The first group of these was written by juniors, to advise new juniors, and the second group by sophom*ores, to advise new sophom*ores. They are otherwise in no particular order.
Salutations, incoming juniors…
If there is one piece of advice that I could give to myself a year earlier—a piece of advice that trumps all other pieces of advice—it would be to never take day-naps. Naps are enticing, they call out to you from your cozy bed and pierce the monotony of a mundane pile of homework…however, don’t be a fool. Once your head meets the precipice of your pillow, you will enter a trance-like state—comparable to a dream meshed with the periodic interruptions of your siren-like alarm: a mere distraction from your nap to be muted on an unending ten-minute cycle. I was a fool who subscribed to the notion that a 15-minute nap would help me feel energized and allow me to get all my work done—alas, that was not the case. I snoozed, and snoozed, and snoozed while my assignments lay unfinished on the table beside me, beckoning to me to complete them. Do not take naps in the day. They will come back to haunt you, your sleep schedule, and your grade.
The second most important piece of advice that I would have given myself is to never forget to do things outside of the house. Being chained to one’s desk because of the perpetual burden of homework can be something that cages you and clips your wings. It is important to get out of the house and do activities with friends—like going to the gym, volunteering somewhere, playing a sport, etc. It is important to maintain a balance between school life and social life. Towards the end of my junior year, when testing began, I barely had opportunities to go out of the house to meet friends or exercise due to how much work and studying I was inundated with, and I realized that I should have tried to maintain a better balance between work and play earlier in the year when I had the opportunity. Do not feel guilty when you take a break from homework to eat dinner with your family, or walk your dog, or go for a run. This is a feeling that I have found lurking upon my shoulders, weighing me down, whenever I want to play video games on the weekend or hang out with my friends; however, it is hard to break old habits, and this one will take time for me as well. It takes approximately 30 days for someone to rid themselves of a habit, but it is being researched that it may even take less time to instill a habit. For incoming juniors and me in the past, begin to instill a good work/life balance as early as possible so that you can have a more fulfilling year ahead of you.
Lastly, and most controversially, I do not think that it is necessary to give your 100% effort to every assignment. Sometimes you simply are weary and do not have the energy or motivation to put in your best work—and that is fine. It is impossible to expect yourself to perform at your best at every point throughout the year. An inventor once tasked himself with creating a new invention every week of the year. Weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4 would be smaller everyday inventions. Every 5th week he would come out with a large-scale revolutionary invention. He came up with inventions that rapidly changed and bettered the lives of all those living near him. The inventor was able to continue this cycle for 52 weeks—a staggering accomplishment that was unheard of at the time—with little decline in the quality of his work. However, he was burning the match at both ends: the inventor was weary, and tired, and running out of motivation. By the 53rd week, his inventions were being reduced to mere trinkets and novelty items, and the thought of returning to his workshop disgusted the inventor, thus, he went on a hiatus. During this time, he contemplated the value of his work, and realized that his standards for himself were much higher than the dexterity of his hands or the craftiness of his mind. By week 55, the inventor returned—reinvigorated for the craft of inventing and filled with spur. This man was Thomas Edison, and he realized that he could not perform at his best forever. It is ok to feel low sometimes and only put in as much effort into an assignment as you are willing to. By the time we were nearing the winter break, me and my peers saw a sharp decline in the quality of our work, but at the time that was about as much effort as could muster, and it was ok.
In this coming year, do not waste a second and try to enjoy it as much as you can. My year went by in a flash, and it is a time of my life that I will only get to experience once, so make sure you make the best out of it as well. I will be moving on to my senior year next year, and in theory this advice feels nice to give to someone else, but it is something that is hard to follow and I realize that as I am writing this conclusion. I know I will not listen to everything I am preaching; I know I will take naps, I know I will avoid going out because I have homework, and I know that I will that I will feel guilty for not giving my all to an assignment. But hopefully, when I look back at my senior year in hindsight, my advice essay will be shorter, and I will have less to preach.
Best of luck next year,
Sincerely,
Abir Bhushan
As an upcoming senior, I’ve been in IB for three years now. Throughout the three years, I’ve learned many things. Freshmen year was obviously the hardest. The hardest change was the increase in homework. I took honors anatomy and AP environmental science as my electives. I had a lot of homework compared to middle school. It was a hard transition going from almost no homework to lots of homework. Especially adjusting the shift in amount of homework to my schedule. I swim for two hours three days a week. Some advice I recommend is to figure out a homework schedule as soon as possible. I found a schedule that worked for me, and this helped minimize my stress.
Sophom*ore year was easier for me because of my successful schedule that I created in freshmen year. In sophom*ore year I took two AP classes: AP psychology and AP world. The workload was not that different from freshman year, but the grading was harder. The tests in AP world were especially hard because it consisted of a SAQ and MCQ section. The MCQs for ap classes are very hard for me. I recommend creating study guides throughout the year. I made a one pager for each time period of AP world. This helped me remember when each event occurred and what the event was. I made all my study guides towards the end of the year, but I recommend doing it throughout the year to make it easier for yourself. AP psychology was easy if you turn everything in on time because there are not many grades for that class.
Junior year was hard for me because I had my first IA. I took world religions and wrote my first IA and got a 7. For world religions, I recommend being as explicit as possible and choosing a question about a religion with people you know. A main component of the IA is an interview. All my friends struggled to find interviews because the churches and people they contacted would not answer. I chose Hinduism for my question because I know a lot of Hindus and it was very easy for me to find someone to interview. I also drove this year and attended more meetings after school and became more involved. Although junior year was hard regarding the workload, the freedom of driving was the best part for me. Now I’m about to become a senior and although it is scary, I am excited to be done with high school.
Thi Pham
Reflecting on my time this year, I advise consistent practice. In IB each concept often refers to another, so you need to make sure to keep up with daily homework for practice and make sure you understand the topic well. Don’t wait until right before a test to try to understand because this can make it harder to understand the more advanced topics as the school year goes on.
Make sure you use all the resources available. Many of my friends only use their class notes but if they were to use other resources, I think they could do better. Websites like Khan Academy or YouTube videos can provide explanations that might make the subject easier to understand. Also ask questions in class as it can prevent a lot of studying or work later since you can grasp the topic quicker due to asking questions.
Last, make sure you have a deep understanding of the concepts rather than memorizing formulas and other things. In my classes most of the areas are related to each other so having a deep understand of one topic can help you in another. Make sure you understand the reasoning for each concept. This deeper understanding will make it easier to apply these concepts in different ways and solve harder problems. Also, on tests questions frequently appear that require a good understanding of various topics to solve as they have material from several different subjects in it.
Jonathan Reid
Dear Future Precalc Student,
Looking back on my junior year, it has been full of ups and downs. There were certainly times when I doubted my ability to complete the work given to me. There were also times where I felt on top of the world. In this letter, I’ll attempt to give some advice so you might not experience as many hardships during your junior year.
First of all, I’d like to encourage you to study consistently in certain classes. These classes include AP Chem, APUSH, and of course, Precalc. Even if you consider yourself skilled at any of these classes, I highly recommend reviewing course material in a consistent manner. This method definitely paid off for me in APUSH, as I studied often. As you’d expect, APUSH is very information heavy. I found that reviewing your AMSCO and watching Heimler’s History throughout each unit helped me significantly on the assessments. In my opinion, AP Chem was my hardest and most stressful class this year. I struggled heavily with this class throughout the year. Mrs. Loweke is a great teacher, so make sure to always pay attention to her notes during class. For reviewing chemistry, I recommend Mr. Krug on YouTube, as he is very good at presenting the information needed for the AP exam. For Precalc, I recommend paying close attention to the notes during class and completing the reviews posted before each test.
Don’t get the wrong idea about your classes in junior year. They can be hard at times, but there are many bright spots as well. As a German student, I enjoy the varying topics we have discussed throughout the year, ranging from psychology reports to German TV shows. If you enjoy drawing, World Religions includes many artistic poster projects.
Despite the weight you might feel on your back during junior year, I believe that ensuring you have time for hobbies or activities is very important. I suggest managing your workload so that you have sufficient time for sports, reading, video games, or any other activities you enjoy. Having time to yourself will make dealing with this workload much easier.
Best of luck,
Braden Wilmot
Looking back at my experiences this past school year, I have come to realize many things that can help you to become successful in your junior year in IB. The first thing I have found is that you must be good at balancing homework and your home life. With the classes I took this year, I think that the best thing to do is to complete your homework right after school while you still have your mind fixed on school. Otherwise, it will become very difficult to begin doing your work as you will be very tired. Throughout the courses I have taken this year, I have found that the teachers that are most strict about the timing of turning things in are Ms. Frisbie, Mrs. Harb, and Ms. Kenney. However, if you talk to them and have valid reasons to turn in work late, they will allow you to do so. Mrs. Loweke, Ms. Chevallier, Mr. Guice, Mr. Reber, and Mrs. Santiago are much more lenient on late work, but don’t take advantage of this as it can easily backfire.
Of all the courses I’ve taken, I have found AP Chemistry to be the hardest. Although Mrs. Loweke is great at teaching it, the concepts never stuck in my head very well. Therefore, I recommend studying a lot for that class and paying attention to every lecture. For Ms. Frisbie’s class, I recommend making sure you know your formulas and how to use the different functions of the graphing calculator. Also going to Ms. Frisbie and asking her for help is a great way to learn if you are stuck in her class. Theory of Knowledge is a very easy class if you get your work done. I say this out of experience as I have found the work easy but tend to not do it. It is very essay and presentation heavy, and I would recommend preparing beforehand for both. Mrs. Harb tends to switch up whether she is picky for late work, so do not turn anything late if you want to have a good grade in her class. World Religions will be the first IB exam for some of you and it will also be the easiest, so don’t stress too much. The IB exam of World Religions is very self-explanatory, and Ms. Chevallier teaches it very well.
IB is not all just about schoolwork though. You must make sure that you balance your school life with your everyday life. IB provides many activities throughout the year that will allow you to become closer to your classmates and make many new friends. Make sure to keep your relationships open to all grade levels as everyone in IB is here to help one another. Always try to spend time with friends outside of school as well. Go to the movies, a park, or even just walk around and talk. Just make sure that you keep healthy relationships with these people as they will be able to provide you support and guidance on your way through the IB program. Join different clubs and try new things so that you do not burnout. Also, don’t play the GPA game as it will just make your life in IB a struggle. Only compare you to you.
I know it scary to become an upperclassman, trust me I had the same experience too, but look at the bright side. There are only 2 years left of the program after this point. Although this must seem like a great thing, still try to enjoy the time you have. Remember, you are still a high schooler, and you should still try to do things other high schoolers do. IB should not prevent you form doing so. IB is just to show how academically gifted you are, and it will help guide you through life. Don’t get caught up in just your future though, instead try to also focus on the present as that is what’s most important right now.
Emmanuel Molina-Orillac
Dear Friend,
As you prepare to start on the same courses I have completed, I wanted to share some advice that might help you navigate through the potential challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead. To start, time management is crucial. The IB curriculum is rigorous and demands a lot from you in terms of assignments, projects, and exams. It would be smart to develop a schedule that allows you to balance your studies along with your extracurriculars and personal life. Use a planner or digital calendar to keep track of deadlines and important dates, prioritizing your tasks and breaking them down into manageable chunks can help you prevent from feeling overwhelmed
Secondly, don’t underestimate the value of forming strong relationships with your teachers and peers. Remember that first impressions are everything. Also keep in mind that your teachers are invaluable resources who can offer guidance, support, and additional help whenever you need it and if you ASK emphasis on the ASK! Don’t just sit there lost and confused and never hesitate to ask questions or seek clarification on topics you find challenging. Additionally, collaborating with classmates can help enhance your learning experience. Study groups can help provide different perspectives and insights, therefore making complex subjects easier to comprehend. Moreover, having a support system of friends who are going through the same experiences can be comforting and motivating.
Lastly, take care of your mental and physical wellbeing. The demands of IB can be intense at times, so it is crucial to maintain a health balance. Ensure you get enough sleep, eat well, and make some time for physical activities. Managing stress is equally important – practice mindfulness, take breaks when needed, and engage in activities that you enjoy outside of school. Remember your health and wellbeing are just as important as your academic achievements.
Good Luck and you got this!
