Celebration of Learning

Alberta’s Outstanding PISA Results – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Most Recent PISA Results

In the worldwide PISA test, Canada consistently performs very high compared to other countries and outperforms almost all other western countries, which shows outstanding education quality in this country, especially some provinces like Alberta.

In the PISA 2015 study, Alberta’s students:

• Ranked the HIGHEST in Canada, and ranked SECOND in the world, in science.

• Ranked SECOND in the world in reading.

Historically, Alberta has been one of top 2 highest achieving province in Canada. In Alberta, a developmentally appropriate curriculum developed by teachers combined with standardized exams in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 12 ensures that the curriculum is effective and accountable.

What is PISA?

PISA is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. The assessment focuses on young people’s abilities to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. These skills are believed to be prerequisites for efficient learning in adulthood and for full participation in society.

PISA test is increasingly used in the process of education policymaking at both national and international levels and is recognized as one of the most influential education assessment worldwide.

Who Takes the Test?

Every three years it tests 15-year-old students from all over the world in reading, mathematics and science.

Over half a million 15-year-olds from 80 countries and economies took the PISA test in 2018. They were tested in reading, mathematics and science with a focus on reading. In addition, students in some countries took tests on financial literacy and on global competence. Results of this PISA round (PISA 2018) will be released on 3 December 2019.

Map of PISA Countries and Economies (In blue and grey)

CIS

Canadian International School of Guangzhou is the first Alberta accredited K12 International School in mainland China.

At CIS, we follow Alberta Curriculum with our excellent teachers in a beautiful campus. Our students learn the main subjects such as English Language, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Their programs are also infused with Mandarin, Music, Art, Drama and Physical Education. In addition to the academic courses, our students are learning many different competencies like communication, collaboration, problem-solving and technology skills.

Our graduates go to many different universities and colleges across Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia; this is because our curriculum is so dynamic and known world-wide.

1Feb

The World-class Alberta Education – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Alberta (Canada)

Alberta is a western province of Canada. It is Canada’s fourth most populous province. Alberta’s capital, Edmonton, is near the geographic center of the province, and about 290 km (180 mi) south of the capital is Calgary, the largest city in Alberta. Tourist destinations in the province include beautiful Banff and Lake Louise.

Alberta Education

Regarding education, Alberta’s world-class education system has an excellent reputation and is recognized as one of the best in the English speaking world. In Alberta, many children start their formal schooling through early learning programs. Strong early learning programs, a common curriculum, highly qualified and trained teachers and high standards contribute to students reaching their full potenti

When students graduate from an Alberta school they receive the Alberta High School Diploma that is internationally recognized. Many of Alberta’s high school graduates continue their education at Alberta’s outstanding universities and colleges. Others go on to other excellent universities and colleges throughout world.

Who Develops the Curriculum

Alberta requires schools to provide a common curriculum for Kindergarten-Grade 12. This strong curriculum specifies learner outcomes for each subject area. Teachers, university professors, business leaders and other experts developed the curriculum collaboratively. The curriculum is reviewed and updated to ensure it is current and focused on what students need to know.

Example: English Language Arts Learning Plan

Many provinces and countries pay to use the Alberta curriculum because they know it can prepare students very well for any challenges they may face in the future.

Qualified Teacher

In order to keep the quality of the implementation of the curriculum, it can only be taught by Alberta certified teachers. To qualify to become one, you must have:

Completed a Bachelor of Education Degree from a recognized University.
Completed 2 full years of successful teaching while holding a valid Alberta Interim Professional Certification.
Have two evaluations based on the knowledge, skills and attributes for permanent certification outlined in the Alberta Teaching Quality Standard.

And during their teaching, they must be assigned to teach grades accredited by Alberta Education and will be supervised and evaluated in accordance with the teacher Growth, Supervision and Evaluation Policy and by an Alberta school principal.

Learning Method: Focus on Inquiry

In the Alberta curriculum, we believe learning experience is important to inspire passion for learning. So there are four basic principles of teaching the Alberta programs of studies:

How students learn is as important as what they learn.
Students learn best when they actually participate in reading, writing, speaking and viewing.
Students need to cultivate knowledge and be challenged to think critically and creatively.
Teachers must meet individual student needs, abilities and learning styles.

