MISSION STATEMENT

Queens Gate Academy provides a nurturing environment and is committed to achieving excellence. All learners are encouraged to foster solid foundational skills while reaching their optimal potential with the support of individual learning styles.

Our school’s mission is to create lifelong learners who value knowledge, inquiry, and respect through intercultural learning. Within the collaborative learning community, we work to uplift learners to help create and shape minds through education, international-mindedness, and global citizenship.

These principles work together to foster a holistic approach to learning.

PYP

The PYP focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in school and in the world beyond. The PYP offers a transformative experience for students, teachers and whole school communities and delivers excellent outcomes by providing an education that is engaging, relevant, and challenging.

Guided by six transdisciplinary themes that have global significance, students use the program to broaden their learning by developing their conceptual understandings, strengthening their knowledge and skills across, between and beyond subject areas.

PYP learners know how to take ownership of their learning, collaborating with teachers to deepen understanding and increase their confidence and self-motivation. Through actively engaging in integrated ongoing assessment they become effective, self-regulated learners who can act on constructive feedback.

At Queens Gate Academy, we are proud to offer an inclusive and enriched learning environment for all students at our school.

THE SIX TRANSDISCIPLINARY THEMES

The six transdisciplinary themes of global significance provide the framework for exploration and study:

• Who we are
• Where we are in place and time
• How we express ourselves
• How the world works
• How we organize ourselves
• Sharing the planet

Within the PYP framework, we integrate the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies along with Music, Art, and Physical education to create the holistic foundation of our programme.

Through a transdisciplinary approach, the acquisition of knowledge, development of conceptual understanding and mastery of skills, our learners build a strong basis within and across disciplines. The six IB PYP transdisciplinary themes allow for the QGA curriculum to contextualise learning in meaningful ways.

The programme can be illustrated by a hexagon with the six transdisciplinary themes surrounding six subject areas:

• language
• social studies
• mathematics
• arts
• science
• personal, social and physical education

These globally significant themes provide learners with opportunities to explore:

• what it means to be human.
• historical journeys, connecting and contextualising past, present and future.
• creative expression and appreciation.
• scientific principles and innovation.
• man-made systems and organizations
• rights and responsibilities within and across communities, and to the environment.

THE LEARNER PROFILE ATTRIBUTES

Queens Gate Academy believes whole-heartedly in the development of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Learner Profile attributes for all members of our school community. The Learner Profile outlines the attributes to which we work toward every day.

Part of the planning of Units of Inquiry focuses on the Learner Profile and classroom teachers use literature and other resources to teach about these attributes.

We strive to be Knowledgeable about the world, natural Inquirers, deep Thinkers, Communicators in a variety of ways, Caring towards ourselves and others, Principled in our actions, Open-minded to all, Balanced in our daily lives, Risk-takers in new learning situations and Reflective.

The IB learner profile represents 10 attributes valued by IB World Schools. We believe these attributes, and others like them, can help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national and global communities.

LINK: https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/fd82f70643ef4086b7d3f292cc214962/learner-profile-en.pdf

THE PROGRAMME OF INQUIRY

The Programme of Inquiry (POI) outlines the 6 units of inquiry by theme and by grade. This is collaboratively designed so that units may build on each other in a meaningful way throughout a student’s years at Queens Gate Academy.

The POI is a living document, meaning that as we develop our knowledge and understanding of the elements of the Primary Years Programme, and as we look at our students’ interests and needs, revisions and refinements happen.

THE PYP FRAMEWORK

The PYP curriculum framework begins with the premise that students are agents of their own learning and partners in the learning process. It prioritizes people and their relationships to build a strong learning community.

PYP students use their initiative to take responsibility and ownership of their learning.  By learning through inquiry and reflecting on their own learning, PYP students develop knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills and the attributes of the IB Learner profile to make a difference in their own lives, their communities, and beyond.