Moving to a new school, junior year

<p>Who better than CC to help a young member-old lurker with her life problems?</p>

<p>I moved schools this year, as a rising junior. I'm doing the full IB program. My 9th and 10th grade scores were outstanding, but since the beginning of the year, my grades have plummeted. In large part, I think that's due to moving and adapting to a new system. My current GPA is about 3.96~ 4.8, which isn't terrible, but is not nearly enough considering the work I put in.(personal life is going well - teachers know who I am, I've made great friends, etc.)</p>

<p>I've talked to several teachers, but there's not much they can do. They're just aware of my present difficulties.
Any advice on bringing my GPA up, and adapting more thoroughly to this new academic system?
And more importantly, what will this look like to colleges? I'm really putting in the time, and my GPA's slooowly increasing, but I don't think I can realistically aim for more than a 4.2~3 for this first semester. Could colleges understand that this isn't caused because of a lack of abilities or effort? Would an upward trend be appreciated?</p>

<p>I know these are very specific questions, and I wouldn't be surprised if anyone short of a admission board could answer them for me, but I'd be grateful for any (troll-less) input!</p>