MYP5 PHE

MYP5 Students this year had a focused and quick-moving year within PHE.

The students began the year with a theory topic of Performance Enhancing Drugs, including research tasks. They also worked practically on Netball, Tag Rugby and Gymnastics.

The main focus for the PHE students in MYP5 was the ePortfolio. The first cohort to undertake this process required students to take on the role of a coach, assess a client's ability and performance, to design and plan a training plan to develop their ability. The students worked incredibly hard on this task and produced some very high-quality portfolios.

I wish the MYP5 PHE class all the best as they move into the DP program and have high expectations of those students undertaking the Sport & Exercise Health Sciences course next year.

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Benjamin P.

The MYP4 Drama Class, led by Mr. Walters, has been an incredibly positive and enriching experience for me. Under Mr. Walters' guidance and expertise, I have discovered a deep appreciation for the world of theatre and have grown both personally and creatively. One of the most remarkable aspects of Mr. Walters' teaching style is his ability to create a safe and inclusive space for everyone in the class. From the very beginning, he fostered an environment where we felt comfortable expressing ourselves and taking risks. This allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in the world of acting, exploring a wide range of emotions and characters with confidence. Mr. Walters' support and encouragement have been instrumental in building our self-confidence and helping us overcome any reservations we may have had. Mr. Walters' passion for drama is truly contagious. His enthusiasm for the subject matter is evident in every lesson, and it has inspired us to approach each class with the same level of excitement and commitment. His knowledge and experience in the field of theatre are vast, and he consistently brings in relevant and engaging material to enhance our understanding and appreciation for different theatrical techniques, styles, and playwrights. His ability to make complex concepts accessible and relatable has truly deepened our understanding of the art form. Mr. Walters often used the phrase “Ask me at lunch time”, when the curious students asked silly questions during a lesson. Goodbye Mr Walters and thank you for making the drama lessons good!”

Welcome to the IB at BBIS!

What do we expect of you as you transition into DP from MYP?

★ Dedication

★ Willingness

★ Organisation

Bring these to your IB Diploma studies and everything else will follow!

The Diploma course is a challenging course for 16-19 year olds. You will study 6 academic subjects while leading a full, balanced life. With a strong commitment to learning in and beyond the classroom, the IB Diploma puts the student at the centre of their learning and builds skills, attitudes and knowledge in both traditional and twenty first century ways. Attitude “is more of an indicator of ability to earn the diploma than prior academic success”.

At BBIS we aim to develop the whole person through the attributes of the Learner Profile, the IB Diploma is engaging, inspiring and rewarding. It is an excellent preparation for universities and top jobs across the globe, and is widely supported to provide the best preparation for university and the world of work. Leading universities unanimously praise the IB and they are known to have a good work ethic, and have created excellent organisation skills for life after learning. Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and skills at the OECD says, “The world no longer rewards people for what they know – Google knows everything – but for what they can do with what they know. Global education today needs to be much more about ways of thinking, involving creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making; about ways of working, including communication and collaboration.”

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The IB World Community

For over 40 years the IB Diploma Programme has been the gold standard in international sixth form education remaining independent of governmental policies. It continues to grow, having developed programmes for students from three to 18, which are now delivered to nearly one million students across the world in some 4000 schools. As an MYP school BBIS is proud to be a part of the IB community and to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”.

The curriculum

IB Diploma students study a programme with both breadth and depth. All IB pupils study six subjects: language and literature, mathematics, science, a humanities subject, a modern language and a creative arts subject. This supports the continuation of developing transferable skills and abilities, without asking students to drop subjects too soon, or specialise too early. Equally, for those students who already hold specific future ambitions, it offers some degree of flexibility to enable greater access to knowledge in key areas: opting to study an additional language, science or humanities subject instead of a creative arts subject, and the choice of which subjects to study at Higher Level.

The Core unites the 6 subject groups by challenging students to apply their knowledge and skills in new ways; both academic and practical.

● Students become independent learners through studying the Extended Essay (EE). This is a 4000-word Research Essay on a topic of their own choosing. Working alongside a supervisor, they manage their work, inquiry and presentation to an undergraduate level.

● Through Theory of Knowledge (TOK) students explore information in scientific, linguistic, mathematical and cultural contexts. They begin to stretch perspectives and challenge their preconceptions.

