THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead District School Board celebrated the success of its International Baccalaureate (IB) program at its annual graduation ceremony Saturday morning. The Board says the program enhances success in university and leads to greater community involvement.
The program, offered locally since 1999, offers enhanced academic programming and leadership opportunities to interested students across the world. It concludes with an extended essay and series of exams. Students leave with an IB diploma, and a leg up on university.
“What you’ll hear a number of these kids say is that they feel as though they’re significantly more prepared than their counterparts,” says IB coordinator Clarke Loney, “in how to study, how to write papers, how to manage your time, [and] the importance of being involved in your community.”
That’s a sentiment echoed by valedictorian Laila Ikki, who is now studying Bioinformatics at Lakehead University.
“When I stepped into university, it wasn’t really that different,” she says. “The focus of IB is really on being an independent learner and that’s, I think, what a lot of people feel is a bit difficult when they make the transition.”
Beyond academics, Ikki says the program helped foster a sense of leadership and giving back. Her favourite example was the Relay for Life campaign organized by students in the program, which has raised more than $40,000 over three years to combat cancer.
This year’s graduating class of 13 students was well below the usual average of around 30. Loney says that’s due to the closure of Churchill high school, which previously hosted the program, in 2018. Several students opted to stay at Churchill for their final year, rather than move to Superior to complete the program. Loney says numbers will be back to normal next year.
