TFS - Canada's International School

Meet the new student in teacher Melanie Soustelle's Junior Kindergarten class on the Mississauga campus. She arrived a few weeks ago, standing three feet tall and all of them green. In fact, Mme Soustelle's students weren't sure at first if she was a she, because this new student had no ears, eyes, mouth or nose. She didn't even have a hat or clothes. Who was this unusual new student? If you have a child in JK on either of TFS' two campuses, you may have seen such a new student in your own child's class. And in every class, the identity of this "student" will be different, determined by the classmates themselves. Welcome to TFS' Primary Years Program (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate. Now in our school's third year of implementation, the PYP has raised our curriculum to a new level, bringing with it an educational approach rooted in real-world relevancy and providing individual connections to each student's learning. Then and now Says Nathalie Lauriault, TFS' PYP Coordinator, "It's like going from 2D to 3D. We are moving education into 21st century practices. Everything is examined through units of inquiry." Which brings us back to the new student in Mme Soustelle's class, where the transdisciplinary theme is Who We Are (an inquiry into the nature of the self ) and the central idea is: In order to grow into a happy individual, a person's physical and emotional needs must be met. "Who is this doll?" Mme Soustelle asked her class. "Is it a girl or boy?" The class decided it was a girl and that, to be a person, she needed ears, eyes, mouth and a nose. Then they gave her a name – Sallybina. From November through December, the students inquired into Sallybina's physical needs. After discussing what Sallybina required to be kept warm and safe, the students decided that she needed a house. And so, they built houses out of cardboard boxes. In the 2013 winter term, they will look at her emotional needs. Before construction on the houses began, and before they were grouped into teams of two, the class was asked what it means to cooperate. The students came up with their own answers, which were put into action as each team constructed a house for their friend Sallybina. After the houses were assembled, each team had to present theirs to Mmes Soustelle and Lauriault, and their peers. This extended into an inquiry on what it meant to be a good presenter and audience member. Modelling these skills, Mme Soustelle portrayed the "It's like going from 2D to 3D. We are moving education into 21st century practices." Contrast the ways things used to be taught with the PYP today, what Mme Lauriault refers to as a thematic versus conceptual approach. Students go deeper because they are learning through concepts; they are not being taught topics that may have no meaning in their personal lives. Everything is driven by inquiry and student-focused discovery. The PYP starts in Pre-Kindergarten and concludes in Grade 5. The culminating experience for students in the PYP is the Exhibition, which takes place near the end of Grade 5. It is the result of collaborative inquiry, where the students take on a real-life problem and, by doing so, bring together all of the learner skills and knowledge they have acquired through the PYP years. The Exhibition is the demonstration of their development as children and students, as they become ready to transition into the Middle Years Program (MYP) and become independent learners. TFS will introduce the Exhibition in the 2013-2014 school year. What does she need? Units of inquiry within the PYP are connected to a guiding transdisciplinary theme. Those themes are: Who We Are, Where We Are In Place and Time, How We Express Ourselves, How the World Works, How We Organize Ourselves and Sharing the Planet. good presenter and listener, while Mme Lauriault took on the roles of the less-than-engaged audience member and presenter, opposite her. The role-play is a powerful way to demonstrate to students how they can learn best, and be a helpful peer. Finally, the children were asked what Sallybina needed in her house. Answers included electricity to light her home and bananas to eat. Each child then drew a concept map of Sallybina's house, what she needed in it and why. That's what TFS' PYP is all about: it's no longer just about what you know, it's about how you know and have experienced it. The best of the best Mme Lauriault and Director of Primary Studies Martine Coté have been working for more than two years crafting a curriculum for TFS' Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 students that is educationally transformational. For instance, the French study of geography is particularly strong; their algebra syllabus, less so. On the other hand, Ontario's study of algebra is acknowledged for its vigour. By finding the right balance between curricula, students come out of each grade with a stronger foundation. Thus, TFS is able to provide its students with an entirely unique curriculum that has hand-picked the best from the best. entre nous 5

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