Pre-IB Committee Holds Ice Cream Social

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  • Pre-IB students eagerly await their ice cream during the Pre-IB Ice Cream Social.

  • IB Coordinator Ms. Childress presents her part of the Pre-IB presentation.

  • Anaita Merchant ’20 and Sonia Ballada ’20 listen to Ms. Childress’ Pre-IB presentation.

  • Shea Sturdevant ’20 presents her information regarding an upcoming community service project.

  • Sophomores Erika Yao, Brianna Brown, and Anaita Merchant watch the presentation.

  • Students listen to the presentation at the Pre-IB Ice Cream Social.

  • Sonia Ballada ’20 and Davina Le ’20 present important dates and information to Pre-IB students.

  • Alysa Hernan ’21 makes small-talk with a fellow freshman.

  • Mayurika Gupta ’18 distributes spoons to students.

  • IB Coordinator Ms. Childress directs Pre-IB students to the Ice Cream Social.

  • Mohit Lele ’21 asks about the details of the Pre-IB Ice Cream Social.

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The newly formed Pre-IB Community organized its first event, an ice cream social, on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

To give an opportunity for Pre-IB students to socialize and get information about upcoming dates, current Pre-IB sophomores organized the event with the help of the IB Coordinator, Ms. Stephanie Childress.

“The social was a means to kick off the initiative [of building a Pre-IB community],” Sonia Ballada ‘20 said.

Contrary to their previous experiences in the IB program, current Pre-IB sophomores hope to bring more engaging and involving events to for Pre-IB students.

“The main reason that the Pre-IB Committee was created [was] because we felt that the IB Student [Organization] wasn’t creating proper events and a lot of us didn’t even know that those events existed,” Erika Yao ‘20 said.

Due to the social being the first Pre-IB event, it required lots of planning from its sophomore coordinators.

“We got together [again] over the summer to come up with all of the socials that we were going to have throughout the year,” Anaita Merchant ‘20 said. “We had one more meeting last week in the morning to plan this particular social.”

Due to the success of the organization’s first event, the Pre-IB Committee plans to host more fun events in the future, from pizza socials to two-step lessons.

“I’m looking forward to the dance in February,” Ms. Childress said. “We have already asked the ballroom dance club to teach the Pre-IB [students] the type of dance that we are hoping to do. Tentatively it’s gonna be a two-step and I’m trying to get a live band for this.”

For some freshmen, attending events like these have more use than indulging in good food and getting important information.

“I like it [events] because it it helps you meet new people from different schools and it helps you [make] experiences [with] the group you will be with for the next four years,” Paawan Desai ‘21 said.

In addition to strengthening the student community, future Pre-IB events will also offer study tips and team building strategies.

“One goal of our Pre-IB [Committee] is to lessen the stress of Pre-IB students and help them work together in the community,” Davina Le ‘20 said.

Within this new program, the Pre-IB Committee along with other volunteers will also be reaching out to middle schools and educating them about IB.

“In November, we are going to Canyon Vista and Grisham to help [students] understand what Pre-IB and IB entail,” Le said. “In past years there was a disconnect in what students thought IB was and what it really was, and we want to fix that.”

Through middle school outreach, the Pre-IB Committee hopes to fill a gap between the difficult transition of middle school to the Pre-IB.

“I think Pre-IB students can connect better because they are closer in age,” Yao said. “There are probably already multiple friendships that are created.”  

After attending the Pre-IB Community’s first event students, new and old, are eager to help transform the Pre-IB Community into a vital part of the IB experience.

“I am really glad that people are interested in creating this community with us,” Ballada said, “and they’re willing to get involved to help this organization flourish.”