Dr. Joe Williams, IB Program Coordinator

To All IB Parents and Guardians:

Welcome back to the 2023-2024 school year!  We all look forward to another successful year and welcome your cooperation and participation as we strive to continue and build upon the achievements of our IB Program.

Our entire IB Administrative Team is back this year, and our offices are still in the main administration building.

Here are our phone numbers and email addresses where you can reach us:

May 2023 IB Exam Session Highlights: Our 2022-2023 IB seniors and juniors did well this past year in their overall IB Exam results.  40 out of 66 (61%) of our IB Diploma Candidates (Class of 2023 IB Diploma Program Seniors) earned an IB Diploma.  Our overall IB Exam pass rate (4 or higher out of a possible 7) for all 124 students who took IB Exams was even better, at 71%.  The average points earned by those passing the diploma was 30 out of a possible 45 points (24 is the minimum passing score), and the average grade obtained by candidates who passed the diploma was 4.69 points out of a possible 7. The highest point total earned was 39.

2023 IB Diplomas and Transcripts are in: The 2023 IB Diplomas and IB Transcripts just arrived from Cardiff, Wales, UK this week.  2023 IB graduates or their parents can pick them up from Dr. Williams in the front office at Rickards.  Please email or call ahead so Dr. Williams can leave your IB Diploma and/or IB Transcript at the front office for you, in case he is not available when you come to campus.

Here are our phone numbers and email addresses where you can reach our IB Administrative Team:

Thank you parents for transporting your children to TCC for their IB and AP Exams.  We appreciate your flexibility as we strived to provide an optimal testing environment for the students.  We look forward to seeing our graduating seniors and parents at convocation and graduation!

Thank you to all the students and parents who attended our IB CAS Recognition Night!  Any IB Seniors who were unable to attend and did not pick up their IB Alumni pins and graduation stoles need to contact Dr. Williams to schedule a time pick up their items. 

IB/AP Exam Schedule: Please see the attached IB/AP Exam Schedule for May 2023.  TCC is graciously hosting our IB and AP Exams this month, and we are grateful to them for their continuing support of our school and our students!  Please see the attached map for directions to the specific building in which we’ll be testing and the parking lot students and parents should use during IB and AP exams.  IB students need to remember that they must complete all IB Exam Papers for the subjects in which they are taking their exams this year

Change of Date: IB CAS Recognition Night: Parents of IB Seniors, IB Juniors, and Pre-IB Sophomores are invited to attend our annual Title 1 IB CAS Recognition Night on Tuesday, April 11, from 6 pm to 7 pm, in the Rickards Auditorium.  IB Seniors will be recognized for their completion of their CAS requirements; IB juniors will be inducted into IB Diploma Candidacy; and Pre-IB sophomores will be recognized for their transition from Pre-IB to IB status.

If you have an eighth grade student who is interested in shadowing a current Pre-IB student, please complete the attached form and submit it to Mrs. Williams, our IB Academic Dean (contact information above) so that she can schedule a shadowing day for your student.  Opportunities for shadowing will continue through March 1st. 

IB Open House: If you are the parent or guardian of an 8th grade student, or if you have friends who are parents or guardians of an 8th grade student, please save the date on your calendar for our IB Open House, which will take place in the Rickards Cafeteria from 6 pm to 7 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2023.  This is our biggest recruiting event for our IB Program each year, and we welcome all 8th grade students and their families to come to our campus to learn more about our IB Program, meet our IB Teachers and Administrators, and discover the many wonderful opportunities available to our students.

QuestBridge Scholars Announced: Please join me in congratulating IB seniors Omar Hernandez and Jenna Jeon.  Both have been named QuestBridge Scholars and have been awarded full scholarships to attend Dartmouth College (Jenna) and Vanderbilt University (Omar)!  We are proud of these outstanding young scholars and how well they represent our school and our IB Program. 

