October 2025

General Info for All

• What's happening in the photos?

  • Students in the English Literature course visited the Gothenburg book fair to connect with a vibrant community of passionate readers, all in pursuit of intriguing books and the best freebies. They also attended a talk on race relations in the U.S., approached from an unexpected angle. It ignited a spirited debate that continued well into the classroom.

  • Economics Students: On the 5th of September IB24 SL and HL students visited Prison Island in Krokslätt. The trip was designed to provide students with an enriching experience outside the classroom, encouraging social development, teamwork, and practical learning in a safe and enjoyable environment.

  • IB Physics Students Collaborate with Chalmers University

Students Klára Ostrovská and Gitansh Sawdekar conducted research on the electrical properties of nanoscale transistors made from the two-dimensional material MoS₂. Klára’s project was for an internal assessment, and Gitansh’s was for an Extended Essay. These materials support smaller transistor dimensions, enabling higher density and enhanced device functionality. The projects were carried out in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology under the guidance of senior researcher Sameer Kumar Mallik in the Quantum Device Physics group. We thank Prof. Saroj Prasad Dash for providing our students with this research opportunity.

• • A visit from Lanterna for our PreDP and DP 1 students.  More about Lanterna below.

  • Swedish: On Tuesday, October 9, the students in Svenska 1 in IB25 visited  Stadsbiblioteket at Götaplatsen where they learned more about where to find books and other sources for future school work. Those who did not already have a library card were informed of how to get one.

• The Principal is out visiting lessons.  

I am a former teacher and the program's pedagogical leader. I love being in the lessons, learning new things and seeing how our students experience the program.  Sorry if I come in late or interrupt, try not to mind me! 

• Week 44 there are no lessons.

• Substitution routines, for your information

When a teacher becomes sick, we are not able to get a substitute that same day. But if we know the teacher will be sick again the next day, we start planning to get a substitute in.  Sometimes there are planned absences and for those we strive to get a substitute. However, some teachers have planned for meaningful student work to be done in their planned absence, and in those cases, the teacher may decline to have a substitute carry out the task.  When the teacher has planned work for students to carry out in their absence, with our without a substitute, this still counts towards the IB recommended teaching hours. 

• Study Tips.  

Lanterna visited us this past week.  What is Lanterna? Lanterna is an IB approved tutoring service who also happens to offer free presentations each year for IB students: things to think about and know regarding their studies in the IB.  While we are not affiliated with Lanterna and do not have an opinion about whether or not students hire tutoring services, we do see that the approach from Lanterna can be relevant to our students who might be seeking help.  The presentation was from a former IB student (Malmö, Borgareskolan) who described himself as an average student who was predicted to do average yet managed to increase his performance rather substantially.  He gave tips and advice that were worthwhile regardless of whether students decide to engage Lanterna's services further or not. 

• Creativity, Activity, and Service Clubs and Info (this is repeated info from the Managebac message)

Ongoing Clubs: See the CAS bulletin board in South for more info.

• Medicine Society of Hvitfeldtska (Aadya)

• Craft and Upcycling (Svea)

• Drawing club (Nayeli)

• Medicine (Siddhi) - Why do we need two Medicine clubs? 

• Debate club (Bella, Primrose, Aarohi)

• Competition Level Math (Haolin, Linyun)

• Football (Alvin)

Service Opportunities: 

• IB23 and graduation preparations:  students are needed to make paper plate awards, coordinate the exit song, collect money for the float, etc.  Contact Ms. White if interested.

• IB23 or IB24:  Volunteer to talk to adults once afternoon a week who'd like to improve their English. Contact Cecilia Segerbjert if interested.

• IB23 or IB24: THE GLOBAL GOALS - "Every positive action you take, no matter how small, has the power to make a difference." (globalgoals.org) Meet in a group and discuss how you can help  and what can be done. It's your future! If you start now, it may help you in your future studies and career.  

• IB23 or IB24: Do you have good communication skills and are equally skilled at creating “semi-professional-looking” video tutorials?  We need a pair of students who can read up on our safety procedures (what to do in case of fire evacuation, for example, you will get help with what to include) and then create a 3-5 minute film about this to show to all students new to the IB Program at Hvitfeldtska. NOTE that this should be a SERIOUS and SHARP information film and not a goofy reel (and no need to do any “acting” or speaking in the film; you will focus on locations, i.e. WHERE things are + the brief script can be in written form without a voiceover). If you are interested in this, contact Ms White, the IB coordinator. 