From,
Angelyn Geevarghese
My first and most important advice of all that applies to really every course in junior year would be to not miss school frequently as that causes a huge build of work that is stacked on top of the new incoming work. This leads to unnecessary stress which can be easily avoided if you come to class! Now coming to class is half of it, but you should also strive to pay attention in class, retaining the info as much as possible. This is because the information we learn throughout a single unit in Pre-Calculus, for example, will need to be built upon with info from other units, so knowing the foundations of the earlier units in and out will reduce any worry about having gaps in your knowledge in the later, more complex units. In addition, remember that the information learned in each unit will definitely not go away after the unit tests, but will show up on the semester exams instead. Don’t forget all the unit information right after taking the unit test because the “well I don’t need it anymore” attitude will not bode well when you have an upcoming semester exam that encompasses many different foggy units that you then have to brush up on each one extensively to prepare for the test on top of the very possible chance of having other tests in the same week to study for. Therefore, having extensive prior knowledge of the subjects and units tested helps to take off the workload immensely when trying to study for the semester exams.
My next piece of advice would be to prioritize any work that is given in classes regarding IAs and other concepts that relate to the IB qualifications. Getting ahead on those types of assignments will help alleviate much of your stress as putting big projects like that on the back burner will only hurt your grade and increase worries about meeting your IB Diploma requirements, which is something you shouldn’t have to worry about if you get ahead on the IA assignments and deadlines. Also, I recommend turning in the journal entries for Mr. Guice’s ToK class on time and participating in the class discussions on those journals. These are easy point opportunities that can boost your grade tremendously.
My last piece of advice is to make sure to do all your reading note assignments for APUSH. These assignments can easily boost your grade as they are due almost every single class. Make sure to actually retain the information that you are writing down as well since the class period that they are due is when we will talk about the information, so being well prepared to discuss that will help you to comprehend what is going on in class better. Also, watching and taking notes on the Heimler videos for APUSH will help you to study for the topic quizzes that Ms. Kenney administers periodically. They are a great resource for when reading the long topic chapters in the AMSCO book becomes too tedious.
Roma Philip
Dear Rising Pre-Calculus Student,
Congratulations on making it through your first year here at Bartow IB! Currently, I am a rising junior so for you rising sophom*ores I can provide insight into the general experience of sophom*ore year.
General Advice:
Do what you can handle. Write down all the activities you do or plan to do, including clubs, sports, or other commitments, and attempt to prioritize what is best for you. If you feel the number of activities you are participating in begins to take a toll on your mental health and grades, attempt to reprioritize what you wish to do with your high school experience and which extracurriculars or grades are important to you.
Do not feel pressured that you need to do all the activities just to look good for colleges. Do what will lead to your success. Colleges are looking to see that you have committed yourself to activities you are passionate about, which will be reflected especially in your personal essays. Don’t compare yourself to others and their journeys, because ultimately, they are leading themselves down a path they believe will meet them to success according to their expectations, and this path does not always translate to yourself. Identify what you believe will lead to your success and work hard for those goals. Understand the reason why you wish to participate in specific tasks and how they may influence your wellbeing later.
Do what you feel passionate about. This continues to my previous point. Cut down on extracurriculars you do not feel passionate towards or are in for the wrong intentions. Participate in activities you enjoy that act as an “escape” from IB work outside of school, allowing yourself to fulfill yourself with more diverse experiences and become a more well-rounded student as a whole.
Identify the positive and negative relationships that surround you. I don’t really see another way to put this, but don’t make enemies. There will always be kids in your grade you are less than fond of, however, if being surrounded by them begins to influence your mental health, I recommend distancing yourself from those who begin to have a negative influence on your wellbeing. Instead, surround yourself with those who bring a positive influence on your mental health and offer you the support you need.
Core Subject Advice:
Pre-IB Chemistry with Mrs. Loweke: Ensure you study before each chemistry test. Create concrete study techniques and be prepared to learn the basics and utilize them for the rest of chemistry, as these often appear on her tests.
Pre-IB Spanish 3 with Profe Vega: I believe Profe Vega structures her class well and gives you all the materials you need to succeed in future Spanish classes, it is just your responsibility to take advantage of them.
Pre-IB English 2 with Mr. Guice: Mr. Guice is an amazing and knowledgeable teacher; however, the workload of his class can be intense, especially if you procrastinate. The coursework isn’t difficult, but keep in mind there are consequences for procrastinating for some assignments in this class, such as a decreased quality in your work that may reflect in your grades. Although some procrastination may lead to a passing grade, it will not necessarily reflect understanding of the curriculum, which could hinder performance of future exams.
AP World History with Mr. Henriquez: Treat Mr. Henriquez with respect and do not take his resources for granted. He dedicates time and effort to create engaging activities and will ensure you are prepared for the AP exam, as long as you put in the required effort as well.
IB Pre-Calculus with Ms. Frisbie: Ms. Frisbie is the most dedicated and hardworking teacher I believe you will meet in IB. Treat her and her class with respect and put in the effort and you will set yourself up for success. For any questions or struggles you may have, Frisbie will be there to attempt to assist you. She genuinely cares for the success of her students.
Additional Activities:
AP Classes through FLVS: Personally, I have never taken an AP class through FLVS, and I plan on never taking one in the future. In my opinion, AP classes through FLVS are a big commitment and can lead you to lots of procrastination due to not being held accountable to strict deadlines. You are committed to study until the AP exam, if you choose to take it. However, if there is a course you want to take that is not offered at our school or cannot fit within your schedule, then these classes may be your best option, just understand the commitment being made to the course.
Dual Enrollment: I love dual enrollment courses as they are shorter commitments, but you should take them for your reasons. Choose courses you are passionate about and are willing to learn more. Additionally, ensure that the course you are taking is not a course you will take later in IB, and check on university websites to see what type of credit you will receive for the course. Personally, before choosing a course, I search on RateMyProfessor for reviews regarding the class and professor. Do this if you want to ensure you set yourself up for success in the class and do not start your college GPA on a low note.
Summer Programs: I participated in summer programs in the past and plan to for future summers and the experience is extremely enriching! Do not expect that attending a university summer program will increase your chances for college admission. Attend for the experience and desire to learn more about the college environment and to meet new peers. Some programs, such as internships could provide you with a stipend and may not require a program fee, while others, especially at more prestigious universities, may be expensive; however, financial aid and fundraising are available and extremely useful!
Community Service: Start collecting community service hours as soon as possible. However, do not stress if you feel you are “falling behind” compared to others. If you are not happy with where you are at the end of a school year, you always have the summer to participate in opportunities as well. If there are events during the school year, then these are beneficial, but if not, prioritize your schoolwork or any other commitments you may have. You will have more opportunities and potentially freedom as you progress throughout high school, allowing for more hours to be earned.
Sports: Sports are a great way to become involved in new experiences with a diverse group of peers. Ensure, however, you do not participate in too many sports or participate in sports if you know your schoolwork or mental health may struggle. Again, prioritize what means the most to you and will bring you the most enjoyment for this chapter in your high school career.
Clubs: Don’t participate in an abundance of clubs, especially clubs that overlap on the same topic, as the meetings and overlap may be hard to handle. Dedicate yourself to 1-2 clubs for each specific club type you want to join, such as a community service club, competitive club, etc. If there’s a club you are passionate about and willing to commit to its success, then attempt to start it! However, make sure you are starting the club for the right reasons.
This is advice I had wish I knew more of coming into IB or sophom*ore year, but I have learned these through experiences along the way. From the wise words of former IB Bartow teacher Mr. Nakamura (Naki), “You are not powerless.” Understand the true reasons you desire to dedicate yourself to certain activities and remember you are in control of your success. Create goals, fail, learn, succeed; you are in control of your future, not anyone else, and you have the power to strive for success.
Best Wishes and Good Luck,
Danielle Howell
P.S. Thanks Johnny and Kim-Linh for the format
Hey hoobaenims,
I hope this little missive finds you well. As I finish my second year at IB, I’m feeling a little sad and sentimental – and a lot relieved! This year was rough. This was the first time I really struggled in school, and I am so glad that I did. I got messy and made many mistakes this year that I’m to take into junior year and grow from. Do with it what you will, but here is a little something that I can impart on you for your sophom*ore glow-up.
I think that as we transition between year to year and phase to phase of our lives, it really is important to stop and smell the roses; as Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. And if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” You just accomplished something huge – your first year in IB! Take some time to savor your best memories and recenter yourself. As you do this, you may find yourself recalling the good as well as the bad. Great! These memories probably will stick out to you for a reason, so you should use them to improve. For me, the first day of sophom*ore year was when IB really kicked in. Hitting the ground running, I already felt like constantly catching up. This might sound a little scary, but I think that if you’re confident in yourself and put goals in your mind, then you can breeze by. These goals could be passing your AP tests, acing all of Loweke’s chem tests, or even just keeping your grades where you want them. You know yourself; keep these goals in mind and adapt the best way you know how to bridge the gap to success. With this, you’re on your way to reaching academic weapon status and halfway through your sophom*ore glow-up.
The next part to becoming a super sophom*ore is to really work on yourself this year. My biggest regret this year is not going out enough and using my time to have fun. It’s not that this year left no time for myself, but rather I left no time for myself. Procrastination and I had a toxic situationship this year. I could have balanced so much free time and school this year if I just did my work in a timely manner. That scared chasing feeling never leaves when you get into the habit of procrastination and it really is a big fear of mine. If I’m scaring you, then good. Literally be scared of procrastination. You’ll feel so much freer if you do what you can when you can. I’m not saying to bombard yourself with working and studying, but if you feel yourself thinking about doing that one assignment a little early, then you should do it. You’ll thank yourself and then you’ll thank me because you’ll feel so refreshed and gorgetastic. Now, I could be projecting a little because I am writing this letter 15 minutes before it’s due, or maybe it’s an example of why you should do as your upperclassmen say and not as they do. Ooh I sound wise; wise like you’ll sound when you have your sophom*ore glow-up.
Have a good one, but just one!
Phoenix Adraneda
Dear new Pre-Calculus,
As my sophom*ore year is coming to close, I feel like there is just so much that has changed since the beginning of freshman year. I would like to give some general advice about IB as a whole. As a freshman I walked into IB thinking that it was going to be a breeze and that it wasn’t as difficult as everyone made it out to be. I walked in thinking that I was the smartest person ever. I thought everyone here was going to be a snob and that I wasn’t going to like the environment. Boy was I wrong. IB is very difficult, it has humbled me thoroughly. I have learned how to work hard and persevere even when things seem impossible. The people here whether we’d like to admit it or not have become family. IB is such an interesting place to be and truly teaches you so much. At your point in the program, I had still hadn’t realized quite what IB was.
The International Baccalaureate program is not easy, and it is not for everyone. IB will make you want to lay down and cry or just give up sometimes. The teachers work us hard, and we definitely earn our grades. I was a straight A student up until I got here. School was easy and learning came naturally. I never really struggled which is why I came to IB in the first place. I knew that I would be bored in a regular high school and for whatever reason I thought I needed to be challenged. I definitely got my challenge. Quarter 1 my freshman year I fell flat on my face. Not only did I get my first B I got my first C as well because I was not prepared. I waltzed into IB thinking I was so much better and because of that I failed miserably. I was so stressed and unorganized. My best advice is simply to just be prepared for whatever the teachers are going to throw at you. Be prepared for not understanding a math problem, be prepared to have your hand cramp from taking notes, be prepared to ask for help, be prepared to pull an all nighter, these things just come with the territory. Be prepared both mentally and physically for that.
I also think it is very important to understand that this is not for everyone. You may have survived Freshman year but it’s going to get harder. IB life is not always great; it’s hard and stressful and not everyone is made for that. That however is not a bad thing. If IB turns out not to be for you than so, be it that is ok. My best friend left after winter break this year, my other one is leaving to go to collegiate next year, several people are dropping out sophom*ore year. Some because they don’t want to try anymore but most because they can’t if you aren’t careful IB can take a huge toll on your mental health and because of that I encourage that if you cannot do this to go. A school is not worth destroying yourself and it is ok to acknowledge that this may not be the right thing for you.
