IBDP Update

On the evening of 15 November we held our first Theory of Knowledge (ToK) Exhibition for parents and families in the College library. The ToK exhibition is an opportunity for the students to demonstrate how ToK concepts manifest in the real world. The 12 concepts are: certainty, culture, evidence, explanation, interpretation, justification, objectivity, perspective, power, responsibility, truth and values. The exhibition involves students choosing three ‘objects’ and one of the 35 prompts, and writing a 950-word commentary about how the object relates to the chosen prompt. The context of the exhibition is based on the core theme – Knowledge and the Knower – or one of the optional themes. The exhibition must also form the basis of a public event, to showcase ToK to the rest of the community. The evening was very well attended and it was wonderful to hear the buzzing conversations as the students explained and justified their chosen objects to their audience.

Some of the more popular prompts (there are 35 in total) chosen were:

  • Does some knowledge belong only to particular communities of knowers?
  • What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge?
  • What is the relationship between knowledge and culture?
  • What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge?
  • How important are material tools in the production or acquisition of knowledge?

Here is a link to an explanatory video courtesy of TOK NET.

On 1 December the Year 11 IB staff and students hosted the annual D Cubed Day – Discover Diploma Day for the Year 9 students. This gives the Year 9s an opportunity to have some insight into the Diploma and how it works as well as a taste of the subjects offered at Santa Sabina. This then helps them, in Year 10, in choosing their senior studies pathway. To keep the tester classes small and manageable we also ran a ‘global trading game’ in the hall this year. This game highlighted the inquiry-based nature of the Diploma and the emphasis placed on international mindedness. A big shout out to the Year 11 Diploma students and staff for a successful day. We will be running a Diploma information session for the entire Santa Sabina community one evening in Term 1 2024.

The final Diploma exams finished on 9 November for the 35 Year 12 Diploma students and we look forward to sharing their results with the community on 3 January.

Julie Harris
Dean of IB