Preparing for Year 12

1. Read political cartoons from a range of sources and collect the ones you find the most interesting / impactful (even if you disagree with the political message)
2. Get a copy of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and read it

1. Get a copy of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and read it
2. Read a range of poems from the Poetry by Heart collection timeline, select your favourites and be prepared to talk about why they resonated with you Poetry By Heart

1. Write a short paragraph 2-4 sentences on why you want to study Economics.
2. Read one of the following books and write a short summary (3 paragraphs).
3. Below are a selection of videos. Select one and write a short summary (one paragraph).

• Inside Job (2010 Full Documentary Movie)
• https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/sicko/
• https://www.amazon.com/Where-Invade-Next-Michael-Moore/dp/B01EGVRNLW

1. Complete the world view upgrader quiz: Important stuff most people get wrong (gapminder.org) Record your score, write a paragraph on how you did and why you think you answered the way you did. 
2. Watch the Hans Rosling Documentary- 'The Truth about Population'  DON'T PANIC — Hans Rosling showing the facts about population - YouTube Summarise the main points in 150 words. 
3. Go to Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100 - PopulationPyramid.net. Find an interesting population pyramid and be ready to explain to the class what it tells you about the country. 

Task 1: Review the course content.

Task 2: Make brief notes on the below articles. Sum up the main points and whether you agree or disagree with the views.

Paper 1:

• The Scramble for Europe, Richard J. Evans, Nazi Empire: German Colonialism and Imperialism from Bismarck to Hitler by Shelley Baranowski
• A Bit of Chaos, Margaret MacMillan, The Deluge: The Great War and the Remaking of Global Order by Adam Tooze

Paper 2: 

• Colin Kidd Reviews (How Democracy Ends by David Runciman; Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth – And How to Fix It by Dambisa Moyo; How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt; Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy by William Galston)
• Also consider, Populism and the People, Jan-Werner Müller

Paper 3: 

• Sheila Fitzpatrick reviews (October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville; The Russian Revolution 1905-1921 by Mark D. Steinberg; Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928 by S.A. Smith; The Russian Revolution: A New History by Sean McMeekin; Historically Inevitable?: Turning Points of the Russian Revolution by Tony Brenton)

Task 3: Our History course is really a study in the nature of the nation state and what, if it can exist at all, is the ideal state. To help you access this topic, you should consider the following questions on history and historiography, and write a brief comment for each.

• What is the nature of an authoritarian state and why do some states become authoritarian?
• How is authoritarianism different from totalitarianism?
• How do authoritarian leaders control states and are they inevitably doomed to failure?
• What is progress and where did this idea come from?
• What is the ideal way to organise a society? Is there one?
• Why do states go to war? Is this an inevitable outcome of disagreement?
• What is internationalism and can it eliminate war?
• What was wrong with the League of Nations (and what is wrong with the United Nations today)?
• What historical information is selected to create narratives of our past? What is not selected? Why?
• Is it possible to be historically objective? Does it matter?
• What influences the writers of history?
• How do different interpretations of the past emerge when using using the same historical information?
• How does historical information become evidence to support contested interpretations of the past?
• Do the stories we tell about our past matter more than historical truth? What is historical truth?

Read Research Methods | Definitions, Types, Examples - Simply Psychology and make some initial notes on research methods. We will be discussing these, and other aspects of research methods, in the first few lessons.

Watch one of the talks from this page Fascinating psych experiments | TED Talks and reflect on what you have learned. You could use these questions as prompts:

• Can models and theories be used to understand and predict human behaviour?
• Does a researcher’s choice of methodology affect the reliability or credibility of research?
• Is what we know about human behaviour limited by our ethical considerations?

Read through A brief history of Anthropology and make notes. These will be used in your introductory lessons..

Use the time over the summer to brush up on some key GCSE skills which are needed for the first few topics that you will be covering. 

You can use the videos and exercises on https://corbettmaths.com to help you with this (or any other GCSE Maths revision site you prefer!)

Topics to practise:

• Converting units, including units of length, time and compound units such as speed
• Calculating percentages efficiently, including finding percentage change
• Rounding to decimal places and significant figures
• Substituting values (positive and negative) into expressions and formulae

Higher Level students should also revise:

• Working with the graphs of sine, cosine and tangent, including finding all the possible solutions to an equation like sin x = 0.7
• Composite functions

Watch the following two videos as an introduction to matrices, which is the main HL topic of the first term:

• Applications of Matrices by Zach Star
• Matrices as Linear Transformations by 3blue1brown

You will have a test on algebra skills in the first few lessons. We expect students taking A&A to be familiar with all aspects of algebra covered in GCSE Mathematics – you may particularly wish to focus on the following:

• Correct use of mathematical terminology (expressions, equations, inequalities, identities, formulae)
• Solving all types of equations, up to and including simultaneous equations where one equation is quadratic, both numerically and in exact surd form
• Solving all types of inequalities, including quadratic inequalities and inequalities in two dimensions
• Finding algebraically the intersection of a graph with the co-ordinate axes, and finding the equations of asymptotes
• Manipulating surds, including rationalising the denominator of fractions
• Expanding double and triple brackets and factorising quadratic expressions such as 3x^2+7x+2
• Finding the turning point of quadratic graphs
• Using function notation, including finding an expression for composite functions

Please open the link here to find the summer work.

• Write 150 words about yourself in French. Family, friends, interests, future plans etc)
• Choose a French speaking person (actor, politician, sports man/woman) and make some notes on what you have found out about this person. Come ready to share your findings with your classmates in September.

Higher Level students should also:

• The first book we will be reading will be Oscar et la Dame Rose. Do some research on the author, Eric Emmanuel Schmitt and bring your notes (in French) to your first lesson at Parkside Sixth.
• Find a newspaper article and summarise its key points. Be ready to share with your findings with your classmates in September.

• Write 150 words about yourself in German. Family, friends, interests, future plans etc)
• Choose a German speaking person (actor, politician, sports man/woman) and make some notes on what you have found out about this person. Come ready to share your findings with your classmates in September.

• Write 150 words about yourself in Spanish. Family, friends, interests, future plans etc)
• Choose a Spanish speaking person (actor, politician, sports man/woman) and make some notes on what you have found out about this person. Come ready to share your findings with your classmates in September.

Higher Level students should also:

• The first book we will be reading will be La Casa de Bernarda Alba. Do some research on the author, Federico García Lorca and bring your notes (in Spanish) to your first lesson at Parkside Sixth.
• Find a newspaper article on a topic that you are interested in and summarise its key points and any statistics in Spanish. Be ready to share with your findings with your classmates in September.

Please join this class on Seneca and use the assignments that have been set to practice your Biology skills ready for September.

Please join this class on Seneca and use the assignments that have been set to practice your Chemistry skills ready for September.

Will be here soon!

Please join this class on Isaac Physics.

We have set you some problems to work on. When you arrive in September, please bring your working out with you.

Write a 1 page (minimum) report on either of the following topics:

1. Review a Film Director. Include upto 3 films that they have made, reviewing the film making process. This should include cinematography, sound and editing.

2. Concept for a Film. Put together a concept of their own for a Film with the title of A stary night. It can be any lenth, and for either film or animation. Include the storyline and up to 5 characters. 

1. Read through the IB Music Guide with a particular focus on the syllabus components (pg 26-40) so you are aware of what is coming up. You will be completing a journal throughout the course alongside the 4 assessed components.
2. Complete a Music Knowledge Audit so that I am aware of strengths and areas needing support. The more terminology you are confident with now, the easier you will find the written components later on!

Create a visual journey of your day to day life that reflects your identity. Read this document to find out more.