Best of the Week 2022-2023: Excellence in College Prep

IB SENIOR COUNCIL HOSTS FIRST EVER IB OLYMPICS; FOCUSING ON SKILL-BUILDING AND CONNECTEDNESS

Over the past half decade, St. Ed's has aimed to make the IB Diploma Program increasingly student-centered, adding more opportunities for Edsmen to develop the skills crucial to building healthy culture and healthy communities: practicing one's listening skills and ability to compromise, practicing open mindedness, being proactive towards challenges, and being creative problem solvers.

One way this goal manifested was through the creation of the IB DP Student Council. Every year, IB DP faculty and candidates nominate about 5-7 of their peers to not only help as adults attuned to the strengths and the struggles within an IB cohort, but also to devise new ways for classmates to come together and strengthen the brotherhood that's long been a hallmark of the DP Program at St. Ed's.

This year, St. Ed's IB Senior Council found a way to help the junior and senior cohorts come together in the first annual IB Olympics at St. Ed's. "For as tight-knit as each individual cohort has been, it's been rare for a junior and senior cohort to get to come together in meaningful ways. This year's seniors cracked that by spending the first quarter designing a six event gauntlet that brought the two cohorts together through some healthy competition," says Dean of Academics and IB Coordinator Nick Kuhar. "My favorite part was how each event was a way for our DP candidates to express themselves. Ben Zangas '23, for instance, long known for his famous Food Review on SETV, designed a 'Chopped' challenge where teams of juniors and seniors drafted six ingredients from a smorgasbord of sandwich options and had to build the best sub possible." St. Ed's will continue the IB Olympics as a tradition for future cohorts to express themselves and build deeper relationships through shared IB experiences.