Grade 11 April Newsletter

Dear Grade 11 Students and Parents, 

As the school year quickly comes to a close, I wanted to provide you with a few reminders and updates related to the Diploma Programme. Please review the information below and do reach out if you have any questions. 

- Brian Hull

While Mr Boekhout has already shared this with students, Grade 11 exams are coming up in a little over a month, so I thought I would share it here as well. 

In February, I explored with all of the Grade 11 students different approaches they can take to better manage their time. As the intensity of the programme increases in the coming months, I'd encourage students and parents alike to work together to consider how students might best manage their time. See the presentation from my assembly below. 

Each year, we dedicate three days towards the end of the school year for our Grade 11 students to be off timetable so they can meet with their teachers to discuss progress in their courses and plan for Grade 12. Furthermore, time will be allocated to ensure all the Core components of our programme are up-to-date. 

Predicted Grade Meetings:

• Students will meet with each of their teachers to discuss their performance on their final assessments, their current and university predicted grade and any summer work that teachers have assigned.

• I have hosted two parent meetings, one in January alongside our University Counselling team, and one in April, at our Grade 11 Coffee Morning, where I have explained our Predicted Grade Policy. The predicted grade policy was also explained to all students at our time management assembly (see above). If you were unable to attend (or review the stream from the January meeting), please do familiarize yourself with the policy. 

• Importantly, before these meetings occur, all parents and students must sign the Predicted Grade Policy agreement. 

The Extended Essay

Students will meet with their supervisors to discuss their progress on their Extended Essay and areas they need to focus on as they complete their first draft during the summer. At this point, students will have written close to 2000 words. In addition, students will finalize their second required reflection alongside their EE supervisor.

Creativity, Activity and Service Programme (CAS)

Students will work on updating their reflections based on the seven learning outcomes, uploading evidence of CAS experiences and planning for summer CAS experiences and the second half of the programme.

The Grade 11s are currently having their second CAS interviews. These interviews are focused on assessing each student’s current balance of Creativity, Activity, and Service, as well as their progress with their CAS project.

Following these meetings, a report detailing the student's status will be emailed to parents. A student’s status will fall into one of two categories:

1. Meeting Expectations:

   • The student has kept their CAS portfolio up to date.

   • They have a balance of CAS experiences.

   • They have either completed their CAS project or have a plan in place and have initiated it.

2. Not Meeting Expectations:

   • The student’s portfolio is not up to date.

   • They do not have a balanced range of CAS experiences.

   • They do not have a CAS project planned or initiated.

The report will include recommendations for improvement, if necessary. If you would like to meet to discuss the report, this can be arranged.

The hope is that for students whose portfolios are not meeting expectations, they can address these issues before exams begin in May. If not, they may need to develop a plan to meet the CAS requirements during the summer.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

• August 29 - 30 - The DP Retreat at the Gold Coast Hotel

• September 19 - Curriculum Night

• November 10-17 - Experience Week

• November 19 - First Reports published

• December 5 & 6 - Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences

• March 4 - Second Reports published

• March 20 & 21 - Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences

• May 14: First 2000 words of the Extended Essay due

• May 26 - June 3: Grade 11 Exams

• June 4-6: Planning and Progress Days

• June 11 - Third Reports published

• Diploma Programme Coordinator - Brian Hull: brianhull@cdnis.edu.hk

• CAS Coordinator - Gregg Lee: gregglee@cdnis.edu.hk

• Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Coordinator - Chris Tyrrell: christophertyrrell@cdnis.edu.hk

• Extended Essay (EE) Coordinator - Dave Perry: daveperry@cdnis.edu.hk