For those that will stay though you will find that whether you want it to be or not IB is a big family. Some of you may already realize this but for those that don’t you’ll see. I remember one of the first times I was in a room with my classmates, I want to say it was an info meeting or something, but I remember Ms. Craven telling us that IB was a family and I just kind of rolled my eyes and moved on, but Ms. Craven was right. There are kids here that I once thought were so annoying and they truly frustrated me that I now just accept. I found myself having a full happy conversation with a girl whom last year I would never have even spoken to because I thought she was so annoying. I’m not trying to say that everyone here is going to become your best friend, because they won’t but since this is such a small school it becomes a tight knit community, we all know each other. One of the big things I also noticed really day one is that so many of us here are like minded — we process things similarly and are inquisitive about things in a similar way. It’s truly a remarkable community here.
All of this to say that IB is hard, but it is a community. We help each other and support each other. Preparation is key and being willing to admit your wrongs and ask for help will send you a long way. I wish you the best of luck sophom*ores!
Reese Akre-Smith
Dear Incoming Pre-Calc Students,
To begin with, I must inform you about procrastination. I am sure that by now you are tired of hearing all the horror stories of procrastination. Even if it is destructive, you will probably procrastinate anyways. As such, it’s important to at least try to limit your procrastination. I understand waiting till the night before might not cause too much harm when it comes to quick and easy work, but in my experience, you should never assume that work isn’t difficult, no matter how simple it looks. Even if you don’t do the worksheet, try to look over it as soon as you get it so you don’t forget. Try to figure out a couple pieces of the worksheet in your head just so you know whether or not it comes easy to you. This goes for all your classes, not just math. Homework can look deceptively simple, when in reality it is anything but. It is better to check the difficulty than to struggle and get poor grades later.
In the case of work that takes at most a half hour, it is okay to put it off and focus on your more difficult work first. However, when it comes to difficult homework you should always give yourself enough time to finish it. When procrastinating, as I am sure you will do, make sure to set a limit. For example, with work you know is easy, don’t wait till the class before, at the very least do it the night before its due. Procrastinating difficult work should be limited to at least a week before. You never know what extra work may be put on you and you should give yourself some wiggle room incase things go awry.
I am sure that some of you are still doubting me, so let me paint you a picture. It is the day before a difficult worksheet is due, the teacher assumes everyone is responsible and has done it, so they give you a set of simple problems that is also due tomorrow. The majority of class has procrastinated up until now, and they now have to desperately struggle to complete both the difficult worksheet and the easy one. You, however, have already finished the difficult work, and get the easy set of problems done quickly. While everyone else has a stressful night of no sleep, you can relax and go to bed knowing you have done all your work. Now you are well rested, you know you have done all your work well because you had taken your time instead of rushing and sloppily getting it done.
Tillie Varner
Dear newly graduated sophom*ores,
Throughout my sophom*ore year of IB I have been through many stressful and non-stressful moments. Most of the stressful moments I encountered during the school were due to my lack of planning and procrastination. For example, at the time I wrote this essay I am currently behind on an assignment for English that was due 25 days ago. I also am behind on some pre-calculus work that was due at least a week ago. I ended up in this position due to my procrastination and getting so easily distracted and not doing my work. My biggest tip for you is even if you don’t feel like doing your work or studying – do it – that is the best piece of advice on the workload that I could possibly give to you.
Now about extracurriculars. During this school year I took part in 3 extracurriculars, 2 for the schools and 1 not. The first is band. Band is a very important part of my life and caused me to miss certain events for family and friends and possibly gave me less time for other extracurriculars. Throughout the year the band scheduling was very poor and caused a lot of stress for me and my fellow band members, as I was expected to go to almost every band event due to me being an officer within the band. This caused conflicts with the other 2 extracurriculars I took part in during the school year; however, I almost always put my education and work over band, no matter how important the event was. The other 2 extracurriculars I took part in were wrestling for the school and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at my life-long academy, WCFA in Lakeland. I had to miss Jiu Jitsu many times due to band and IB homework (that I had mainly procrastinated on). I also got injured in January which put a halt to both Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling.
Band created conflicts with wrestling due to the practice times, as many times I would have band on the days that I would have wrestling practice. I would always have to choose band over wrestling for 2 reasons. 1: Band is a grade and is therefore a part of my academic schedule; and 2: I loved band more than wrestling. When it comes to seeing what the most important thing is to go to or to do, I looked at 3 things. First I checked to see if one of the events was an important family event that had been planned or a family emergency, second I looked to see if one of the events were academic or not an extracurricular, and lastly I looked to see which event I enjoyed more. That is one of the best pieces of advice I can give to you for balancing your life.
Overall, keep yourself organized and in check. Double check the events you must choose between to see which one takes importance. And lastly, enjoy yourself and do the best you can possibly do.
Sincerely,
Cole Stevens
Dear incoming pre-Calc students,
Congratulations on making it to Pre-Calculus. There are a few things that may help you throughout this course. First and foremost, always ask for help when you need it. I’ve always had the hardest time finding help for topics that I’ve never understood and I still struggle with this issue. This has made my assignments more difficult as each quarter passed, so go get the help you need. Ms. Frisbie will not judge you for needing extra assistance on a topic. She will willingly take the time to make sure that you have the topic understood, without a doubt. All it takes is the courage to ask her.
Secondly, use the assignment list that Ms. Frisbie provides every quarter. It may look like a paper with a bunch of words that doesn’t look very important, but it is actually very useful. This paper is basically your planner from Ms. Devore. It gives you an overview of all of your assignments, tests, and the dates for all of those. Can you believe it? I think this paper is very useful because it allows you to plan your time for studying, assignments for other classes, and your own free time. Most of your teachers wouldn’t provide anything like this so it would behoove you to utilize this resource for your own benefit.
Lastly, work with your friends. In the case that you can’t ask Ms. Frisbie for help, you can always text or call friends for help. Yes, you could always submit a request on the forms under the assignment in Schoology, but you would have to wait until Ms. Frisbie checks the homework for a thorough explanation. As you’ve probably already noticed last year, your schedule will follow a certain trend, and you may see the same people in most of your classes. This will probably be the same for the years to come. Building relationships with your classmates will not only help you in Pre-Calculus, but in all of your classes. I’ve learned that sometimes having multiple people working on a problem will help solve it in ways that probably wouldn’t have been thought of alone, especially in this class.
Keep in mind that your journey through the IB program will NOT be easy. You will have to put in your best work to succeed and excel. It is not a competition to get the highest GPA or the highest grades. It is to expand your knowledge, understand, and prepare yourself for college and career interests. Most importantly, have fun! Best of luck to you all!
Vincent Xue
Dear incoming sophom*ore,
Congratulations on completing your freshman year, and I hope it went well. This year will be a lot easier, as you’ve learned how to balance school and personal life in freshman year. Instead of smaller tedious assignments like planner checks, you will have longer projects that require you to get things done early. However, if you are one to push tasks aside throughout the year, you will struggle. Also, don’t make life boring by just creating a repetitive cycle: waking up, going to school, doing homework, and sleeping. Instead, have time for yourself, be active, and hang out with friends to relieve stress that builds up overtime.
One of the most important things to remember is that you should still spend time in what you enjoy along with balancing schoolwork. Don’t stress over small assignment grades and just move on because what matters is that you are learning; we are just highschoolers after all. Also, participate in clubs that you actually enjoy and take a part in bigger clubs like HOSA and FBLA, which allow you to compete further with other schools and excel in certain areas. If school gets frustrating and assignments get harder, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Teachers aren’t as scary as you think, ask questions and communicate with them. Take advantage of the support available and allow yourself enough time to complete tasks so that you never get to the all-nighters that others cry about.
Here are some tips that helped me for individual classes. For pre-ib Spanish 3 with Mrs. Vega, make sure to participate in class, pay attention to the small details that she always sneaks in on the tests, and practice Spanish outside of school to ensure understanding of the material. For pre-ib chemistry with Mrs. Loweke, just be sure to look over your notes because that’s all you really need to do well on her tests and work. In English with Mr. Guice, don’t wait for the last day to do all the long-term assignments like the mini-ee and annotating books when you’ve had months to do it. You will start stressing when it begins to pile up, so pace yourself. In AP statistics with Mr. Reber, I suggest that you actually pay attention in class instead of yapping with your friends, so it doesn’t get hard during tests and exams. Do extra practice outside school hours, so that you get familiar with AP format. For AP World History, you’ll notice that the in-class workload is not that much compared to the content itself so make sure to self-study. Mr. Henriquez is very lenient with his assignments and test policies, so it’s not too difficult. For IB pre-calculus, be sure to follow along with Ms. Frisbie in class and complete her assignments as they allow for a deeper understanding of the material. Also, make sure to do her review packets before the tests because it’s very similar in format to her tests. Overall, this year isn’t too bad and is definitely doable.
Have fun and enjoy the last year before things start to get hard.
Best of luck,
Niva Patel
Dear Sophom*ore,
Congratulations on making it through freshman year! Hopefully along the way you’ve learned some effective strategies for managing your workload and preparing for tests. Many say sophom*ore year is easier because students become “used to the workload” and that freshman year is much harder. This is untrue. In your sophom*ore year you will have a more rigorous workload than freshman year, so here are some tips for how you can get through the year and ace your classes.
First, some of your most difficult classes will be Chemistry and Pre-calculus (or Spanish, apparently a lot of sophom*ores complain about Spanish). This is mainly due to the difficulty of the content and workload. The strategy is fairly simple, study. Use your homework from the units (Loweke and Frisbie will give you plenty) as well as review materials and your notes. For chem especially making quizlets helps, you will have to memorize a multitude of things. Frisbie posts review problems for every unit test a week before, so make sure you do those, her questions on the test are very similar. In addition, just don’t procrastinate. This is especially important in sophom*ore year due to the workload. Even a couple days of putting off assignments can quickly bury you in work. You never know how much homework you will get the next day, so do your work the day you get it.
Also, it’s very important for you to manage your mental health. Lots of students complain about getting 3 hours of sleep and spending all night studying and doing homework. I cannot stress enough how bad this is for you. You have less energy the next day, preventing you from doing work efficiently, which allows the cycle to repeat itself. This lack of sleep stems from procrastination. Don’t procrastinate so you can get good sleep, and your life will be much, much easier. Another way to keep good mental health is to participate in activities outside of school. Extracurricular activities not only look great on college applications, but also they allow you a break from the schoolwork and an opportunity to do something you enjoy. I know I’m making it seem like if you’re not on top of your work 24/7 you will fall behind, but you will have time. Spend that time doing stuff you enjoy, not procrastinating.
Finally, don’t make your workload too difficult. You have some control due to your electives and choice to take online classes (though you will be most certainly reading this after you’ve chosen your electives). Do NOT take online AP classes purely to raise your GPA. Often you will find yourself struggling to manage your workload, which might result in a B or lower in the online class, doing the opposite of your goal. I would only recommend doing online classes over the summer where you have more free time, or if you choose to do them during the school year, be extremely confident that you can manage the workload AND you are passionate about the subject or you believe the class will benefit you in your career in the future.
Hopefully this advice benefits you in some way in making your way through sophom*ore year and preparing you for your future in the IB program. Remember not everyone needs to have perfect grades and be president in every club and be in several sports. Find a right balance of extracurriculars and classes that make you happy. Good luck with sophom*ore year!
Cooper Jenks
IB is certainly a journey, and often a difficult one, it is important to have tools to succeed. Luckly, you aren’t alone and there will always be someone who came before you to give you some tips. I’ve learned a lot this year and will try to pass on as much as I can to you.
The most important thing to have in IB is a good work ethic and attitude. Procrastination is not worth it, especially the further you get. This year you will indefinitely be assigned what seems like more work than you can ever accomplish; however, if you can stay diligent and manage your time effectively you can complete your work with time to spare. I’d suggest keeping a schedule and dedicating specific amounts of time to homework. A schedule that is easily accessible should help you keep track of your work and make it easier to manage your time and responsibilities. If you can work at any moment, do it. Even if you don’t feel like it, finishing your work ahead of time is key to keeping a clear head in this program. Pay attention in class and make sure to take good notes in all your classes. Never give up either. There’s a chance IB might have been the first time you’ve ever struggled academically, don’t let that bother you at the end of the day if you push through, you’ll end up alright.
