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Our goal is that ALL Skyline students will be prepared for and eager to accept the academic, occupational, personal, and practical challenges of life in a dynamic global environment.
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NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS
COVID-19 and IB UPDATE
Dear Skyline IB Students and Families,
I know there are many questions and a lot of uncertainty right now about what lays ahead. I want to assure you that everyone in a decision-making role is working diligently to find answers to questions we have rarely, if ever, faced. Complicating our process is the fluid nature of the situation. We will update this page frequently (daily if needed) to bring you the latest and most accurate details we can.
For the latest on school district decisions please visit the ISD Homepage.
For a direct link to the IBO COVID-19 update FAQ page please visit IBO.
For SHS program-wide IB news please use this page you are viewing.
For specific SHS IB Course level details about expectations, procedures and other course level details see your
teacher websites.
Thank you in advance for your patience as we navigate this unique situation.
Dear Skyline IB Students and Families,
I know there are many questions and a lot of uncertainty right now about what lays ahead. I want to assure you that everyone in a decision-making role is working diligently to find answers to questions we have rarely, if ever, faced. Complicating our process is the fluid nature of the situation. We will update this page frequently (daily if needed) to bring you the latest and most accurate details we can.
For the latest on school district decisions please visit the ISD Homepage.
For a direct link to the IBO COVID-19 update FAQ page please visit IBO.
For SHS program-wide IB news please use this page you are viewing.
For specific SHS IB Course level details about expectations, procedures and other course level details see your
teacher websites.
Thank you in advance for your patience as we navigate this unique situation.
April 2 Update
Several unrelated items in today's update:
1) April 1st spoof letter from IBO - yesterday's internet blow out was the FAKE letter from IBO stating that exams would in fact go forward - this is JUST A JOKE! IB remains committed to the plan they announced on March 27.
2) Many seniors taking IB courses are wondering how to get their final IB marks to their colleges. There will be a process for this (announced here and eNews, etc...) once we are past the April 20 deadline for the upload of student work, and the early May deadline for college selection. Please stay tuned for this.
3) The eCoursework window is now open for the upload of IB student work. Students should be CLOSELY MONITORING their communications with IB teachers to make sure teachers have all the work they need to package it for IB uploads. This upload process ends for our school on the morning of April 20. It is critical that students submit work to their teachers well before this deadline.
4) IBO continues to work with IB schools and universities and colleges to maintain the normal timeline of release of final marks by early July. This will allow students needing these marks for college admissions and those seeking credit at college in the fall to remain on target with those goals.
5) SHS IB teachers are working exceptionally hard to simultaneously support students finishing their IB work, prepare for Phase 2 of online learning rollout, and care for their families and their own needs. Please help to support them by keeping your student aware of the e-platform each teacher uses for their class, and to check those e-platforms regularly.
1) April 1st spoof letter from IBO - yesterday's internet blow out was the FAKE letter from IBO stating that exams would in fact go forward - this is JUST A JOKE! IB remains committed to the plan they announced on March 27.
2) Many seniors taking IB courses are wondering how to get their final IB marks to their colleges. There will be a process for this (announced here and eNews, etc...) once we are past the April 20 deadline for the upload of student work, and the early May deadline for college selection. Please stay tuned for this.
3) The eCoursework window is now open for the upload of IB student work. Students should be CLOSELY MONITORING their communications with IB teachers to make sure teachers have all the work they need to package it for IB uploads. This upload process ends for our school on the morning of April 20. It is critical that students submit work to their teachers well before this deadline.
4) IBO continues to work with IB schools and universities and colleges to maintain the normal timeline of release of final marks by early July. This will allow students needing these marks for college admissions and those seeking credit at college in the fall to remain on target with those goals.
5) SHS IB teachers are working exceptionally hard to simultaneously support students finishing their IB work, prepare for Phase 2 of online learning rollout, and care for their families and their own needs. Please help to support them by keeping your student aware of the e-platform each teacher uses for their class, and to check those e-platforms regularly.
March 27 PM Update
Thank you for your continued patience as we have awaited more direction from IBO regarding the cancellation of May 2020 exams. Per their promise, IBO released the statement at the link below. While this has resolved many issues for schools, all schools (Skyline included), have particular impacts unique to their school. SHS staff are working continuously to put procedure in place to meet the new guidelines laid out by IBO within the local health and safety measures we are all complying with. Students should expect to start receiving revised IA completion instructions from their IB teachers starting early next week.
