International Baccalaureate

On the evening of Wednesday, 13 October, the Principal hosted the orientation for the International Baccalaureate 2022/2023 which was very well attended by about 100 parents and students in the Khoury Hall. After Mr. Gray’s initial presentation, the Director of Studies and Vice Principal Academic, Georges Rizkallah, gave an overarching presentation on the nature and content of the IB which was then followed with some excellent individual presentations with Lisette El Hage on the Extended Essay, by Giselle Hanna on CAS, by Nado Chelala on ITGS, and by Zeina Misk on the TOK. The Principal was very impressed by our speakers who were clear, cogent and clearly excited by the IB, while it was also made clear to students who wish to apply that their admission is by no means guaranteed and would depend not only on their potential and performance but also on their enthusiasm and ability to sustain intellectual curiosity as well as through a letter of application and interview, a process which has worked well this year. There were some very good questions at the end and some parents and students stayed behind to ask about the IB individually.  Later in the year, once advisers and teachers have spoken to students and students have found out more, we shall get down to the business of interviewing the students who sent letters of application and ultimately they will be guided in their choice of subjects. Next week we have an A Level orientation; many of the same parents and students will attend that, so that they can make measured, well informed judgements as to which programme the students should follow. The IB of course is available to Lebanese Programme students because they now can get the equivalency, whereas this is not the case at the moment with regard to A Levels which are only available to International Programme students.