IB isn’t just about academics, it is important to maintain and develop a good social life. You’ve likely made friends already or are about to make new friends, hopefully these friends will form a good support system. Make sure you have friends that value and support you and don’t cause unnecessary drama within your class. In IB you have small, connected classes and over the years it will likely get smaller, angering your small number of classmates isn’t a great strategy. Remember, you will likely end up having nearly all your classes and after school activities with the same small group of people, keeping in their good grace will increase your quality of life greatly. Be kind to your peers no matter how stressed you get because they are probably struggling as well. Classmates who help each other pass together, it’s important to have each other’s backs.
Along with you in school social life and academics what you do in addition to school is also important. Although it may not seem like it, life goes on after graduation and you should set yourself up for success. During this year getting a job is an excellent idea. Having a job looks good on college resumes and helps you save up for the future. Starting a savings account and beginning to invest are also good moves, start saving as early as possible. In your free time, find and develop a hobby. IB can be stressful and having something you enjoy doing can help alleviate that stress, additionally; take your hobby as far as you can if you can turn it into a club, business, or just get really good at it you can put it on your college resume. Joining clubs can also be a fun experience, if you haven’t already checked out a few. If you wish there was a club at school on one of your interests start one. Write a proposal and a plan for the club, find a sponsor, and ask some of our school staff for more information. In my sophom*ore year multiple of my classmates started clubs, it’s a lot of work but a valuable experience. Most importantly make sure to always spend time after school doing what you enjoy, your high school years should be fun.
Whoever ends up reading this, I hope my advice is helpful and I hope you succeed in this program. Good luck!
Lindiwe Collins
Hello! If you’re an incoming 9th grader IB student reading this, listen up. There’s a pretty good chance that many of you are coming in with very high goals and expectations. If you want any decent chance at achieving these goals, however, you’ll need to work for them — this essay will have some useful tips to help you to accomplish just that.
Firstly and arguably most importantly, the NUMBER ONE pro-tip for being a successful student is (drumroll please)… DO YOUR WORK EARLY!! What were you expecting? I’m serious. 99.99% of all bad grades (tests, projects, homework, you name it) are because you waited too long and had to rush, or worse, didn’t do it at all. Doing it early is guaranteed to bring you better results. Get into the habit of working on an assignment the day you get it, and not putting things off.
Second pro-tip that I probably should’ve been following for the past two years: sleep. Just do it. Will there be the occasional all-nighters to finish big projects that are due the next day? Sure. Should this be a weekly occurrence? Heck no. Sleep, you’ll be glad you did when you can laugh as you hear your classmates and/or teachers complaining about only getting 3 hours for the third day in a row. School is just so much more bearable when you’re running on 9 hours. Also, it’s a lot healthier.
Third- this is important- stay in contact with your friends. Do you know how many assignments I would’ve missed / forgotten if it weren’t for my friends reminding me? Probably hundreds. My GPA would be at least 1 point lower. That’s not an exaggeration. Staying in touch about assignments, due dates, and the like will help you immensely.
Thanks for reading, and now that you’re armed with this million-dollar knowledge, you’ll be able to get that 4.5+ GPA you’ve always wanted! And maybe even a nice college too, who knows. I certainly don’t. Good luck, have fun, and GO TO SLEEP. Okay, bye! Have nice year!
Lucas Auto
Dear Sophom*ores,
I want to start off by saying congratulations on finishing your first year at IB. I know that it may not seem much right now but you’re already a year closer to graduating. Even though the “real” IB hasn’t started yet, sophom*ore year is significantly harder that freshman year. Not to scare you but the classes and teachers in 10th grade give much more work than freshman year. I know that almost everyone is going to tell you not to procrastinate but to be honest you’ll be fine. You need to be smart about procrastination, for example, its ok if you put something off till the weekend before its due. On the other hand, you shouldn’t put something off till the day its due. Based on my own experience (even though I still procrastinate) you should get shorter assignments done with before you do the other longer assignment. For me doing the shorter assignments and getting them out of the way motivated me to do the longer assignments. The hardest part of schoolwork is getting started, I recommend just getting up and starting, once you have started it’s a lot easier to finish the assignment.
For tests you really need to study. In my freshman year I got by not studying and just looking over notes for 5 minutes but in sophom*ore year the tests get significantly harder. For tests in classes like pre IB chem, pre-calculus, world history, and even English you probably need to study. Although one bad grade on a test won’t kill your grade, continuously getting bad grades will. For precalc tests you can bring up your grades by taking the grade recovery quizzes but on tests for chem there is no hope, you either get a good grade or you don’t. For chem tests you can’t retake them, and she rarely curves them (Loweke only curves the semester exams) so it’s important to do good the first time. To maintain good grades, I think that you also need to make sure to turn your work in. Not turning your work in can actually really drop your grades (I’m speaking form experience) so you need to turn them in on time. Some teachers are really lenient with late work like Guice but some of them have really strict policies like Vega (Spanish teacher). As long as you turn your work in, even if its late sometimes, you should be fine.
Regardless of the work load you should still remember to have fun. I know a lot of people say “in IB all you do is study” but that’s not true. There are so many opportunities to have fun with your friends such as clubs and just hanging out in general. You should hang out with your friends outside of school as well as in school because it’s like a break from the studies. You shouldn’t be the kid who only cares about school, it’s really annoying. Also, it’s IB so there’s going to be competition. Regardless, you should worry about your own grades and not pay attention to other people’s grades. Don’t fall into the GPA game, it doesn’t matter if you take more AP classes than your friend. Overall sophom*ore year isn’t too bad but it’s still a bit harder than freshman year.
Good luck!
Stuti Pandya
So…
You’ve done it.
You’ve passed freshman year.
How does it feel?
Good? Sad? Bittersweet?
Well, no matter how you answered that last question…
…there are some important things to know.
For starters, despite most of my peers (myself included) will sarcastically claim things like “The P in Jacket Pride stands for procrastination” or other silly jokes like that, it is a bad idea to wait till the last minute to finish work. And I’m not trying to be cliche or whatever, but trust me when I say that I’m the biggest procrastinator I know. So, what I’m about to say comes from experience:
DO. NOT. FALL. TOO. FAR. BEHIND.
Now, in my experience, despite how much stuff I put off, I work fast enough so that I don’t have to pull all-nighters. However, most people can’t write a whole entire B+ research paper in about 5 or less hours, so my advice is to know your capabilities, and act accordingly. Basically, plan your schedule so that you can complete everything when you have time, and try to use free time in class to finish homework. Let’s say you have a paper assigned weeks ago due at the end of the week in 4 days, a few AP world history chapters due also at the end of the week, and a pre- calculus IB review worksheet due in 2 weeks. You should probably do something like squeeze in reading the history chapters during short breaks in assignments, and once that is done, use the
rest of those short breaks to start chipping away at the pre-calc worksheet. If you get a longer break, maybe try to work on the essay a little.
All of that to say, start trying to develop time management skills. These skills will be crucial not only in sophom*ore year in order to make sure you have some semblance of free time, but also for being productive while still balancing mental health for the rest of your life. For now, however, worry about making the most of your time in class, so you can have fun at home and not have to worry as much about homework.
Cameron Messerschmidt
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is thinking you do not have to study or prepare for tests. Even if you believe you know everything and remember everything you need, there is most likely something that you will be questioned on that you will not remember. So, brush up and take some time to make sure you are prepared, especially if you are worried about keeping high A’s. It is also important to find a studying method that actually helps you. You will also get semester exams for chemistry and pre-calc, so you especially want to study so you don’t fail those.
Procrastinating is your worst enemy, and I know you’ve heard this a thousand times before, but it can mess you up big time. It may have been okay to procrastinate on assignments freshman year but it gets more and more difficult to procrastinate and not have it mess you up. If you absolutely have to procrastinate, procrastinate responsibly by procrastinating on one assignment by doing something else productive. This way you are still getting stuff done, but you’re successfully procrastinating that assignment you are dreading. Planning when you are going to do your assignments helps prevent procrastination. Another method is as soon as you get home before you fully relax and get settled in bed, sit down at a desk or a chair and get some work done.
Some class specific advice will start with chemistry. Mrs. Loweke will teach you everything you need to know and if you need help on homework or something, just ask she will help you. Also, she will tell you this at the beginning of the year, but extra reinforcement can’t hurt, when you do any labs make sure to wear close-toed shoes or else she will not let you do the lab and you will get a zero. Now English, the most important thing for English is to take notes on anything grammar related. Mr. Guice is really chill and lets you choose to take notes or not but you will want to take notes on at least the grammar. At the end of the year, you will be tested on it and it will suck if you did not take notes. Ms. Frisbie will thoroughly teach you everything you need to know, but on her tests, there will be a sort of puzzle solving with what method you will have to use and when. It gets especially difficult to discern on the semester exams, so I suggest putting some focus onto when it is best to use a certain formula or method. World History will suck if you do not take the homework’s seriously. You will get a lot of your information from doing the homework. Read the entirety of each chapter, take good notes, and constantly study them throughout the year for the final exam. You will need a good understanding of each unit for the final exam. I did not have German, but I did have Spanish. Profe Vega does do good to balance between speaking in English and Spanish so do not worry about her speaking in only Spanish. She does have a grade for participation, so I highly highly suggest raising your hand in class and answering questions, even if you are wrong. You will get points whether your answer is right or wrong. Also, don’t be scared to answer question because you are embarrassed of getting it wrong, even native Spanish speakers answer wrong so don’t worry.
Waylyn Golden
Dear future sophom*ores,
You officially completed your first year of IB, but it’s just the beginning of a long journey. From experience, I know that the first year has been difficult, but trust me, sophom*ore year is much more different. Personally, I believe sophom*ore year is harder because of the extra APs and new classes, but you’ll get used to it. There are midterms and final exams, and you’ll need to find techniques that work for you.
From my experiences from different classes, I have learned some things in each one to give advice on. For me, Spanish has been one of my hardest classes because of the tests, but Vega gives a lot of extra credit to bump up the grade at the end of the quarter. Just remember to submit the homework every day because the late work gets points taken off. Loweke is a great teacher for Chemistry, and the tests are not that bad. I would recommend just going over past worksheets and the notes a few days before. One of the classes that have the biggest workloads is English, but Guice gives a lot of time for his assignments. One thing I would say is don’t read your book the day before it’s due, or you’ll regret it. AP Stats was something I struggled with, but just remember to pay attention in class and do practice problems. Mr. Henriquez was also a great teacher for AP World, he lets you retake all assignments and tests. And of course, Ms. Frisbie’s class. Do not slack off in this class, always pay attention because she as 3 cards with each name, so she can randomly call on you. She also has 2 late passes which you can turn in for extra credit and her review packets help a bunch on the tests.
One of the best pieces of advice I would give is do not take extra classes like APs just to compete with your friends or be valedictorian. I know for a fact you don’t want to take those extra tests. Also, GPA doesn’t determine your entire life. I know you guys probably are competing for the highest GPA, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get a 4.0 or get a B. Also, do not procrastinate, even though I still make that mistake. Enjoy your 4 years of high school, well now 3, and don’t spend all your time on school. Go hang out with your friends and play your favorite sports, but still find time to manage your schoolwork. Don’t take these years for granted as it can be some of your best.
Good Luck!!
Richa Patel
My experience in IB hasn’t been entirelybad. I found ways to learn from my mistakes from previous years, like doing homework the day it was assigned, though I mostly didn’t.Procrastination has been a big problem for me,anditwill be a problem for all IB students.Once you’ve done so much work, you start getting tired from the workload,so you start being less responsible and more lazy.There’s no wayto completely stop procrastinating, but there are ways to lessen it, such as setting small goals for assignments instead of trying toget it doneall in one sitting. Anotherimportanttip would be to start assignments early, ifyou start homework in the afternoon and getstuckyou have the chance to email your teacher or get help from a friend, youcan also take your time on the assignment to make it good. Even though it maybe tempting, I suggest not taking naps because sometimes you’re too tired and snooze your alarm, and now you have less time to complete your assignments and are half-asleep. Try to rest as much as you can during the weekend because I can assure you, there will be days during the weekwhere you don’t sleep much.
As the year progressed, I found myself getting lazier and not studying as hard for tests, which caused my grades to go down. To avoid that, you should find friendsthat youcan study with or discuss homework answers with. Having a study group can keep you motivated and accountable, ensuringthat youstay on track with your assignments and test preparations. For Pre-Calculus, Ms. Frisbie provides test reviews andalsouploads all her lessons on Schoology, so I think it’s best to take advantage of that. Utilizing these resources and collaborating withyourclassmates can help you maintain good study habits and improve your understanding of the material.
