International Baccalaureate Program Quartz Hill High School

AVUHSD QUARTZ HILL HIGH SCHOOL 6040 W. AVE. L LANCASTER CA 93536 661/718-3100 Mr. Jeff Cassady IB Coordinator Ext. 327 jcassady@avhsd.org International Baccalaureate Program Quartz Hill High School Volume 3, Issue 1 September 2014 Baccalaureate Club Officers-Biographies International Baccalaureate Club Officers-Biographies Alex Wada - Co-President Greetings! Inside this issue: My name is Alex Wada and I have the honor of being one of the Presidents of IB Club for the 2014-2015 school year. As I enter my senior year of high school, I hope that I can give back to the program that has given me so much already. In addition to the various duties executed by the IB Club this past year, such as organizing the end-of-year, tear-jerk IB banquet and holding weekly meetings, I also hope to establish a sister-school relationship that will cross national borders, establish a schedule, regular tutoring sessions to help students deal with the rigor of the IB program, and integrate the IB Club with the AP-IB Scholarship Foundation charity to help students in need pay for their IB tests. Also, the office of Junior Representative has been made to increase communication between the IB class of 2015 and 2016. Continuing to foster the type of close-knit community that IB has created out of myself and my peers, what I work toward and what I believe, sets IB apart from all else--i hope to make this year the best year of IB yet. IB/Honors Parent Orientation Meeting In Memoriam: Connor McCasland 4 5 IB Class of 2014 6 Inaugural IB Banquet May 2015 IB Diploma Exam Schedule IB Schedule of Events for 2014-2015 7 8 11 Emil Ekanayake - Co-President My name is Emil Ekanayake and I am one of the two Co- Presidents of IB club. My adventure here at Quartz Hill High School started about three years ago in August 2011. High school scared me as much as the next freshman, but I was a little bit lucky because I had two older sisters who already went through Quartz Hill and the IB program. They pushed me to join the program, but by the time I had to make the decision in sophomore, I knew that IB was the program for me. The program has a lot to offer to any student willing to take the challenge. The best teachers and students that Quartz Hill has to offer are part of it, and will aid in guiding you through it. In terms of material, I truly believe that the IB curriculum is the best high school curriculum available. From Tribal Africa to World War 2 Era Algeria, the program takes you on a truly international journey and creates a well rounded student in almost all subject areas. The program creates globallyminded students that are ready to take charge and find their own unique way to contribute to this planet, and I hope to promote this through a variety of methods. As co-president of IB club, I have many aspirations. My number one goal is to make sure that the program spreads and continues to grow into the future. I cannot think of a better way to contribute to a program that I love, than to watch it grow and gain even more popularity. My second goal is to assist students that are already in the program. This includes everything from tutoring to finding CAS opportunities in the community to anything else that a member of the program may need. Last, but certainly not

Page 2 IB Club Officers Biographies (Cont.) least, I want to emphasize the I in IB even more. I hope to work with the club to find a sister-school from a foreign country to see how student life is in other countries. The goal is to become even more globally-minded, and I hope that communicating with a sisterschool becomes a tradition within the IB club. As for myself, I believe that I have been able to take full advantage of my four years in high school with the IB program and beyond. As well as being the president of IB club, I am the president of Quartz Hill s branch of the National Honors Society and Editor-in-Chief of the Quartz Hill s school newspaper, The Ubiquity. I am also part of Quartz Hill s Cross Country and Track teams and a volunteer at Antelope Valley Hospital. With the IB program I know I am on my way to completing my dream of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. I am looking forward to a great school year for the Class of 2015 and beyond! Go Rebs! Niket Kulkarni- Treasurer Hello IB Newsletter reader! My name is Niket Kulkarni, the IB Club Treasurer at Quartz Hill High School for the 2014-2015 school year. A little about me: I was born in Michigan and have lived in Colorado and New York before moving to California. I play the piano and the French horn and I have been involved in various music groups including the school marching band, its wind ensemble, its pep band, the District Honor Band, and the Antelope Valley College Symphonic Band. My favorite composers include Debussy, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff. A couple of my favorite bands are Streetlight Manifesto and The Strokes. I m an active member of the Indian Cultural Association of the Antelope Valley and I also volunteer at the Antelope Valley Hospital. A huge aspiration of mine is to attend my dream school, Cornell University, to study economics. My passion for the International Baccalaureate Program has its roots in my academic and musical pursuits. I d be lying if I said I started out a passionate, self-motivated learner. My parents were the ones who taught me the value of education, and from there academics became a way of life. It wasn t until I joined the IB program that the topics I learned at school actually became engaging and interesting. Every day I d look forward to 2nd period where Mr. Cassady would teach us history from an international perspective, to 3rd period where Mr. House would blow our minds and make us reconsider our existence, or to 6th period where I could immerse myself in my favorite subject, biology, with the help of Mrs. Nichter and Mrs. Perez. As much as I love learning, I m not exactly the ideal student. I do my fair share of procrastinating, as do all of my IB peers, and the words Internal Assessment still make me cringe. The biggest thing that I value about IB is the family it gave me. This is a feeling I ve felt before through my experiences with the band program. Just like band, IB gave me a group of students to work through challenges with, one I could feel accepted in, and introduced me to a some of my best friends. Sitting in a classroom with friendly and familiar faces generates a much better learning environ- ment than spending class time with strangers. This, combined with the IB s engaging curriculum, is what keeps me motivated to strive for the diploma. Instead of being another face in the crowd reading the same material as the rest of the nation, I get to be a unique individual in an academic community and internationally -oriented student.

