November in IB!
As a program, we've held an IB student retreat and an IB parent meeting, registered all students for May exams, and are looking forward to our first of three 8th grade shadow days.
A full year out of "pandemic education," it is clear kids are doing much better at acclimating to the IB life. We could not be more proud of each of them! If you want to keep an eye on upcoming important events, links are provided at the end of the newsletter.
CAS: IBDP students are required to complete CAS experiences throughout the 18 months of their junior and senior years. CAS is composed of three components: creativity, activity, and service. "Creativity" involves students exploring ideas to create a product or performance. "Activity" requires students to get their heart rate up in ways that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Finally, "Service" allows students to work in/with their community to meet a need. While there is no expectation for a specific number of hours a student should commit, it is expected they show a balanced and continual commitment to CAS throughout their 11th and 12th grade years. Beyond completion of the experiences, students are also required to reflect on each. The portfolio of their experiences and reflections is managed and showcased in a platform known as ManageBac.
In addition to individual CAS experiences, students must also complete at least one CAS Project during their two years as an IB student. This project involves a collaborative series of CAS experiences that involve creativity, activity, and service and last at least one month.
Ask your student about their progress toward meeting their CAS requirements. All juniors should have completed at least 1-2 experiences with a reflection and evidence for each. They should also have their initial CAS interview uploaded. Seniors should have a minimum of four experiences, one project in mind, and their initial and midpoint interviews completed.
Further details of the learning outcomes associated with CAS experiences are provided in the document linked below.
SL: IBCP students are required to complete 50 hours of service learning to receive the IBCP certificate. Ideally, the service learning project aligns with a student's career-related study, allowing them to further develop their skills while fulfilling an authentic community need. Students are required to complete a proposal for approval prior to beginning their work. Further details on the nature of Service Learning can be found in the link below.
In an effort to make hours more convenient and attainable, Dr. Evans worked to establish partnerships in the community. We are pleased to announce our IB Service Learning partnership with the North Kansas City YMCA. Students have the option to connect with different departments at the YMCA to fulfill their 50 service learning hours. This is an optional opportunity; we do have students who have already started hours or students who have chosen a different organization/approach to fulfill their hours. The Personal and Professional Skills (PPS) classes will be visiting the YMCA next week during their block to learn more about the service opportunities the "Y" has to offer. If students choose to complete hours at the YMCA, we will have available times to go during the school day during MTSS time.
Seniors need to have their 50 hours completed by the end of April, although students are encouraged to complete the hours prior to April. Students are using this SL Time Log Sheet to keep track of their hours. Dr. Evans will be visiting the PPS 1 and PPS 2 classes monthly to meet with students and ensure they are on track. As always, family support and encouragement to complete the hours is always appreciated!
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Michelle Strack In addition to teaching AVID, Health, and Adaptive PE, Coach Strack serves as the IBDP CAS Coordinator, coaching students through their CAS experiences. | | Dr. Dara Evans Dr. Evans serves NKCHS as the AVID Site Coordinator. She also joins the IBCP team this year as the SL Coordinator working with students through their Service Learning experiences. |
Michelle Strack
Dr. Dara Evans
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| Students in IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL 2 working on probability and Venn diagrams | Students take some initial looks at survey data for their IA (Internal Assessment) in Math Applications and Interpretations SL 2. | Junior IB students collaborate use quadratic regression to find the best fit for a parabolic data set in Math Applications and Interpretation SL 1. |
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Chris McCullough Mr. McCullough, a Northtown alum and veteran teacher of 29 years, teaches all students enrolled in Math Analysis and Approaches SL and HL, as well as many IB students enrolled in Honors Pre-Calculus and College Calculus I. Mr. McCullough's other teaching assignments include Geometry and Pre-IB Geometry. Some of our underclassmen also experience Mr. McCullough's Pre-IB Geometry summer school course. | Tessa Knudsen Mrs. Knudsen has the opportunity to teach the IB Math Applications and Interpretation SL 2 course after teaching many of those students in the SL 1 version of the course last year. In addition to her IB courses, she teaches Algebra II and College Algebra. Mrs. Knudsen has been a part of the NKCHS staff since 2002. | Kara White Mrs. White joined the NKC team last year after spending the first few years of her career in the St. Louis are. We are excited to add her to the IB Team this year. She is teaching the first year of Math Applications and Interpretations SL. In addition, she teaches Algebra I in the Health and Wellness Pathway, along with Pre-IB Algebra II. |
Chris McCullough
Tessa Knudsen
Kara White
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| Engineering students soldering components to a PCB. | Students in Intro to Engineering Design are creating a puzzle cube. | AOI logic analysis is underway in Digital Electronics. |
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Louis Breinin Mr. Breinin teaches all five courses in the PLTW Engineering sequence. His passion for engineering carries over to his work with our award winning T.S.A. (Technology Student Association) and the FIRST Robotics Team! He also sponsors our Young Americans for Freedom, as well as the Musicians in Training clubs. | Eric Kleoppel Mr. Kleoppel, a 16-year veteran who has spent 9 of those years at NKCHS, teaches the Intro to Engineering Design course. He also teaches computer science and woodworking classes. He partners with Mr. Breinin coaching the Technology Student Association and coaches the NKC Chess Team, too. | |
Louis Breinin
Eric Kleoppel
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IB Career-related Program Coordinator Dr. Chad Lower is serving in his tenth year as the IBCP Coordinator. He can be reached at chad.lower@nkcschools.org. | IB Diploma Program Coordinator Mrs. Mitsi Nessa is serving in her second year as the IBDP Coordinator. She can be reached at mitsi.nessa@nkcschools.org. | IB Program Administrative Assistant Miss Cymantha Beason, a graduate of Northtown, joined the IB team this year. She can be reached at 816.321.6508 or cymantha.beason@nkcschools.org |
IB Career-related Program Coordinator
IB Diploma Program Coordinator
IB Program Administrative Assistant
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