Teacher Joel Rickert will not return next year. Now the school must find teachers to fill his positions as AP Art History teacher and Medallion adviser.
According to Sue Nellis, head of high school, she is working with headmaster Stephen Repsher and Brooke Wells, assistant head of high school, to find replacements within the current faculty.
A current high-school teacher will cover the AP Art History class, though one has not yet been chosen. Repsher said that a couple of teachers are interested in teaching the course.
“(The teacher) will be chosen based on his or her experience and skills, the high-school schedule of classes, and the students’ level of interest in the course,” he said.
The class may be offered every other year if there is not enough interest, said Repsher.
According to Nellis, the AP Art History position will not be determined until next year’s course request forms have been turned in.
In the past, Rickert has taught other electives, such as Poetry Out Loud. Repsher said there are no current plans to cover such classes.
According to Repsher, there is still a possibility that Rickert could return to SCDS if an “appropriate” full-time position surfaces.
“We would be delighted to have him return,” he said.
Assistant librarian Mollie Hawkins will advise the Medallion next year. It will be her first time working with a yearbook class. However, she has experience working with deadlines and design—she was an intern for a literary magazine in college.
Hawkins said she is “nervously excited” about taking on this new position.
“(Rickert) has been such a great leader with yearbook, so I have really big shoes to fill,” she said.
She said she would carefully balance being assistant librarian part of the day and Medallion adviser another part of the day.
It’s almost like being Clark Kent, she said. “Only I can’t fly, and I don’t look good in glasses.”
In mid-April, Hawkins attended the JEA/NSPA national journalism convention in San Diego with Rickert and current Medallion staff members.
Hawkins said that there were many helpful classes for new advisers there.
“I also learned that the JEA offers mentors to advisers for free, so I plan to take them up on it,” she said.
Hawkins said she thinks the convention helped give her a head start in preparing for the Medallion class next year.
“I met a lot of great contacts and learned a lot about the dynamics of making a great yearbook better.”
Going to the convention also allowed her to spend time with some of the Medallion staff.
“I got to learn a lot about the way they share ideas and work as a team.
“Also, there’s nothing like bonding over long airport lines or a plate of Nutella crepes.”
Hawkins remembers her yearbook from her small high school in the South.
“Our yearbook was basically a black-and-white tribute to the football team and the cheerleaders, so I kind of stayed out of it, literally and figuratively,” she said.
Next year’s yearbook will be the 50th Anniversary edition.
“I know it will be really special,” she said. “I’m really excited about working with the staff to make the best book possible.
“I think we’ll have a lot of fun in the process.”
Hawkins said she is very thankful to Rickert for being helpful and supportive.