IB can behardtoget adjustedto because of how rigorous it is, so you must have friends who can help you. I’m not very close with my classmates, but I joined a group chat to get information or help with assignments. This group chat has been a lifesaver, providing quick answers and support whenever I’m stuck. Even though I don’t hang out with them outside of school, having this connection has made a significant difference in managing my workload and staying on top of deadlines. Joining a community, whether online or in person, is essential for navigatingthroughIB.
Gabriela Hernandez Vega
Hey y’all! I know you’re probably scared out of your mind. Don’t be. It is going to be hard, but as long as you stay focused on the long-term goal and manage your time wisely, you will get through it. Your Pre-calculus teacher is Ms. Frisbie. She is going to be the best math teacher you have. She has detailed notes that are always available. She makes sure that you always have the resources you need, will answer any question you have, and help you without judgment. She always prepares you for things that you will thank her later for. You are in good hands.
For Chemistry, Mrs. Loweke probably just gave you your summer homework and you are probably planning on doing it later. The homework is memorization, do it now. It doesn’t matter if school isn’t over yet, start now. Yes, there is homework every day from most of your classes, so be prepared for that, but you will get used to it, it’s IB.
Some advice for Ms. Frisbie’s class, she has worksheets, don’t procrastinate or you will cry real tears. You have plenty of time to do the worksheets so if they don’t get done, it’s your fault. Also, in her class you will be called on during class to answer questions about the notes, so pay attention. For Mr. Guice’s class, brush up on your grammar or you will be called out. He loves his grammar and if you mess up even when you are talking, he will still call you out. He even points out the administrator’s grammar. If he read this essay, there would probably be 100 marks. Not kidding.
As you have probably heard, time management is the only way you are going to survive, and they are right. Praying for you! Have Fun!
Olivia Magee
Dear Incoming Sophom*ores,
You are done with your first year of high school and are now starting your second! You have officially transitioned into your life at the IB program, and from here on out it is going to get real. As scary as it sounds, it is reality. Yes, it is going to be hard and challenging, I am admitting it based off of all the horror stories you may have heard about this program. However, it is extremely beneficial for you as it will give you many opportunities to learn important skills, such as perseverance, motivation, discipline, and time-management. The IB program will also teach you about yourself on how hard you work and how you push yourself. I highly recommend for you to follow all of my tips that I will be giving you on surviving sophom*ore year at IB, in order to be prepared for the actual diploma program in your junior and senior year.
First and foremost, have a strong and solid group of friends through the year. They will support and encourage you to continue working hard and studying, as they are also going through the same difficulties. It is also fun to hang with your friends after school, on the weekends, and during volunteering. The achievements of your friends can motivate you to do your best in everything, don’t turn it into a competition though as it will get toxic and ruin friendships. Have people to talk to in every class and get to know everyone as you will continue the rest of your high school journey with them. Getting your community service hours is also highly important, as it will look good on your college applications and overall build your character. Participating in clubs and extra-curricular activities after school is also a great opportunity to build friendships and leadership opportunities for your college apps. It is a fun way to gain community service hours or participate in hobbies you enjoy with your friends. Participating in sports can also help to build relationships and a balanced student experience in your high school year. Take this year to explore more clubs and extra-curriculars than you did in freshman year. I participated in HOSA and FBLA which are competitive event clubs in the medical and business fields. I also participated in clubs such as Amnesty International, Key Club, Interact Club, and NHS. I also ran for leadership opportunities such as Class Officer Secretary and treasurer of a club. Build those opportunities for yourself and explore your different interests. Sophom*ore year will also teach you those skills that help you studying and managing your time effectively. I highly recommend making flash cards on Quizlet on content you learn the same day to retain information and practicing them for upcoming quizzes and tests. Taking practice tests will also help you practice the content and how well you know the information, giving you insight on what you need to practice more and what topics you have mastered. Continue using that planner that Mrs. DeVore was really strict about. Trust me. It really helps in managing what homework you have and about upcoming tests and projects. It will also be effective in managing your time with school and personal life. Also keep a balanced life. That means dedicating yourself to other activities and hobbies outside of school. Don’t be the kid that only cares about schoolwork and grades. Grades and GPA do matter, but it shouldn’t be affecting your stress levels and pressure. Self-care is also highly important, that means skincare, watching your favorite shows and movies, going out with friends, and shopping. Keeping a balanced lifestyle is key in staying sane in this program.
Now with the most important part of this essay, academic advice. Sophom*ore year is highlighted with the holy trinity: English, AP World History, and Chemistry. These are the three classes that every sophom*ore in the IB program takes and are the most important. This year had a lot of long-term assignments such as projects and essays, as well as annotating books. Mr. Guice teaches English and he assigns a lot of work, I am not exaggerating. But, he is really lenient and funny, so it makes up for it. It is important to keep up with the work he assigns. There are frequent quizzes on literary terms (so study those), books he assigns to annotate every quarter, essays (especially the Mini EE), and grammar practices. It is really easy to fall behind and procrastinate in his class, so do those assignments as soon as you get them. Space out timing to work on long-term work to avoid doing it the day before its due, trust me. I read every single assigned book the day before it was due and I regret it. If you can pull it off, kudos to you, but just don’t procrastinate on everything. Mrs. Loweke teaches chemistry, a crucial and core class in sophom*ore year. She is a really good teacher since her notes are really detailed and helps you out on. However, tests are really frequent so it is important to study and keep up with the material. Complete her assignments and use outside sources such as Khan Academy to better deepen your understanding in chemistry. And finally for AP World History, a rigorous and content deep class. Mr. Henriquez teaches this class, and he is such a good and nice teacher. He assigns weekly reading and notes as homework, so it is important to know your content so you don’t fall behind. The tests are not that bad and he curves them all the time, so just do your best. Don’t procrastinate in work in any class and try to stay on top of things, as work can easily pile up. Good luck to you for this year and have fun!
From,
Hetvi Patel
Welcome incoming precalculus student to your sophom*ore year of the International Baccalaureate program at Bartow. Having gone through the trial by fire that is freshman year, you already have some idea of what it’s like to learn in IB. Unfortunately, sophom*ore year introduces even more challenges than freshman year; however; don’t fret! The same types of behaviors and habits that helped and hurt you during freshman year will continue, so hopefully by now you should be prepared enough to start developing those good habits even more and to start knocking the bad ones as much as possible. The main change for sophom*ore year is the workload paired with the new types of work you will engage in. If you made it through freshman year, you’ll get the hang of it with just a bit of guidance.
The primary problems that hurt the average IB sophom*ore tend to air on the side of self-management. If you put in the time and study for your respective needs and growth, you’ll be fine at getting the knowledge down. The biggest hinderance comes from your own ability to understand what you need, and especially when you need to do it. You can ask the teachers all you want and usually they’ll help you get the material, but only on the condition that you’re trying your best to make that as easy as possible with your self-organization. Especially with the new classes, it’s important to keep everything organized and your assignments as up to date as possible. Some classes make it relatively easy (in my opinion) to stay on time with work; for example, Ms. Frisbie has a schedule released every quarter for keeping track of work. Other classes, like German, can sometimes feel overwhelming with the onslaught of work that increased from the year past; additionally, Mr. Guice, who teaches English, gives, for the most part, control over when you work on different types of assignments. All of this is to say that one of the biggest struggles that you need to push past moving from freshman to sophom*ore is staying on top of things. Using some sort of planner (not necessarily like Mrs. Devore’s) or online assignment tracker would benefit you greatly. Hand in hand with organization issues, procrastination continues to be the worst enemy to us all. The best advice I can give is to look at past behavior during your freshman year. What types of stuff did you procrastinate on? Was it the easy work or the hard work? Was it in different classes? Try to mitigate the reasons you procrastinated as a freshman so that when you enter into sophom*ore year, you are not struggling with old and new issues combined. A possible way to avoid procrastinating is to communicate with friends and set goals between you and your peers. If you pick the right friends (which you should have a good idea of from the last year), then holding each other accountable will be much easier.
With all of this advice in mind, it’s important to recognize that even if you follow many of these tips (which I definitely struggled with myself, hence why I know these things) you may not always succeed. Sometimes life is too busy. I had band conflicts that often made my homework a living nightmare. Sometimes you prepare for a test better than ever before and then don’t get anywhere near what you want. All of that is okay. Not everything goes your way, and that includes school. You should enjoy your time in high school as well. Spending time with friends and doing fun extracurriculars, even if it doesn’t necessarily improve your grade, does make the purgative nature of IB a little bit less fiery and a bit more enjoyable. Finding that balance is vital not just to your time in high school, but is vital to enjoying your life in general. Take the tips I give and apply them the best you can, but ultimately don’t let them bog you down too much. If you try your best and be a good friend, you’ll have a great time in sophom*ore year.
Jacob Heist
Future sophom*ores,
I am currently writing this as I’m finishing off my second year at IB, and I would like to share a few things I have learned here. But also, congratulations on completing your first year at IB. Firstly, to make sure your time here at IB is enjoyable, make sure you allocate time for things that are fun and relaxing for you; otherwise, you will burn out later.
Competition will always be present in an environment like this, but DON’T get caught up in it. Specifically, GPA. Do not take extra APs only for the sake of increasing your GPA; instead, only take them if you are genuinely interested in them, which is rarely the case. Time management is also another major skill that is important to have because, without it, it’ll be hard to keep up with your heavy school load and extracurriculars. Additionally, devote some time to developing effective study methods. Experiment with various techniques and find what is best for you. Consistency matters; studying regularly is way better than last-minute cramming.
For those that will have Spanish, Mrs. Vega’s class will be a step up than Mr. Lenker’s class and her tests are going to be hard so it’s important to pay attention, and as the year goes on her tests will become easier. Also, this will be the first time you will have to start getting speaking points, in which you must get a certain number of points every few weeks, so make sure you earn some every day rather than trying to get them the day before they are due. Mrs. Loweke’s class will be fine if you are paying attention and taking good notes of everything and all the examples she includes. Mr. Guice is a great teacher, and you will love his class, except at one point this year he will just start assigning so much work, but don’t get overwhelmed because he likes to lay out the dates ahead of time so that way you can see what deadlines are coming. Also, do not get stressed out over the Mini-EE as it is just practice for the actual EE, and make sure you are doing the checkpoints for real throughout the year, so you don’t have to find your sources and do your notes right before writing your rough draft. Lastly, Mrs. Frisbie’s class. Mrs. Frisbie is so organized and has everything planned out, which makes the class a whole lot better. The study guides she makes for every chapter are extremely helpful, as they are like the test questions and the content you will cover for each test, so make sure to do them. If you ever have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask. If you think you didn’t do well on a test in her class, don’t hesitate and just sign up for the GRQ (Grade Recovery Quiz). The GRQs are very helpful, as they can help bring your grade up.
At the end of the day, make sure you are having fun and surround yourself with good people, as they will make school a lot more enjoyable. Having friends also makes it easier, since everyone is struggling with the same things, and you can help each other out. Make sure you do not sacrifice your sleep, as it will make you feel so tired the next day and make it impossible to stay awake and pay attention in class. And sacrificing your sleep every day isn’t good for you in the long run, so don’t do it. And most importantly, don’t drop out of IB; it probably isn’t worth it.
Ish*ta Patel
I was told very mixed things as a freshman going into my sophom*ore year; trying to figure out the midpoint between being told that sophom*ore year was terrible, awful, and horrible and having so much more work to hearing that it was the easiest year of IB and I should be excited was not the easiest. I think after almost finishing sophom*ore year I can say that your experience fully depends on your effort. As much as I’m sure every single IB student is tired of hearing it, staying on top of your work and not procrastinating makes your school life so much easier. I won’t claim to be innocent of procrastinating till the last second physically possible to complete every assignment and then regretting it — I think it is a rite of passage for all of us at this point — but when I did put in the effort to stay on top of my work I suddenly found myself with all of my work done and a lack of stress that continues to motivate me to work harder to finish my work when I feel swamped. I am very well acquainted with the feeling of wanting to rest when you have free time because you just got done with cramming in an assignment and working hard; however, not working when you have time to do so leaves you in the cycle of becoming behind and having to cram then feeling too tired to do your work at a moderate pace. Avoiding this in the first place is the best thing to do, but we all trip up with our work and get behind. Everyone has different methods of getting back on pace and it is really something everyone must figure out for themselves, but the key is that you must get back on pace with your work and you cannot accept being behind as your resting point. I can’t make you stay on pace but if anything, it is my biggest recommendation to work on throughout your sophom*ore year.