2022 IB Diplomas and Transcripts are in: The 2022 IB Diplomas and IB Transcripts have arrived from Cardiff, Wales, UK.  2022 IB graduates or their parents can pick them up from Dr. Williams in the front office at Rickards.  Please email or call ahead so Dr. Williams can leave your IB Diploma and/or IB Transcript at the front office for you, in case he is not available when you come to campus.

IB/AP Exam Schedule: Please see the attached most recent draft of our IB/AP Exam Schedule for May 2023.  TCC has once again graciously agreed to host our IB and AP Exams this spring, and we are grateful to them for their continuing support of our school and our students!  Please come out to our Title 1 Parent Testing Workshop in the Rickards Media Center on December 7th (5:30 – 7:00 pm) for more information.

IB Seniors: 2023 Best and Brightest Awards Applications are available now!  Please go to this link to download the application and find more information about this annual awards program (http://wcsleon.com/bestandbrightest/).  Last year, Rickards had five students win 1st place and four students win 2nd place in their respective categories.  A Rickards student also won the overall Spirit of the Best and Brightest Award.  You can apply for more than one category on a single application.  Completed applications are due to our Guidance Department Chair, Ms. Jones (jonest@leonschools.net) by November 28th, 2022.  There is a recommendation letter requirement, so make sure that you notify the faculty member whom you want to write your recommendation at least two weeks before you plan to submit your application.   

2022 IB Diplomas and Transcripts are in: The 2022 IB Diplomas and IB Transcripts have arrived from Cardiff, Wales, UK.  2022 IB graduates or their parents can pick them up from Dr. Williams in the front office at Rickards.  Please email or call ahead so Dr. Williams can leave your IB Diploma and/or IB Transcript at the front office for you, in case he is not available when you come to campus.

The My College Resource Virtual College Fair that was supposed take place on Tuesday, Sept. 27, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, for FLIBS member schools (this includes James S. Rickards High School) and their students has been rescheduled, due to Hurricane Ian, for Tuesday, October 11, 2022.  You are invited to this event planned exclusively for Florida Pre-IB and IB students, and the link on the attached flyer is still the link you can use to join this event.

The College Fair will feature Florida State University System colleges and private colleges and universities in Florida.  Students and parents must register (see hot link on flyer) and will be able to attend three sessions.  Colleges will be grouped in breakout rooms, so be prepared with questions.  There will be no formal presentation, and representatives will know they are talking specifically to Pre-IB and IB students and parents.


My College Resource will host two sessions for parents on supporting students through the application process in separate breakout rooms.

It's never too early to gather more information about Florida colleges, so join us on October 11 from 6:30-8:00 pm.  Please see the attached IB Virtual College Fair Flyer for the registration link.

Our Annual IB Senior College Application Day will take place at Rickards on Thursday, October 13.  IB Seniors will spend the day in the Rickards Cafeteria working on their college applications.  Representatives from the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices at FAMU, FSU, and TCC will be there, along with our IB Administrative Team and Guidance Counselors, to help students and answer their questions. 

 

Please join me in congratulating our seven National Merit Semifinalists:  Abhinav Balaji, Tanmay Haldiya, Annika Lagy, Ananya Mundrathi, Sruthi Sentil, Karthik Vedula, and Eric Zeng!  These outstanding scholars will now complete an extensive application that will qualify them to advance to finalist status and possibly earn $2,500 scholarships.  This is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are proud of these IB seniors!

We also congratulate our National Merit Commended Students: Harshil Dalvaigari, Shubham Dixit, Jenna Jeon, Angela Liang, Nitishsai Nandineni, Alexander Piroth, Faith Register, Emily Taylor, and Akhil Walia!  Though these students will not continue further in the National Merit Scholarship competition, they deserve commendation for being one of the 50,000 highest scorers of the approximately 1.5 million 11th-grade students who took the PSAT/NMSQT Exam last fall.  We are proud of our National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Scholars for representing Rickards and the academic excellence we foster at our school

My College Resource has organized a Virtual College Fair that will take place on Tuesday, September 27, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, for FLIBS member schools (this includes James S. Rickards High School) and their students.  You are invited to this event planned exclusively for Florida Pre-IB and IB students.

