
IB St. John Paul II

What happens in Grade 9 and 10 of IB?
The actual IB Diploma Programme occurs in Grade 11 and Grade 12, so for the students in Grade 9 and 10 enrolled in the IB Diploma Programme, we offer a "Junior Preparation" programme. The whole idea of this "Junior Preparation" is that
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Students will test "the IB waters" to see if this programme is right for them
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Student's will develop work habits and study skills (this will help build a solid foundation of success for students regardless of where they choose to stay - IB, partly IB, university or college streams)
In Grade 9, students have enriched courses in English, French, Science, and Mathematics. In Grade 10, students have enriched courses in English, French, History, Science, Mathematics, and Religion (the religion course is used as preparation for the IB Theory of Knowledge course in Grade 12). Also, in Grade 10, students take two math courses, one in Grade 10, semester 1 and the second in the second semester.
We encourage the Grade 9 and 10 students to finish their 40 mandatory volunteer hours before the end of Grade 10 so that for the students entering the full IB DP Programme, they can focus on their completion of 150 hours.
This Junior Preparation programme is for the selected students in which we think they are capable of fully undergoing the Junior Preparation programme. In rare cases, if a student cannot take this, or if they are struggling academically, they will be moved to the academic stream at the end of Grade 9 or Grade 10. When February comes around, students start to really think about whether the full IB DP Programme is right for them.