#studyib

Youtubers: I feel like watching YouTube is great cause it doesn’t feel like work and is enjoyable but you’re still getting something out of it.Plus you can always put subtitles onto make it easier. These are some I found, if you find any other good ones let us know :)

Natoo- She does  Travel vlogs, sketches, and sit down videos.   https://www.youtube.com/user/ptitenatou

Seblafrite- Videos on artists and music so he’s great if you wanna discover some new French music AND he speaks slowly.  https://www.youtube.com/user/SeblaFriteOfficiel

Sananas- Make up tutorials, look books, routines, hauls etc.  https://www.youtube.com/user/sananas2106

Jesuispasjolie: Hauls, make up, DIYs, advice AND she speaks slowly.   https://www.youtube.com/user/jenesuispasjolie

Fastgoodcuisine- Food channel (clearly).  https://www.youtube.com/user/FastGoodCuisine  

Newspapers& Magazines:

Le Monde-  French Newspaper,  http://www.lemonde.fr/

Cameroon Tribune- Cameroonian nespaper,  http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/

Le Potentiel Online-  Congonese Magazine,  http://www.lepotentielonline.com/

 Midi Madagassikara- Madagascan magazine http://www.midi-madagasikara.mg/

Elle-French fahsion, lifestyle and beauty magazine, http://www.elle.fr/

Femmes-  Luxembourgian magazine on culture, business, style, cooking and lifestyle,  http://www.femmesmagazine.lu/

Hope these resources help x

1.  Drink lots of water!: Yes, I know you know you should drink a lot of water, but the fact of the matter is, most of us don’t drink enough water! I know you’re probably tempted to buy a capri-sun at the canteen, but highly sugary drinks will give you energy for a short amount of time and then you’ll “crash” and literally will be too tired to work. 

Keep a glass of water by your desk or have a water bottle with you at all times to keep hydrated. 

2. CARBS, CARBS, CARBS: Carbs have been and are demonized by the “diet community” for making you fat, however, this claim does not make sense as for 1g of carbohydrates there are 4 calories, 1g of fat has 9 calories. Carbohydrates are the macronutrient we need the most of (in grams). Don’t skimp on carbs! Carbohydrates provide long-lasting energy which is EXTREMELY important for everyone, but especially students.  

Base your meals around carbohydrates: potatoes, rice, pasta, quinoa; you decide! 

3. Caffeine: Hear me out, you might find it weird that I’m suggesting that you have caffeine. However, I’d argue that it’s essentially a good thing that coffee wakes you up in the morning and gives you a boost of energy. 

Also: 

“Michael Yassa, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins, and his team of scientists found that caffeine has a positive effect on our long-term memory. Their research, published by the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that caffeine enhances certain memories at least up to 24 hours after it is consumed.” - http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/01/12/caffeine-enhances-memory/  From the Johns Hopkins University website (pretty reliable, right?) 

I’d suggest no more than 2 cups of coffee so that you are not up all night! You can drink coffee with milk (I’d personally suggest almond or soy, but drink whichever one you think tastes best) and a teaspoon of sugar (you can have none or more, just be cautious of how much sugar you’re consuming daily) (you can do that by not having other sugary drinks, and evaluating whether or not you are consuming other foods that are high in sugar (chocolate, pastries, cereals, desserts) 

4. Colourful meals: You know a meal provides a lot of different vitamins and minerals when it’s colourful. And what types of food are colourful? Fruit and Vegetables. This is a good way to judge whether your meal is essentially healthy or not, if it’s colourful, then you probably have different types of vegetables there. 

Tip: adding different chopped up vegetables into rice (peas, sweetcorn broccoli, peppers for example) 

5. Packed Lunch: I feel like this one is really important as most of us feel that we don’t eat our best in school (bc school food is gross), if you bring packed lunch then you can have food that’s healthy and delicious.

Tip: Buy a thermal container, so you can eat last night’s dinner and eat it warm too. 

Unexpected/bad exam results can be the result of several outcomes:

Procrastinating studying 

Forgetting about having a test 

Random unannounced class test

 Freaking out and blanking in the middle of the exam

Regardless of the situation that left you with an upsetting test result here are some tips to deal with it, learn from it and move on.

Read the teachers comments 

As students we can't help but automatically look for the grade when we get an exam back. This is then followed by everyone asking and shouting out what they got. We all ignore the classic teacher line: “Please read my comments before looking at your score.” (Who really does this???) But in all honesty, read the teachers comments because they wrote them for a reason and they may help you understand better the score you got. 

The teacher didn't mark you down on purpose

“She/ he hates me”

Remember that teachers mark our exams based on a marking scheme. They try to follow it as closely as possible because when it comes to the real exams the external examiner won't be as forgetful and considerate. So it’s all good practice and never personal... If you're still unsure about the grading ask for the mark scheme and see where you missed out on marks.

“I swear I wrote the same thing and I didn't get the mark”

Everyone has said this at one point. Maybe to some extent you did and it all made sense in your head but your teacher didn't understand it. Many times the teacher will admit that they knew what you were trying to say but it was explained clearly. Again remember that in the real exam the examiner won't know you personally so you have to make sure your ideas are clear. In subjects like biology for example make sure you know how the correct spelling of terms. I once wrote blood magma instead of plasma and I obviously didn't get the mark.

It's a learning process

Always remember that the IB is not easy and is supposed to be challenging. For most of us, the first year is all about learning and adapting as it is often a big leap with higher demands from the level we were doing before (IGCSE/GCSE etc). Don't feel discouraged if you're suddenly not the best and aren't getting top scores like you were used to. It is very unlikely for teachers to give you 6 and 7 at the start of the IB as it is a two year program and your skills haven't fully developed. Also, keep in mind that there will be many other tests and its better to be “failing” these practice tests and learning from them than the real ones at the end of the second year. However, this doesn't mean you should brush off a bad test result. Take it as an opportunity to revise more or talk to your teacher if you need extra help.

Hope this helps  

Sometimes I get these random creative moments just from looking at random things (In this case fat babies). Even if in the moment it seems like the stupidest idea my tip is to always write them down. Do quick small sketches, (they don't have to be perfect) and just archive them for later. You can go back to them when you're feeling uninspired or laugh at them.

1) Communicate with them – this is probably the most important thing (which is why it’s number 1 on the list). Your new teacher obviously doesn’t know you like your old teacher, so make sure that you let them know your stronger and weaker areas in their subject so that they know what to focus on in class. Maybe tell them certain approaches your old teacher took that you did or didn’t like. Whatever you do just talk to them!!! (not in a weird way though)

2) Be prepared – don’t think that just because you’re getting a new teacher you can be relaxed and not do work that your old teacher set you – it will all be helpful to you in the grand scheme of things. This is a bit hypocritical of me, as I still haven’t read Crime and Punishment like my old teacher told me to, but I’m a bad example.

3) Be polite – make a good first impression!! This is the person who’s going to be guiding you through your studies (and grading your essays) – surely you wouldn’t want to get off on the wrong foot.

4) Don’t judge them straight away – so…I know the last point says to make a good first impression, but don’t immediately make assumptions about the teacher in the first lesson (I’ve done this and ended up misjudging…a lot).  Just because they SEEM boring in the first lesson doesn’t mean that that’s the way it will be for the whole course.