IB MATTERSMarch 2012

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.

IB MATTERS

A monthly publication about the Primary Years

Programme (PYP), trialling of the Middle Years

Programme (MYP) and planning for the IB Diploma

Programme (IB DP) 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.

IB at Al Zahra College

In 2011, Al Zahra College was authorised as an IB World School to offer the Primary Years Programme (PYP). The goal is for Al Zahra College to eventually offer all three programs to our students.

NOTE: AZC is undertaking a trial implementation of the Middle Years Programme (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.

Following an authorisation visit, AZC was authorised as an IB World School for PYP.

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.

In 2012, AZC will request an authorisation visit for the Diploma Programme (DP) in 2013 so that the DP can be offered as the AZC exit credential.

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

PYP & MYP @ AZC

The International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who will help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end, the organisation works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment.

IB programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right

The most significant and distinctive feature of the IB Primary Years Program is the six transdisciplinary themes.

PYP Authorisation

On December 22nd 2011, AZC was officially authorised as an IB world school for the Primary Years Programme. IB authorszation means that AZC has fulfilled the requirements for program implementation including curriculum and policy development. The requirements for authorisation are the same in each IB region with the process designed to ensure that schools are well prepared to implement the programme successfully.

PYP – Transdisciplinary Themes

The most significant and distinctive feature of the IB Primary Years Program is the six transdisciplinary themes. These themes are about issues that have meaning for, and are important to, all of us. The six themes of global significance are:

• Who we are• Where we are in place and

time• How we express ourselves• How the world works• How we organise

ourselves• Sharing the planet

Other features of the PYP:• A philosophy of teaching

and learning that aims to develop internationally minded learning communities.

• An inquiry-based pedagogy where teachers firstly provoke students to wonder and then actively incorporate students' inquiries into the classroom.

• An appreciation of lifelong learning. In their inquiries, students learn how to think about and therefore, care about, the world.

• The ‘action cycle’ where students learn to reflect, choose and then act, sees them making personal

meaning from their learning, and deciding to take action in an authentic response.

• A transdisciplinary approach to learning.

o Students and teachers use subject areas as tools to explore transdisciplinary ideas of enduring importance.

o Units of inquiry are developed as the means by which transdisciplinary learning occurs.

o Students learn through ideas that transcend the bounds of traditional subject areas to connect with what is real in the world.

o Students acquire and apply transdisciplinary skills (skills that are embedded within all disciplines) as well as explicit attitudes and the expectation of socially responsible behaviour.

• Developing enduring understanding. This focus on enduring understanding occurs through the use of concepts to frame learning.

AZC: An IB World School

Al Zahra College submitted its application for Candidacy for the IB Diploma Programme (IB DP) on 31 March, 2012. This application is a request to prepare for authorisation to offer the IB DP during 2013, so that AZC can commence in January 2014.

The IB Diploma Programme is designed as an academically challenging and balanced programme of education with final examinations that prepares students, normally aged 16 to 19, for success at

university and life beyond. The programme is normally taught over two years and has gained recognition and respect from the world's leading universities.

IB Diploma Programme students study six courses at higher level or standard level. Students must choose one subject from each of groups 1 to 5, thus ensuring breadth of experience in languages, social studies, the experimental sciences and mathematics. The sixth subject

may be an arts subject chosen from group 6, or the student may choose another subject from groups 1 to 5.

In addition, the programme has three core requirements that are included to broaden the educational experience and challenge students to apply their knowledge and understanding. These requirements are: Theory of Knowledge; Extended Essay; and Creativity, Action, Service.

IB Diploma Programme

Community and Service (C&S) is integral to AZC’s philosophy and forms an important aspect in every student’s life. Students in Years 7 - 8 work along the concept of Community and Service as a year group, homeroom or individually. In Years 9 - 10 students must fulfill certain requirements, hence they involve themselves in a wide range of community service projects within and beyond the school community, as C&S constitutes a mandatory element in the IB MYP Certification Programme.

Aims of the C&S Programme

• Promote a sense ofresponsibility and respect for others.• Foster a sense of belonging and to make a positive contribution.• Encourage a spirit of volunteering amongst students.• Inquire into the nature and needs of different communities.• Actively participate in sustained, collaborative projects.• Understand their own strengths and limitations.• Identify goals and devise strategies for personal growth.• Clearly communicate their

growth as individuals through engagement with C&S.

Targeted Learning Outcomes• Consider ethical implications.• Develop new skills.• Engaged with issues of global importance.• Increased awareness of your strengths and areas for growth.• Planned and initiated activities.• Show perseverance and commitment.

• Undertaking new challenges.• Working collaboratively with others.

To aid them, students are encouraged to consider the following:

• How do we live in relation to each other?• How can I contribute to the community?• How can I help others?

Students can be extremely resourceful and inventive in the projects in which they can be involved. Some examples include:

• Participating in Australia Clean-up Day.• Helping on the AZC Newsletter.• Assisting in the organisation of sports activities (for example, the College athletic carnival).

• Organising school functions and activities.• Conducting fundraising activities.• Participating in the College Parliament.

Student learning expectations encompass:

• community awareness and understanding;

• reflection; and

• involvement through service.

Students undertake C&S each Wednesday (Y7-9) and Friday (Y8-9)

Community & Service

PYP: The Five Essential Elements

1. Knowledge

Students in any PYP school study the same transdisciplinary themes. They are:

Who we are Where we are in place and time

How we express ourselves How the world works

How we organise ourselves Sharing the planet

Students inquire into, and learn about, these globally significant issues in the context of units of inquiry, each of which addresses a central idea relevant to a particular transdisciplinary theme. Lines of inquiry are identified in order to explore the scope of the central idea for each unit

Traditional subjects that are studied include:

Language (English and Arabic at AZC) Mathematics

Science Social Studies (HSIE)

Personal, Social and Physical Education (PDHPE) Arts

2. Concepts

Students try to gain an understanding of the central idea of a unit through concept driven inquiry. The PYP concepts are:

Form – What is it like? Function – How does it work?

Causation – Why is it like it is? Perspective – What are the points of view?

Connection – How is it it connected to other things?

Responsibility – What is our responsibility?

Reflection – How do we know? Change – How is it changing?

3. Skills

Transdisciplinary skills involved in the PYP include:

Thinking skills Social skills

Communication skills Self-management skills

Research skills

4. Attitudes

We would like our students to feel, value and demonstrate:

Appreciation Commitment Confidence

Cooperation Creativity Curiosity

Empathy Enthusiasm Independence

Integrity Respect Tolerance

5. Action

After engaging with a unit of inquiry, we hope that students will do something with the knowledge that they have gained.

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 An IB World School

Catering for students from Preschool to Year 9 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