Middle School

Philosophy and Aims

The Middle School staff strive to develop not only knowledgeable and capable students, but also happy, thoughtful and successful young people, who love to learn and care about the world they live in. We care about the complete development of our students by not only providing a highly challenging academic education but also ensuring that the students are able to achieve their full potential academically, artistically and socially through the provision of a close-knit, supportive and friendly environment.

The Middle School at ISB consists of Grades 6, 7 and 8 students (11-14 year olds). We believe Middle school is an exciting stage where students are not only taught essential academic and social skills but also how to manage their studies and time with greater independence. Emphasis is placed upon organization and management skills to best prepare them for High School and ultimately adult life. Regular homework is an important part of this process to help the children develop discipline both in and out of their school setting.

It is well known statistically, that Middle School can be one of the highest times of disengagement for students. As teachers we are aware of this and we strive to make our teaching as student-centred and engaging as possible. The small class sizes enable us to be flexible with our approach and maintain our students’ interest. For this reason, the Middle School Curriculum is challenging and interesting to students and uses a variety of teaching approaches to cater for all learning styles and abilities. Learning situations are varied to not only make learning interesting and fun but to equip children with the skills necessary to work in various ways, such as in small groups and independently.

The Middle School Council is another important part of our curriculum. Once a week children meet and discuss issues concerning their school. They organise many activities to develop positive relationships between different year levels and have developed a close link with the local Rotary Club in order to assist with fund raising activities. Throughout this process students further develop their reasoning, teamwork and communication skills whilst learning some valuable life lessons about how group decisions are democratically made and how action plans are implemented. Timetabling and teacher allocation is organized in a way to help children smoothly make the adjustment from Elementary to Middle school. There are specialist teachers for English, geography, history, art, mathematics, science, design and technology, ICT, PE, Spanish, Korean and music.

For all subjects, school examinations are held in December and May. These, along with the standardised tests taken, help the students to prepare for the requirements of the exam-based assessments that they will encounter at high school. At the end of Grades 6 and 7, the International Schools’ Assessment tests are taken. These are set by the Australian Council of Educational Research and based upon the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) frameworks of the OECD. It is a culturally non-biased assessment specifically designed for international schools.

At the end of Grade 8, the Checkpoint examinations are taken. These are administered by the University of Cambridge International Examinations and form a direct link to help prepare students for the IGCSE exams that are taken at the end of Grade 10. The diagnostic reports enable teachers to monitor group and individual performance, tailor individual student learning programmes and provide information for reporting to parents.

English

The Middle School English program and standards are based upon those from the UK. In the teaching and assessment of writing, reading, grammar and word study, a variety of resources from the UK, America and Australia are used. Our literature programme draws on authors from all around the world in order to ensure that the students have as broad an appreciation of literary styles and backgrounds as possible.

Middle School English builds upon the reading and writing foundations established in the Elementary school, by introducing new writing genres and refining students’ writing techniques. Word study aims to extend children’s vocabulary and develop a greater appreciation of why we spell words the way we do, as we look more closely into word origins and their meanings. In Middle School, many subjects require strong reading skills; the English programme equips students with these skills to read not only fiction but also a variety of factual texts to help them succeed in other curriculum areas. Speaking and listening skills are taught and practised in formal and informal situations as children are regularly expected to present orally to the class share their ideas in group discussions.

Social Studies

The social studies program is divided into five main learning areas:

• Historical societies
• Historical events and developments
• Geographical patterns and processes
• Environmental change and sustainable development
• Personal development

Through the use of selected topics, the students will develop ever more sophisticated skills and attitudes; the outcomes will become more demanding focusing not only upon knowledge and content, but upon such things as:

• the use of sources and evidence
• comparison of views and opinions
• evaluation of results
• description
• understanding of links and relationships

Mathematics

The Middle School Mathematics program is designed to challenge each student, enabling them to expand upon strong knowledge of the basics and use these basics in unfamiliar situations. Knowledge of the basics is seen as essential and the ability to apply these basics is vital in the changing world our children live in. Resources are taken from a variety of sources with the students using a set text, but by no means is their instruction limited to that text. Resources include other texts, “hands on” equipment and computers as well as the library and the outside world.

All students can be well catered for due to the excellent teacher / student ratio and each is encouraged to reach their maximum potential. Enrichment is achieved through catering for individual differences and the student’s instruction is matched to their ability. Above all, the students are encouraged to maintain a love of learning and a desire to expand upon their understanding of the mathematical world.

Science

The teaching of science is divided into the teaching of chemistry, physics and biology and is predicated upon developing an understanding of why things happen or why certain results are recorded. This can only been done through the use of a practical, hands-on approach to the subject and the subsequent enquiry and discussion that follows. Students are encouraged to be able to apply their knowledge to new situations in order to illustrate their understanding of a topic. With the use of a modern science lab and an ever developing range of modern equipment, the students are able to experience a wide range of first-hand activities.