IB Thursday's Thoughts Newsletter | September 4, 2025
College Application season is here! Many highly selective universities send college admissions representatives to Hillcrest’s IB Program to speak with our students. This is a great opportunity for your students to ask questions to a college admissions expert. Even if they don’t plan on applying to these universities, they can get some great guidance from the admissions reps. Juniors are welcome to attend, it’s not too early to start formulating a plan for college applications.
All visits are held in the Presentation Room (across from the attendance office on the 1st floor) from 9:05 – 9:45am. Parents are welcome to attend.
9/11/25 – Baylor University
9/23/25 – University of Chicago
9/30/25 – Tufts University
10/1/25 – Colby College
10/7/25 – Rice University
10/10/25 – Vanderbilt University
Academic Integrity
We want to emphasize the importance of academic integrity to all members of the IB community. One of the most important IB Learner Profile attributes is to be “principled.”
#1- Please remind students never to give their work to a friend. Many instances of academic misconduct begin with a student innocently letting a friend “look to see what they did” on an assignment or test.
#2- A student can and should learn to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a responsible and ethical way. The IB believes AI can be used as part of research but never to produce the work for the student.
Please help our IB community by stressing to your students the importance of academic integrity in their studies. The IB has produced a document outlining common questions and concerns regarding AI. If interested I’ve provided the link here.
https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/programmes/shared-resources/pdfs/artificial-intelligence-questions-and-concerns-en.pdf
Your student will be bringing home a copy of the IB Academic Integrity Policy. I will also provide a copy next week to all parents of IB students. Please review this academic integrity policy with your student.
Take APP Attendance Seriously!!
What is APP (Academic Preparation Period) (Monday – Thursday)?
APP is a positive attendance based-class where students can get extra academic help. Here’s what parents and students need to know:
- Attendance Matters: Students must sign in using a keypad to be marked present.
- Mondays: All students must attend their assigned homeroom APP class.
- Tuesday–Thursday: Students can choose to go to any of their teachers’ APP classes for help, make-up work, or extra instruction.
- Grading: Students can earn an A in APP simply by showing up and participating.
Read more about APP Grading Procedures.
Grading APP 1st quarter 2025-2026
- First quarter has 35 days of APP
- An assembly schedule, where we don’t sign in for APP as a school, appears as an “N”
- The “N” will have a comment of what school activity took place
- When a student is “guardian excused” absent, it will still display as a “G”
- Please note this will still count against students’ attendance in APP. (unless doctor’s note is provided).
- When a student does not sign in or is absent, it will display as a “Z”
Attendance codes meaning they are truly excused: N, E-DR, E-EL, Blank
Attendance codes that are counted as absences against their APP grade: Z, G, A-VT
Grades in APP
- 90% attendance allows for up to 4 APP absences = A
- 80% attendance allows for up to 7 APP absences = P
- 8 or more absences = F
***These numbers are subject to change if we have other assemblies
Important Dates
Sept. 8 – Oct. 30 – 1:1 student meetings with Mr. Olsen to go over IB exam plans for the May 2026 and May 2027 IB exam sessions.
Nov. 15th – IB exam fees due. Exam fees will be paid in the main office. If you’d like the fee to appear on skyward, your student can let the main office know, then you can pay from home. Students will bring home invoice of IB exams they are taking (IB Juniors may not be taking any IB exams in May 2026 but we will still meet).
Next Week
- What to know about how the IB Diploma is awarded
- Writing in the IB
- Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)
Please reach out with any questions or concerns. Thank you!
John Olsen
Hillcrest IB Coordinator
john.olsen@canyonsdistrict.org
Cassidy Adams
CAS Coordinator
cassidy.adams@canyonsdistrict.org