Interdisciplinary teaching and learning is a hallmark of the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP). With this type of instruction, students have the opportunity to make connections across subject areas. Most recently Ms. Depew, Ms. Belzyt, Ms. Frederick, Ms. Rojeski and Ms. Demay met to design a unit pairing history, literature and visual arts using the lens of perspective to examine aspects of the US civil rights movement. Students in the 10th grade will be able to make connections in the course work where activities and assessment will be linked in a variety of ways. The unit will be piloted this year, so teachers will be able to reflect on its implementation and effectiveness. We are excited to see how it goes!

Our student activities have been in full swing with an upcoming Robotics competition this week at Troy Athens, and an awesome talent show last night at Chippewa Valley High School. Our student talent is certainly impressive! Last week our Science Olympiad team finished fourth at their competition, qualifying them for the state competition, and the Band received straight “ones” at the Solo and Ensemble festival for the third year in a row! Finally our Fed Challenge team won their competition qualifying them for a national event in Chicago. IAM students are involved in a variety of extracurricular activities and they excel in an assortment of ways.

This is a very busy and exciting time for seniors. The senior’s last day is April 22nd and to mark the occasion the All Night Party will occur that evening at Dave and Buster’s. The celebration will continue with the Prom on April 24th at Sycamore Hills. We are very excited for our seniors in the well deserved culmination of their academic careers here at the IAM.

As IB exams are rapidly approaching, teachers are currently intensifying the review that spans two years of course work. The exams are certainly an impressive undertaking. There are multiple “papers” or parts to each exam, with some exams lasting several days. While the exam session will last from May 5th to May 23rd, there are some days when the students have no exams at all, and others where there are several. The schedule is dependent on their subject choices. Ms. Meyer will run the exam session and is responsible for mailing out the papers within twenty four hours. These papers will travel to examiners all over the world where they will be marked according to criteria established by the IB. Students will receive their results on or around July 5th. Our seniors should be very proud as the IB Diploma is a huge accomplishment!

On April 1st Angela Riviere visited us from the IB offices in the Netherlands. Angela is the global curriculum manager for the Extended Essay. Ms. Riviere worked with both students and staff on some of the recent changes to the IB with specific emphasis on the Extended Essay. Mr. Bert Okma, current principal of Washtenaw International High School and founder of the International Academy in Oakland County came with one of his teachers, and Ms. Lynne Gibson, current principal of the International Academy as well as Ms. Nhu Do, Assistant Principal of the International Academy West Campus also visited the IAM with a team of teachers. There were productive discussions on a number of initiatives.

Ms. Lindsey Belzyt, English teacher at the IAM, recently received a grant from the Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union for $750 that will help to off-set costs for the upcoming Shakespeare production “Romeo and Juliet.” Ninth grade students will be able to speak with the actors to talk about technique and strategy as this visit coincides with a unit the students are doing in their World Literature class on staging and dramatic effects.

On April 2nd and 3rd our 10th grade students traveled to Oakland University’s Kresge Library with Ms. Rojeski and Ms. Swanger to better understand how to effectively use a university library system. Research skills are important for students at the IAM especially for success in the IB Diploma.