LINK TO IBO's MARCH 27 FAQ
A summary of the facts as we know them:
-IBO has again revised their IA deadline from the initial extension of May 20 back to the original April 20 deadline.
-All students will receive a final mark for the subject in which they registered.
-In lieu of exams, IBO will now externally mark each student’s IA work in all subjects.
Comment: In previous sessions IAs were marked by local teachers and moderated through sampling by IBO. IA’s will now be marked like
exams.
-IBO is implementing a data-driven process to figure final student marks.
Comment: IBO keeps comprehensive longitudinal data on school-level IB grades, IB grade predictions, and the historical exam performance of
students in relation to historic IA marks and overall grades. All of this data will be used in some way to derive final student marks.
-As in previous and future sessions, we presume students who wish to contest their final scores will be allowed to challenge via the normal Enquiry Upon Results (EUR) in late summer/early fall.
-Because IBO is, in essence, providing the same product (potential for college credit based on student performance) it is not expected that IBO will be issuing refunds.
-IBO is working with colleges and universities to make sure that credit is granted as it would be under normal conditions.
Comment: At some point in mid-May I will be reaching out to Seniors who were registered to take IB tests this May to find out their final
university destination. It will be important for students to fill out the brief survey so that we can make sure that IB transcripts are
sent to colleges/universities for the fall.
LINK TO IBO's MARCH 27 FAQ
A summary of the facts as we know them:
-IBO has again revised their IA deadline from the initial extension of May 20 back to the original April 20 deadline.
-All students will receive a final mark for the subject in which they registered.
-In lieu of exams, IBO will now externally mark each student’s IA work in all subjects.
Comment: In previous sessions IAs were marked by local teachers and moderated through sampling by IBO. IA’s will now be marked like
exams.
-IBO is implementing a data-driven process to figure final student marks.
Comment: IBO keeps comprehensive longitudinal data on school-level IB grades, IB grade predictions, and the historical exam performance of
students in relation to historic IA marks and overall grades. All of this data will be used in some way to derive final student marks.
-As in previous and future sessions, we presume students who wish to contest their final scores will be allowed to challenge via the normal Enquiry Upon Results (EUR) in late summer/early fall.
-Because IBO is, in essence, providing the same product (potential for college credit based on student performance) it is not expected that IBO will be issuing refunds.
-IBO is working with colleges and universities to make sure that credit is granted as it would be under normal conditions.
Comment: At some point in mid-May I will be reaching out to Seniors who were registered to take IB tests this May to find out their final
university destination. It will be important for students to fill out the brief survey so that we can make sure that IB transcripts are
sent to colleges/universities for the fall.
March 27 AM Update
This morning IBO provided a brief update to their plan. Here are highlights:
1) All students - Course, Career and Diploma will be eligible to get a final grade.
2) IBO will be using a long-standing adverse circumstances, data-driven process to arrive at final student marks.
3) IBO is now requiring ALL STUDENT IAs to be entered into the IBO system by April 20th. This reverses an earlier deadline extension of
May 20. Without an IA a student will not be eligible for a score.
All PNW IB coordinators are meeting online at 10am today to figure out what this means in a practical sense for our schools. Out hope is to provide a more detailed update sometime later today or this weekend.
FOR NOW: all IB students who were testing this May should be looking to their teacher websites for direction on next steps with the IA completion.
1) All students - Course, Career and Diploma will be eligible to get a final grade.
2) IBO will be using a long-standing adverse circumstances, data-driven process to arrive at final student marks.
3) IBO is now requiring ALL STUDENT IAs to be entered into the IBO system by April 20th. This reverses an earlier deadline extension of
May 20. Without an IA a student will not be eligible for a score.
All PNW IB coordinators are meeting online at 10am today to figure out what this means in a practical sense for our schools. Out hope is to provide a more detailed update sometime later today or this weekend.
FOR NOW: all IB students who were testing this May should be looking to their teacher websites for direction on next steps with the IA completion.
March 23 Update
Rumors are now confirmed - IBO has cancelled all May 2020 exams worldwide. We are still waiting on more details about the method by which student final marks will be figured. Please read the letter below from IBO. More details will post here as we have them. Thank you for your continued patience.
