International Baccalaureate
Primary Years Program
Primary Years Program
Tessa is proud to be an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School offering the Primary Years Program (PYP). This dynamic and goal-oriented program creates many academic and social emotional growth opportunities for our students, and provides children with the skills to challenge themselves in an environment that holds them to the highest academic standards.
The International Baccalaureate Organization is a not-for-profit foundation, which offers high quality and challenging educational programs for a worldwide community of schools. For over 40 years, IB programmes have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, for preparing students for life in a globalized 21st century, and for helping to develop the citizens who will create a better, more peaceful world. Founded in 1968, currently there are more than one million IB students at over 5,000 schools in 147 countries across the world.
The IB PYP is a curriculum framework designed for students aged 3 to 12. It focuses on the development of the whole child as a learner both in the classroom and in the world outside.
The IB PYP is a curriculum framework which centers around a series of transdisciplinary themes that address human commonalities.
The students are exposed to units of learning that promote inquiry, exploration, and investigation. These units integrate all subject areas and provide meaningful learning experiences for students.
The IB PYP focuses on the development of the whole child as a learner both in the classroom and in the world outside.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) learner profile describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success. They imply a commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.
The profile aims to develop learners who are:
Students who are inquirers nurture their curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. They know how to learn independently and with others. Inquirers learn with enthusiasm and sustain their love of learning throughout life.
Students who are knowledgeable explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In doing so, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Students who are thinkers exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Students who are communicators understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
Students who are principled act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
Students who are open-minded understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.
Students who are caring show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment. They remember to treat others how they themselves would like to be treated.
Students who are risk-takers are able to approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought. They have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. Risk-takers are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
Balanced learners understand the importance of intellectual, physical, and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
Students who are reflective give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experiences. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
As part of their Unit of Inquiry “How the World Works”, our PK4 students worked on the central idea: Materials behave and interact in certain ways, which determine how people use them.
They focused on:
Pictured are some students from our French class showing the music instruments they just built.
They studied musical instruments of the world, and decided which one they would each build. They learned the names of the materials, both in English and French, compared which ones were the loudest or the most likely to create musical sounds. They reflected on which tools they would need to build these instruments. They chose to recycle and reuse materials they could find in the classroom, such as cardboard, rubber bands and food containers. This transdisciplinary activity allowed students to practice math (with the shapes they created and cut out), music, language and vocabulary, as well as their writing skills (by writing the name of each instrument).
Transdisciplinary learning requires that all teachers are involved and collaborate. They must shift away from their comfort zone of working individually by sharing ideas with others for the purpose of integrating learning experiences. This results in building meaningful and enduring connections for students. Ultimately, transdisciplinary learning goes further by helping students grow and learn at a deeper level.
At the end of each unit, classes hold a celebration of their achievements. At Tessa, parents are invited to one celebration a year. Students demonstrate their work and achievements from the past few weeks under the form of their choosing: exhibition, songs and performances, crafts…
The Celebration of Learning is a part of the IB PYP curriculum framework and a great way to develop a partnership between parents and schools. It is a powerful opportunity for students to make their learning public and gain confidence by presenting it to an authentic audience. Through this process, students can embrace the different learner profiles to reflect on their learning by communicating what they now know and what they are inquiring about.
Read about one of our end of unit projects on our blog.