September 30, 2011

Congratulations goes out to Christopher Allemang and Veronica Cinibulk both had photos selected to be displayed in the Digital and Photo show at the Polk Museum of Art!  The show will run from October 8th until November 13th, below is a link to the museum website.  
 

http://polkmuseumofart.org/exhibitions/student-exhibitions/

May 20, 2010

Congratulations to our 30 Class of 2010 students who logged 9473 volunteer hours.  That is an average of more than 315 hours per Graduate!  Great Job Class of 2010!

Seniors

• All IB Students, CAS is your responsibility, seek out opportunities to be creative, be active, and serve.
• Final exams run during the month of May.  Do everything in your power to be prepared for them.

September 7:  Florida Atlantic University 

September 8:  Florida State University

September 12:  St. Leo University

September 15:  Troy University

September 16:  St. Joseph's College

September 23:  Florida International University

September 28:  University of Central Florida

September 29:  University of Florida

October 4: DeVry University

October 6: University of South Florida Polytechnic

October 25: Florida Southern University

October 27: Technical Education Center Osceola

October 28: University of North Florida

November 7: USF St. Petersburg

November 11: Johnson and Wales

November 17: Florida A&M

November 18: University of Alabama 

See your Ms. J for further information.

Darryl Sharpton
Former IB Student at Coral Gables High School in Florida
Former Standout Miami Hurricane Linebacker
Current Houston Texan Linebacker

Field of Dreams

The giant Houston Texans linebacker is taking the NFL by storm. Just don’t call him a stereotypical sportsman…

It’s a common assumption that you can’t have both brains and brawn. Not that the idea that would cut much ice with rising American football star Darryl Sharpton, who has spent his life challenging stereotypes on and off the field of play.

The 23-year-old linebacker graduated from the IB Diploma Programme at Coral Gables High School, Florida, USA, one of very few professional sportspeople to follow such a route. He then combined a degree in finance at the University of Miami with college football. Faced with a choice between a career on Wall Street and a place in the NFL draft, sport won out – for the time being.

Sharpton has just completed his first season as a professional for the mid-table Houston Texans, starting six games and recording 34 tackles and a sack, which he describes as “not bad for a rookie.” His campaign was marred by a broken hand and a shoulder injury, but as he mischieviously admits, it was the physical side of the game that first attracted him to gridiron: “I love that it’s such a full-speed, all-out game. You get to cut loose, playing like a little kid. Also, you can do things that if you did in real life, you’d get thrown in jail…”

The nephew of civil rights activist Al Sharpton (“I’ve always felt like I had a family name to uphold”), Darryl wanted to be a footballer from a young age. But despite his ability, achieving his dream has involved plenty of dedication. “I would run and lift weights after school,” he says. “I wouldn’t go out much socially as I needed to do sport and
do well in class. But the teachers never babied me. They expected me to do the same work as everyone else. It was frustrating, but it kept me focused.”

Mixing highly academic studies with a fledgling sports career is a rarity, even in North America. Continuing to pursue an external career after turning professional is almost unheard of, yet Darryl continues to be fascinated by business and even wants to secure an internship at a major financial institution during his off-season. He also enjoys travelling and learning languages, speaking fluent Spanish. “The IB Diploma Programme opened doors for me to learn about different cultures,” he says. “It made the world a lot bigger for me.”

His interests make him unusual among fellow athletes, and often surprise people, he admits. “If you look at how I’m built, with this big neck and these big shoulders [he weighs 236lb], I look like I wouldn’t know anything about that stuff. At college, people would assume that because I played football, I wasn’t as smart.

“In my first week, a teacher told me that a challenging course wasn’t right for me. That lit a fire in me and I was determined to be the best kid in that class. I ended up with the top grade.”

As he begins his second season, which many NFL experts believe could mark
his breakthrough, Darryl is determined to keep on confounding expectations. “There are a lot of smart athletes out there,” he says. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of dumb ones too, and that creates a stereotype. That’s why I have to prove myself on and off the field.”

-This article is courtesy of IB World Magazine. Published in the May 2011 issue of IB World Magazine 

IB Diploma Programme highly aligned with US college readiness standards

The Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) announced today the results from their report “International Baccalaureate Standards Development and Alignment Project.”

The report, which analyzes the alignment of the IB Diploma Programme standards and the Knowledge and Skills for University Success (KSUS) college-ready standards, found IB standards to be “highly aligned with the KSUS standards.” In particular, the key cognitive strategies emphasized in the Diploma—critical thinking skills, intellectual inquisitiveness and interpretation—were found to be fully aligned with the expectations of university faculty.

The study, led by David Conley, confirmed that IB Diploma Programme standards demonstrate a very high degree of alignment with the KSUS standards in all subject areas. In math, complete alignment was found between the IB Diploma’s mathematical studies and the KSUS’ algebra, trigonometry and statistics standards. In science, the 47 IB chemistry standards, 19 biology standards and the concepts of environmental science embedded in all three IB science courses aligned completely with KSUS.

Data on university graduation rates of IB diploma holders shows that the vast majority (more than 80%) graduate from university within six years. “In many ways, the findings from EPIC’s study confirm that the Diploma Programme is achieving one of its major objectives, preparing all students for university,” said Beth Brock, IB’s Global Head of Policy and Research. “Students that complete the programme have a strong foundation not only in academic skills but also in other areas, such as critical-thinking, problem-solving, research, writing and communication that are so vital to success in university and the 21st century world.”

“What is perhaps most notable about our findings is the degree to which IB standards were found to be related to the kinds of key cognitive strategies that our previous research points to as being so important for success in colleges and universities,” added David Conley, CEO of EPIC. “We have learned that it’s not enough for students to study content in isolation; they must use their content knowledge to solve problems, make conjectures and inferences, and think deeply about the big questions of the disciplines. The IB standards seem to be particularly well suited to achieving these aims.”

The goal of the project was to develop a set of standards that represented the knowledge and skills students learn in the curriculum of the IB Diploma Programme by reviewing course documents for Language A1, Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay, Math Studies, Math SL, Math HL, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The study utilized a criterion-based expert judgment decision-making model that employed successive reviews by experts to reach findings on the relationship of the IB standards to the Knowledge and Skills for University Success.

Founded in 1968, the IB works with 2,668 schools in 137 countries to develop and offer three challenging programs to over 725,000 students aged 3 to 19 years. The IB encourages students to be active learners, well-rounded individuals and engaged world citizens. It also serves in an educational advisory capacity to other educational organizations. To learn more about the IB, please visit: www.ibo.org

March 2009 

The Institute for Education Sciences within the US Department of Education has awarded a grant in the amount of US$700,000 to the University of Pennsylvania’s graduate school of education for a longitudinal study of IB students in postsecondary education. 

The study, slated for completion in 2011, is the first quantitative study of the relationship between participation in the Diploma Programme and postsecondary outcomes for students.

Beth Brock, global head of policy and research for the IB, said about the study:  

This project is an exciting opportunity to learn more about what happens to IB students beyond their experience in the IB Diploma Programme. The results of this study will provide important insights into student outcomes in postsecondary education and how well the IB prepares students for college and university.

The policy and research division will partner with the graduate school of education in providing data and research support for the project.

Full Press Release:

http://ibo.org/announcements/ibsupportdpstudyannouncement.cfm