We all know IB is full of arduous academics. Some say it’s hard to find time to do anything outside of their studies. Students here at ISH however still find time to pursue their passions and hone their skills in different areas of life. Here are only some examples of opportunities students have taken for themselves whether it's for the CAS program or beyond. 

You there! Are you struggling with mathematical concepts? Getting 2's and 3's for tests? Need a mathematical genius and easy explanations to get you through the IB math course? Look no further than @omega.mathematics! The place of your mathematical dreams...

What is MUN?

MUN is a group that attempts to recreate formal debate conditions in which the United Nations do. The UN is a group of delegates from each country across the world, excluding a few dodgy characters (eg, North Korea.) This group’s task is tackling world issues and coming to resolutions to be adopted to resolve the chosen issue. As a model of this group, MUN is able to choose any given global issue and attempt to resolve it within the group. Each student within MUN is given a  country before a debate takes place, this student then researches the issue from the standpoint of the given country. The great thing about MUN is that participants have to adapt and argue from different perspectives on issues even if they do not believe in it. This is a valuable skill for students to develop as for widening their perspective and understanding all sides of an argument. 

What do we do at ISH?

Brayden, Emma, and I have taken on the role of running this group from 2021-2022. We are all very new to MUN and are learning along the way with our students. Something special about our group is the fact that we’re very relaxed towards the rules of MUN, as time goes by we attempt to incorporate more of this into our debates, however, we are trying to just focus on developing our arguments. 

So far we have devoted time to practicing debate theories, logical fallacies, and ways in which to conduct an argument. This has been a great opportunity for CAS for me personally since I learn about world issues and how countries view the problem. With this I have been able to get a better understanding of the world around me, and how to argue for any given problem.

If you would like to become a part of this group we are always accepting new members, we have reached almost 50 here at ISH which is fantastic. You are free to contact any of us with any questions, ideas, or interests.

Tristan Timms DP1 International School of Helsingborg

Thanks for reading, enjoy the rest of your week!

The three of us all started skateboarding around the same time around the end of 2019 and it has since changed our lifestyles. The more we got into skateboarding, the more appreciation we had for it. From the beginning we were all fascinated by the way professional skateboarding was presented through film. The thing to watch when we were all together was the new skate part (skate video/production).. Or reviewing an old favourite. I think it quickly became a group collective goal to be able to one day create a skate part of our own. With the introduction of the CAS program, we then realized that we could pursue this as a creative project, which could then be used as school credit. Score!

Our plan for the movie is to split it into three key parts. Each of these parts will be a collection of shots showing off the best of our skating. We plan to film most of our shots within the city itself, being creative by skating things that would not normally be seen as skateable, such as city staircases. We want to capture our process in completing the challenges we face along the way, these challenges and the process of filming them is a large part of how proper skate culture is presented. We want to revive the skate culture that used to exist within Helsingborg, and by creating this film we hope to show those around us how we see skateboarding. 

Through this project, we are able to observe that CAS can be molded into whatever you want it to be. If you find these articles useful or want your experience to be documented as such, feel free to contact me.

• Tristan Timms DP1 International School of Helsingborg

We will be posting progress updates on our social media, thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your week!

Kylie is responsible for two big sections of the paper, these being the weekly horoscopes and the recently formed sex education section. Below are some of her words as to why she wanted to take on this challenge.

What leads to your decision to creating and writing a sex education part of the paper? 

“Well I was raised in a very open-minded family and I have always been able to receive sex education. I ended up learning what sex was and how to understand your own and other bodies at a very young age. I feel as though this is what made me the person I am today. I have always loved when my friends come to me for advice or questions regarding sex ed. This got me thinking that perhaps I should make others in the school feel more comfortable about sex-related topics by writing sex ed articles.”

What have you gained from the work you have done so far? Is this something you could end up pursuing as a career?

“I actually have gained a lot of knowledge about sex, things I had no idea about. My research is very beneficial for me because I learn a lot more and I am able to use my new knowledge when writing my articles.

I feel like I could definitely pursue some work in health science, perhaps as a sex educator, therapist or work at the youth center. I find it very interesting and fun to do. I also love learning about new laws, new contraceptive methods, problems, STDs etc.”

