All IB schools must develop and integrate an Academic Integrity Policy. One of the principles behind such a policy is to secure that the students have made their assignments and coursework themselves; results cannot be fair if some students have had an unreasonable advantage over others.

As part of our practice in that respect, we teach the students how to avoid plagiarism and other misconduct. In this connection, it is of fundamental importance to focus on - and understand - the differences between 1) quoting, 2) paraphrasing and 3) summarizing in the context of doing research. Our EE Coordinator Judith says regarding point 1: Quoting is for when the words couldn't be said better or because the person saying them is known for these words or when a particular text is being analyzed, etc.

 

Hence, I have led you the way to a quote from the Lion King theme song, Circle of life. I cannot express it better myself. I will use it to send my warmest regards to our IB2 cohort. Your last school day was Friday, April 23, and your exams begin at the end of this week and continue until Thursday, May 20 (break a leg!). Especially the last sentence might very well describe your feelings the previous couple of months:

 

More to do than can ever be done…  

 

Whatever your exam results will be, I am sure you will bring learning along with you further in life (Learning is the relatively permanent change in a person's knowledge or behavior due to experience). I hope you will also get a good experience from the exam period. 

 

In the case of IB1, we look forward to a bright future without lockdowns and too much online teaching, more CAS and the great spirit you have shown us through the TOK Walking Competition (read about it in this newsletter) and much more. I am bound to say that you are going great guns. You have handled all the challenges so well, and we look forward to continuing unabated with you:

 

Through faith and love...  

 

(And through IAs and EEs and etc...)

 

Best regards,

Malene Sørensen

I am certain that I am not the only one who is happy about the students being back at school. Albeit only 50% of the time, it is wonderful to hear the buzzing of voices in the halls, to see their joy of once again being together with their classmates, and yes, even standing in line in the canteen. We’ve missed you all, and even though you’re reluctant to admit it, I’m sure you’ve missed us as well.

 

The pre-IB students are now in their 3rd term and approaching the finishing stretch – they are almost ready to start the IB Diploma Programme after the summer. In February they chose their subjects, and following the Term 2 grades, the team teachers, the student counsellor and myself will start the process of assessing who is ready for the IB. Our modus operandi is ‘no news is good news’, meaning that we will only be contacting those students whose academic standpoint, absence or behaviour is a cause for concern in relation to moving into the DP. If you do not hear from us, then you can assume that you’ve got a spot in IB1 next year 😉

 

To mark the end of the year, the pre-IB students will complete a History Research Paper, sit 3 written tests (one in English, one in maths and one in one of their two sciences) and complete another round of pre-CAS. Their first round of pre-CAS was carried out just prior to the Easter break and marked the first time the students were physically together since before the Christmas break. The students were asked to design a team building activity and Amalie and Mikaela have agreed to write about their pre-CAS experience which you can read below.

 

Please remember that you as parents are more than welcome to contact us should there be an issue with your child that you wish to discuss.  

 

Best wishes,

Maria Friis Lindinger  

As we continue to adapt and embrace the new normalized school environment that we are experiencing today, we students were challenged to manage our time more efficiently and be flexible in working on our school activities - virtually or face to face. After many months of virtual schooling, we were finally able to return to school with our Pre-CAS activity to work on. The Pre-CAS activity was an opportunity for us to be creative, innovative, productive, and be social after a long period of having virtual learning with our class.

 

This was a building block for us for next year’s IB CAS experience. CAS stands for creativity, activity, and service. It is placed at the core of the IB Diploma Programme. It is essential for us students to harness fruitful activities beyond academic works in our chosen IB subjects next year.

Our Pre-CAS experience started with a bit of preparation time from home beforehand. We returned to school, planning, and getting a feel of finally being with classmates again. Our task to create a team building exercise, have helped us bond, have fun physical activities, and have social hours at school again. Creating the team building activity was a very uplifting experience. We were able to collaborate and make the most of our time exchanging ideas for the Pre-CAS team building. We were required to come up with 10-15-minutes of activities for our other classmates, in small groups of approximately five people. The agenda was to be physically active, have fun and be social. Our skill as the game organizers and testers were put on trial. As the end of March approached, we went back to school to enact our exercises with two other groups, who had also made exercises for us.