Page 3 IB Club Officers Biographies (Cont.) Hailey Gomillion - Public Relations Officer Hello, My name is Hailey Gomillion and I am the IB Club Public Relations Officer. I have attended Quartz Hill High School ever since I started in the pre-ib Program in 9th grade. I am a player on the Varsity Tennis Team for my third year, and this year will be my second year as President of the Art of Conversation Club. This year as a member of IB Club, I hope to play a role in encouraging freshman and sophomores to stay on the IB track and eventually enter into the program in 11th grade. I am a firm believer in the values promoted by the IB Program, so this year as Public Relations Officer, I hope to communicate the values and successes of the IB Program to the Antelope Valley community, with the hopes of further growing the program. In addition, I plan to set up communications with another IB World School overseas with the purpose of becoming sisterschools. I am very excited for the many successes that await the IB Program this upcoming year with both the Juniors and Seniors experiencing success in the classroom, and eventually on testing in May. Jordan Kasiah - Vice President I'm Jordan Kasiah and I'm the Vice President for the IB Club. What do I like? I like video games, the color purple, llamas, bad jokes, top hats, and talking in funny voices. What do I do? Well, for starters, I'm in the IB program, but you probably already had made that assumption. I also try to be in every school play and involve myself in the drama program. Other than that, I'm a pretty boring person when it comes to doing things outside of school. All I really do is go home to my plethora of pets and play video games. What's your house like? My house is crazy. I have five siblings, all of which are younger than me. Three sisters and two brothers. Both of my brothers are obsessed with trains and firebricks, so as they run around the house they are sure to make their own sound effects of sirens and train horns. Trying to sleep in the morning in this house is fun. In addition to all these little people, we have a lot of pets. Three dogs, four cats, and two tanks of fish. While I love all of them (pets and people) to death, they certainly get on my nerves and make me more than happy to have my own room, a door, headphones, and music. What music do you like? I like pretty much all types of music. Right now my favorite bands are: Dream Theater, Queensryche, Rush, Tool, and A Perfect Circle. That's not to say I don't have favorite songs by other bands, I just really like almost every song by these five bands. What video games do you like? My favorite video games are: Star Fox 64, Mario Kart 64, Dark Souls, Sly Cooper band of thieves, and League of Legends. In conclusion; I'm just a normal person. Being Vice President doesn't really make me special or better than anyone else. Hopefully now you have a better idea of what I'm like if you don t know me. I encourage you to come talk to me and get to know me even better if you like. I'm always willing to help anyone who asks for it.

ORIENTATION Volume 4, Issue 1 Page 4 IB Club Officers Biographies (Cont.) Krystal Waters - Senator My name is Krystal Waters. I am honored to be the Senator of IB Club. First, please allow me to begin by saying that I am very involved with the school and community. I also hold the position as the senator of Softball Club, and the secretary of Support of Troops Club. I play on the high school varsity softball and basketball teams as well as travel softball outside of school. I would recommend taking the IB Program to any and everyone for several reasons: It is a good self-challenge and pushes me to do the best in all I do. Good preparation for college (time management and work load). I still have a social life, play sports, and go to the football games on Fridays. The IB class will eventually become a big supportive family. IB strongly encourages community service, also known as CAS. Many people say IB is hard and a waste of time, but as long as you study and complete your work on time, and definitely get involved with the school activities, you should have absolutely no problem, and better yet, make your high school experience memorable. IB/Honors - Parent Orientation Meetings fficers Biographies (Cont.) Quartz Hill High School HONORS/INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM Parent Orientation Meeting January 20 and 22, 2015 This is an informational meeting for those interested in the Honors/IB Program at QHHS. Parents and students are encouraged to attend. Application process Minimum requirements