What are you currently working on as your next post to the sex education section? 

“Currently I am having trouble figuring out what I should write about next. Last month I wrote about STDs, that is because I received a question about it in the question box. Perhaps I want something that isn't very content heavy, maybe something that is an easy read and doesn't scare people about all the consequences, since STD’s was a lot to cover and they can be very dangerous. I'm thinking maybe pregnancy or the LGBTQ+.”

What challenges have you come across so far in writing and maintaining the section?

“So far I have found it very fun to write these articles. It's mainly challenging to find the time to write since I have school as well. Though there are no big challenges, mainly just time management.”

If there was one piece of health advice you’d give your past self, what would that be?

“Honestly I would probably tell my past self to research more about contraceptive methods. I spent quite a few years trying different kinds of birth control pills that just did not work for me, I wish I would have tried others instead of just switching brands. I also would have researched more about the hormones in the birth control pills because now I know that none were right for me since my body doesn't like when I put a bunch of hormones into it. I would have listened to my body sooner and made those changes which ended up making me feel a whole lot better. Though this was only my experience, peoples bodies are different and have different preferences when it comes to contraception.” 

If someone has a sex/health/relationship question, how are they able to reach you?

“If someone has a question but wants to be anonymous then they can ask a question in the question box which is a link that can be found at the end of each of my articles. If someone doesn't care about being anonymous they can come up to me in school, send me a text or dm on Instagram.”

Question Box 

To me, this jumped out as a great way to use CAS to create something that could really benefit the school community. If you have a CAS experience you would like to have someone structure and formulate a nice reflection for you, do not hesitate to contact me! I want to create these articles to shine some light on what others are doing for their CAS, while making the reflection part of the process more supported. If you would like to reach Kylie, follow the link to her question box or feel free to email her 

- kylie.kristoffersson@utb.helsingborg.se

Thank you for reading, 

Good luck with your CAS!

What does the course look like for the students taking part in it? 

“The course is divided into 3 units - software (raw computing), hardware engineering and physics and its applications to computation. Each one of these units is divided into several topics ranging from algorithms, system architecture, pure quantum mechanics and its applications to computing, and countless others. Over the next 2 years, I am looking to compress about 6 years of computer science into 2 years, most of the work covered is at university/college level and in some aspects significantly more challenging than any IB course possible, I understand that this is super challenging, but I am optimistic that it is possible to achieve.”

What skills will your participants have after attending your course?

“By the end of the course, I want my students to have a vast and complex knowledge of the inner workings of computers and develop an appreciation of the amazing engineering that goes into these machines. I am also aiming for them to be fluent in at least one programming language and be able to apply and work with real -ife situations. They should also have a high level of knowledge in electronics and even aspects of theoretical physics and be able to work with challenging projects. They should also know how to build a computer from scratch using parts, this is definitely an assessment that will be used in the course. I also want to inspire more creativity in their work and inspire them to pursue a career in STEM, (science, technology, engineering, mathematics.”

What has challenged you with the teaching you’ve done so far?

“I’ve been plagued with technical issues, most of them stemming from the camera and its unwillingness to cooperate. However, more recently things have been going smoother.

I’ve also experienced confidence issues in the past, and some have carried over into this, I’ve never been the most sociable person, and of course, standing in front of a class of students is definitely challenging and can seem daunting at times, however, I’ve been coping with it alright as when you get into the teaching and work, it becomes fun and something that both I and (hopefully) the students enjoy, which alleviates the anxiety.”

Another challenge has definitely been making textbooks and resources along with planning classes, planning has been relatively easy so far, however, making resources is much more challenging. Many great resources exist and I’m very thankful for that, however, there is much that I have to change into more understandable language for my students who might not have the same understanding as me, however at the end of the day all the material is taught and none is skipped, just simply made more understandable, and this takes a very long time.

Other than that things have been fun and enjoyable and mostly smooth, other than the technical issues, and I look forward to continuing teaching for the next 2 years.”

As vividly described above, David’s created a valuable resource for students here at ISH. A resource he wished he could’ve had access to himself in his humble beginnings of watching Youtube tutorials, although Linus tech tips are fantastic. 

If you want to know more about his course feel free to email him, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to answer any further questions you may have.