Letter from IBO:
To our IB Students and Families,
The International Baccalaureate Organization has announced that the May examinations for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
As an organization, it is critical for the IB to ensure that the options it provides its global community of IB World Schools are based on compassion and fairness for the difficult circumstances that its students and educators are experiencing. As a result, based on considerable advice from stakeholders across the globe, including schools, students, universities and official bodies, the IB has determined what it believes to be the most responsible and ethical way forward.
The May 2020 examinations as scheduled between 30 April and 22 May for Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme candidates will no longer be held.
Depending on what they registered for, the student will be awarded a Diploma or a Course Certificate which reflects their standard of work. This is based on student's coursework and the established assessment expertise, rigor and quality control already built into the programmes.
We know parents and students will have many questions. The IB will share full details and FAQs with us and on their website by 27 March 2020.
Thank you and stay well.
Letter from IBO:
To our IB Students and Families,
The International Baccalaureate Organization has announced that the May examinations for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
As an organization, it is critical for the IB to ensure that the options it provides its global community of IB World Schools are based on compassion and fairness for the difficult circumstances that its students and educators are experiencing. As a result, based on considerable advice from stakeholders across the globe, including schools, students, universities and official bodies, the IB has determined what it believes to be the most responsible and ethical way forward.
The May 2020 examinations as scheduled between 30 April and 22 May for Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme candidates will no longer be held.
Depending on what they registered for, the student will be awarded a Diploma or a Course Certificate which reflects their standard of work. This is based on student's coursework and the established assessment expertise, rigor and quality control already built into the programmes.
We know parents and students will have many questions. The IB will share full details and FAQs with us and on their website by 27 March 2020.
Thank you and stay well.
March 20 Update
IBO update:
March 27th remains the day when IBO releases their revised plan for the May 2020 session.
This morning we received word that IBO is strongly encouraging schools to make efforts to submit their Internal Assessment (IA) scores and Predicted Grades (PG). SHS staff are planning to complete this work to the best of our ability within the guidelines in place by IBO, ISD, etc...
SHS IB Update:
If you have limited access to technology please contact the school. There will be days next week when students/families can check out laptops and/or hot spots. There will be more on this in a forthcoming eNews.
SHS Staff are preparing to start loading course content on their e-platforms starting Monday March 23rd. This will look a little different in every subject. Please be patient as teachers make this huge shift in the nature of their work.
IB teachers with outstanding IA work will be working with their students to set procedures for completion and submission to IBO. This may look a little different in every subject so it will be important for students to check for details with each teacher.
The school deadline for IA/PG submission is May 20. Each teacher requires different amounts of time to prepare their IA subject materials based on the nature of their course and the number of students they have. The IB Coordinators also need to process all of the data once teachers have done their part. Please work with your teachers to make this as smooth a process as possible.
March 27th remains the day when IBO releases their revised plan for the May 2020 session.
This morning we received word that IBO is strongly encouraging schools to make efforts to submit their Internal Assessment (IA) scores and Predicted Grades (PG). SHS staff are planning to complete this work to the best of our ability within the guidelines in place by IBO, ISD, etc...
SHS IB Update:
If you have limited access to technology please contact the school. There will be days next week when students/families can check out laptops and/or hot spots. There will be more on this in a forthcoming eNews.
SHS Staff are preparing to start loading course content on their e-platforms starting Monday March 23rd. This will look a little different in every subject. Please be patient as teachers make this huge shift in the nature of their work.
IB teachers with outstanding IA work will be working with their students to set procedures for completion and submission to IBO. This may look a little different in every subject so it will be important for students to check for details with each teacher.
The school deadline for IA/PG submission is May 20. Each teacher requires different amounts of time to prepare their IA subject materials based on the nature of their course and the number of students they have. The IB Coordinators also need to process all of the data once teachers have done their part. Please work with your teachers to make this as smooth a process as possible.
March 19 Update
Yesterday ISD and IEA published their agreed upon services they will be able to provide to students. We are currently working on putting those recommendations into action. SHS staff is working on building level details. More details will come via eNews and the ISD homepage in the next day.
This morning IBO announced that they will make public their final decisions for schools no later than March 27th. This announcement will let us know what work to submit, what work should like from the students, and what changes there will be to the May 2020 exam session. Their message is pasted in part below. For full details from IBO, please visit their COVID-19 page listed above.
