IB MATTERSFebruary 2011

IB MATTERS

A monthly publication about trialling the

Primary Years Program (PYP) and

the Middle Years Program (MYP)

at Al Zahra College.

The International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an exciting set of educational programs offered in more than two thousand school schools in over 120 countries around the world. The programs focus on student-centred inquiry-based learning and global concerns. They challenge students to think in sophisticated ways about the connections between ideas in different areas of study. They put learning into an international context.

Trialling IB at Al Zahra College

In 2011, Al Zahra College is a Candidate School for the PYP and a Candidate School for the MYP. The goal is for Al Zahra College to eventually offer all three programs to our students.

NOTE: AZC is undertaking a trial implementation of PYP and MYP. Authorisation can take several years and cannot be guaranteed.

The initial planning for PYP and other possible IB programmes at AZC began back in 2003.

Following first-hand experience with all three programmes (PYP, MYP and DP) in Qatar, Dr Darvall recommended trialling its implementation at AZC.

In 2008, AZC registered with IB as an Interested PYP School. Following a preliminary visit in

2009, AZC was invited to become a Candidate PYP School.

During 2010, AZC completed a Pre-Authorisation visit that considered our preparedness for authorisation as a PYP School.

At this stage, and with a lot more hard work, we plan to seek authorisation in late 2011.

In 2009, AZC registered as an Interested MYP School in preparation for the commencement of Year 7 in 2010. In 2010, AZC was accepted as a Candidate MYP School.

Information sessions are conducted to facilitate parent understanding of what PYP and MYP are all about - bringing learning alive.

PYP & MYP @ AZC

Year 5 and 6 students recently had a golden opportunity to attend a three day camp at the Sovereign Hill goldfields in Ballarat, Victoria.

The students and the teachers experienced what life was like in an 1840’s school. There were many laughs as the students witnessed each other and their teachers in clothes from that period, including knickerbockers for the boys, long pinafores for the girls and floor-length hooped dresses for the teachers. It was definitely a sight students will remember forever!

The mornings were spent learning how to sit, how to write and how to behave like proper boys and girls of the era. Our students certainly received a shock at how different things were for students back then, and now have a much greater appreciation for the freedoms and opportunities students enjoy today.

After morning lessons, our students had the opportunity to become apprentices in the various trades of that time, such as wheelwrights, candle makers, confectioners and alchemists. They enjoyed making

things and using tools and equipment that they’d never used before.

Meal times were especially fun as the students experienced fine dining and tested their palettes on numerous varieties of vegetarian cuisine.

Best of all, however, our students went panning for gold at the river and, EUREKA, a few of our students were lucky enough to find GOLD!

Overall, it was an amazing camp in which the students made many discoveries, not just about the past, but about themselves as people.

Al Zahra College is very proud of them.

Years 5 & 6: The Good Old Days!

LEADERSHIPThere are many opportunities for all students to develop their leadership skills at AZC.

These include:• School parliament ministers

(including Prime Minister and Opposition Leader).

•Class captains (class representatives to school parliament).

• House captains

• Class monitors

• Sporting team captains

• Leading weekly/special assemblies

• Leading Salat

The duration of these leadership positions may range from 1 week to 1 term, 1 semester, or the entire academic year.

Completed and sustained leadership contributions will be acknowledged in student progress reports and contribute to the Annual Leadership, Service and Service Learning awards.

SERVICE

There is a strong service culture at AZC where students learn that it is possible to make a positive difference in the world.

Students support a range of Australian charities including: Pink

Ribbon Day – breast cancer; Daffodil Day – The Cancer Foundation; Jeans for Genes Day – CMRI; Literacy Backpack Project for Indigenous Students – Foundation for Youth.

AZC also sponsors two students annually at a Lebanese orphanage.

Global appeals are strongly supported when they occur, for example, the Pakistani Flood Appeal and the Tsunami Appeal.

Primary students can provide a service to students during lunch breaks by coordinating grade-based activities on a termly basis.

Completed and sustained service contributions will be acknowledged in student progress reports and contribute to the Annual Leadership, Service and Service Learning awards.

SERVICE LEARNING

Service learning is a method of teaching, learning and reflecting, frequently youth service, throughout the community. As a teaching method, it falls under the philosophy of experiential education. More specifically, it integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, encourage lifelong civic engagement, and strengthen communities for the common good.

Classes will promote service learning during the course of the academic year.

Examples of service learning can be found at:

http:/www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/servicelearning/project_ideas.htm

http://www.goodcharacter.com/SERVICE/primer-­‐10.html  

http://www.proteacher.org/c/868_Service_Learning_Projects.html

ANNUAL LEADERSHIP, SERVICE, SERVICE LEARNING AWARDS

LeadershipAn Annual Leadership Award will be gained by leadership action for two terms during an academic year.

ServiceAn Annual Service Award will be gained by service action for two terms during an academic year.

Service LearningAn Annual Service Learning Award will be gained by completed service learning action to a minimum Grade 4 level, during an academic year.

CitizenshipAn Annual Citizenship Award will be gained by achieving the Annual Leadership, Annual Service and Annual Service Learning Awards during an academic year.

Citizenship 2011

Al Zahra College aims to develop faithful, knowledgeable and wise citizens who take responsibility for creating a better and more peaceful world.

We will challenge our students to become active learners and critical thinkers who promote intercultural understanding and respect.

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THE IB LEARNER PROFILE

Below is a detailed list of the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile attributes.

Students at Al Zahra are striving to develop these attributes as they engage in the IB

Primary Years Programme.

Reflective: They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and

experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in

order to support their learning and personal development.

Caring: They 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.

Communicators: They 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.

Open-minded: They 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.

Inquirers: They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to

conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively

enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Balanced: They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional

balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.

Principled: They 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.

Knowledgeable: They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global

significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop

understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Risk-takers: They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and

forethought and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and

strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Thinkers: They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and

creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical

decisions.

Al Zahra College

The IB Learner Profile is the

attributes and descriptors that

define the type of student that IB

hopes to develop through its

programs (for example, MYP).

THE LEARNER PROFILE

Risk-TakersCaring

Communicators

ThinkersReflective

Open

Minded

KnowledgeablePrincipled

Balanced

Inquirers

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AL ZAHRA COLLEGE

3 - 5 Wollongong Road, ARNCLIFFE. NSW 2205

P: (+61) 2 9599 0161

F: (+61) 2 9599 0162

E: info@azc.nsw.edu.au

W: www.azc.nsw.edu.au !