Mandela student throwing their grads caps

Eleven students from SFPS’ Mandela International Magnet School have earned prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) Diplomas, demonstrating strong academic performance in six areas – Language & Literature, Language Acquisition, History, Experimental Sciences, Mathematics and the Arts.  

“The prestigious IB Diploma recognizes students’ strong academic performance,” said Superintendent Hilario “Larry” Chavez. “We congratulate these students for their outstanding achievement and Mandela’s entire school community for supporting them on this journey.”

The recipients are Lily Alexander, Sofia Beals, Vitanie Berger, Shloka Bhakta, Jasmine Buenviaje, Francisco Diaz, Finn Ellis, Ethan Garcia, Tatum Holladay, Alexis Prieto and Jillian Tompson. 

In order to qualify for the diploma, the students also wrote a 4,000-word independent research paper, completed a Theory of Knowledge exhibition and paper and demonstrated a focus on Creativity, Activity and Service.

All of Mandela’s 16 graduates earned IB certificates in at least two classes.  “We are confident all our graduates will transform our society as they grow into professional adults,” said Randy Grillo, Mandela’s principal/head learner

In addition to the 11 students who earned IB Diplomas, the following students earned IB certificates:  Gracyn Ervin (Language & Literature, History, Theatre), Ashley Hernandez (Language & Literature, Mandarin, History, Theatre), Isaac Olafson (Language & Literature, History), Jadyn Taylor (Language & Literature, Spanish, History, Visual Arts) and Ava Wilkinson (Language & Literature, History, Theatre).  IB certificates demonstrate strong performance in specific areas.