Almost back to normal

With the previous two school years affected by lengthy school closures and many other COVID-19 restrictions, the school year 2021-22 has been almost back to normal. Only January and February were challenged by half the students and teachers taking turns falling ill with corona, impacting teaching.

Af Christina Rye Tarp, IB Coordinator

Back to normal meant that intro activities, extracurricular activities, and social events could be held and enjoyed as before COVID-19. We had all missed the usual hustle and bustle of a school with 1,100 students being young and lively without having to abide to regulations. January and February, of course, put a stop to this, and it was very unfortunate when we had to make the decision to turn the BIGMUN conference into a SMALLMUN with only BG students participating.

Since the study trips for the second-year students were all cancelled the year before, we had arranged a close-tohome CAS trip for the now 3u students, going to Samsø just before the fall break. Here they had experiences covering all three CAS strands: Creativity, Activity and Service. For Activity they went for long bicycle rides across the island in a strong October wind, and for Service they helped an extremely grateful farmer harvest all his organic carrots.

Luckily, all our second-year students could go on their study trips this school year, so at the end of April, 120 2u students all went on a CAS trip to Prague by bus. In Prague, making street art, cooking and serving a meal for the homeless, and many other activities were on the agenda.

The Workload Calendar for the 3u students was even more full of deadlines than usual since some IAs had to be postponed from 2u to 3u because of the long school closure in the spring semester last school year. It was therefore an extra great relief when all work had been sent off for assessment to the IB in March and April, and the three-week exam period was over at the end of May. On the 20th of May, it was wonderful to celebrate and congratulate all our 125 3u students at a grand IB Reception.

Every five years, IB World Schools must undergo a self-evaluation, and this school year it was once again time for Birkerød Gymnasium to complete this one-year process, checking that we uphold all IB Standards and Practices. The last forms were sent off mid-June, and we are happy to conclude that at Birkerød Gymnasium, the IB Diploma Programme is developing positively both regarding quantity and quality.