ISB Rundown for Newbies

By Valerie Owusu-Hienno

October 2021

I did not attend ISB for middle school, so I have no firsthand experience to share. Fortunately, others who completed ISB’s middle school curriculum were welcome to sharing the perspectives.

Now in high school, you've got the Personal Project

10th grade marks the end of the middle years program (MYP) and the start of the personal project. The middle years program is meant to prepare students aged 11-16 for the IB program. The personal project is well named, because it is a project personal to you. 10th grade students are placed in a personal project class where their teacher, a.k.a, their project supervisor, leads you through the process of making a personal project. Here is an oversimplified summary of the process:

1. You decide what to research and devise a guiding question

2. Solidify a product

3. Research

4. Make the product

5. Write the paper summarizing your process

Despite what you may have heard, the product is not the most important aspect of the project, the paper is. I learned that the hard way.

The IB program

If you choose to stay at ISB after 10th grade you have the pleasure of becoming a full time IB student. Your schedule will be regulated by the IB overlords in Switzerland, and you will have to tackle brand new assignment types like the “IA” and “EE”. The IB program lasts 2 years-you will have to continue your junior year classes in your senior year.

As an IB program student you will be required to do an Internal Assessments (graded by your teachers) and external assessments(graded by outside IB educators) in all your classes. The IB’s official website has more information.

In the second half of your junior year you will write an Extended Essay, a 4,000 word paper which you will work on for 9 months. Below is an oversimplified summary of the process:

1. You decide your topic

• Film, English, Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, Language, History, Arts

• This will determine who is your advisor

2. You solidify a research question

3. You begin researching

4. You make your first outline

5. You make you first draft

6. You make your second draft

7. TURN IT IN

Between these steps are 3 required meetings with your supervisor, you can have more if you want, and instruction from IB coordinators as well!