Page 5 In Memoriam: Connor McCasland, IB Diploma Program, Class of 2011 In June 2014, the Quartz Hill High School IB Program suddenly and unexpectedly lost one of its alumni, Mr. Connor McCasland. Connor was a highly intelligent, creative and committed part of our program, and was on his way to graduation from Texas A&M University as a Food Science and Technology major. The IB Diploma Program wishes to extend heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

Page 6 IB Class of 2014 Off to College! Congratulations to the IB Diploma Class of 2014. QHHS sends them off with warm wishes for a successful college career. We will miss you! Olivia Mihaljevich State University of New York, Maritime Logan Gallegos Cal Poly Pomona Julia Trenkle Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Samantha Cinco University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu Katelyn Crawford University of California at Riverside Cory Risinger College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita Chinelo Ufondu University of California at Santa Barbara Nilan Vaghjiani Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Roni Vaghjiani Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Nikisha Vaghjiani Brown University Daniel Zu University of California at Berkeley Hannah Burk Boise State University Anahit Hairabedyan California State University at Bakersfield Benjamin Cobleigh University of Arizona, Tucson Andrew Mann Arizona State University Anisha Singh University of California at Berkeley Apeksha Singh University of California at Berkeley Jonathan Buchholz Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona Garrett Splinter University of Nebraska You will be missed! Congratulations on your successful years here at Quartz Hill High School.

Page 7 Inaugural IB Banquet, May 2014 The IB Club organized, sponsored and hosted its first IB Diploma Program Banquet this May past, at the University of Antelope Valley Ballroom. Approximately one hundred people attended IB Anticipated Diploma Candidates and Diploma Candi- dates, their families and most of the IB Faculty from Quartz Hill High School. The driving forces were the IB Club Officers and members, including Ms. Apeksha Singh, IB Club President, and Ms. Hannah Burk, IB Club Public Relations. The banquet gave everyone in the IB Program a chance to celebrate together the many academic accomplishments and to reflect upon all the energy and effort that goes into preparing each class for each May examination session. Shortly, this year s club will begin planning for the 2015 banquet. Here are some pictures from last May s event.

Page 8 IB Diploma Programme IB Career-related Certificate May 2015 examination schedule Morning examinations must start after 0700 hours and finish by 1300 hours local time. Afternoon examinations must start after 1200 hours and finish by 1800 hours local time. An examination cannot be rescheduled without authorization from the IB Assessment Centre. WEEK 1 DATE MORNING TIME AFTERNOON TIME Thursday 30 April School-based syllabus SL paper 1 School-based syllabus SL paper 2 - Monday 4 May English A Literature HL paper 1 English A Literature SL paper 1 English A Language & Literature HL paper 1 English A Language & Literature SL paper 1 English B HL paper 1 English B SL paper 1 English ab initio SL paper 1 Literature & performance SL paper 1 Economics HL paper 1 Economics SL paper 1 Latin HL paper 1 Latin SL paper 1 15m Tuesday 5 May Economics HL paper 2 Economics HL paper 3 Economics SL paper 2 Latin HL paper 2 Latin SL paper 2 English A Literature HL paper 2 English A Literature SL paper 2 English A Language & Literature HL paper 2 English A Language & Literature SL paper 2 English B HL paper 2 English B SL paper 2 English ab initio SL paper 2 Literature & performance SL paper 2 Wednesday 6 May Biology HL paper 1 Biology HL paper 2 Biology SL paper 1 Biology SL paper 2 15m 45m 15m Philosophy HL paper 1 Philosophy SL paper 1 Psychology HL/SL paper 1 World religions SL paper 1 30m 45m 15m Thursday 7 May Philosophy HL/SL paper 2 Philosophy HL paper 3 Psychology HL paper 2 Psychology HL paper 3 Psychology SL paper 2 World religions SL paper 2 Biology HL paper 3 Biology SL paper 3 15m Friday 8 May Physics HL paper 1 Physics HL paper 2 Physics SL paper 1 Physics SL paper 2 15m 45m 15m Language A Literature HL paper 1 Language A Literature SL paper 1 Language A Language & Literature HL paper 1 Language A Language & Literature SL paper 1 Language B HL paper 1 Language B SL paper 1 Language ab initio SL paper 1 Chinese A Literature HL paper 1 Chinese A Literature SL paper 1 Chinese A Language & Literature HL paper 1 Chinese A Language & Literature SL paper 1 Chinese B HL paper 1 Chinese B SL paper 1 Chinese ab initio SL paper 1 Except: English, French, German & Spanish

