IB News You Can Use

It's hard to believe that spring has arrived and with it all of our IB traditions and celebrations. A special welcome to the 230+ students and families who will be joining us in grades 9-11 for the 2024-25 school year. We hope you find that we are who we say we are- a closely knit learning community that values kindness, global-mindedness, and thoughtful discourse.

Parents: If only one parent/guardian received this newsletter and you would like to add another email, please email karen.stanton@pisd.edu and we will add the additional guardian to our mailing list.

New panthers: Save the date for our August 1 (tentative) Camp Panther, a day on which we welcome you to the IB World School learning community. Please follow us on our socials and add yourself to Remind (information on our website).

Please join us in Room B1-274 on April 17 from 5:30-6:30 pm for a brief Booster Club meeting followed by a presentation from Ms. Stanton about how students earn an IB diploma and the impact on college admissions.

We need parent volunteers to help with Booster Club. Some positions are a one-time project, and others require time throughout the year, but the IB World School relies on your generous support. If you have interest in serving on the board or volunteering in any capacity, please let our nominating committee know by completing the interest form => https://forms.gle/V1uPHmV9C5Grsgi48

Ms. Stanton has visited all classrooms to discuss artificial intelligence and how it can be used as a tool for learning. We discussed that AI such as ChatGPT can be used in brainstorming sessions ("What's an interesting subtopic within the French Revolution?" Or "Who is a little known Freedom Fighter?"). Sometimes AI can be used to give suggestions for sources although we discussed that ChatGPT and other apps have been found to create false sources, so if a student asks for sources, due diligence must then be used to locate the source and do the research. We talked about how AI can sometimes explain a concept well or provide a definition. The IB and Plano East understands that artificial intelligence is the way of the future and has amazing capacity to help our students learn.

However, the IB and all teachers at Plano East require that all submitted ideas, research, and writing belong to our students solely or have been cited as borrowed work. Paraphrasing AI is plagiarism unless the AI is indicated on the Works Cited page and also internally. All Chatbots are AI and cannot be used without citation. Text enhancement apps (Grammarly premium, Quillbot, etc) are AI and cannot be used without citation.

We are most commonly seeing that students are having a bot write for them, and then they are changing the AI into their own language and claiming it as their own writing. We are also seeing students writing a very rough draft and then submitting to a text enhancement app for revision and editing. Both situations qualify as academic misconduct and will be treated as such. Academic misconduct can result in a revoked transfer (grades 9/10) or an inability to earn an IB Diploma (grades 11/12).

We will continue to work with our students and community to ensure that our students, first and foremost, understand our learner profile trait of "principled" and therefore act with integrity in all situations. We appreciate the support of our parents and guardians and are happy to answer any questions regarding our policies which have been included in this letter.

For the past 6-12 months, we have been working on our self evaluation and preliminary review for the IB Organization. We submitted our preliminary review last month and were pleased that all of our policies, teacher training, and curricular units met the high standards of the IB.

Next we will submit our progress on our programme development goal which was that we would make a concerted, intentional effort to teach the learner profile traits in grades 9-12 and embed them into classroom lessons. Furthermore, our teachers have been recognizing students who exemplify these traits. Please ask your IB scholar how many of the traits they can identify: Balanced, Risk-taker, Inquirer, Caring, Knowledgeable, Communicator, Principled, Open-minded, Reflective, and Thinker.

Our March trait of the month is risk taker: "We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change."

We still have several sweatshirts available, but it's no longer possible to order online. If you attend Plano East, you can pay with cash or check (and pick up) in B1-225. If you are not attending Plano East, you can mail in a check for $25 to Plano ISD with your child's name/ID # if applicable, and Ms. Stanton will contact you to arrange pick up. Not all sizes are available, so check first.

A huge thank you to our current students who dropped off sweatshirts to the Plano ISD middle schools!

Students from the IB Class of 2025 and 2026 students continuing to the IB Diploma Programme are invited to attend the Texas IB Schools College Fair on April 2. Our IB Booster Club will be providing a pizza lunch in the IB Commons to welcome our continuing IB students and then we are leaving on charter buses to the Hurst Conference Center. Registration through the TIBS website and payment through Booster Club (both steps required) are due today by 9:00 pm.

Students must be passing their periods 4-7 classes to attend.

Our IB Arts students (Dance, Theater, and Visual Arts) will be hosting a showcase and reception on Friday, April 12, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm at the new Robinson Fine Arts Center. It is an open house format, so we hope you will drop by to see drama, dancing, and multi-media art.

Please join us on Tuesday, April 16, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. for our annual Senior Showcase. On this special evening, our IB seniors will be sharing their CAS projects, Extended essays, and Theory of Knowledge learning in a "science fair" style open house. Come and meet our accomplished Class of 2024, talk with them about their projects and learning, and hear where they will be attending college in the fall.

This event is required for all seniors but open to all IB World School students and their families. It's also a wonderful opportunity for new students to see the "end goal" of our IB Programme.

We are thrilled to welcome our IB Class of 2026 at a breakfast on Friday, May 3, from 8:15 am- 9:00 am. All incoming students will be given a ticket in advance and will have the opportunity to meet with their IB peers and teachers and enjoy a delicious breakfast sponsored by our IB Booster Club.

Juniors and Seniors: Stay tuned for more information about our IBSA banquet which will take place on Friday, May 10, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Collin College Conference Center. Our theme this year is the Great Gatsby/1920s, and we cannot wait to kick off IB exam season with this fun night of dinner, dancing, and awards. Dress is 20's Gatsby- Fabulous or formal cultural attire. We will sell tickets for one week beginning Mid-April.

Our seniors and their families are invited to this celebratory event sponsored by the IB Booster Club on Tuesday, May 21, at 7:30-8:30 a.m. We begin and end promptly. We will send an Evite in early May.

Juniors: We will kick off our EE Summer Camp on May 24 from 9:00- 11:00 am (required- last day of finals) and it will continue May 28- 30, 10 am- 3 pm, May 31 10am-12pm. It's our goal that you will finish your essay during camp and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Ms. Ruzycki and Ms. Stanton will lead a session during which we will discuss the Common App and personal statement (essay) as well as some college application tips we've learned along the way. Save the date for Saturday, August 17 (after the first week of school), August 31 (Labor Day weekend) or Saturday, September 14 (Homecoming day), from 9 am- 1 pm. We will request student input and finalize this date by end of school.

The IB World School at Plano East began in 1995, and we currently serve nearly 600 students in grades 9-12. Please follow us on Instagram @Ibpesh