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The IB Retreat September 2007AISC welcomed the safe return of 16 IB students from their retreat in Mahabilipuram on Sunday the 23rd of September 2007. The IB students were participants in AISC’s inaugural IB Retreat. The purpose of the IB Retreat is to thoroughly prepare students for the rigours of undertaking the challenge of the IB Diploma Program. The weekend retreat began on Friday with a team-building activity in which students, under the pressure of a stringent time-line, were asked to formulate and present a model that represented their conceptual understanding of the IB Diploma Program- one student was quoted as saying, “this is fantastic! I wish all my regular classes were like this.” After a night of restorative slumber, students were present and correct for an 8am start in which a multitude of sharply focused topic areas were explored. These topics included the IB calendar; time management; the Extended Essay and Group 4 project- though asked to assimilate a multiplicity of informational points, students soldiered through the day in order to gain the maximum benefit from the sessions, with a view to fully realising their IB success. In the clamour of note taking- two students claimed to have recorded notes in excess of 7.34 teraflops a second- a huge accomplishment by any standard. In addition to the robust academic dimension of the IB retreat, time was allocated for peer support and social interaction, aimed at fostering collective team spirit and cohesion. Such opportunities lead to a number of memorable undertakings that included a splintering game of pool and a late Sunday evening game of hunt the absentee room key. In summation, the inaugural IB retreat was a resounding success- students and staff were able to explore numerous practical and meaningful aspects of the complex IB program from a foundation of mutual trust and respect; in a spirit of true educational investigation. My sincere thanks to both students and staff for helping to achieve that success. Mark Robertson-Jones
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