DP2 Students’ letters to their teachers
The last few months, and let‘s be truthful, these past two years were extremely stressful – certain expectations come with being the first International Baccalaureate Diploma programme class, and with being the teachers that prepare these students. However, we think it is safe to say that the famous Lithuanian idiom was falsified – we make quite edible pancakes. We fulfilled our expectations by learning as rigorously as we can, and we are beyond grateful for the opportunity of studying in the IB DP. The only question left is: did we fulfil your expectations?
To Simonas Šabanovas:
Our gratitude is beyond the distance between the North and South poles. Thank you for inspiring us to learn about various types of tourism as well as pingos and cirques (whatever those are…). We will always cherish you the same way periglacial areas cherish permafrost. Without you, our geographical knowledge would be as dry and arid as the Sahara desert, therefore we will always remember you, in times of leisure and labour.
To Rasa Pranevičienė:
For our dearest Rasa, who is truly a value amidst all the limitations of teaching. Thank you for analysing each of your students individually, and being able to compare and contrast our abilities, and altering your teaching to suit our individual selves. Thank you for continuously showing us a deeper perspective of global history and changing the way we see history as a subject.
It was nice to discuss the unbiased history, you are wonderful both a woman and a teacher. Working and expanding our historical knowledge was never more interesting than with you. Rasa not only teaches, she also brings you joy with a never blessing smile on her face and a supportive point of view, even when a student writes their EE in one day.
To Saulius Skučas:
We are still waiting for our Absent Friends essays… However, we are grateful for the insight into Jewish culture and history! From tea spilling to genuine support of our aspirations, your lessons made these past few years marvellous (hyperbole); during these dark, horrendous times (epithet), it is quite difficult to find someone who cares about social ills and the mental health of students as much as you – you were able to light up the spark in our hearts (metaphor); our oil lamps will never stop burning because of you. And now that we are finishing school, all we got is Brokeback Mountain (allusion)…
To Rytis Jezukevičius:
For our beloved Jesus’kevičius: thank you for putting up with us when we were on the verge of tears, because for the first week of TOK lessons we had no idea what absolute certainty was. Thank you for the comfort found in the room 215 during the lunch breaks, before and after the lessons, we’ll be forever grateful for your immaculate taste in music and cinema! Even though some of us still cannot answer the question “How to know if the sun is shining?”, we now know that in the world we live, everything is to some extent. Thank you for causing a complete paradigm shift in our lives!
To Lina Šapkauskienė:
You are the greatest supporter in school who believes and guides her students not only through school, but also through the understanding of life. It cannot be enough gratitude for a teacher who explains and makes you truly believe that school and exams are not the critical point of life, but rather just a stop in this journey, which will soon pass. Learning German with you for these 4 years was the most amazing experience in school, as well as your lessons that were clearly intended to every student as an individual, not as a mass. Auf Wiedersehen!
To Vaida Matulevičiūtė:
We think it’s safe to say (as there are no corrosive acids and bases around) that you are one of the best chemistry teachers ever – your neverending support and sincere want to help us learn chemistry is more powerful than a reaction between water and cesium. As the rate of our reaction decreases, we want to thank you for teaching us the magic behind chemistry – through interesting theory lessons and fun experiments.
To Valdas Žiemys:
Even though you were not on our whole journey, and we were not present in your every lesson (I promise we tried), thank you for believing that we know Java, even though we never did. It was great to see your optimism and listen to your never ending stories that do not include anything about IT.
To Andrius Žutautas:
If our life is Newton’s first law, then you are the force that changed it. Thank you for teaching us all about Physics, starting from mechanics to astrophysics. We are really grateful that you managed to teach one of the most rigorous subjects of the whole IB curriculum so much so that we think we passed our exams with flying colours.
Aida Rudokaitė
We are beyond grateful for expanding our knowledge of biology, and letting us physically touch biological concepts by cutting up hearts and extracting vials of blood from our own veins. You truly made our diaphragms contract and our intercostal muscles relax amidst all the pressure we had in this programme. We thank you from the Medullas of our brains to the capillaries of our feet. Thank you!!!
To Aušra Rutkienė:
Learning to comprehend concepts such as complex numbers and matrices is no easy task, but you (and Youtube videos) made it possible. Not only did you have the role of being the best maths teacher ever, you were also a mechanic, and helped us to figure out how to truly possess the machines that were our overpriced calculators. |-1| = 1 = |1| – We absolutely value you!
Daliai Sudarienei:
Širdingai dėkojam Daliai Sudarienei, kentėjusiai mūsų angliškai lietuvišką kalbą, neleisiančiai užmiršti gimtosios kalbos (taip pat niekada negalėsim pamiršti sakinių ilgumo svarbos – mūsų ilgi sakiniai išryškina mūsų milžinišką dėkingumą Jums). Ačiū už galimybę pažinti literatūrą artimiau: nuo Raskolnikovo iki fotografo Vincento, nuo Šekspyro “Hamleto” iki J. Ivanauskaitės „Koncerto Nr. 1“.
To Jūratė Zybartienė:
Place an “x” next to the Learning Outcomes that were met:
Appreciation for our CAS and IB DP programme coordinator x
Despite all the stress, tears and fights, we are very grateful for all the time you have spent ensuring that every little detail of our IB DP experience goes according to plan; some of our CAS reflections may not be as truthful as they appear to be, however, our appreciation for your patience and care is definitely an undeniable truth.