Embedded Files
By Dominic DiGiulio
On Tuesday, February 11th, Our IB class of 2027 attended a Signing Day Ceremony, signifying their joining of the IB program at Kenmore West. The IB program is a well-regarded international diploma and course program that combines academics with creativity, activity, and service. The IB program is a challenging two-year curriculum for motivated college-bound students in their junior and senior years of high school. IB graduates can receive an International Baccalaureate Diploma in addition to the New York State Advanced Regents Diploma. The IB Diploma opens opportunities for greater acceptance to selective colleges, college credits, and many scholarships. Students can take subjects from six subject groups; and the IB core, comprising of Theory of Knowledge (TOK); Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS); and the Extended Essay.
I personally partook in the tradition of having an IB Signing Day last year and I remember how welcoming it felt to be entering into the program. IB junior Tuyana Dehima, when looking back at our singing day, said, “I remember walking into the auditorium with my friends, being greeted by the other IB students. Everyone was really sweet, and we got free candy and IB merch. What was most helpful was the fact that we could ask questions about the program to the juniors and seniors already in it, and we got their first-hand experience/opinions of IB which are much more helpful (and less biased) than when the teachers described it.” Another IB junior Todd Demarco shared similar sentiments as he signed up as a course candidate for the IB program. Pursuing the Course Candidate is a great option for students who want to take IB courses but do not want to take the full diploma program. Todd personally signed up as he wanted to learn more about English and History, For the Signing Day, one thing that Todd greatly remembers is how nice Mrs. White was. Mrs. White is the IB coordinator for our school and helps to ensure that the program runs smoothly
Current tenth grader Jade Mendyk was one of the sophomores who were interested in the IB program for the 2025-2026 school year. Jade was excited to take IB Literature, IB History of the Americas, IB Math Analysis and Approaches, IB Biology, IB Physics, IB Spanish along with TOK, CAS, and the EE. Jade was drawn into the IB program by the small class sizes in some classes, and the college readiness. I know that I personally have found these benefits helpful throughout my time in the IB Diploma Program. Tuyana said what she likes about the IB program as a way to encourage prospective students was “I like how the IB program incorporates college-level courses with us high schoolers to help prepare us for college. I also really like how it weighs the GPA because even if your average is a little lower, the weighting will bring it up a lot. IB is also really beneficial because it exposes us to more international-based curriculum and formats. As Americans, this is very important because we don’t really incorporate international ideas/ formats into our work, therefore limiting our ability to learn. Ultimately, I think if you are planning to go to college or study abroad, IB is a great program to prepare you for the road ahead!”
Unfortunately during the process of writing this article, the IB program was later announced to be cut at Kenmore West. To hear more about the cutting of the IB program read: this month's BOE recap
https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/what-is-the-dp/
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