Purcell Marian is excited to begin our first full academic year as an International Baccalaureate World School. The IB is a worldwide community of schools with the shared vision and mission to empower its students with the skills, values, and knowledge to create a better and more peaceful world. That is the mission of IB. A global educator team will assess the IB Student ability to think critically, conduct research, and demonstrate mastery of the material at the end of their senior year. That, and more, is the IB experience at Purcell Marian.

The IB experience at Purcell Marian is available to upper-level students. They must demonstrate a desire to learn more and dig deeper into understanding why -- whether it’s in math, science, history, literature, a second language, or the arts. IB courses are taught over the students’ junior and senior years, allowing classes to go into greater depth than traditional advanced placement courses.

There are two pathways to pursue those goals:

IB Diploma Program

• Theory of Knowledge, the class that promotes critical thinking
• Extended Essay, a research paper on a topic of your choice
• CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) a service project outside the classroom that positively impacts the community.

Students can study an area of interest by taking the IB classes of their choice, without pursuing the full IB Diploma.

Successful completion of the course requirements results in being awarded an IB Course Certificate and earning college credit based on their IB assessment.

We are pleased to welcome the new cohort of juniors to the International Baccalaureate Program at Purcell Marian. Twenty-Nine Juniors are taking a combined 95 classes. English, history, and visual arts are the largest classes with 13 students each. IB Biology and IB psychology classes have been added to the course offerings this year.

Nineteen Seniors have signed up for 35 IB classes. English, followed by visual arts and math, has the largest enrollment with nine, eight, and six students.

Five Juniors have chosen to undertake the rigorous IB Diploma Program (DP) and will take the six IB classes plus the three IB Core Classes over the course of the next two years. We asked them asked why they decided to pursue the IB Diploma. Their responses included a desire to learn new things, earn college credit, and accept a challenge.

• "I think I’ll be taken out of my comfort zone in subjects like math and even in visual arts when it comes to comprehending new topics." - Raimi '21

• "As a creative person, visual arts allows for those creative ideas to come forward and shine." - Kara

• "Learn how to manage time. Things will get very overwhelming if you don't." - Brandon
• "It is a big commitment, but if you’re ready for it and want to do it, you should because it’s a great opportunity." - Raimi
• "If you want to pursue the IB Diploma, go for it. You might be surprised about what you are capable of accomplishing." - Kara
• "Stay organized and maintain a good relationship with your teachers." - Josey
• "My advice is to stick to the books, study, don't worry about what other people think, try your best, and don't give up on what you believe." - Charisma

• Two Cavaliers plan on careers in medicine as a surgeon and one as a veterinarian. Political science, accounting, engineering, or forensics are possible paths for the others.