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By Meg Boedeker | LHS News |

A couple of weeks ago on Saturday, October 27, 2018, students from all around the LPS school district congregated at Lincoln High to hear and learn more about the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program which Lincoln High hosts.

“The IB offers an education for students from age 3 to 19, comprising of four programmes that focus on teaching students to think critically and independently, and how to inquire with care and logic,” according to the official International Baccalaureate website.

This rigor is a big part of why the IB Program is so popular within students of the high school age.

“Middle school was not as much of a challenge as I wanted it to be,” IB junior Kit Graf said.  “And I wanted more difficult material. A lot of my friends were taking part in it as well, and that was another incentive.” 

To allow incoming students to get an idea of what day-to-day classes look like for someone who’s a part of the IB program, IB Academy Day was held within the school from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

“The day is to help students and parents see what IB is about and get a feel for the program,” Pre-IB English teacher Laura Aten said. “The day helps answer questions for them as well as giving them a sense of what is studied in the program. For these prospective students, it starts to let them know if the program is the right fit for them.”

However, IB Academy Day isn’t all about the IB Program. This day also teaches possible incoming-students to LHS about the culture and the people within these walls.

“Academy day was a perfect opportunity to get introduced to both the IB Program and Lincoln High School at the same time. There were was a tour around the building were Lincoln High students showed a small group of middle school students around Lincoln High while answering our questions,” said Camila Gomez, an incoming Pre-IB student to Lincoln High. “Additionally, there were break out sessions in different classrooms explaining the curriculum and more general aspects of the program. The most helpful part of Academy day, in my opinion, was the student panels towards the end. I appreciated the honest answers and advice from students that have gone through/are going through the IB Program.”

Many teachers from different parts of the IB and Pre-IB program were part of the happenings on this day.

“My role in IB Academy Day was to lead a student session on what English will be like in 9th grade Pre-IB. I had about 15 students in two sessions,” Aten said. “We discussed the difference between English in middle school compared to high school. That included the work load independence, and analysis that goes on. I emphasized how students are the generators of ideas and analysis in my classroom.”

The IB Program is filled with much mystery and many questions for much of the incoming students involved, as it is a much different school experience to anything they’ve had before.

“I think IB is great for many academic pursuits and opportunities, I think high school will drive me mad, and I think that Academy Day was the cause of my calm yet the culprit of my worries. All in all, I can’t wait [for high school],” Gomez said.

“While the IB Academy Day was to showcase the IB Program at LHS, there are many other days like this and many other awesome opportunities at LHS for students to find their place in high school,” Aten said. “I enjoy being part of the IB Program and love being a part of the excellence that is Lincoln High.”