 

Scavenger hunts, relay races, clue solving, and innovative challenges gave us plenty to reflect on, and learn from, afterwards, as we were occasionally met with surprising tasks from our classmates. Throughout our brainstorming and idea-sharing for the task, we managed to slowly return to physical school in a fun manner – though the task was no joke, it managed to be entertaining and fun. Unfortunately, the weather was not entirely on our side on the day of the presentations, however, despite the cold, we managed to keep warm with the set of exercises.

 

To sum up, the Pre-CAS team building activities were a lot of fun, and a very therapeutic experience for us students who had virtual lessons for nearly a year, because of the COVID situation we are facing. This activity gave us comfort and a good opportunity to feel the school spirit again with respect to the COVID safety protocol.

 

As preparation for next year’s CAS project, the Pre-CAS experience was a fun way to introduce us to the core concepts and workings of the activity aspect of CAS. Other than that, our teachers motivated and supported us to build up from our ideas and gave us feedback to better our team building program. With this insight and experimentation of CAS, we look forward to the possibilities and new things of the actual CAS programme, which lies ahead of us. We look forward to new and exciting challenges, and to learn in new ways, how to become stronger as students and members of society – both on a local and global scale.

 

Amalie and Mikaela

 

Opposites - sǝʇᴉsoddO

 

The Visual arts student in IB1 have responded to a prompt about opposites, and have created artworks that express a relationship between contrasting concepts.  The students practice their technical and conceptual skills by respond to open-ended prompts, and the results are always unique to the individual students, as they are encouraged to draw on their personal experiences and interests.

This artwork represents how it feels to be biracial; having both roots & wings means that you belong to two contrasting cultures and feel like you belong to none of them—and constantly having to balance between them. You cannot use your wings without compromising your roots, and if you want to keep your roots grounded, that means you will never use your wings.

 

When moving abroad, as many of the IB students have, ideas about foreigners are challenged by the physical encounter with actual foreigners. Crossing borders can allow us to see a greater range of colors and complexity in the otherwise unknown. Do you think it is possible to remain patriotic and to preserve a national culture that is meaningful to you, without excluding or fearing the influence of foreigners?

It is no lie that ever since late-December, our lives have not been the same, and so have our social and physical activities been reduced to some certain degree. Though some were still able to meet friends online, some had proper me-time, and some, well, did none.

 

Being the inquiring thinkers that we are, we came up with an idea that could possibly lessen this suffering. And that was the Walking Competition. A competition that would encourage the high-spirited AGT students to get up from their chairs and make a move! The purpose of this competition was to take a usual daily activity and make it fun. And in doing so, creating a sense of connection from afar. Everything was set in such way that each student would contribute to a common goal, which was the average walked distance of their class.

 

In week 10 each student was to note down their daily walked distance, in a shared document. And by the end of the week the class with the highest distance would be the winning team, and of course, would receive an exquisite prize. (spoilers: it was chocolate!!)

 

Nevertheless, the competition was announced on itslearning and so started the contest with nearly 60 participants from IB1 as well as Pre-IB! Suddenly, activity and communication became a part of our daily routine, and not to mention that by the end of the day, we all got CAS.

 

Towards the end of the week, the document had been filled with data which would later on be used to determine the winning team. It is of great pleasure, to mention the hardworking effort of the Virtual Committee who planned, organized, and calculated the required data for the Walking Competition. We, the members of the committee, were able to contact the school regarding the prize, and by their help, everything was officially provided. TOK A from IB1 was chosen as the winner and the receiver of the mighty chocolate box!

 

To conclude, we truly hope that this challenge was able to favor the participants’ body and mind while bringing out their team-spirit from a great distance away. Conjointly, we enjoyed our time as both participants and organizers of this challenge and thus, are looking forwards to what future holds for us.

 

Sameh Khazraei Khah Nowri

Member of the Virtual Committee