Wells Branch Elementary PTA
Additional News and Information:
International Baccalaureate Program Information
The idea of becoming an International Baccalaureate school was brought up at the October PTA General Meeting. It was agreed that information regarding this program would be added to the PTA website. Below you will find a quick overview of the program below taken from http://www.ibo.org/pyp/ . For detailed information on this program please visit the http://www.ibo.org/pyp/ site.
What is the Primary Years Programme (PYP)?
It is a transdisciplinary programme of international education designed to foster the development of the whole child.
The International Baccalaureate® Primary Years Programme (PYP) is designed for students aged 3 to 12. It focuses on the total growth of the developing child, touching hearts as well as minds and encompassing social, physical, emotional and cultural needs in addition to academic development.
The PYP draws on research and best practice from a range of national systems with a wealth of knowledge and experience from international schools to create a relevant, engaging, challenging and significant educational framework for all children. Curriculum documents are published in English, French and Spanish but schools may offer the programme in other languages under certain conditions.
The PYP is one of three programmes offered by the International Baccalaureate® (IB).
There are three phases to becoming an IB World School, authorized to offer the PYP.
- Consideration phase: feasibility study and identification of resources
The school makes an in-depth analysis of the philosophy and curriculum, and identifies the resources needed to deliver it.
- Candidate phase: trial implementation period
The school puts in place all the processes and resources needed to deliver the programme, including the training of teachers. The school must then implement the full programme for at least one year.
- Final phase: school visit by an IB visiting team
At the end of the trial period, a delegation appointed by the IB visits the school and evaluates the school’s capacity to deliver the programme. If the outcome is positive, the school becomes authorized to offer the programme and attains the status of IB World School.
The programme encourages students to become:
- inquirers—their natural curiosity has been nurtured and they actively enjoy learning
- thinkers—they exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to solving complex problems
- communicators—they receive and express ideas and information confidentially in more than one language
- risk-takers—they approach unfamiliar situations without anxiety and have the confidence to explore new ideas
- knowledgeable—they have explored themes which have global significance and have acquired a critical mass of knowledge
- principled—they have a sound grasp of the principles of moral reasoning and have acquired integrity, honesty and a sense of justice
- caring—they show sensitivity towards the needs and feelings of others, and have a sense of personal commitment to helping others
- open-minded—they respect the values of other individuals and cultures and seek to consider a range of points of view
- well-balanced—they understand the importance of physical and mental balance and personal well-being
- reflective—they give thoughtful consideration to their own learning by constructively analyzing their personal strengths and weaknesses.
The most significant and distinctive feature of the IB Primary Years Programme is the six transdisciplinary themes.
These themes are about issues that have meaning for, and are important to, all of us. The programme offers a balance between learning about or through the subject areas, and learning beyond them.
The six themes of global significance create a transdisciplinary framework that allows students to “step up” beyond the confines of learning within subject areas:
- 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
The programme puts great emphasis on learning about these transdisciplinary themes. Each theme is addressed each year by all students, with the exception of students aged 3 to 5, who may engage explicitly with four of the themes each year. The themes provide the opportunity to incorporate local and global issues into the curriculum.
The traditional disciplines retain a role in the IB Primary Years Programme. The six specified subjects are language, mathematics, science, social studies, arts, and personal, social and physical education.
The overall expectations for each subject area are defined for each year of the programme.
There are two RRISD Elementary Schools that are IB they are Anderson Mill and Spicewood. To find out more on their pogroms please visit the below links.
Anderson Mill site- http://schools.roundrockisd.org/andersonmill/IB_LearnerProfile.aspx
Spicewood site- http://schools.roundrockisd.org/spicewood/IB-Program.aspx