A student-centered inquiry approach to teaching and learning is emphasized by the Alberta Curriculum.

1.Students develop questions that they want to have answered.

2.They research the topic using time in class.

3.They present what they have learned.

4.They reflect on what worked about the process and what didn’t.

Through the inquiry process, students are taught important critical thinking skills that will be the basis for all their learning. Inquiry is about triggering curiosity.

Assessment

Assessment takes on many forms in Alberta education. Students are able to demonstrate what they have learned through interviews, creating, describing, building, writing, showing, explaining, interpreting, analyzing and solving. Through continuous assessment, teachers are able to see if students are meeting the curricular outcomes or if they need more support and more time to succeed.

At the same time, Alberta organizes external examination for schools, including diploma tests and provincial achievement tests.

In order to qualify for an Alberta High School Diploma, students at the grade 12 level must write provincial examinations in core subject areas. These diploma examinations are marked by Alberta Education.

Achievement tests are administered annually to all students in grade 6 and 9. The results from these tests provide schools with reliable and valid information about how well their students are achieving.

Academic Success

In Canada, Alberta outperformed all the other provinces on PISA tests, and other international tests. And Canada is very high performing country as well on the PISA tests. The Alberta High School Diploma is accepted by admissions officers of prestigious universities and post-secondary institutions throughout the world.

Did You Know 你知道吗

In the PISA 2015 study, Alberta’s students:

• Ranked the highest in Canada, and ranked second in the world, in science.

• Ranked second in the world in reading.

International Alberta Schools

There are many international schools using Alberta’s Curriculum throughout the world, and there is an official accreditation standard to become an Alberta accredited international school. It requires leadership, commitment, planning, resources and time.

Alberta Accredited International Schools

Schools move through four tiers as they proceed through the accreditation process. An Alberta accredited international school must meet certain accreditation requirements covering all aspects of school operation and education quality.

Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Canadian International School of Guangzhou is the first Alberta accredited K12 International School in mainland China.

Our graduates go to many different universities and colleges across Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia; this is because our curriculum is so dynamic and known world-wide.

Most importantly, we believe that education at CIS will enable students, as global citizens, to live rich and fulfilling lives and contribute to the betterment of themselves, their community and the world.

25Jan

Learning Is Everywhere – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Learning happens not just in the classroom.

Over the past few months, students from all grades of CIS have participated in a variety of learning activities, truly illustrating that learning is everywhere.

Kindergarten Science Center Trip

Over the next month, Kindergarten will be learning about space, so we decided to take a trip to the Guangdong Science Center to discover more. The day was filled with so much excitement, and the children couldn’t wait to try out all the activities.

From becoming an astronaut, to walking on the moon, we certainly had lots to learn!

Grade 4 Excessive Packaging

As part of their Waste & Our World science unit, the grade 4 students learned about excessive packaging in an authentic and hands-on way! We took a walk to a local fruit shop and convenient store. The students’ task was to find examples of excessive packaging and explain why they thought there was too much packaging. Using an iPad, the students took turns recording each other explaining their example to the camera. Check out the video to learn more!

Click to watch the video

Grade 4 Ancient Egypt Exhibition

On Wednesday January 16th, the fourth graders visited the Guangdong Museum to experience a wonderful exhibition on ancient Egypt. We had a chance to view statues, tools, and even real mummies from thousands of years ago! Viewing the different artifacts gave us all a chance to appreciate what life was like for ancient Egyptians and we all left the museum with rich memories of a historic civilization from Africa. Following the museum visit, we visited Zhujiang Park to enjoy lunch outside in nature and also to play some fun team-building games.

Grade 10 Reading Challenge

The Grade 10 social class was tasked with the challenge of learning 13 words, designing a story, a book and presenting it to the elementary students.

With the help of Ms. Guzzo we were able to have the projects the students made sent them away to be made into real books. During that time Mr. Mcfadyen connected with Mr. Rankin about a time to read to his students.

