Welcome

WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS CURRICULUM?

Developed by Fieldwork Education, the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) is a challenging, internationally-minded and concept-focused curriculum, which helps develop engaged and active learners. It is aimed for students aged 11-14, as they transition from their final years of childhood into adolescence, and prepares them for the next stage of their learning.

THE CURRICULUM

The IMYC focuses on building skills that students will need as they move toward adulthood. The IMYC connects learning by linking all subjects together. It is structured around units of work which are linked by the Big Idea. Each unit has a theme, which helps students to engage with subjects from adaptability to identity, curiosity, tradition, and discovery. That Big Idea challenges students to think more broadly and to connect subjects and themes together in new ways.

Each curriculum area has a subject-based focus within the unit, however during the unit the students are encouraged to make connections between them. Each curriculum area has a set of learning outcomes that are also assessed throughout three years in Middle School.

The subjects taught are:

English
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies (History / Geography)
Languages: Latvian, French, Spanish
Music
Art
Technology
Physical Education

The IMYC believes in inquiry-based learning, allowing students to find out things for themselves – with clear direction from the teacher. Over the course of the 3 years of Middle School, the students will be:

Researching
Investigating
Inquiring
Thinking
Reporting

At ISR, the IMYC was chosen as the Middle School curriculum because we believe it bridges the divide between Primary and High School. One side of the bridge represents the needs of the adolescent brain and the other side represents the academic rigor required to ensure they are ready for the next stage of Secondary school. At the end of Grade 8, students have developed their critical thinking and research skills, as well as have acquired the knowledge necessary to transition into the demanding and rigorous programs introduced in High school, the IGCSE and the IB Diploma Programme.

TRANSITION TO ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Children who are entering adolescence are going through many changes – physical, intellectual, personality and social developmental. ISR Middle School students are being empowered to be independent while having a strong support system.

The IMYC responds to the specific development needs of 11-14 year olds, providing structures and systems that support the needs of the adolescent brain

The 5 key needs of the adolescent brain are:

#1: They need to make meaning of their learning – (Desire to find relevance to their own lives)

#2: They need to make connections – (Associating new learning with previous learning or knowledge)

#3: They need active involvement in their lives – (Risk, seeking sensation in an organised, safe and structured environment)

#4: They need their peers for so many things – (Tending to value peers’ option above others)

#5: They need a bridge from primary to secondary – (Need support during this critical time to ensure they don’t become disengaged from their learning)

THE IMYC UNITS

At ISR, we explore 6 different units across each Middle School grade during the course of our academic year. Students link the learning in their different subjects through the Big Idea, a conceptual idea:

GRADE 6

BRAINWAVE – How our brains change as we grow up, and the subsequent needs that are specific to the teenage brain.

RISK – Progress involves exposing ourselves to and considering the impact or forms of danger, harm, uncertainty or opportunity.

STRUCTURES – Formal arrangements and relationships underpin or give organization to complex issues.

BALANCE – Things are more stable when different elements are in the correct or best possible proportions.

CREATIVITY – Innovative ideas can happen when existing or new concepts are brought together or expressed in a new way.

ADAPTABILITY – is demonstrated by the ability to cope, alter or change with new circumstances or environments.

GRADE 7

BRAINWAVE – Consider the impact of stress on the brain, some of the cognitive, emotional and environmental contributors to learning, strategies for remembering information and how the brain can rewire itself.

RESPECT – It’s important to honour behaviour and processes that have proven merit.

REFLECTION – Complex decision making requires space and time.

TRADITION – Beliefs and customs from the past have a powerful effect on our lives today.

CURIOSITY – The desire to know more drives exploration and aspiration.

COMMUNICATION – When information is shared accurately and clearly the end result is more effective.

GRADE 8

BRAINWAVE – Students will be introduced to different scenarios that they may be subject to when it comes to making decisions about their futures and enables an opportunity for discussion on how to make the right decisions for them.

COMMUNITY – A shared sense of belonging occurs when people are able to negotiate and appreciate their complex and often messy differences.

INTERPRETATION – Only a very few things are true for all people.

IDENTITY – Our sense of self, and that of others, is continually developing through our different interactions and impacts on how we exist in the world.

RESPONSIBILITY – Each of us is in charge of the actions we choose.

CHALLENGE – Facing up to or overcoming problems and barriers increases possibilities in our lives.

THE ISR DIFFERENCE

ISR is one of the longest established international schools in Latvia. ISR was founded in 1997 as a playgroup and the playgroup developed into a school. Through carefully following each child’s growth and learning, we foster individual success both in academic development and social-emotional wellbeing. Teachers aim to differentiate and personalize learning as much as possible to help each student reach their potential.

Whether their stay is short lived or long lasting, all members of the ISR family call Latvia “home”. ISR is an International School with a Latvian Heart. Families who are part of our community experience and celebrate Latvia as a unique country with a rich heritage. When families embark on the next phase of their life journey, they take a little piece of Latvia with them.

ISR prides itself on having strong roots into the local community through charity work and sharing both educational knowledge and resources with local schools.

At ISR, our students’ social-emotional wellbeing is at the center of everything we do. In Middle School, it takes the form of a strong Pastoral Care program. In order for the ISR mission to be a living statement, it is imperative all members of the community feel

safe and secure. The emotional and social well-being of staff and students is maintained through the relationships developed, allowing members to grow and develop.

In Middle School, students are taught by a number of different teachers thus students need to know there is one teacher who is providing not just academic support but also emotional support. In Secondary, each grade has at least two advisors The advisor provides pastoral support to all students in their advisory group. Throughout the year advisors develop a relationship with the students in their advisory group that allows the students to feel safe and supported in the school.