Landmark International School is accepted as a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme
As the school year draws to a close, reflecting on the journey that we have been on this year is fresh in my mind.
As reflective learners we look back on our mistakes and successes, about what we've done, identify what went wrong and think about what we can do better.
Student voice at Landmark
Landmark primary students enjoying the thinking hats routine
This statement was compiled from the words of students at Landmark through a series of Visible Thinking exercises we undertook across the last term and a half. Through using the routines, such as Chalk Talk, See Think Wonder, and de Bono´s 6 Thinking Hats among others, we have the opportunity to gain an insight into the processes through which students create meaning and make connections in their understanding across the topic.
The end of the 2020/2021 academic year brings successful acceptance for candidacy. This means that Landmark International School is a candidate school* for the PYP. The school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy- a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education- that we believe is important for our students to become lifelong learners.
The process to this point has included conducting a feasibility study to review where we are against the IB´s Programme Standards and Practices, which is designed to ensure fidelity to the programme and assess the school's readiness for taking it forward.
Throughout the year, the staff have been working together to reflect on and review our current thematic curriculum in order to prepare for the transition to a transdisciplinary approach, where we will be breaking down the traditional subject boundaries further in order to incorporate more inquiry-led, concept-based learning opportunities.
Our students have been getting involved too, through workshops in which they have been exploring the Learner Profile attributes. These are essentially the building blocks for our learning. The 10 dispositions celebrate all that we want our students to become; self-directed creative thinkers that contribute to making their communities and the world around them a better place.
Behind the scenes, I have also been working hard to prepare our first classes to launch the PYP in the Autumn term. This is a journey for all of us, and we are excited to count a very experienced PYP consultant, Maggie McGrane on our team throughout our candidacy phase.
In order to keep our community informed of updates in the process and share class stories, we are looking at our blog as a way to keep our community informed through our website. From here you will be able to view important information pertaining to how the PYP candidacy is progressing. Education is a community endeavour, learners are not isolated by space or time from their influences. The conversations that start at school should continue at home, and vice-versa, and I hope this window into the classroom will inspire deeper discussions with your children about their learning.
I myself have an exciting summer of learning ahead as I join my first online training with the IB, and I personally cannot wait to dive into some inspirational learning when we come together again in September. In the meantime, happy holidays, and have a wonderful summer break.
Jenna Fritz, PYP Coordinator
* Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.
