|
Statement on how the school promotes the principles of international education:
Kempenfelt Bay School is deeply committed to promoting the principles of international education. Our school mission statement is closely aligned with that of IB.
Our Mission
Kempenfelt Bay School is committed to providing an exemplary education that empowers students to embrace their personal potential as productive and responsible, global citizens.
Our guiding principles are as follows:
Character Education: We foster the development of positive values, integrity and ethics. The Six Pillars of Character™ - Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship - are the foundation of all aspects of school life. We empower our students to assume active roles in the school, local and global communities.
Intellectual Curiosity: We strive to develop in our students a love of learning and the self-motivation to be successful lifelong learners.
Diverse Programme: We provide a variety of activities that stretch the mind and body, in a non-threatening, confidence building atmosphere. Co-curricular activities support the education of the whole child and include both academic and non-academic opportunities.
Critical Thinking: We engage students in learning activities that encourage problem solving through inquiry and cooperative learning, making meaningful analysis and application of ideas.
Kempenfelt Bay School's mission statement already existed when we began to investigate ways we could improve our programming to allow our students to become better global citizens. Kempenfelt Bay School selected the MYP programme in order to help our students foster connections between the child and the world outside and change the focus from egocentrism to altruism. As the students move into the middle school, the IB learner profile becomes the root of the programme. The students set goals that help them strive to meet the attributes of the learner profile. A leadership portfolio has been designed, in which the students will record their goals and keep reflections of their development in light of the profile. Peer and self-assessment, records of community and service, as well as records of conferencing will be kept here.
This portfolio will follow the students through each year of the MYP, and finally, will become a component of their final culminating task, in year three. Our commitment to the values inherent in the IB learner profile is readily apparent in our classroom and assessment practices and daily life of the school.
Kempenfelt Bay School strives to continue to grow and improve the ways we help our students make connections with the subjects they are learning and the real world. Teachers meet regularly to design and plan meaningful units with particular focus on areas of interaction. Planning time and long range plans are used to ensure that all areas of interaction are developed within each subject and across each grade. Detailed curriculum documents have been developed by the teachers to record and monitor this. Unit plans are designed in such a way to provide the student with an
opportunity to reach the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, thus ensuring the development of critical thinking skills. Holistic learning, intercultural awareness, and communication are embedded throughout the programme, and are readily evident in school work, discussions, and displays around the school. The use of unit questions has helped the students make connections between what they learn and the real world around them. Differentiated learning is evident in our units. All teachers have received extensive professional development in this area, in order to meet the diverse physical, social, intellectual, aesthetic and cultural needs of students.
Kempenfelt Bay School is committed to promoting intercultural awareness. From the moment one walks through the doors of our school, a picture of the cultural diversity of our students and faculty are evident. Students learn to look at issues from more than one point of view, and develop a sense that they can be right, but others can be right too. Displays of work, evidence of community and service, discussions amongst students both in and out of the classroom, are proof positive that our students are beginning to look beyond the walls of their school and seeing the world around them with new and clearer perspectives.
Students entering year one of the MYP, participate in citizenship day. This activity provides the students with an opportunity to become familiar with their physical, social, cultural and educational surroundings. It also serves to introduce students to the key aspects of the Middle Years Programme. They begin to develop a better awareness of their personal responsibilities as participants in the programme and as members of the community. Citizenship day draws the students' attention to different aspects of the process of integration. They learn about their school environment, physical layout, where they can go for help, as well as rules and conventions. They make a connection to the similarity of ways in which an immigrant finds out about a new community. They then reflect on their experience and discuss ways in which they can be better citizens by helping out new members of our school and home communities.
In the main entrance of Kempenfelt Bay School, there is a display of several different international flags. The flags displayed may change from year to year, as each represents the cultural backgrounds of our student and staff population.
In the main lobby, there are a series of clocks that represent different time zones around the world. This is often a great source of interest and conversation amongst the students.
One of the ways we celebrate language diversity is during our morning assembly when students introduce the head of the school in their mother tongue. Also, students are invited to teach their classmates some of their language as it compares to our culture (e.g. slang, holidays, names). It is now our intention to create an international celebrations board/calendar, in the middle school, in September.
Kempenfelt Bay School understands the fundamental importance of communication and is evident in our language philosophy:
Kempenfelt Bay School believes that language is fundamental to learning, thinking and communicating, and that we are responsible for ensuring that all students reach their full potential. All students bring a rich diversity of background knowledge and experience to the classroom. Individual linguistic and cultural backgrounds not only support their learning in their new environment, but also become a cultural asset in the classroom community. Teachers will find positive ways to incorporate this diversity into their instructional programs and into the classroom environment. Integration of subjects provides for teachers of all disciplines to practice the skills across the curriculum. All teachers in the MYP are language teachers. Kempenfelt Bay School understands that language is powerful and directly affects our intentions, goals, and values. All members of the Kempenfelt Bay School community will respect all cultures, genders, sexual orientation and religions in regards to choices of words, literature, and course content. Kempenfelt Bay School acknowledges that learning additional languages greatly contributes to the holistic development of students. The study of French as Language B aims to encourage in the student a respect for and understanding of other languages and cultures, and to provide a skills base to facilitate further language learning.
It is understood by all members of our faculty that language is integral to intercultural understanding and personal development. Language A is taught in English and all MYP teachers assume the role of Language teachers.
In summary, Kempenfelt Bay School has diligently taken on the challenge of integrating the fundamental concepts of the Middle Year Programme into its school philosophies and teaching practices, and is committed to striving to continuously promote the principles of international education, as outlined by the IBO.
|
Kempenfelt Bay School
is a proud member of:
|
