The Proudest Mother Hen EVER!

[The Hen]

Today I accompanied the Hatch as she went to an interview at Melba Copland Secondary College to apply for their International Baccalaureate Program.

She was accepted.

She will be studying the following courses to achieve her IB Diploma:

World Literature;
Japanese; and
Biology

at what it termed a "higher level".

She will also be studying:

Psychology;
Chemistry; and
Mathematics

at a "standard level".

On top of that she will be required to put in a minimum of 100 hours on the "The Theory of Knowledge" and will be required to submit a 6,000 word essay on the topic of her choice.

As the IB Program wants her to develop as a well rounded person she will also be required to show an aptitude for something creative, some thing sporting and something in the field of charity work.

They were well impressed when she advised them that she had recently won a cooking competition and she plays basketball and until last month was a Sea Scout.

That was when they said they would look forward to her starting next year.

Proud?

You can't get this fucking grin off my face.

[Gob]

What she said, with knobs on!!!!

[loCAtek]

[Miles]

Thats great!

What is an IB diploma, It sounds something like the high school equivelent of a BA or BS from a university.

[Aard Vark]

Hen Gob
What must be one of the greatest days of your lives not to mention Hatch.
I am going to pick a duck and have it for a cellerbratery dinner in her honour

[Big RR]

That is great; best of luck to her.

[dales]

This is indeed good news.

A good excuse to tie one on!

[Lord Jim]

Way to go Hatch! Good on ya, lass...

(Strop and Hen: doesn't it start to make you feel a little long in the tooth when you see your baby getting ready to start college? ...I'm glad I still have a few more years before I go through that with Tati...)

[Sue U]

Congratulations, Hen and Gob, and best of luck to Hatch -- she's obviously deserving.

(And Jim, no need to wait -- you're plenty long in the tooth already.)

[kristina]

Congrats! She's going to better educated before she goes to university than I was when I graduated!

Will she be going overseas as part of the program?

[Rick]

Omedetou gozaimasu Hatch...

[The Hen]

Thats great!

What is an IB diploma, It sounds something like the high school equivelent of a BA or BS from a university.

I had never heard of it until the Hatch brought it to my attention that she wanted to apply to achieve one as she wanted to go to Oxford University and an IB Diploma score gets upgraded in conversions and she achieves a higher entrance score. Some Universities apparently give preference to IB Diplomas which is why there is an interview before you start. The IB Coordinators want to ensure that they have a chance of building that "well-rounded" person and not just an anti-social geek who closets themselves away from society.

Here is some interesting history I learnt from Wiki on IB:

History

Marie-Thérèse Maurette created the framework for what would eventually become the IB Diploma Programme in 1948 when she wrote Is There a Way of Teaching for Peace?, a handbook for UNESCO.[5] In the mid-1960s, a group of teachers from the International School of Geneva (Ecolint) created the International Schools Examinations Syndicate (ISES), which would later become the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).[6] The IB headquarters were officially established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1968 for the development and maintenance of the Diploma Programme which would "provide an internationally acceptable university admissions qualification suitable for the growing mobile population of young people whose parents were part of the world of diplomacy, international and multi-national organizations", and offer internationally standardized courses and assessments for students ages 16 to 19.[7][8]

In 1994, the IB added the IB Middle Years Programme, for students ages 11 to 16. Also known as the MYP, the middle years programme consists of eight subject areas and five areas of interaction.[9] In 1997, the IB added the IB Primary Years Programme for three to ten year olds. Also known as the PYP, the primary years programme is inquiry-based, and consists of six transdisciplinary themes supported by six subject areas.[10]

[The Hen]

Hen Gob
What must be one of the greatest days of your lives not to mention Hatch.
I am going to pick a duck and have it for a cellerbratery dinner in her honour

God bless Aardy.

And I am SO glad you didn't decide to have a celebratory chook for dinner. Cheers.



As for tying one on Dales, it is a long weekend (for the Queen's Birthday no less). the Hatch is with her Dad, and Gob just has to get through another day's work.

[The Hen]

Way to go Hatch! Good on ya, lass...

(Strop and Hen: doesn't it start to make you feel a little long in the tooth when you see your baby getting ready to start college? ...I'm glad I still have a few more years before I go through that with Tati...)

I don't feel long in the tooth at all. I am still flying high on the news and my face aches from grinning.

There was a poignant moment yesterday when the Hatch's Dad confided in me that for the first time since the passing of both his Mum and Dad he really felt alone in the world with no elder to tell his good news too.

[Gob]

Can I just add my thanks to everyone for their kind wishes, I'm truly ecstatic and over the moon for the kid.

So many thanks my friends.






Right, now I can get back to being a twat...

[The Hen]

What do you mean "get back to"?

[SisterMaryFellatio]

Awww Congrat to all 3 of you

[Gob]

Miles; here is and excellent article on the IB Program, it was sent to me by a teacher mate from the UK.

It is a rare thing indeed for teachers, pupils and university lecturers to agree, but representatives from all three groups are big fans of the International Baccalaureate (IB). From a standing start as a niche sixth-form qualification for a privileged few in the Seventies, the IB is now available at 190 schools across the UK.

Recent research carried out by ACS International Schools, whose schools have taught the IB for more than 30 years, reveals an IB diploma is the most respected post-16 qualification among university admissions officers. Though few of them wish to see A-levels phased out, 62 per cent praise the IB for the way it encourages pupils to manage their own timetable, 78 per cent say it is harder to achieve a top IB grade than a top A-level grade, and 73 per cent would like to see it offered in more state schools.

However, it is not the assessments of the core subjects but the additional components that stand out in the IB programme, and receive praise from pupils, teachers and universities. These include an extended essay of 4,000 words, and "creativity, action, service" (CAS), which requires students (above) to take part in artistic, sporting and community pursuits throughout the study period. The latter element is intended to foster awareness of life outside the academic arena.

Monika Howick, the principal of ACS Hillingdon International School, says the extended essay really prepares students for university. "They appreciate that we do a lot of essay writing," she says. CAS equips students with skills that they will use for the rest of their lives, she says. "Being involved in the community consistently over a period of two years is a really important aspect of the IB. Universities are also looking for soft skills, and it shows they have the balance between studying hard and having the time and energy for other things," says Howick.


Continues here; Why schools love the IB program

[loCAtek]

What? You mean she's not going to college to binge drink; wake up in a dumpster with a 'tramp stamp' tattoo and a guy who insists he's a foreign exchange student from Maserati, although his accent keeps changing?


...what was I doing in my twenties, then?

[Gob]

She'll only be 15 yrs old when she starts Lo, that stuff will have to wait for the second year of the course...