Click to watch the video

This challenge not only challenged students to learn the vocabulary, but also challenged the student to think of away they could teach the words to younger students who would never have heard the words before. It brought out the creative side in all the students from creating their own story to the drawings and pictures in their books. The students were nervous at first reading to the grade 4’s, but with every word gained more and more confidence in themselves and the knowledge they had learned and now teaching other students.

High School Skating

Our senior Physical Education classes had the chance to experience ice skating! The grade 10, 11, 12 PE classes were joined by the 11, 12 drama class to enjoy an afternoon learning to skate. The students had the rink all to themselves at the Utopa Center and had a lot of fun! Some of our students had tried skating before, while for others this was their very first experience on skates.

After receiving a skating lesson students were free to try out their skills. The students showed great citizenship towards each other by helping and encouraging each other. The students with the most experience helped out the ones who were just learning. They pulled each other around the ice and helped each other up when they fell. It was so wonderful to see!

18Jan

Celebration of Learning – Grade5&6 – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

This past Friday, our Grade 5 and Grade 6 students came together for a Celebration of Learning. This showcased their learning over the past few months in different technologies. Utilizing the IDEA lab, they showed how they integrated science and math curriculums with technology. They were also able to display their student designed mural that reflects the students understanding of Canada.

Technology Integration

Students participates in several stations set up in the Idea Lab, making electrical circuits, applying what they’ve learned in science class to hands-on situations. They worked with coding programs, as a part of our ongoing effort to incorporate more and more 21st century learning into our curriculum, to help prepare our students for the ever-changing digital age.

Learning Plan Sharing

Students also involved in these and other interesting scientific applications that allow them to solve problems, to think critically – to work as a team to find creative solutions for real-world problems.

Our Grade 5 classes have already learned about Electricity and Magnetism, and Mechanisms Using Electricity – the activities they took part in today were directly tied in with these curricular objectives. Moving forward, they still have Chemistry, Wetlands, and Weather to look forward to: lots of exciting things to learn there!

Our Grade 6s have learned a great deal about Air and Aerodynamics, and Flight, and we’re currently working through our unit on Sky Science – exploring the universe around us and learning about our solar system – and we still have Trees and Forests, as well as Evidence and Investigation, to learn about.

Artwork: The Symbols of Canada

Last but not least, in the corridor of IDEA Lab, today we also had a special mural painted by our own Ms. Leung. We took student-drawn artwork that represents what our students think of when they think of “Canada”, and Ms. Leung has put it together into a mural that joins each of our classes’ thought and creative expression.

Thank you for making our IDEA Lab artistic, engaging and inspiring. We look forward to have more celebrations of learning here!

18Jan

Experience a Tasty Tuesday in Grade 2! – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Ice cream, Oreos, Marshmallows…

Is it time for afternoon snack?

No, you are in our Grade 2 “Tasty Tuesday” at CIS.

If there’s one thing that brings excitement to our students, it would be delicious food!

And for our Grade 2, every “Tasty Tuesday” starts by reading the recipe as a class. During the Christmas season, the children made festive “Christmas Snowman Dessert Recipes”.

Reading recipes allows them to learn new words through the ingredients list. It familiarizes them with the instructions for “cooking”, and lets them learn the art of organizing the different steps in a recipe.

After reading the recipe, everyone got the required ingredients and began to make their own desserts. Some students put chocolate marbles as eyes and noses, while others put oreos on the snowman’s head as a hat. The creativity in decorating brought holiday spirit and the classroom was filled with delicious sweetness.

After displaying the creation for a photograph, the long awaited moment arrived…it was time to eat!!

The students wait with anticipation for the last Tuesday of each month! “Tasty Tuesday” has captured their hearts and bellies. It has become a highlight for most Grade 2 students. They have been able to accumulated dozens of recipes that they will be able to share with family and friends.

