IB Connected

Welcome back to a new year and a new semester! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break and that you're ready to hit the ground running! For our seniors and their families, this marks the final semester of high school. Enjoy the "lasts" that will come with this semester - the last game, the last show, the last concert, the last prom. This is such a bittersweet semester for seniors and their families; I hope that it is a fantastic one and that you thoroughly enjoy every minute of it!

For our 9th-11th graders, registration for the 2024-2025 school year will begin in a few weeks, so watch for information to come home and talk with your students to see what classes they are wanting to take next year. Finally, as registration approaches, for our sophomore Pre-IB students and their families, don't forget our very important IB Pathway meeting that will take place next Thursday, January 11 @ 6:00pm in the DRHS library. I will present information regarding class options for next year and IB alumni will be here to discuss their experience in the DRHS IB program. This is the ONLY time this information will be presented, so please be sure to attend!

Happy 2024! I hope it's a great year for all of you!

On Tuesday, December 12, our IB senior diploma candidates participated in the EE Silver Tray Ceremony. The ceremony marks the completion of the Extended Essay and gives our IB seniors a chance to share what they have learned and to reflect on the process with our IB juniors. Here are just a few of the examples of EE research questions that students have spent the last 18 months researching and writing about:

• What role does dopamine play in regulating skeletal-neuromuscular function in the context of a 100-meter sprint regarding maximum efficiency of motor function?
• To what extent was the unclear objective for early development of facial recognition technology between the years of 1967 and 1996 in the United States responsible for creating ethical consequences for commercial applications in the 21st century?
• To what extent do variable CO₂ (7.0-5.0pH) concentrations affect the photosynthetic rate of Chlorella Vulgaris?
• How is Cleopatra VII Philopator portrayed as a woman of power through the use of composition in "Cleopatra at the Tomb of Mark Antony" by Angelica Kauffman in comparison to paintings by men like in "Cleopatra and Caesar" by Jean-Léon Gérôme?
• How can the time to light-off temperature of a Catalytic Converter, and harmful emissions, be reduced through thermal engineering?
• How effective are different methods of repurposing glass in maximizing the glass' transmittance?

A big thank you to the Dakota Ridge teachers who supported these students as supervisors; they could not do it without you!

And congratulations to our seniors for crossing this major milestone! You should be proud of all of your hard work!

The May 2024 IB/AP Exam Calendar is linked here. Please review it carefully if your son/daughter is testing this May for either IB and/or AP. Please also remember to pay exam fees by Friday, January 26. More information will follow in the upcoming weeks regarding exams.

Please plan to join us on Thursday, January 11 at 6:00pm for our IB Pathways meeting. This meeting is VERY important and will cover information regarding registration and the different options for sophomores going into their junior year. It is important that 10th grade Pre-IB students and a parent/guardian attend this meeting. This will be the only meeting held for Pre-IB 10th graders and their families to explain the options and process for 11th grade registration.

Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for a night of celebrating our Class of 2024 IB Diploma graduates! The celebration will be held on Tuesday, April 16 @ 6:00pm at Red Rocks Country Club. More information will follow, but for now, mark those calendars!

Please mark your calendars (yep, again!) for the IB CAS Presentations and ToK Exhibition Night on Wednesday, April 10 @ 6:00pm in the DRHS library. All IB junior and senior diploma candidates must participate in this event. Juniors will present their ToK exhibitions; seniors will present their CAS projects. This event will be a potluck and families of IB juniors and seniors are invited (and encouraged!) to attend! More information will follow as we get closer to the event.

Three of our amazing IB seniors, Haley Hilderbrant, Maegan Smay, and Lili Wilson completed their CAS project in December by planning, organizing, and hosting an afterschool STEM class for Powerhorn Elementary students. Not only did the students have a great time, but our seniors also loved the entire experience! Congratulations to the girls on working so hard on this project; your time, dedication, and passion really came through with this event!

This three-part series has examined crippling realities that handicap today's kids socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually. In the final installment of this series, Tim Elmore examines two final challenges facing kids today:

• Anxiety is up. Activity is down.
• Instant gratification is up. Resilience is down.

If your son or daughter faces either of these challenges (or even if they don't), this is a great read for all parents. Elmore does a fantastic job of exploring the challenges faced by today's youth and ways that we as adults can do better by them. Click here to read the third and final part of the series.