are doing with their EE.

Our TOK Facilitator and Vice Principal of Secondary School, Mr. Brew introduced Theory of Knowledge by one sentence – “How do we know what we know? How do we learn what we learn? TOK is a journey full of finding loopholes, questioning the validity of absolute knowledge, incorporating real world issues and analyzing knowledge in itself! It’s a journey of deep-rooted Inquiry and Critical Thinking.

The final Core Element is CAS – Creativity, Action and Service. Our CAS and MYP Coordinator, Ms. Barbara Bilgre, started her presentation by giving parents a task to write on a piece of paper, their passions and talents, and subsequently share it with the room. In response, she said that CAS is precisely the right programme for students to explore and work on their passions and talents outside of their curriculum. CAS enhances Holistic Learning and Balanced Learning in the IBDP; it is a lifelong, skillful and healthy journey, made metacognitive by the International Baccalaureate through Learning Outcomes and Reflections.

The introduction to the Subjects and Core Elements of the IB was followed by Dr. Funke, our Head of Counseling and Support, who took the parents and students through the department offering not just differentiated instruction but also emotional and mental support and meeting Academic needs in the stressful IBDP Journey.

What about beyond the IBDP? Universities, Careers and so on; Mr. Emil, our Career Guidance Counselor also talked about future universities, scholarships, careers, guidance and ARIS Students’ worldwide reach.

The highlight of the Orientation, however was when the IBDP-1 students and ARIS IBDP Alumni spoke about Empowerment, Inspiration, Flipped Classrooms, Diverse thinking, Reflection, Action, Connections and the overall Transformative potential of the IBDP Journey during and after the completion of the IBDP. This dialogue helps parents to make the real connections and see real results.

If you would like to ask any more questions and have more information, stay tuned for more articles on our day to day and (coming soon!) ARIS Podcasts!