Ms. Johnson and Mrs. Mallak, started this food odyssey two years ago. In their view:

“We wanted to do a fun monthly activity to celebrate holidays, but also that tasted yummy! The students read the recipe, gather the ingredients, build their treat, taste their treat, and write a review. At the end of the school year the families will get a Tasty Tuesday Cook Book with their child’s hand written recommendations in it 🙂 They can build the treats together for years to come! “

“Tasty Tuesday” offers students a chance to learn about health, culture, and of course the joy of food! It allows them to create food traditions and share these gems with their families and friends. Let’s make every Tuesday Tasty 🙂

12Jan

Hour of Code at CIS – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Last December, our students in grades Pre-K to 7 participated in the world event Hour of Code. The Hour of Code is a global movement by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org. Reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming.

We discussed how coding is like learning a new language and they will now have the skills to start the Apps and games they enjoy to play on a daily basis. Our students engaged in different activities, which helped them learn how to write a line of code.

The goal was to write 10 lines of code, many students surpassed that! As our Idea Lab is almost complete our students will engage in computational thinking within their classrooms on a regular basis.

At CIS our goal is to give our students opportunities so that they become confident learners learning skills that will help them become successful in our ever-changing world. Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow. #WEARECIS

5Jan

Play Based Learning in Early Childhood – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

In July, 2012, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) released a statement on play-based learning. In their research of current and up-to-date educational philosophies, they have found that “purposeful play-based early learning sets the stage for future learning, health and well-being” (CMEC, 2012).

Current educational research proves that students develop socially, emotionally and physically when they are playing. “Based on such evidence, ministers of education endorse a sustainable pedagogy for the future that does not separate play from learning but brings them together to promote creativity in future generations.” (CMEC, 2012)

With this in mind, our Early Childhood team continues to develop their programs based on the philosophy of play-based learning. Students’ interests guide daily learning activities. Teachers use the Alberta Kindergarten Program of Studies to plan developmentally appropriate activities that will help prepare students for their future journey.

These programs focus on fostering a fun and enriching learning environment, where studentslearn through play while developing their social, fine motor, gross motor and language skills.

If you would like to read the entire CMEC play-based learning statement, please visit:

https://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/282/play-based-learning_statement_EN.pdf

16Dec

Let’s Go On a Field Trip! – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Grade 4 – IKEA

Field trips are a great way to get out into our community to practice some of the skills that we have learned in the classroom. On Friday December 7th 2018, the fourth graders visited the local IKEA outlet in Panyu to practice Math in the real world.

Students were asked to select various items from the store that they wanted to include on a wish list. First, they demonstrated their understanding of rounding by taking the original price and converting it into an easier value by rounding to the nearest hundred or thousand. Then, they calculated an exact total and an estimated total using these figures by applying what they know about addition strategies.

The MathMania field trip continued even at lunch time! Students were given a set budget for lunch. First, they consulted with the menu to add up their choices to ensure they were under the set budget. Once they confirmed that they were on target, they proceeded to purchase the food from the store’s cafeteria.

This was a great excursion for the fourth graders because they had a chance to see how Mathematics was connected to their everyday lives. Learning outside of the classroom can be a very powerful experience for those involved!

Grade 4 – Agio’s

The grade 4 students have been learning to represent, compare and order fractions in Math. What better way is there to really consolidate their learning than to get food involved?! We brought our math brains and hungry bellies to Agio’s Italian Restaurant for a pizza making experience.

First, students created their own personal pizza and added their choice of toppings. Then they demonstrated their understanding of fractions by identifying what fraction of their pizza has a certain topping. For example, “3/8 of my pizza has pepperoni.” The students also demonstrated that they can compare and order fractions with like denominators using pizza toppings. This was an engaging and delicious experience that allowed students to understand how math is relevant to their lives…and tasty as well!

Grade 7-9 – K11 Art Gallery

With the recent partnership between CIS and K11, Grade 7, 8, and 9 students were able to visit K11 art gallery. K11 art gallery exhibits contemporary art works which are very different and challenge the normal mindset. CIS students experienced art pieces which involved technology and sound. They learned that art comes in many different forms – not just paintings and pictures. The artists’ backgrounds are as diverse as our students – each with unique background and stories to tell. We are proud and happy about our partnership with K11 to showcase CIS’s art talents. During December 20 to 27th, K11 will be hosting CIS students’ art works. Please visit K11 to experiment the wonderful world of art.

