Primary Years Programme

(Early Primary - Grade 5)

Welcome to the Primary Department at H.I.S.

My name is Allyn Raw and I have been the Primary Years Programme (PYP) Coordinator at H.I.S. for 4 years. I am an Early Primary specialist and have spent a large amount of my teaching career with our youngest students and seen some of them progress through their entire Primary years at the school. I have taught students at all Primary grade levels during my 6 years at H.I.S. and previously taught in Cologne, Germany.

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP)

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme is designed for students aged 3 to 12. It focuses on the total growth of the developing child, social, physical, emotional and cultural needs in addition to academic development. The PYP draws on research and best practice from a range of national systems with a wealth of knowledge and experience from international schools to create a relevant, engaging, challenging and significant educational framework for all children.The curriculum framework consists of five essential elements: concepts, knowledge, skills, attitudes, action. The knowledge component is developed through inquiries into six transdisciplinary themes of global significance, supported and balanced by six subject areas. 

This is illustrated by the hexagon:

                     
The curriculum framework is further structured around three interrelated questions:

• What do we want to learn? The written curriculum.
• How best will we learn? The taught curriculum.
• How will we know what we have learned? The assessed curriculum.

Teachers in the programme receive IB certified training at regional and inschool workshops in addition to online and inhouse professional development.

The PYP Learner
The holistic approach enables students to adapt and cope in new or unfamiliar situations, such as moving to a different country, culture and school. They are equipped with ideas, strategies and experiences, which can be applied to many situations they face as they grow and which have made them flexible in their approach to learning.

Students who have worked in the programme are able to make connections between their learning at school and apply this knowledge to the world around them. It is the development of these connections between all learning that will enable students to make sense of the world that they live in.

IB Learner Profile
The IB Learner Profile is integral to all 3 IB programmes and provides a long-term vision of education. It is a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose.

Here are some comments from our students on how they have been developing the attributes of the profile in the PYP:
principled
“I am honest and trustworthy”
risk-taker
“You try something you haven’t tried before. Trying new things helps us learn”
inquirer
“We ask questions and find answers to our questions”
reflective
“We think about what we did well and what we can do better”
open-minded
“You listen to others’ ideas and respect them”
caring
“We take care of each other no matter what we look like, who we are, or where we come from”

Student Development in the PYP

Having worked with the PYP for a number of years I have been able to follow the progress of students who began in our younger classes at the age of 4 or 5 and have now reached the final year of the programme. Students grow in confidence in their own abilities, both academic and social, and are prepared with experiences and strategies that can be applied to the challenges ahead. This international education provides students with the academic and personal development to succeed in an ever-changing world that demands more than academic achievement. I believe the PYP can prepare the students of today to be responsible, internationally minded adults of tomorrow.

For more information please contact me at Allyn.Raw@hischool.de or visit the IB public website at www.ibo.org.

Allyn Raw
H.I.S. PYP Co-ordinator