Page 9 May 2015 IB Exam Schedule Monday 11 May Language A Literature HL paper 2 Language A Literature SL paper 2 Language A Language & Literature HL paper 2 Language A Language & Literature SL paper 2 Language B HL paper 2 Language B SL paper 2 Language ab initio SL paper 2 Chinese A Literature HL paper 2 Chinese A Literature SL paper 2 Chinese A Language & Literature HL paper 2 Chinese A Language & Literature SL paper 2 Chinese B HL paper 2 Chinese B SL paper 2 Chinese ab initio SL paper 2 Except: English, French, German & Spanish WEEK 2 Physics HL paper 3 Physics SL paper 3 15m Tuesday 12 May Mathematics HL paper 1 Mathematics SL paper 1 Mathematical studies SL paper 1 Spanish A Literature HL paper 1 Spanish A Literature SL paper 1 Spanish A Language & Literature HL paper 1 Spanish A Language & Literature SL paper 1 Spanish B HL paper 1 Spanish B SL paper 1 Spanish ab initio SL paper 1 Classical Greek HL paper 1 Classical Greek SL paper 1 15m Wednesday 13 May Spanish A Literature HL paper 2 Spanish A Literature SL paper 2 Spanish A Language & Literature HL paper 2 Spanish A Language & Literature SL paper 2 Spanish B HL paper 2 Spanish B SL paper 2 Spanish ab initio SL paper 2 Classical Greek HL paper 2 Classical Greek SL paper 2 Mathematics HL paper 2 Mathematics SL paper 2 Mathematical studies SL paper 2 Thursday 14 May History HL/SL paper 1 Chemistry HL paper 1 Chemistry HL paper 2 Chemistry SL paper 1 Chemistry SL paper 2 Design technology HL paper 1 Design technology HL paper 2 Design technology SL paper 1 Design technology SL paper 2 15m 45m 15m 45m 45m Friday 15 May Chemistry HL paper 3 Chemistry SL paper 3 Design technology HL paper 3 Design technology SL paper 3 15m 15m History HL/SL paper 2

Page 10 May 2015 IB Exam Schedule Monday 18 May WEEK 3 History HL paper 3 30m French A Literature HL paper 1 French A Literature SL paper 1 French A Language & Literature HL paper 1 French A Language & Literature SL paper 1 French B HL paper 1 French B SL paper 1 French ab initio SL paper 1 German A Literature HL paper 1 German A Literature SL paper 1 German A Language & Literature HL paper 1 German A Language & Literature SL paper 1 German B HL paper 1 German B SL paper 1 German ab initio paper 1 Tuesday 19 May French A Literature HL paper 2 French A Literature SL paper 2 French A Language & Literature HL paper 2 French A Language & Literature SL paper 2 French B HL paper 2 French B SL paper 2 French ab initio SL paper 2 Computer science HL paper 1 Computer science SL paper 1 ITGS HL paper 1 ITGS SL paper 1 Geography HL/SL paper 1 10m 15m 45m Wednesday 20 May Computer science HL paper 2 Computer science HL paper 3 Computer science SL paper 2 ITGS HL/SL paper 2 ITGS HL paper 3 Geography HL paper 2 Geography HL paper 3 Geography SL paper 2 20m 15m 15m 20m Further mathematics HL paper 1 Business & management HL paper 1 Business & management SL paper 1 Social & cultural anthropology HL paper 1 Social & cultural anthropology SL paper 1 Global politics HL/SL paper 1 30m 15m 15m 15m Thursday 21 May Further mathematics HL paper 2 Business & management HL paper 2 Business & management SL paper 2 Social & cultural anthropology HL paper 2 Social & cultural anthropology HL paper 3 Social & cultural anthropology SL paper 2 Global politics HL paper 2 Global politics SL paper 2 30m 15m 45m 45m 45m Mathematics HL paper 3 Sports, exercise & health science SL paper 1 Sports, exercise & health science SL paper 2 Environmental systems & societies SL paper 1 45m 15m Friday 22 May Sports, exercise & health science SL paper 3 Environmental systems & societies SL paper 2 Music HL paper 1 Music SL paper 1 30m German A Literature HL paper 2 German A Literature SL paper 2 German A Language & Literature HL paper 2 German A Language & Literature SL paper 2 German B HL paper 2 German B SL paper 2 German ab initio SL paper 2

Page 11 Schedule of Events 2014-15 IB Calendar October 2014: Registration for May 2014 IB exam session. November 15, 2014: First candidate registration deadline. January 15, 2015: Second candidate registration deadline. January 20 & 22, 2015: Coordinator Presentation to Parents. February/March 2015: Predicted Grades/Internal Assessments prepared by IB teachers and submitted to IB Coordinator. March 15, 2015: Absolute deadline for submission of ToK essays. May 1, 2015: Deadline for withdrawing candidates. April 30 - May 22, 2015: IB Testing. June 1, 2015: Deadline for CAS Status submission by IB Coordinator. July 2015: Test results sent to IB Coordinator.