PreDP Happenings

• Weel 45 we start preparing students for making their subject requests. The process will go all the way into the Spring so students have plenty of time to research, think, reflect, plan and make the best choices possible with our guidance.  

• DEVELOPMENT TALKS coming up Nov 13th. 

What you need to know:

     Soon the PreDP development talks are coming up on November 13th.  Parents are an integral part of the Development Talk that will take place between the student, the mentor, and the parent.  

     To be informed of student progress overall, students and parents are expected to log into Vklass, as early as 2 days prior to the talk, and read the “appraisal meetings” reports from each teacher. At the end of this section, I will link to a presentation that walks you through, with screenshots, how to find this information via Vklass on the computer desktop or Vklass on your phone.  If you have any questions about any specific subject, please reach out directly to the teacher responsible. Specific subject questions will not be taken up at the development talks.  

      During the Development Talk, the mentor will ask the student questions that have to do with the IB Learner Profile and the IB Approaches to Learning Skills.  To be prepared for the Development Talk, the student should bring with him/her/them paper and a pen to take notes.  Some mentors may even have the studens work on the questions ahead of time. The goal of the talk is that the student will walk away with a plan for improvement for themselves, created with some suggestion/guidance from the mentor and parent. Additionally, to prepare for the Development Talk, the student (and parent) can preview the sample questions (see also below) that will come up at the talk and reflect on those questions ahead of time.  

     Resources:

1. Presentation for guardian for how to sign up for development talk and find and read “appraisal meetings” report. (Vklass)

2. Presentation for students for finding their scheduled development talk and “appraisal meetings” reports for each subject. (Vklass)

3. IB Approaches to Learning Skills. 

4. IB Learner Profile Attributes

5. Sample questions: 

• When you see the IB learner profile, what attributes do you feel you display the most? 

• knowledgeable, reflective, balanced, principled, thinkers, communicators,

• risk-takers, caring, open-minded, inquirers

• Which do you feel you wish you could improve? 

• How is your energy level each day?  

• Who are some of your friends at school that you are getting along with?  

• Have you experienced any kind of offensive treatment at school?  If so, can they name place, time of day/day of week? Anything concrete at all. 

• Do you ever study with your friends?

• Do you study daily?   How long?  Where?  

• Describe your study environment or if there’s more than one, describe it.  Is one better than another?

• How do you keep track of your assignments, tests, longer term projects, etc?

• When and how do you practice focus and concentration?  When does focus and concentration falter for you?

• Can you tell about a time recently when you’ve had to delay gratification in order to get some work done?

• Do you regularly experience any bouts with impulsiveness or anger? Stress or anxiety?  

  • What do you do if so?

  • What can you do if so?

  • Have you ever practiced positive thinking? 

• Tell about a time you overcame a challenge and you felt that sense of accomplishment.  Have you had that feeling before? What did you harness in yourself to be able to do that? Did you need outside support?

• Notetaking and textbooks:  to what degree do you engage with these things?

• How often do you take time to reflect?

  • What did I learn today?

  • What don’t I understand yet?

  • What questions do I have now?

• What learning strategies are you aware of? Which do you use? Any you’d want to know more about? 

DP1 Happenings

• Visual Arts field trip in week 43! See information from the teacher.

DP2 Happenings

• Visual Arts and Economics field trips happening in week 43! See information from the teacher.

• DEVELOPMENT TALKS coming up Nov 13th.

What you need to know:

     Soon the last student development talks are coming up on November 13th. Parents are an integral part of the Development Talk that will take place between the student, the mentor, and the parent. If the parent doesn’t sign up or plan to attend, the student is expected to sign up and attend (it’s like a mandatory check in).  

      To be informed of student progress overall, students and parents (if they have Managebac access) are expected to log into Managebac, prior to the talk, and read the latest Grade Report which is from this past June. You may even wish to look at the 2nd to last report that included more commentary about the student’s progress. These two reports should give a holistic view of how students are performing across all of the subjects. At the end of this letter, I will explain a little more about how to find those reports.  If you have any questions about any specific subject, please reach out directly to the teacher responsible. Specific subject questions will not be taken up at the development talks.  