The College Fair will feature Florida State University System colleges and private colleges and universities in Florida.  Students and parents must register (see the hot link on the flyer) and will be able to attend three sessions.  Colleges will be grouped in breakout rooms, so be prepared with questions.  There will be no formal presentation, and representatives will know they are talking specifically to Pre-IB and IB students and parents.

My College Resource will host two sessions for parents on supporting students through the application process in separate breakout rooms.

It's never too early to gather more information about Florida colleges, so join us Sept. 27 from 6:30-8:00 pm.  Please click the link IB Virtual College Fair Flyer for registration.

Our Annual IB Senior College Application Day will take place at Rickards on Thursday, October 13.  IB Seniors will spend the day in the Rickards Cafeteria working on their college applications.  Representatives from the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices at FAMU, FSU, and TCC will be there, along with our IB Administrative Team and Guidance Counselors, to help students and answer their questions. 

 

IB Junior CAS Assembly: Our CAS Assembly for IB Juniors will take place on Monday, September 12, 2022, in the Rickards Auditorium, during 4th, 5th, and 6th periods.  Students will learn all about their IB CAS requirements, including how to use ManageBac to document and reflect on their CAS experiences.

May 2022 IB Exam Session Highlights: Our 2021-2022 IB seniors and juniors did very well this past year in their overall IB Exam results.  38 out of 56 (68%) of our IB Diploma Candidates (Class of 2022 IB Diploma Program Seniors) earned an IB Diploma.  Our overall IB Exam pass rate (4 or higher out of a possible 7) for all 135 students who took IB Exams was even better, at 78%.  Additionally, one of our Class of 2022 IB Graduates scored 44 out of a possible 45 points on his IB Exams – the highest individual point total for a Rickards IB graduate!

2022 IB Diplomas and Transcripts are in: The 2022 IB Diplomas and IB Transcripts have arrived from Cardiff, Wales, UK.  2022 IB graduates or their parents can pick them up from Dr. Williams in the front office at Rickards.  Please email or call ahead so Dr. Williams can leave your IB Diploma and/or IB Transcript at the front office for you, in case he is not available when you come to campus.

Welcome back to the 2022-2023 school year!  We all look forward to another successful year and welcome your cooperation and participation as we strive to continue and build upon the achievements of our IB Program.

Two-thirds of our IB Administrative Team is brand new this year, but our offices are still in the main administration building. We welcome Mrs. Melissa Cooper and Mrs. Victoria Williams to our IB Administrative Team!  Both are experienced Rickards educators, and we are excited about the valuable experience and skills they bring to our IB Program. 

Here are our phone numbers and email addresses where you can reach us:

Dr. Joe Williams, IB Coordinator (850-414-5036) williamsj@leonschools.net

Mrs. E. Melissa Cooper, AP Coordinator and Assistant IB Coordinator (850-414-5005) coopere@leonschools.net

Mrs. Victoria Williams, IB Academic Dean (850-414-5597) williamsv3@leonschools.net

We welcome all our Rickards students back to campus this school year.  Just like all other Leon County Schools, we continue to use CANVAS this year as our primary online tool for curriculum delivery in order to minimize the number of different websites students have to go to in order to communicate with their teachers and access their online learning materials.  Students still need to use FOCUS to keep track of their official grades and attendance in each of their classes. 

For our IB juniors and seniors, we are still using ManageBac to keep track of CAS progress and document CAS experiences and reflections, and we will still use ManageBac to upload all Extended Essay documents and keep track of student progress on their EEs.  IB Juniors will receive access to this portal soon and will receive training on how to use it.

We look forward to a safe and productive 2022-2023 school year and welcome your input and feedback as we seek to ensure our students’ academic success.