IB+Program

Our school is becoming an IB school but what exactly does that mean? Here is some of the common questions:

=What does the International Baccalaureate® offer?= Our three programmes span the years from kindergarten to pre-university. The programmes can be offered individually or as a continuum.
 * We develop and offer three programmes of international education for students aged 3 to 19, working in close cooperation with IB World Schools.**
 * [[image:http://www.ibo.org/img/imagebank/childrenwithglobe_001.png width="200" height="180" align="right" caption="Children with globe"]]The Primary Years Programme** for pupils aged 3 to 12 focuses on the development of the whole child in the classroom and in the world outside.
 * The Middle Years Programme** for pupils aged 11 to 16 provides a framework of academic challenge and life skills, achieved through embracing and transcending traditional school subjects.
 * The Diploma Programme** for students aged 16 to 19 is a demanding two-year curriculum leading to final examinations and a qualification that is welcomed by leading universities around the world.

Each programme includes a curriculum and pedagogy, student assessment appropriate to the age range, professional development for teachers and a process of school authorization and evaluation. The programmes are available through 2,717 IB World Schools in  138  countries.

=Middle Years Programme at a glance=

What is the Middle Years Programme?
It is a programme of international education designed to help students develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and responsibly in a changing world. The International Baccalaureate® Middle Years Programme (MYP) is designed for students aged 11 to 16. This period, encompassing early puberty and mid-adolescence, is a particularly critical phase of personal and intellectual development and requires a programme that helps students participate actively and responsibly in a changing and increasingly interrelated world. Learning how to learn and how to evaluate information critically is as important as learning facts. Curriculum documents are published in English, French, Spanish and Chinese but schools may offer the programme in other languages.

What does the curriculum contain?
The curriculum contains eight subject groups together with a core made up of five areas of interaction. This is illustrated by means of an octagon with the five areas of interaction at its centre. Students study subjects from each of the eight subject groups through the [|five areas of interaction]: approaches to learning, community and service, human ingenuity, environment, and health and social education.

What are the five areas of interaction?
The five areas of interaction are:
 * 1) **Approaches to learning (ATL):** Through ATL teachers provide students with the tools to enable them to take responsibility for their own learning, thereby developing an awareness of how they learn best, of thought processes and of learning strategies.
 * 2) **Community and service:** This component requires students to take an active part in the communities in which they live, thereby encouraging responsible citizenship.
 * 3) **Human ingenuity:** Students explore in multiple ways the processes and products of human creativity, thus learning to appreciate and develop in themselves the human capacity to influence, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life.
 * 4) **Environments:** This area aims to develop students’ awareness of their interdependence with the environment so that they understand and accept their responsibilities.
 * 5) **Health and social education:** This area deals with physical, social and emotional health and intelligence—key aspects of development leading to complete and healthy lives.

How are students assessed?
Teachers organize continuous assessment over the course of the programme taking account of specified criteria that correspond to the objectives for each subject.

The MYP offers a criterion-related model of assessment. This means that students' results are determined by performance against set standards, not by each student's position in the overall rank order. Teachers are responsible for structuring varied and valid assessment tasks that allow students to demonstrate achievement according to the required objectives within each subject group. These may include: Assessment strategies, both quantitative and qualitative, provide feedback on the thinking processes as well as the finished piece of work. There is also an emphasis on self-assessment and peer-assessment within the programme. Schools may request final grades to be validated by the International Baccalaureate (IB).
 * open-ended, problem-solving activities and investigations
 * organized debates
 * hands-on experimentation
 * analysis
 * reflection.

Who can offer the programme?
Only schools authorized by the IB as IB World Schools can offer the Middle Years Programme (MYP).