"The IB, like other examination bodies, is treating the challenges that this pandemic is presenting for our worldwide school community very seriously. We have deep empathy for the impact this is having on over 200,000 IB students across the globe and are currently reviewing all available options. We are gathering feedback from schools, students, universities and official bodies to determine the most judicious way forward. It is critical for us to ensure that the options we provide our world of schools are done with compassion for our students and teachers and fairness for the difficult circumstances our students and educators are experiencing. Ultimately, we want to ensure that our students have every chance of success as they pursue university entry or future career plans. Our students are at the forefront of our thinking as we navigate this extraordinary global pandemic.
We are working through these options with the utmost urgency and will be providing a decision on the May 2020 examination session and the options available for schools and students no later than 27 March 2020." from IBO
This morning IBO announced that they will make public their final decisions for schools no later than March 27th. This announcement will let us know what work to submit, what work should like from the students, and what changes there will be to the May 2020 exam session. Their message is pasted in part below. For full details from IBO, please visit their COVID-19 page listed above.
"The IB, like other examination bodies, is treating the challenges that this pandemic is presenting for our worldwide school community very seriously. We have deep empathy for the impact this is having on over 200,000 IB students across the globe and are currently reviewing all available options. We are gathering feedback from schools, students, universities and official bodies to determine the most judicious way forward. It is critical for us to ensure that the options we provide our world of schools are done with compassion for our students and teachers and fairness for the difficult circumstances our students and educators are experiencing. Ultimately, we want to ensure that our students have every chance of success as they pursue university entry or future career plans. Our students are at the forefront of our thinking as we navigate this extraordinary global pandemic.
We are working through these options with the utmost urgency and will be providing a decision on the May 2020 examination session and the options available for schools and students no later than 27 March 2020." from IBO
March 14 Update
At this time ISD staff are working to find the best path forward. All teaching staff have been asked to not provide "formal instruction, instructional tasks, materials, or assessments" to their students for the coming week of March 16-20 until a plan can be developed to provide equitable services to the entire ISD community.
SHS is working with IBO to find a mutually suitable delivery point for exam materials since the school will be closed during the time of normal scheduled delivery.
IBO has extended IA deadlines so students are free to finish their work on their own if that is possible and/or await further instruction from their teachers once we have direction from the District sometime in the coming week.
In the coming days the IB Coordinator will be posting a volunteer parent sign-up for exam proctors should we be able to hold the May exam session AND be allowed to use parent proctors as we have in the past. Please stay tuned for more on this.
SHS is working with IBO to find a mutually suitable delivery point for exam materials since the school will be closed during the time of normal scheduled delivery.
IBO has extended IA deadlines so students are free to finish their work on their own if that is possible and/or await further instruction from their teachers once we have direction from the District sometime in the coming week.
In the coming days the IB Coordinator will be posting a volunteer parent sign-up for exam proctors should we be able to hold the May exam session AND be allowed to use parent proctors as we have in the past. Please stay tuned for more on this.
March 12-13 Update
In just the last 12-18 hours we already know much more than we did previously. Here is a synopsis of what you will find on the IBO COVID-19 page:
Current Implications for SHS IB:
- Washington State has been included in the growing list of regions impacted by the virus.
- Impacted WA IB schools have all been granted extensions to upcoming deadlines.
- IBO has released procedures for the remote completion of student work that would otherwise be completed at school.
- IBO is still holding the May exam session that begins May 1.
Current Implications for SHS IB:
- We are working together the next few days to determine the best way to support students in the completion of work that due at the next IB deadline. This is largely the Internal Assessments (IAs) for every subject. The school and students are in a pretty good position to get most if not all this turned by the new IBO deadlines. Further comment on this will appear here in the next few days.
- We are still awaiting direction from the District about the viability of online instruction - but teachers are preparing to support students in any way they are allowed to - stay tuned.
- While IBO is still holding the May exam session there are too many local variables to know whether we will be able to hold exams or not. IBO is still exploring options about how to make final grades for students. In the coming days you will see a request from us here to sign up as volunteer proctors for a potential SHS IB Exam session. While we don't know if it will be possible we want to be ready should we be able to hold exams.