Grade 3 – Chimelong

On November 28th, G3 students got the opportunity to visit Chimelong Safari Park as part of our Science curriculum. Students got to see many different species of animals and asked all sorts of inquisitive questions. Some of their favourite parts were the Safari train car for getting to see up close animals that they haven’t had the opportunity to see before, as well as the cable car that allowed us to see the animals from a different perspective. Many thanks to the parents who came to help as well!

16Dec

CIS Genius Hour Showcase – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

What are you passionate about? If you were given the chance to direct your own learning, what topics would you explore? These are the essential questions that students are faced with when starting their own Genius Hour project. Genius hour is an initiative that gives students the power to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.

Each week, the students in fourth grade have a double-block assigned for Genius Hour. They began their projects by making lists of their interests and prioritizing their passions. Then, they selected a topic to explore and began to research, both online and in our library, to find the answers to their questions. As essential component of the project is that students must create something to share what they have learned with others. Some students chose to make their own book, some created a video that was posted to the group’s YouTube channel, and others decided to document their learning through a multimedia slideshow.

On December 13th, the students hosted a Genius Hour showcase at CIS’s Idea Lab. They welcomed parents, staff, teaching faculty, and other students to check out their unique creations and were able to explain the key features of their project to visiting guests. Because students were self-directing all aspects of their learning, the engagement level throughout the project was much higher and all the artifacts that were created represented each student’s unique learning journey.

24Nov

Weekly Update | Alberta Education Inspection

This week, we’ve had the Alberta Accreditation Inspection team here at CIS Guangzhou. Why there is so much importance on having Alberta Education inspect our school and accredit our school.

Parents were sometime asking us ‘Why would we choose the Alberta Curriculum? And what makes the Alberta curriculum more advantageous than other curriculum, say the common core, or IB, or A-levels. Well, maybe people in Asia aren’t very aware of the province of Alberta. In Canada, Alberta outperformed all the other provinces on PISA tests, and other international tests. And Canada is very high performing country as well on the PISA tests.

All of our students in Grade 12 write the Alberta diploma exams, they write the exact same exams as students in Calgary and Edmonton, and other international Alberta schools. So that allows universities to know that the grade we give to our students in Guangzhou is verified against the grades that will be offer across Alberta.With the Alberta high school diploma, students can go to universities all over the world. We’ve already seen that with our graduates here in Guangzhou going to the UK, Australia and Canada.

The other reason that Alberta Education or the Alberta Curriculum is so strong is because the requirement to have highly qualified teachers. All teachers have to be certifiable in the province of Alberta. During the accreditation week, teachers can be very nervous because someone is coming in and looking at their lesson plans, looking at their tests, listening to how they teach, watching how they teach and giving them feedback. But we always tell our teachers just to be normal to do the great job as they always do, and everything will be just fine.

From the school prospective, the onsite evaluation is very thorough. The members from Alberta Education going to our teachers’ classrooms to watch lessons, to go through assessment documents and grade books, the individual interviews with the leadership team as well as teachers, and of course all of our students from Grade 4 to Grade 12 are surveyed, our parents are all asked to complete the surveys as well as all of the teaching staff.

So feel it as though that because the process looked at so many different aspect of the school, they are really able to reassure our parents, our teachers, the administration staff were doing an excellent job in delivering the Alberta curriculum in Guangzhou. So one of the comments that one of the accreditation managers made was that if he would close his eyes in one of our classrooms, what he was hearing would be exactly what he would hear back home. That is very important to us, because that’s the program we want to deliver to our students.

Another valuable aspect of the evaluation process is that it’s external. So we have people coming from Alberta government in Alberta Canada to review our policies, our process, to look at our teachers, to exam our grade books to make sure it’s a safe and caring environment for our students.

It’s also very important to our families and parents to be reassure thatwe are doing everything we absolutely can deliver the academic quality they want for their children.And that truly, when they graduate in Grade 12 with an Alberta high school diploma that will mean something, and that will open up so many doors for their children’s future.