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Incline IB News – Nov 2009 Newsletter
Superintendent Morrison Visits Incline Village
On September 28th, Washoe County School District Superintendent, Dr. Heath Morrison, spoke at the Chateau and repeated the District’s commitment to the successful implementation of International Baccalaureate in Incline Village. Dr. Morrison came to WCSD with extensive IB experience in his previous position in Montgomery County, MD, and is making a concerted effort to help the community and administrators transition to IB smoothly.
Fund Raising Continues
To date, $67,080 in cash has been raised, with an additional $69,500 committed towards annual contributions. In October, the community pulled together the over $20,000 needed to send teachers and administrators from all three Incline schools to IB training this fall and winter. When this school year’s training season wraps up in late January, we will have paid for 35 people to be IB trained!
This is quite an accomplishment, but our work is not yet over. We still need to find the funding to train a handful of people from Incline High School next summer and to cover the approximate $12,000 price tag associated with training every single educator at Incline Elementary next August, a welcomed requirement by the International Baccalaureate Organization. Please spread the word that now is the time to donate, large or small. We cannot proceed with the IB-IV dream without the community’s financial support. For those of you who have already contributed, thank you! We would not be this far in the process without your generosity.
Jeni Cross is currently working with District officials on the submittal of our first grant request to take place in January. We will keep you posted on our success or failure to secure any money through this avenue. If you happen to know of any grants for which we might qualify or would like to help look for grants, please contact Jeni Cross at [email protected].
District Support
Despite the District’s inability to help us with training and application fees, we are pleased that they have supplied substitute teachers and help with grants, as well as paid for postage and required publications. Additionally, we were delighted to learn that Mr. Rick Harris located grant monies to send key people to the regional IB conference in San Diego. In attendance were Kathleen Watty, K-8 Principal; Sharon Kennedy, IMS Site Administrator; Kevin Taylor, Assistant Principal of Incline High; and Jeni Cross, IHS IB Coordinator Designate. CAWS, the California Association of World Schools, which also advocates and networks for and with the Nevada and Hawaii IB World Schools, hosts one-day conferences biannually. Coordinators, administrators and superintendents from around the region were present, and everyone who attended reported back that the networking they were able to do was highly valuable. Current Status of the School Authorizations
Incline High School submitted Application A, the first of two applications and their $8,500 fee, in October. At the end of January, we will have sent our teachers and Mr. Taylor to 17 workshops! We hope to accomplish the remaining five in summer 2010. However, in order to proceed to Application B, more funding must be acquired to show stability for the first three to five years. We will host the Site Visit next fall, followed by authorization to begin the DP in the fall of 2011. Incline Elementary and Middle Schools are, and will continue to be as teacher training progresses, in a trial Implementation Phase required by IB before filing the applications. By late January of 2010, we will have sent seven teachers and Ms. Watty to training for the Primary Years Programme, while nine teachers and Ms. Kennedy from IMS will have attended the Middle Years Programme conferences. When the compulsory three- to five-year funding is secured (approximately an additional $80,000 to $100,000), Application A at each of the schools will be submitted. Please note that application fees have gone up to $9,500 for schools starting the process in 2010.
December 2 Meeting for Diploma Programme
On Wednesday, December 2nd, Incline High School will host a meeting for parents of seventh through ninth grade students and their prospective IB Diploma Candidate children in the theatre at 5:30-6:30 p.m. During this meeting, school officials wi
ll discuss the specifics of the DP program, what it entails for all those involved, what our program may look like, and how to plan and prepare for becoming a candidate. This is an exciting time for both those living in Incline and even those living outside our area. Jeni Cross has been contacted by educators and students interested in our IB plans!
IB-IV in the News
Look for what should be a fantastic article about our three IB programmes in a future issue of Washoe Parent magazine. Jeni Cross is currently wrapping up the interview with the writer and believes that the piece will raise the awareness of Incline being the ONLY IB continuum in the area. We are the “Education Destination” at the Lake!
Once Again
Please spread the word that IB-IV needs everyone’s help to make our K-12 IB continuum a reality. Please keep us in mind for any 2009 charitable contributions as the year ends. Investments in Incline Village education can be sent to the following address and remember to mark “IB” in the memo area of your check. Remember that IB’s curriculum and methodology will be a benefit to ALL our students and has already begun to attract new students to Incline schools. In return, it is our hope that more homes will be sold and local businesses patronized. IB’s real benefit is to all of us.
Incline Schools Academic Excellence Foundation (ISAEF)/IB Program
P.O. Box 4153
Incline Village, NV 89450
IB Parents Meeting 2-Dec
IB Parents Meeting – 2-Dec, 5:30pm, IHS Theater
Prospective Parents of International Baccalaureate Diploma Candidates: artículo en español
As many of you may know, Incline High School is in the process of becoming an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. We are currently a Diploma Programme (DP) Candidate School, with a projected authorization date of the fall of 2011. What this means is: If your son or daughter is currently a ninth grader or younger, he or she will have the opportunity to earn this highly-regarded diploma.
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), a non-profit, non-governmental educational foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland, offers the IB Diploma for students in the final two years of secondary school. Established in 1965, the program evolved from its original purpose as a service to geographically mobile students in the international community to embracing schools in national systems across the globe. IB is currently in 138 countries worldwide.
IB students relate first to their own national identity – their own language, literature, history, and cultural heritage, and then strive to understand the corresponding traditions of others. The philosophy of IB is as follows: “Through comprehensive and balanced curricula coupled with challenging assessments, the International Baccalaureate Organization aims to assist schools in their endeavors to develop the individual talents of young people and teach them to relate the experience of the classroom to the realities of the world outside. Beyond intellectual rigor and high academic standards, strong emphasis is placed on the ideals of international understanding and responsible citizenship, to the end that IB students may become critical and compassionate thinkers, lifelong learners and informed participants in local and world affairs, conscious of the shared humanity that binds all people together while respecting the variety of cultures and attitudes that make for the richness of life.”
To earn the IB Diploma, juniors and seniors must take a broad selection of courses, including a second language. Additionally, they are required to participate in 150 Creativity-Action-Service hours, take the Theory of Knowledge class, and complete a 4000 word extended essay on an academic subject of their choice. Advance Placement tests will continue to be offered and can be taken alongside IB examinations. IB Diploma Candidates should be those who are highly-motivated and currently have an A/B average in school.
If you believe your son or daughter fits the description of an IB Diploma Candidate, we invite you to attend an informational meeting on Wednesday December 2nd at 5:30 in the Incline High School theatre. We realize that many of you are eager to learn more and apologize that this meeting will not take place sooner. By this date, our IB administrators and coordinator will have been trained, as well as planned visits to other IB schools completed. We will be able to provide you with the most concise and knowledgeable information at that time.
Please feel free to contact Jeni Cross ([email protected]), IB Coordinator Designate at IHS, should you have any questions that arise before the meeting. We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
John Clark
Principal, IHS
Kathleen Watty
Principal, K-8
Sharon Kennedy
Site Administrator, IMS
Jeni Cross |
