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Nurturing Leaders for Tomorrow's World
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IB Mission Statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring,
knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and
more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization
works with schools, governments and international organizations to
develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous
assessment.
These programmes encourage
students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong
learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can
also be right.
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IB Authorization Visit
On December 12 and 13th we will be hosting our IB authorization visit. This is our last and final step in the process of becoming an official IB world school. The IB regional office will be sending a team of authorizers who will spend 2 days with us to affirm our qualifications for IB authorization status. Both team members are PYP Coordinators at bi-lingual IB world schools in Mexico City and San Francisco. We are looking for parent volunteers to help provide breakfast and lunch, pick up and drop off from the airport, to have lunch on Tuesday with the team and any other possible volunteer opportunities that may arise. Please contact Karen Speich PYP Coordinator if you are interested. kspeich@islacad.org
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PYP Curriculum Basics
The IB mission and PYP Curriculum framework directly support the school’s vision and mission:
International Spanish Language Academy (ISLA), a K-6 Spanish immersion community, empowers the whole child by nurturing the development of personal growth, strong character, academic excellence, and global vision.
The Learner Profile
1. The IB learner profile is the IB mission statement translated into a set of learning outcomes for the 21st century. The attributes of the profile express the values inherent to the IB continuum of international education: these are values that should infuse all elements of the Primary Years Program (PYP), Middle Years Program (MYP) and Diploma Program and, therefore, the culture and ethos of all IB World Schools. The learner profile provides a long-term vision of education. It is a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of students, parents and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose.
2. Students are: Inquirers, Thinkers, Communicators, Risk-takers, Knowledgeable, Principled, Caring, Open-minded, Well-balanced, Reflective.
The Written Curriculum
Knowledge:
Significant, relevant content that we wish the students to explore and know about, taking into consideration their prior experience and understanding.
1. Six transdisciplinary themes guide the curriculum: Who we are, Where we are in place and time, How we express ourselves, How the world works, How we organize ourselves, Sharing the planet.
Key concepts:
Powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject areas but also transcend them and that students must explore and re-explore in order to develop a coherent, in-depth understanding.
1. Each unit of inquiry has 2 or 3 key concepts embedded into the central idea of the unit.
2. There are a total of eight key concepts:
1) Form: What is it like?
2) Function: How does it work?
3) Causation: Why is it like it is?
4) Change: How is it changing?
5) Connection: How is it connected to other things?
6) Perspective: What are our points of view?
7) Responsibility: What is our responsibility?
8) Reflection: How do we know?
Skills:
Those capabilities that the students need to demonstrate to succeed in a changing, challenging world, which may be disciplinary or transdisciplinary in nature.
1. Five skills are taught throughout the curriculum. Social Skills, Communication Skills, Research Skills, Self-management Skills, Thinking Skills.
Attitudes:
While recognizing the importance of knowledge, concepts and skills, these alone do not make an internationally minded person. It is vital that there is also focus on the development of personal attitudes towards people, towards the environment and towards learning, attitudes that contribute to the well-being of the individual and of the group.
1. Twelve attitudes: Appreciation, Commitment, Confidence, Cooperation, Creativity, Curiosity, Empathy, Enthusiasm, Independence, Integrity, Respect, Tolerance
Action:
Demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behavior through responsible action; manifestation in practice of the other essential elements.
1. Child beginning a recycling program at home
2. Child encouraging parents to purchase healthier foods
3. Child learning a new language
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Programme of InquiryThe six transdisciplinary themes help teachers to develop
a programme of inquiries–in-depth investigations into
important ideas, identified by the teachers, and requiring a high level of involvement on the part of the students.
These inquiries are substantial, in-depth and usually last for
several weeks.
Six Transdisciplinary Themes
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Who we are
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Where we are in place and time |
How we express ourselves
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How the world works
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How we organize ourselves |
Sharing the planet
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| Kindgergarten |
My 5 Senses!
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Heros and heroines have changed the world
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Read between the threads
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I like trees
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I feel proud of my job
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Amazing Animals
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1st Grade
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Health
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Families |
Culture |
The circle of life
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Farm to Fork
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Helping hands
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2nd Grade
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Friendship
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Mapamania |
Inquiry |
Life Cycle
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Air and Weather
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Economic Choices
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3rd Grade
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Communication
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Ancient Civilizations
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Folklore
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Solar System
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Communities |
Structures of Life
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4th Grade
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Regions
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Voices from the Past
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Communicating through Art
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Sounds of the World
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Show me the money!
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Structures of life for one year, then Water
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5th Grade
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We believe...
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Before Columbus until the Colonies
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Theater |
Landforms |
Revolution |
Environments |
6th Grade
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We are where we live
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Immigration |
Poetry |
Chemistry |
War |
Peacemakers
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