IB at Kolej Mara Banting- Preparation for da life changing experience

First question is WTH is IB is all about? Why not U guys check it here. Mls der nk tulis. So, ape jadahnyer aku tulis post nie? Well, maybe U guys wondering what U should do while waiting to enter KMB (Kolej Mara Banting aka Kolej Maha Busy) for ur IB. Of course laa wat preparation. They said "If U fail to plan, U plan to fail". Bak kata pepatah org Melayu lak “sediakan payung sebelum hujan”. Tapi payung jenis mana kite nk sediakan tuk hadapi ujian nie. Tat’s da reason why I write da post. What kind of prep U should do?

A-stand for Econs&Finance Course, 10-stand for da years U enter KMB, B-stand for ur class

Change ur attitude towards IB

One of the most important things in IB is attitude. Positive attitude to be precise. “Half full of glass or half empty of glass”. If U have positive attitude U’ll chose half full of glass. Why is it important ? Because I know some of U will definitely think tat IB is damn hard,busy,bla,bla,bla……and the list goes on. Especially MRSM-ian . Coz U had been told by ur teachers, senior, etc that IB is hard, bloody, bloody, bla. (No offense). Or maybe some of U had read about how hard IB is. U know what they say about first impression is important. And if ur impression said that IB is hard, then it will be hard for da rest of ur life. So, why not change ur perception about it. My advice is that just assume that IB is a game . A challenging game. Once it is a game, U can enjoy da challenge that IB present to U. Just enjoy da challenge that IB give U.

Tafsir Quran

If U’re a Muslim, U definitely need this. Buy one for U to refer. Coz in KMB, we have a lot of usrah and we’ll use it for this session. Ok, maybe U’ll say that U don’t need to go through usrah. Unfortunately for U that usrah is compulsory for all Muslim in KMB. U may say

“WTH???”

Well bro, jgn igt korg power sgt laa. U need da Usrah to strengthen the inner side of U. Coz, IB will torn U inside out. U really need it to overcome the challenge that IB will give U. The words in love letter form Allah (Quran) will help U to stay positive. Besides, KMB is the place to prepare U for overseas studies. “Prepare” means not only preparation for ur future studies but also the inner side of U. It’s not easy to keep ur Iman when U study overseas. Ok, maybe U have da tafsir already. Why not take a look at Surah Al-Insyirah as well as Ad-Dhuha. Believe me, U really need it later.

Laptop

Don’t worry if U don’t have any lappy. For da first semester, U will not use da laptop as many as in ur second sem. Coz I can survive my 1^st sem without my laptop. But, if U have da laptop, it will be very useful if and only if U use it wisely. “Wisely” means that U don’t use it for FB or watching movies or playing games. So, if U have laptop, I suggest that U delete every single games, movies and drama series (Glee, How I met ur mother, Lost, Gossip girls, Korean series, Naruto etc)  that U have in ur laptop .Aaaaaaaaaand don’t forget to delete it in ur hard drive too (hard drive ke hard disk? arggh mane2 laa). Seriously, if U are addicted to it, U will have a HUGE probs once U’re in KMB. Coz U will tend to procrastinate with it. Believe me, time is the most precious thing in IB. And if U have account in a lot of social networking site ( FB,  Twitter, Tumblr, Blogspot, etc), I suggest U chose only one social networking and close the others.( Of course U can’t close all ur social networking coz U have to stay in touch with ur old friends) Again, these things will burn most of ur precious time in IB. U’ll have to stay up late night to finish ur assignment just because U spent most of ur time with these social network. These what happen to most of the KMBian.

There something more excited than games and social network

Time Management

Learn on how to manage ur time. Google it, attend any talk bout time management, or ask ur school counsellor bout it. Do whatever U can to learn about how to manage ur time. U really need it. Like I said before, time is damn precious in IB. Bak kata org arab, “masa itu mcm pedang, kalo kita x potong dia, dia akan potong kita”. I advise U to buy a planner or a sticky note to help U manage ur time.

International School Brunei Global Issue Conference. If U have a good time management, U may participate in an International event

IB survival

Sign up for IB survival. (GOOGLE IT) x kan sume link aku nk ltk kat sini kan. Be independent bro. Well, why IB survival is important? This website has most of the resource U need for IB. For example, useful link on the subject u take, notes on ur subject, guide for Internal Assessment (IA), Extended Essay (EE), Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay. Don’t panic coz U will be familiar with the terms I wrote coz U will know about it once U get into IB world. Besides, don’t worry coz the teachers here ( we call our lecturer as teachers) will definitely help U. But sometimes, U will be very busy to consult ur teacher (like me J ), so U can just go online to find whatever things that U need for IB.

U have to read a lot of books in order for U to keep up with IB

Lecturers & Seniors

Try to get along with da lecturers. They will very happy to help U. KMB is far different wit other colleges, unis, matriculations. The lecturers are very helpful. Sebijik cam cikgu kat skola. They will help U to go through IB. Just so u know, some of the lecturers will stay back till 7 pm so that students can ask for their help. (Usually, our academic hours will end at 2.30pm). And some of them will make extra class at night in case students need their help. Mane nk dpt mende nie kat kolej laen.  

The lecturer will always help U. Kan Ms Saidah?

Seniors. Maybe in some college U will not get along wit da seniors. Maybe becoz they are da “SENIORS”. Well, not in KMB. Seniors is da second best resource after da lecturers. So, if U have probs ( x tau nk wat tutorial,WTH IB is all about, explanation bout TOK,EE, etc)  in the middle of the night and don’t want to bother ur teachers , U can just ask da seniors. Be nice with them. Believe me, it really benefit U. For example, my seniors help me on my EE, TOK, etc. They even gave me their notes for me to revise and help me to go through my personal probs.

Da Senior in football team will be there when I need them

SPM books

Don’t throw away ur SPM books. Coz most of the syllabus is just like SPM. It is just deeper and wider too. So, if U still have SPM reference book ( yg tebal2 tue) just bring it. And if U have time, just revise the syllabus. Coz U need to strengthen the basic in the SPM level. Without it, ssh laa korg nk study higher level subjects.

Sleep deprived. Usual symptom for IB students

Reflective

Reflective is one of the IB learner profile ( Again, google it if U don’t know). Be a reflective person or in malay we call it as muhasabah diri. Meaning- U have to reflect every single things that happen to U during your 2 years in IB. Ask urself, what do u get when U do CAS xtvt?,etc.  It will help U to look at the wolrd with different perspective. But don’t worry if U’re not a reflective type of person. U will be train during your orientation week.

CAS xtvt at SK Dengkil

CAS xtvt in collobaration withTV3 

I think that's all for today. I’ll continue later in Part 2

P/S: This is just based on da writer’s perception and his experience as KMB Student Council 2010/2011.