The most daunting part of my sophom*ore year was, expectedly, my new classes. Having finished them for the most part, the main three classes that caused me the most work and struggle were Pre-Calculus with Ms. Frisbie, Pre-IB Chemistry with Mrs. Loweke, and English with Mr. Guice. Though these were my hardest classes that is in no way a reflection on the teachers. All three make the content much easier to understand and provide outstanding support academically all year. My advice for Pre-Calculus would be to find practice problems online if you are struggling, learn your trig quiz numbers, and above all, fill out the homework form. There is no shame in filling out the homework form for Ms. Frisbie’s class and it can only help you. Not only does it help you, but someone else probably forgot to fill out the form and so you are helping out your friends too. In this same vein, ask questions. This applies to all classes and I cannot stress this enough that asking questions is crucial. It is not embarrassing, you do not look dumb, and no teacher is going to look down on you for the questions you ask. For Mrs. Loweke’s class, learn your polyatomics. Repeat the Quizlet throughout the year and keep up with them. As someone who had them down pat at the beginning of the year, I did not keep up with them and now constantly have to ask around for things like the charge of phosphate. Looking up practice problems for chemistry and learning your polyatomics is the best advice I can give. For English I will get into the mini-EE more later; however, reading your books on time and annotating well is a lifesaver. Even if you can skimp out on your annotations and get the good grade, they are so useful for the reflections and I wish I had annotated better on my earlier books. Also, Mr. Guice focuses heavily on grammar. If you do not understand it, watching videos on the different kinds of words and how to diagram sentences is an absolute must.
Though dedicating a whole paragraph to one essay doesn’t help my point that the mini-EE should not be a major part of your sophom*ore year, it really should not be. I know two thousand words seems massive now, but by the end you will probably be counting your words and editing and deleting to fit it all your information in. My best piece of advice regarding the essay is to not let the mini-EE linger in the background. I let my paper sit on the sidelines when I knew I had the time to get it done and if I had to pick one thing I could go back and redo in my sophom*ore year it would be to do my mini-EE as quickly as possible after each part was assigned. I would not recommend trying to write your entire paper in the beginning of the year as your writing skill will improve and you will most likely feel the need to rewrite it by the end of the year, so keep pace with the assignments Mr. Guice assigns. With that being said, do the assignments as soon as you can. Spend the time researching early and do it well, you will not have time to redo your research and your notes later. Start off the year with a question in an area you are interested in (I would avoid topics you already know a lot about as you risk giving information you may know but is not common knowledge that Mr. Guice will mark off for not being cited) and make the effort to make it good. The mini-EE can be an easy assignment as long as it is not crammed into the two days before each due date, so do your best to not fall behind. Overall looking back on this year, I would say not to worry but to know that sophom*ore year and the background assignments are teaching you to manage your time and build your discipline. It is your own choice to learn these lessons and make the year easy for yourself or to go from late night to late night in front of your computer.
Abby Jennings
Dear incumbent freshman,
Welcome to IB! IB presents a wonderful opportunity for you and your future, however, you may encounter some difficulties along your way, just as I have. Roadblocks will present themselves to you and although it may seem like they are impassible they are. One roadblock which I am sure you will already know quite well or come to know is procrastination. Procrastination is something you can get addicted to and it digs a very deep hole for you. Now even though you have already heard this many times it is still important to know not to procrastinate. This does not mean give up your entire life to IB. High school is a wonderful time where you are old enough to move about and hang out with your friends and not have to deal with the burdens of adulthood, so it is important to cherish the memories you will make here. In fact, I recommend getting into clubs and trying to obtain officer positions. Not only will you have lots of fun, but colleges also enjoy seeing them on your resume.
Getting back to procrastination, what if it does happen? Well, here are some tips I have learnt the hard way on how to deal with procrastination. One huge help is splitting your workload, let us say you procrastinate on your English work and now your behind by two weeks. Do not try to do it all at once as you will make mistakes and get frustrated easily. When I got behind on math work, this helped me a lot. Also, talk to your teachers. Despite some of them looking mean and scary, they really do want what is best with you and if you can effectively communicate to them what your problem is, they will be more than happy to help you or refer you to someone who can. IB is not easy, and this might be a huge jump for you in terms of effort compared to middle school. I know when I started, I thought I did not have to study as I never had to before but, I quickly learnt that may not always be the case and that it is ok to study, no one will judge you.
On the topic of studying, I recommend studying with friends (but you must study and not goof around) when it comes to smaller topics and units, you might be able to help your friend in a field they are struggling with and vice-versa. However, when it comes to studying for tests I say to study alone, some teachers may weigh tests such that they are incredibly impactful on your grades and the time, along with the peace and quiet, to yourself can prove to be invaluable. Some specific advice I have for incumbent German students is this, do the work (I am serious). If you do your VHL (on time or early) your grade will stay high (given you pass the VHL) and you only must study for tests and vocab quizzes. Most poor grades in German are the result of not turning in the VHL. Furthermore, for chemistry please learn your polyatomics. They never go away and are used throughout the year. Also, for English if you have questions about your mini-EE, make sure you ask Mr. Guice about it as he is more than willing to help you with it, even if you are falling a little behind. That about wraps up what I have to say and now I wish you the best of luck. Remember any questions you have can be answered by your teachers, never be afraid to ask!
Sincerely,
Aiden Crottie
Hello, new Pre-Calculus students!
Firstly, I want to congratulate you for surviving your first or second year of IB! Your hard work and determination have made it possible for you to reach this point! Now, you are entering a new grade level and continuing to persevere even in the face of the challenges that IB contains. As a sophom*ore, I have some advice that I can give, which can hopefully make your next year in IB and your journey through Pre-Calculus easier.
I’ll divide my advice by each class that I have taken in the past. Pre-Calculus: Frisbie is a great teacher, and she will help you a lot throughout your time in pre-calc and eventually AP Calc AB. Make sure to pay attention in class and write notes, your homework will almost always be on something that you learned in class that day. When it comes time to take a unit test, Frisbie will post test review questions. These questions are similar to the ones that you will see on the test. ALWAYS take the time to look over the review questions to help you prepare for the unit tests. Other than the unit tests, there’s also two semester exams, but a review will be posted for them, and Frisbie will have you do a practice semester exam. As long as you review all of the practice that you are given, I’m sure that you’ll do great in class!
AP Stats: Reber does a good job of teaching you in class and giving you notes that you can study. Follow up by reading the textbook and/or watching ap daily videos and you’ll do fine in the class. Make sure to study for the tests by doing a little bit extra, because Reber’s tests are ap-style questions and can be quite complex.
Pre-IB Chem: Loweke is an amazing teacher, as long as you take notes in her class and ask her questions you’ll do fine in chem. The homework will be based off the topics that you learned on the same day, and the tests are on a collection of topics. Tests are 200 points, so make sure you study since they make up most of your grade. (And there are no grade recoveries!).
German 2: Herr Porter teaches the class about the same way he teaches German 1. VHL (yes, more VHL), multiple choice question vocab quizzes, and a few door quizzes. In addition to all of that Porter will give in-class speaking grades. If he gives you a chance in class to speak, make sure you do so! Furthermore, in the last quarter, Porter will give you a children’s book to read and answer questions on- all of which will be done in German. He will also give LOTS of vocab quizzes on the vocab in the book, so make sure you continue to study the vocab.
AP World History: Henriquez’s only homework is to read the book and write one page of notes. Make sure you read the book, not just skim over it and write superficial notes. The book contains all the information needed to pass the Ap World History exam and Henriquez’s unit tests. Also, participate in the writing practice because there is a LOT of writing on the ap World History Exam.
Pre-IB English 2: Guice is a very chill teacher, and I hope that you will enjoy his class. Throughout the first semester you will have a mix of grammar tests and literary essays. Don’t stress about it either, make sure to listen to him explain how to do both and ask him many questions and you’ll be able to do good on both. Also, as I said before, Guice is very chill. At the same time DO NOT be tempted to turn in work late! He has a grade deduction policy which can hurt a lot if you try to turn work in late. However, if there is a reason (and a good reason at that) why you can’t turn the work in time, tell him about it at class and he’ll occasionally change the due dates.
AP Seminar (Romaine): Two words can describe the whole class- Self Study. If you don’t want to do work outside of class or learn most everything by yourself DO NOT take AP Seminar. You’ll have to write two academic papers and give two presentations (to the entire class) on the paper. This takes a LOT of time, and even with the time given in class you’ll have to spend your own time working as well. On top of that, you’ll have to prepare for the end of course exam BY YOURSELF. There’s not enough time to practice the entire end of course exam in class, so it’s an obligation you have to take on yourself. AP Seminar does teach you decent time management and research skills, but it is a major responsibility, so only take it if you are willing to accept spending time on the class.
FLVS AP Courses: Many of you have probably taken a FLVS course or heard about friends taking it. I’ll pretty much repeat what I said before about AP Seminar. FLVS courses are entirely self-study courses. DO NOT take them on if you don’t have the time for them or the determination to work on them on your own time. If by chance, you do end up taking an FLVS course and you don’t do the number of assignments due in that particular week your FLVS instructor CAN AND WILL KICK YOU OUT. If you are willing to work on your own time FLVS courses are another way to get collage credit, but you have to be careful since you are learning everything yourself without the help of a teacher (flvs instructors generally don’t give you much help).
I hope my advice about classes can help you have a great next year!
Sincerely,
Michelle Moore
Hello fellow student,
After having experienced IB for 2 years, I believe I have come away with some insight that may be of interest and value to you.
As I’m sure you’re aware, grades are a crucial component of life and success at IB, and not only in the way you might expect. Yes, there exists a culture of pressure and excellence between the school and faculty for students to maintain high GPAs, but what you might not anticipate is the pressure to achieve high things from other people. You may find yourself feeling pressured by peers and yourself to maintain a certain standard of academic achievement. Many students do not or are not able to prioritize socialization outside of school, so you will more than likely find academics a regular topic of conversation. Some of your peers will have better grades than you, some worse, and if that pushes you to improve your academic performance, all the better. Despite the pivotal role grades play in IB culture and success, IB is a group effort. Don’t let yourself be sucked into the void that is jealousy and studying. Grades are important, but honestly a B is not failing no matter what the other kids say. To have a good school/life balance is the key. You should not be spending every day cooped up in your room studying or doing homework. And please don’t become a vampire that many people do, a proper sleep schedule will honestly help your grades. Getting home from school and napping until 7, finishing homework at 2, and leaving at 5 is not how you should live. Making sure you know your limits on how long the assignment will take for you specifically will help. Overall, yes grades are important, but also live a little.
Which leads me to my next point. Extracurriculars. I love extracurriculars and a lot of other students do too as I’m assuming you probably will too. It doesn’t matter what you do, a sport or a club or both. I’ve really enjoyed participating in afterschool activities that involve my friends, but also doing something other than schoolwork. They are a great way to get your mind off school and it’s so much fun to hang out with your friends and do things you would’ve never thought of. Personally, I’m a big fan of sports, and it’s an amazing way to exercise, push yourself somewhere other than school, and definitely meet new people. You might not realize it now, but most of the kids in your class right now are going to be your constants for the next four years. It already starts off as a small pool, but the numbers decrease every year, so sports and clubs are great ways to meet kids from other grades, Bartow or Summerlin, or even other schools. I would highly recommend doing some extracurriculars, but don’t overload yourself. It’s easy to get caught up in the great college apps you’ll be making with all the clubs you’re doing, but in IB remember that you are here to learn and graduate. I have firsthand experience of the hole that you fall deeper and deeper into during a sport. My main sports long ending that required me missing multiple days of school coincided with the ending of the 3rd quarter and even though I thought I would recover; I didn’t do as well as I hoped, and I realized that I’m not always going to be able to make up my grades later. So yes, I think everyday practice and monthly meetings are absolutely worth it, but again, know your limits.
