The Middle Years Programme is offered for students from 11-16, Grades 6 to 10. H.I.S. achieved "Candidate Status" for the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).
About MYP
A child faces many challenges of development during the five years of growth from 11-16. The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme was developed to assist students traveling through the experiences of this growth. The philosophy of the IB MYP allows teachers in each subject area to create units of study based on international standards that are presented using a holistic approach. This all-inclusive method engages students mentally, physically, and emotionally. The students are encouraged to acknowledge and accept responsibilities that will aide them in becoming successful not only in academic disciplines, but in all facets of life.
The Learner Profile and the five perspectives known as the Areas of Interaction encircle the students at the core of the Middle Years Programme.
Some key components of the MYP program are:
- Students are expected to take responsibility for their own learning, using skills such as time management, keeping a daily planner of set tasks and homework, learning strategies, self-assessment, reflections, etc.
- All subjects are taught through five "Areas of Interaction," which assist students in making connections between curriculum subjects and the real world. (Approaches to learning, Human ingenuity, Community and service, Health and social education, Enviroments)
- Students complete a community service requirement each year.
- There are 8 subject areas and a minimum of 50 hours is required for each subject area each year. They are:
Mathematics, Science, Language A (English), Language B (German and Spanish at H.I.S.), Humanities (History and Geography), Technology, Health and Physical Education, the Arts (Drama, Music and Visual Arts)
- International awareness is emphasized (at H.I.S. we often have more than 20 nationalities represented amongst the students and staff)
- Students' work on selected tasks is assessed using MYP rubrics (this means student work is constantly measured against an international standard)
- It is a five year programme. At H.I.S it runs in Grades 6 to 10 (students who come or go without participating in all five years still gain many benefits from the programme)
- The Personal Project, done during the course of the final MYP year (This is an almost year long task that is done entirely in the student’s own time. Although supervised by a teacher, each student is entirely responsible for their own work which includes a major project (of their own choice), a full report and a detailed process record. This is an invaluable tool for teaching students how to be independent learners)
- The MYP is a good preparation for the IB Diploma Programme
The MYP (Middle Years Programme) allows the teaching of each subject to follow student interest whilst ensuring cornerstone knowledge and skill advancement is not neglected.
Transdisciplinary planning, a fundamental MYP concept fosters real life connections between subject disciplines which mirrors life after school where knowledge and skills become the tools of life.
Criterion based assessment ensures that all steps in a student’s progress can be measured against an international standard. This assists internationally mobile families who are concerned about their child’s progress in relation to other students in their home country or other countries they next may go to when they move on.
The IBO has been in existence for nearly half a century and the MYP programme has been developed from the wealth of experience that IBO teachers worldwide have gained teaching international students.
The programme is holistic and challenges every student to develop skills in all areas of their life. The MYP fosters academic, sporting, artistic and social skill development to create better students no matter where they study next.