     During the Development Talk, the mentor will ask the student questions that have to do with the IB Learner Profile and the IB Approaches to Learning Skills.  To be prepared for the Development Talk, the student should bring with him/her/them paper and a pen to take notes.  Some mentors may even have students work on the questions ahead of time. The goal of the talk is that the student will walk away with a plan for improvement for themselves, created with some suggestion/guidance from the mentor and hopefully, the parent too. Additionally, to prepare for the Development Talk, the student can preview the sample questions that will come up at the talk and reflect on those questions ahead of time.  

     Resources:

1. Finding the Report in Managebac.  

Student  > Profile (usually top right corner with your initials). Scroll to very bottom.   

Parent > Student associated will show in upper right > Academic Profile (on left hand menu) > scroll to very bottom.

Questions about Managebac accounts should be directed to ingrid.white.ashammer@educ.goteborg.se 

2. Sample questions: 

• When you see the IB learner profile, what attributes do you feel you display the most? 

• knowledgeable, reflective, balanced, principled, thinkers, communicators,

• risk-takers, caring, open-minded, inquirers

• Which do you feel you wish you could improve? 

• How is your energy level each day?  

• Who are some of your friends at school that you are getting along with?  

• Have you experienced any kind of offensive treatment at school?  If so, can they name place, time of day/day of week? Anything concrete at all. 

• Do you ever study with your friends?

• Do you study daily?   How long?  Where?  

• Describe your study environment or if there’s more than one, describe it.  Is one better than another?

• How do you keep track of your assignments, tests, longer term projects, etc?

• When and how do you practice focus and concentration?  When does focus and concentration falter for you?

• Can you tell about a time recently when you’ve had to delay gratification in order to get some work done?

• Do you regularly experience any bouts with impulsiveness or anger? Stress or anxiety?  

  • What do you do if so?

  • What can you do if so?

  • Have you ever practiced positive thinking? 

• Tell about a time you overcame a challenge and you felt that sense of accomplishment.  Have you had that feeling before? What did you harness in yourself to be able to do that? Did you need outside support?

• Notetaking and textbooks:  to what degree do you engage with these things?

• How often do you take time to reflect?

  • What did I learn today?

  • What don’t I understand yet?

  • What questions do I have now?

• What learning strategies are you aware of? Which do you use? Any you’d want to know more about? 

Internal Assessment-Important Information about Academic Integrity

This information is found in the Assessment and Academic Integrity Policies. Here you find the most important points that can put your Diploma at risk. We have found that there are misconceptions about what constitutes plagiarism, which is cited as one of the most common issues in the IB. Did you know that even if you forgot to cite a source, that’s plagiarism?  We hope you find this information proactive, preventative and supportive.

• Definition of plagiarism:  “the representation, intentionally or unintentionally, of the ideas, words or work of another person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment” (Assessment principles and practices—Quality assessments in a digital age).

• Your teachers will teach you how to properly, clearly, and explicitly acknowledge sources.

• You must submit your draft on the deadline. If you have an extenuating circumstance, you must talk to your teacher as soon as possible. Your teacher may not ultimately grant an extension. 

• Your teacher may only give you feedback on one draft. After that, you may ask for guidance or ask questions during lesson time scheduled for this purpose. Be sure you ask questions of your teacher if you do not understand the feedback.

• Once the final is submitted, there are no further chances to make any changes, EVEN IF the teacher identifies plagiarism.  It is the student’s responsibility to complete their own work; to acknowledge sources properly, clearly, and explicitly; and to ask questions before the final submission when necessary. The school librarian is also a resource in this regard.

• The school cannot submit student work that is even suspected of plagiarism or any form of Academic dishonesty.  It would be Academic Maladministration if we did.

• If a student’s IA cannot be submitted to the IB due to a suspected violation of the Academic Integrity policy, the student will not get a grade in that subject and will not be able to earn the Diploma in that session.

• The school’s current Re-take policy does not permit the re-doing of an IA.  This jeopardizes a student’s ability to earn the Diploma in the long term as well.  The student would need to find a school that accepts them for Retakes, including a re-do of the IA. 

• This is to underscore the importance of reading and reacting to your teacher’s feedback especially when they point out issues with citations, plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty. It is also to highlight the important zone between the draft and the final submission, because after turning in the final version, there is no chance to make corrections. 

Prior Hvitfeldtska IB Student available for tutoring

Private lessons 250-300

Group lessons 150-200

Agrima Dulloo is now at Chalmers and will be studying engineering there. She wants to help out students who are struggling in Math and Chemistry.  

If interested, take contact:

Email: agrimadulloo@gmail.com 

WhatsApp: +46708323932