TOK exhibition 2023

IB students spend time outside the classroom environment through participating in the creativity, action and service programme(CAS). It is an opportunity to focus on their personal growth, meet challenges, develop skills and explore what it means to commit, persevere and take full responsibility as they transition out of school into the world. CAS supports them in finding their place to actively participate within the local and global community. This year at BBIS students have taken part in CAS volunteering for a Ukrainian refugee school, dance projects, a trip to TATA as well as much more. This has allowed students to gain a perspective into other lives and give back to the community.

Dear DP class of 2024, what a year it has been! I can’t believe that we are already more than halfway through one of the biggest years of your lives (I know, Anna L, I won’t forget… you are STILL tired!) First of all, congratulations on being the first full group to ever take the IB Diploma programme at BBIS! That in itself is a monumental achievement. I know you complain about having to be the first DP group but believe me there are great “famous firsts” who would disagree. Take Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953 who along with his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, became the first men to climb Mt. Everest or Marie Curie who was the 1st and female ever to win two Nobel Prizes. Someone has to be first, and I think you are all doing a brilliant job at carving out the path for the students who will embark on this journey next year.

When I think of DP1 I think of a brilliant mix of individuals all with different talents, from Mike who is a dictionary of information on all things Economics and Maths, to Anna L who constantly shows me her creativity and knowledge, knows everything from dance to the Kardashians, to Alex who seems to know every capital city and flag in the world. Chan, who is one of the most driven individuals I have met and will most likely be a billionaire by the time I retire. Bogdan who has an eclectic passion for painting table top miniatures and Simon who quietly ponders and reads Freakonomics. Haeun, you have settled so well into the class and it is so lovely to be greeted by your smiling face every morning. Anna K, you are one of the most mature students I know and you will most certainly be a successful Business Boss in the future. Mintaras, I am sure we will see your name in soccer (sorry football) lights in the near future... don’t forget me! Leo, I know that you have a hidden basketball talent and that Oscar would love to compete against you next year. Iryna and Mike it has been lovely to see you step up out of your comfort zones and become some of our first students’ leaders. Arthur, thanks for making me laugh in the mornings even when I am grumpy and without caffeine to Jessi who seems to have the coolest sense of fashion in DP.

This year has been a busy one, we started the year off with the trip to Tata for the first CAS trip where you certainly learned the skill of keeping warm to the Sports day, Children in Need, volunteering for a Ukrainian school, Extended Essays, Internal Assessments, residential trip to Slovakia and Poland to sitting our first set of exams to everyday lessons of DP. You are all honing the skills of independent learning and reflection as you enter into DP2. My advice to you all is to grab every opportunity you can and learn to live in the moment. It will be the end of the Diploma before you know it! Enjoy the summer and take the time to relax (as well as write personal statements and IA’S)!

Class reflection:

Our message to the students next year is:

Be resilient, cultured, humble and unyielding. If you will not adopt those qualities, this will affect your learning and your life in a negative way later on the way. Seek recognition for your admirable deeds, but do not seek constant appreciation, for honesty and developed work ethics are their own rewards. Think critically, allocate your time to subjects strategically. Homework is mandatory, but if you feel like you can use that time for a better purpose, consider doing that.

Reflections and targets:

Throughout this academic year all of us experienced many changes in different areas. Coming into DP1 meant that we would experience new levels of academic pressure and responsibilities, which would require us to adapt quickly. Because of this over time many students adopted a professional attitude towards learning and balancing their responsibilities in and outside of school. As the first generation of students to go into DP in BBIS we must serve as an exemplar of what responsible and reliable students should be, this is evident by outstanding academic performance of the overwhelming majority of our students who maintained honesty, stability and respect towards learning by obtaining and developing qualities which are valued in BBIS.

Challenges:

We have spent countless hours studying, writing essays and IA’s staying up late revising for exams, having little to no time to actually enjoy this year and driving in the GoKart arena. These were only a portion of all the challenging activities we have encountered, however these challenges all helped shape us to who we truly are today. We would like to nominate Bogdan for facing the biggest challenge of all and having something to focus on next year; his driving skills.

House Points Battle:

Not everyone fought for house points as hard as Alex did. Alex’s exceptional and huge effort towards earning HPs really made him standout this year, but somehow, still didn’t appear on the leader board. There is always next year. Our class is hoping to achieve more house points than we got this year, because being the leader on the amount of points in your class, really makes you feel happy and proud of the work and effort you put in.

Shoutout to Ms. O’Keeffe who made sure that Alex gets enough house points, but somehow never reached Top 5 (lol).