And finally, your friends. As I said earlier, the people in your classes today are going to be in your classes for four years straight. So, make some friends because IB is not something you can do alone. IB really is a group effort from helping learn the topics at breakfast, study sessions, or checking assignments at 2am. You need your friends. They are your support system who know exactly what you’re going through. If you feel like you haven’t found your group, you will, because eventually everybody comes together, and you won’t need to be in a group because you’ll be in one group. Don’t be rude and don’t brag. There are not a lot of kids in IB, and you’ll be seeing them every weekday for a lot longer than you think so make friends, not enemies. Friends are amazing so meet some great people and have fun.
I know you’ll do great. I’m so proud of you already and good luck,
Maria Peoples
IB as a sophom*ore is not what I expected, and it won’t be what you expect either. IB can be stressful, but with moderation and balance (aka the balanced learner profile), you can get through it. Procrastination is bound to lurk around, and sometimes can be overwhelming. If you learn and discipline yourself, by doing work early or studying for a test, IB becomes a whole lot easier. Now listen, I’m not saying IB is all rainbows and butterflies, but it can be fun when you finish your work and apply yourself. I still struggle with working hard every single day as sometimes days can be draining. Resetting and taking time to relax is essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle in IB. Two main steps in having a successful and fulfilling year (and future years) in IB are relationships and dedication.
Relationships are key to having a fun time in IB. IB can be overwhelming in general, but without people by your side, it can be immensely stressing. A good friend group and support system is very important because of the safety and security you feel and know you have. That reliability is essential since sometimes, homework might be confusing, or a topic might be complex. To have a friend to ask a question to help you is always relieving. This is why it is vital to not involve yourself in unnecessary drama and gossip, it really isn’t worth your time and effort. When drama and gossip overcome your social life, schoolwork becomes a second priority along with your close friends. Keeping yourself to a higher standard, meaning watching your words and what you do, is crucial to having a good time in IB without stress and worry. Now, friends can help but can also destroy. Be careful to know your limits regarding time management and workload versus the time you hang out with your friends. Building relationships is valuable, but so is your schoolwork. There will be times that you might need to stay up late doing work depending on the afterschool activities you do or hangouts you have (which has happened to me many times), however, getting back up is what predicts your success.
Dedication is another essential part of IB and your high school experience. Dedication means finishing your work on time, being respectful to your teachers, and staying consistent with your management of your assignments. Pre-calculus is one of those classes that it’s easier to do these, as each assignment is attainable to finish on time (which is not the case for other certain classes). There are also questions you can submit for homework problems that are confusing and you are not certain on, which helps a lot. Late passes are as well attainable, that you should use if you need to (which I have); if not, you can turn them in for extra credit (and that’s always good). There are a ton of classes like this with engaging teachers and intriguing topics such as Chemistry and English. But it can be overwhelming if you don’t stay consistent because the work quickly piles up, and you don’t want to be stuck in that mess. Remember, your mental health always comes first, so if you need more time for an assignment or are having trouble finishing a challenging worksheet, email that teacher. They’re usually nice about it…possibly. Either way, be honest, stay committed, and you’ll be just fine in IB. One thing I wish I did more was study. Studying is such an essential part of thriving in IB, and if you do it constantly, tests will be a breeze. Especially if you study those literary terms for English, those quizzes come up randomly with no warning (and it’s scary, mainly because of poor studying skills).
In the end, IB can be enjoyable if you put in the work. When you just drag your feet in IB, it can and will become frightening and stressful. IB is rigorous, but with devotion, you can manage and have joyous time. I’m sorry if I was vague, but experiences must be experienced by each person by themself because I’m not some omniscient narrator (you’ll learn that in English, I promise) who knows everything about how to be the best in order to succeed in IB, I’m just a random sophom*ore writing a advice essay in which I don’t think I’m ready to write yet. I mean, overall, IB is an enigma.
Yoeli Gonzalez
Dear, future pre-calculus students
Congratulations on finishing your first year of IB! As you may be aware, this is a difficult program, and I applaud your perseverance. As my sophom*ore year in the IB program ends, I’ve been reflecting on many of my challenges and triumphs this year. I have realized that my grades and achievements are not indicative of my intelligence or academic success, and that making mistakes is completely okay. Despite my failings, I obtained a better knowledge of the courses I took in sophom*ore year than I ever had in freshman year, when I was continuously striving for perfection in each task I completed. Realistically, I am telling you that with extracurricular activities, AP classes, and other activities you may pursue, you must find a balance between your academic and personal lives. In my experience, once I stopped devoting most of my time to studying or ensuring that the assignments were 100% correct, I was able to spend more time doing things I enjoyed and felt less anxious. In essence, the changes I made between my freshman and sophom*ore years helped me achieve a more balanced life.
With balance comes time management, which is critical for success in this program. As an IB student, you must understand how to discern between fixed and variable tasks. In other words, to successfully manage your time between extracurricular activities and assignments, you must divide your work into those with close vs. distant due dates and plan out days to devote time to work with longer deadlines. Personally, since I’ve been running track and cross country for two years now, I made a habit of completing work with shorter deadlines after practice while allowing some time over the weekend to accomplish work with later dates, primarily English assignments. In addition to time management, you must eliminate procrastination from your life. In sophom*ore year, especially with the addition of C days, you don’t have the luxury of skipping assignments because they will build up. From experience, at the beginning of sophom*ore year, my habit of procrastinating homework to relax caused me to stress out, so I advise beginning assignments as soon as you receive them and start studying two to three days before tests.
In addition to time management, I advise that you change your perspective and be more open to learning. Ask questions, attempt to understand the work you accomplish, and participate in class activities to make learning more fun. The fact that you are in this program means you are privileged, and you should make the most of the education you are receiving. In this program, we have teachers that are committed to assisting us in learning more and expanding our knowledge; but the more we, as students, lose interest or effort, the more our teachers will too, making this program more unbearable. If you are obsessed with your academics, relax, don’t try to get good grades; instead, try to learn more in your classes, and good grades will follow. Finally, make time for activities you enjoy, whether it be drawing, reading, or sleeping. Life moves on after school, so try not to revolve your life around your academics or the classes you take, or you may come to regret it later.
I hope you enjoy your sophom*ore year of IB and end up staying in the program.
Best,
Faith Okereafor
Dear Future Sophom*ores,
To the incoming sophom*ores who feel they breezed through freshman year, the following is for you: sophom*ore year is a wake-up call for those who tend to procrastinate. It is so painfully easy to put off work for the last minute, even writing the advice essay you are reading now, was not started until the night the assignment was due. It made sophom*ore year so much harder. Writing the mini-EE and doing projects for the AP exams should be spread out instead of being pushed to the last week they are due.
During sophom*ore year, remember that the IB curriculum is made in a way that will make you an all-rounder in your subjects. If a subject is challenging for you in particular, it means that you may lack in that area of knowledge. It’s important to focus on things you can’t do well; for example, I struggle in AP Seminar and English but excel in classes like Pre-calculus and Chemistry.
The last point I want to make is by far the most important; it is necessary to surround yourself with your peers. The ones that have the same teachers as you and can relate to you the most are your fellow sophom*ores. In the future, it is inevitable to be at a low point while taking your classes, so you need people to help lift you up when you are down. The ones that can give you the best advice for school are the people who have taken the course or is taking the course alongside you. I would not have made it this far into IB without the friends I made along the way. Now I would like to sincerely state: good luck!
Indrani Nakka
Dear incoming freshmen,
Congratulations on completing a year in ib. Something you should know about tenth grade is it will be harder than 9th grade. The workload will increase as well as the complexity. However, the challenges can be minimized by incorporating effective study habits. Try to start on long essays and projects early. Don’t procrastinate because the work will pile up and cause stress. Another helpful tip is working on homework in other classes during free time. I personally started utilizing free time after a test or quiz to start working on homework from other classes. You will be surprised about how much work you can get done at school. Studying the night before a test is good but studying a few minutes daily can prepare you better.
Some classes you will take are chemistry, AP world history, pre-calc, and English. In chemistry I would highly recommend memorizing the polyatomics early on because they are used in most of the further units. The tests are 200 points, and they will make up most of your grade. Additionally, information from the previous lessons is built on and used in the next units so make sure you don’t fall behind. AP world history is a fun class with activities. Before every test, we played jeopardy to prepare. Reading the amsco book is the only homework you receive. It’s important to read the book so you can enjoy the activities. The first few units of pre-calc are like algebra 2. There will be a test review which will help prepare and study for the tests. There will be many projects, essays, and assignments assigned in English. They are given usually a month before they are due, so you have enough time to work on them. In tenth grade you will write a mini- EE. It will probably be your first research paper.
Even though you will be busy with schoolwork, find time for things you enjoy. You get to pick two electives of your choice so pick what you enjoy. Join some of the clubs they have at school. Participating in activities and extracurricular activities can be a nice way to enjoy high school. They can reduce stress from school and are a nice way to socialize outside of school. Lastly, don’t get discouraged if school gets hard. Don’t let one bad grade or test score ruin your day. If you worked hard and learned something, then be proud of yourself.
Shreya Gupta
Dear IB students,
Congratulations on making it this far! When reflecting on the past two years, I have realized how much IB has helped me grow as a person. Although you may be scared for the upcoming years, you will be fine. The IB program starts to get harder the further you go. Your freshman year will be the easiest out of all four years; however, when you have the ambition and motivation, you will succeed and thrive here at IB.
I won’t sugarcoat the truth by saying that this year was easy. I’m a current sophom*ore, and I have to say that this year was difficult in terms of workload compared to last year. One thing that made this year challenging for me was the number of times I had procrastinated on an assignment due to a lack of motivation. Most of the time, I end up doing the assignment right before the deadline. I am confident that you will hear from everyone about the importance of not procrastinating, but as an IB student, I feel like that is inevitable. At some point, you will procrastinate. There will be many days when you are not motivated to continue doing your assignments. In times like this, the best thing to do is to remind yourself of your future goals and plans. Remind yourself why you are pushing yourself harder and why you are here when you could have simply not chosen to enroll in the IB program.
The workload at IB is much more than what you might be used to. Each year gets harder. When dealing with the sudden increase in the workload, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed out, but eventually you will be able to manage it and have an outside life. Stress is also inevitable, not just in school but in your daily life as well. A stereotypical rumour about IB students is that all they do is schoolwork day and night every day. Many believe that we don’t have a life outside of school, but this is only a rumour. When handled correctly, you can make time for yourself. In my opinion, it’s important to have a life outside of school so you are not always stressed out about your upcoming assignments. You need to prioritize your mental health as well. Find a method that works for you and lets you get your work done on time, as well as allowing you a break every so often to clear your mind.
Although the advice in this letter won’t completely eliminate your stress, because as I previously mentioned, stress is inevitable, it will hopefully make your upcoming years in the IB program go a lot smoother and more efficiently.
Best of luck,
Sahasra Jasti
I know it may be scary, but DON’T WORRY! Pre-IB Calculus may seem hard at first, especially with such an intimidating name, but it’s an extremely easy class to pass; you just have to try! Ms. Frisbie has many resources that she hand-picked specifically for everyone in her class. Not only does she have additional help, but her in-class notes are extremely detailed and she goes in-depth for almost every topic.
Something big I would recommend, DON’T PROCRASTINATE! I always brushed off the warning about procrastination because freshman year was easy, but sophom*ore year bumps up the difficulty by a lot, and procrastinating makes it extremely stressful. Also, make sure that you spend at least some time on your homework every day, even if it seems far away. Deadlines come quickly, and sometimes they will creep up on you before you know it. The year might start slow, but it’ll fly by before you know it! One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned this year is that no matter what, pay attention to deadlines and do assignments when they are assigned, not when they are due.
Another big thing I learned is that some teachers will assign tons of assignments, which will become very stressful. For me, I had to deal with midterms and piling homework and classwork assignments that led to me burning out over winter break. Make sure to take some time to yourself and have fun when you are free!
Make sure to study! Your teachers last year might have talked about studying but this year it is CRUCIAL to passing all your exams and tests throughout the year. Some classes might even require that you teach yourself some of the material to compete the assignments provided as homework. So, I’ll say it again, MAKE SURE TO STUDY!
Sleep and eat well, take care!
