Gearing Up For The Road Ahead

By Abi Co

Inevitable,butnotimpossiblewiththerighttools Ina student's world, change is the transition from one grade to another, a scary process that many face feeling unsupported. Determined not to let that happen, SSM held a week-long camp from June 8th to 16th, 2023 in preparationfortherigorousInternationalBaccalaureateDiplomaProgramme(IBDP)aheadfortheincoming

Changeisdifficult,butitisalsothekeytoone’ssuccess

Grade11

Studentsspentthefirsttwodayshoningessentialskillsfor any successful school year: time management, critical thinking, and effective learning habits. From performing individualtasksunderpressuretoopendiscussionsinthe classroom eachactivitywasdesignedtobuildstudents’ confidenceinapplyingthenecessaryskillswhenneeded

“I was intimidated by the thought (of speaking),” Jaelyn Soliman shared, stating that although challenging,theseactivitiespushedhertobecomemoreaccustomedtopublicspeaking. “But the fear I got from it was a bit lessened from the times they called everybody to share their insights.”

Althoughtimemanagementandsimilarskillsareessential, these would be meaningless without a solid foundation. With guidance from their future teachers, students reinforced their knowledge of the basics of research, academicwriting,andtextualanalysisforthelastfewdays ofthecamp.

Onthefinalday,thebatchtookthetimetoreflectontheir Prep Camp experience. “I learnt that learning has many different approaches,” Timothy Lo states, “and that no one is necessarily better than others.” Healsosharedhow his perception of the future programme altered, now motivatedmorethaneverfortheincomingschoolyear. “I believed that IB would be insurmountable, but now, growing as a student in the programme is something that I look forward to.”

The activities came to an end, but the journey for these young students is far from over Armed with improved skills and brighter mindsets, they eagerly move onto a new chapter in their lives, ready to face the challenging roadofPre-Universityahead.