Sincerely,
David Cunningham
Dear students,
A lot of you may think this program is scary, but it’s not as hard as people make it out to be. The work isn’t necessarily difficult, but there’s a lot of it and the work is tedious. Never procrastinate assignments, especially long assignments that may be due in a month. Do a little bit of work every day for those assignments because the deadlines arrive quickly. On A and B days, I recommend almost always finishing your homework the day it is assigned because the information is still fresh in your brain and you’re less likely to forget it exists. In pre-calculus try not to procrastinate the review worksheets and try to attempt every problem on the homework assignments (or write a question about what you’re struggling with).
A big problem many I.B. students have is not asking questions when they need help or don’t understand something. Asking questions IS NOT embarrassing, and it’s ok to not immediately understand a topic the second you’re taught it!! Even if a question seems embarrassing or stupid, ask it anyways because there’s usually someone else with that exact same question. In pre-calculus, it’s important to understand the methods and formulas you’re taught because on assignments, you’re awarded accuracy marks as well as method marks. Follow through points are given if you used the right method, but the numbers and final answer weren’t correct.
The main thing I’ve learned from I.B. is to study. Studying may seem unnecessary in 9th grade, but it’s basically required in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. You MUST study the polyatomics assigned as summer homework for chemistry because you’ll use those for the rest of the year and in AP chemistry. I didn’t study them much at all, so I struggled a lot in chemistry and that was reflected in my grades. Study for all of your tests because there will be pieces of information that may have only been covered once thrown into questions that you’re expected to know. In English class with Mr. Guice, study your literary terms because he’ll give you quizzes on them usually without warning. Be respectful to yourself and others and remember you’re more than a test score.
Wishing you the best of luck in I.B.,
Zoe Espie
Hello incoming freshman 🙂
I’m glad that you were able to get into IB, so congrats! Some advice I can give you based on my experience in IB would be to experiment with your schedules, and find what works best as freshman year is the easiest year of academics, but it tends to be hardest for a large portion of people due to the shock of coming from middle school where you received a couple of homework assignments a month. This is why it’s important to establish a routine, to maintain the level of work you will be receiving, and most importantly on time.
Now one of the most important mindsets to have is the “let me just get it over with” ideology rather than the “I’ll do it later” one as the “get it over with” mindset can help make life easier as you’re not going to get over piled with work in the end due to accumulation. Maintaining due dates and being on top of things is one of the best things anyone can do to help themselves, whether it’s long-term or short-term.
Overall, maintain your work and stay on top of everything in order to have a good IB experience. And, of course, don’t just focus on academics but also sports as if your goal is to get into college, good grades are not the only thing they look at, but also you’re extracurriculars, so I suggest starting a sport early on (freshman year) so that you can improve over 4 years. I hope you have a wonderful experience at IB, I wish you the best!
Sincerely,
Lana Al-Aloosi
Hi incoming sophom*ores,
You’ve finally made it to sophom*ore year! Although it may seem like IB will never end, sophom*ore year will go by so quick. I know saying this will sound ironic because everyone will say the year went quick at the end of it, but genuinely, I blinked and then it was 3rd quarter, then 4th, and now we’re here. While working throughout the year, remember to always find joy in the little things, such as: hanging out with friends or big school activities. In my experience hanging out with my friends this year or simply just finding fun in the little things at school, go a long way. At the end of sophom*ore year when you’re taking all your tests, being able to look back on the past two years and reflect on what I did academically and during school brings me a lot of joy.
I know most people will have said that procrastinating is really bad. But I’ll say it again, it really is bad to procrastinate most things till the last minute. A little bit of procrastination is okay and to be honest, if you’re really smart about it you can get by the entire school year fine; however, procrastinating too much at the same time when things are due is extremely difficult. So, try to space out days when you can do things. In pre-calculus the IB worksheets are probably going to be the things that you will procrastinate the most. Most of us this year procrastinated to do it but make sure you try do it at least 2 days before, because sometimes these worksheets are really hard and trying to do it all, the day before the test will really make you feel burnt out.
In my experience and I’m almost positive I shared this with all my peers, even though I took one AP class last year, the shift between the amount of work and the level of work and effort that needs to be put it in is vast. But if you keep at it, after going through first quarter it’s smooth sailing until fourth quarter where we now must take all these tests and prepare for finals. But as the year starts and comes to an end make sure you don’t give up and slack on your work. Remember to take good notes in all of your classes. For me, taking good notes in chemistry and Spanish really helped me. However, I really wished that I took more notes in AP World History. I’m not sure if any of you will have Mr. Henriquez, but if you do, get a good notebook for his class when you take notes for homework or even when watching videos. This will be really helpful when you review for the exam. To be honest in pre-calculus all the notes will be online, so what I will recommend, which worked for me, is to pay attention in class and go to Schoology later and review the notes while you do the homework. Listening to Ms. Frisbie explain the problems really helped me develop a deeper understanding of how to work the problems in class, and it offered me the opportunity to actually ask meaningful questions. So good luck, I’ll see you all next year, and enjoy the ride.
Chandrani Nakka
Dear incoming sophom*ore IB Precalculus students,
You’ve made it past your freshman year. Congratulations! As you approach the IB Diploma Program, the difficulty will turn up a notch; the coursework will increase, and you may find that your motivation to finish your assignments on time completely diminishes. By now, you should have acquired the necessary skills needed to navigate these obstacles—even though I constantly struggle with procrastination and time-management. Nonetheless, I have provided you all with advice and tips to get you through your sophom*ore year of high school, which ranges from the curriculum to extracurricular activities.
IB Precalculus: I found this class to be a huge leap from Algebra II Honors; however, Ms. Frisbie is an exceptional teacher, and she is here to help you succeed in this course. I think what I found to be somewhat challenging at first is that Ms. Frisbie goes above and beyond just teaching formulas; instead, she ensures that you grasp the topics conceptually and she explains why certain mathematical phenomena work. For this class, my biggest piece of advice to you is to not only complete the math homework, but to fully understand how to do each question and arrive at the correct answer. Fortunately, if you are having trouble with a homework problem, Ms. Frisbie has a Microsoft homework request form that allows you to select the question(s) you are struggling with; she will then go over the highly requested problem(s) the following class. With this being said, be prepared to get randomly called on in class—in other words, pay attention at all times because you never know when you’ll be selected. My final piece of advice for IB Precalculus is to do majority, if not all, of the review questions for the unit tests. I found that my test scores really reflected how much of the study guide I had completed, regardless of how confident I felt in that certain topic area.
Pre-IB Chemistry: I’m sure you have heard the horrors of chemistry by now; don’t let these get to your head because I’ve discovered that chemistry was fairly easy this year—I’m not too sure this statement stands with AP Chemistry. Mrs. Loweke tries her best to make the material comprehendible, and I personally believe that the notes she makes you take are the most simplified and concise that they’ll get. In order to succeed in Pre-IB Chemistry, I think you need a solid foundation in 8th grade physical science. If you have not taken this course, don’t worry too much; the organic chemistry tutor is an excellent resource that you can watch throughout the year to get a deeper understanding of the chemistry material. A lot of the first semester concepts were review from middle school and many students don’t struggle with chemistry up until this point yet. As for semester two, I think this is where you have to thoroughly prepare for the tests if you want to get an A—particularly the Solutions test in Quarter 4, as this was the test I received a C on, despite having earned A’s on all the prior tests. The point that I’m going to emphasize the most is that you must complete all of the worksheets on your own. Besides that, memorize your polyatomics and charges!
Pre-IB English II: This course is not for procrastinators. Mr. Guice will assign books for you to read and annotate throughout the year, and I highly encourage you to not wait until the last minute to read them. I started my sophom*ore year having read the Scarlet Letter in three days and this habit only persisted throughout the year with the other assigned books, which made me fall behind tremendously. Additionally, Mr. Guice is one of the only teachers that will assign something due in about 2 months, which makes it seem as though you have all the time in the world to get started. Remember, there is a reason why he gives us so much time to work on the mini-EE; researching and writing the mini-EE is tedious, so make sure you space it out to avoid writing a bad last-minute paper. The last thing I will say for Pre-IB English II is that Mr. Guice is laid-back and often negotiates with the deadlines, so do what you will with that information (here’s a suggestion: if majority of the class is struggling to get the assignment done in time because of other conflicting assignments, bring this up to Guice in hopes of getting an extension).
AP Seminar: I don’t think this course is being offered to you all as it served as a replacement for AP Psychology, so you can disregard this section if you are not taking it; if you are by chance taking AP Seminar, pay close attention to the following advice. Allow yourself to have free time at home to work on the performance tasks during the second semester, because the in-class time you have to work on it will not suffice at all. To put into perspective on how much time you will need, you have two research papers—the IRR, which is 1200 words, and the IWA, which is 2000 words—and two presentations—the TMP, which is a team presentation lasting from 8 to 10 minutes, and the IMP, which is an individual presentation lasting from 6-8 minutes. You do not want to turn in rushed research papers because they will significantly impact your AP score. If you are weak in the areas of presentation and public speaking like me, you need to prepare and rehearse. I encourage you all to be ahead of the deadlines set by Romaine, because if you barely get through each of the deadlines like me, you will not have enough time to prepare for your presentations. In my humble opinion, if you find research, writing, presenting, and public-speaking uninteresting, I highly recommend finding another course that meets your interests like AP Statistics or AP Computer Science Principles. AP Seminar is not an “easy GPA booster,” contrary to popular belief, and although it’s not particularly difficult to earn an A in the class, this class is very time consuming especially in Quarter 3. My last piece of advice is to take full-length practice exams by looking at the past exam questions on the AP Seminar College Board website because you won’t get enough exposure to Part B in class.
AP Statistics: Although several people claim that AP Statistics is the easiest college level math course, as a person who has always performed strongly in mathematics, this class was very challenging. The first few units were a breeze; however, as the year progresses, you will learn about confidence intervals, sampling distributions, and inference and significance tests that require memorizing individual conditions and learning how to interpret your conclusion. It can become very overwhelming, so I suggest you take good notes that you can review throughout the year; do not forget these conditions—it could make a difference in earning points on the FRQ portion. Mr. Reber will usually assign progress checks on AP Classroom; I encourage you to do these on your own and if you end up getting any questions wrong, you can go back and see what topics you are struggling on. The best way to prepare for this exam in my opinion is by taking a mock exam about two weeks prior and focusing on your weak areas. I found that Khan Academy was a really good resource for learning how to interpret confidence intervals and hypothesis tests. If you are on a time crunch like I was, briefly review probability and other statistics topics taught in IB Precalculus and dedicate most of your time to experimental design and Units 5 and up.
AP World History: Mr. Henriquez is one of the most lenient teachers in IB—he allows you to retake tests for full credit and redo in-class assignments. With that being said, do not let this discourage you from studying for the AP exam. Throughout the year, I found that I could get A’s on his tests with minimal studying, so for the last few units, I stopped doing so. Do not make this same mistake. Sure, I still performed well on his tests, but I realized just how much studying I would have to do for the actual AP exam in such a short time frame. This was really stressful as I tried to relearn the curriculum in less than 3 days, which failed as I only made it to Unit 6. The only homework he gives out is the weekly reading notes. Make sure to actually read the assigned topics—it is not that much if you space it out—and take good, detailed notes so that you can review throughout the year.
Extracurriculars: I found this year to be hard to manage time-wise because of the various extracurricular activities I was engaged in such as Boys Volleyball, Science Olympiad, A-Team, Key Club, etc. If you play a sport and have games and daily practices like I did, you need to find some free time throughout your day to get your homework done while getting adequate sleep. To do this, I resorted to studying on the bus, doing homework in the cafeteria before school started, and completing my assignments immediately after team meals or while on the bus for an away-game. Also, sleep is important if you want to perform at your optimum, so make sure you are managing your time efficiently. As for competitive clubs such as Science Olympiad and HOSA, start studying as soon as possible to avoid overlapping with studying for AP exams in the second semester. And lastly, when your season has not begun for sports, do community service so that you won’t have to do it during testing season.
I hope that this was useful in helping you transition from your freshmen year to sophom*ore year. Remember that you are so capable of completing this school year as long as you try to get rid of your procrastination tendencies and other distractors in life. Uplift your fellow classmates and encourage them to do their best; you are all in this together! One of the areas I lacked in was fun, so I also encourage that you attend all the pep rallies and the IB social events. I hope you make several amazing memories this year and I wish you all the best of luck!
Kevin Espinoza-Hernandez
