CIS is an IB PYP Candidate School!

CIS is very proud to announce that we are now a candidate school* for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program and pursuing authorization as an IB World School. Congratulations, CIS!

Just like Canadian (AAIS) schools, IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to improve the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering challenging, high quality programs of international education that share a powerful vision.

CIS has always been synonymous with academic excellence. As a proud Alberta Accredited International School (AAIS), we are fully committed to Canadian education and to pursuing our world-class Alberta curriculum, as we know that it is a world-class system that opens pathways to top universities and careers around the world. When we made a decision to pursue IB PYP (for ages 3-12) accreditation, we knew that they would be a good fit, as IB is a framework that can fit over and into the Canadian curriculum very seamlessly. There are several IB + AAIS schools across Canada. Our sister school in Macao (The International School of Macao) is an IB + AAIS school. The Canadian International Education Organisation (CIEO) also has a number of IB accredited schools in our China network, making us very familiar with the IB Organisation and its programs.

We are very excited to be pursuing yet another world-renowned accreditation, one that will truly enrich our community and add a feather in our academic cap. The IB PYP framework, just like the Canadian (Alberta) curriculum, delivers universal academic excellence, offering a dynamic learning environment focused on inquiry and agency, in an effort to create lifelong, international-minded learners – learners who value engaging with both local and global communities. When we examined both the Canadian curriculum and the IB framework, we realized both are very closely aligned. The IB philosophy and learner profile attributes match the Alberta core competencies and our CIS mission, vision, core values and philosophy, and the similarities are very apparent. Our subject areas are also very closely aligned to each other. This will ensure a seamless merger of both educational philosophies (the fusion of a framework and a curriculum), ensuring that CIS is on track to deliver an even better educational experience to learners aged 3-12.  

Our CIS School leaders have already began attending IB professional development workshops to gain a better sense of the philosophy, and to engage with the global IB community.

Our Primary teachers have been in a training session, and have begun to shifting progressively towards aligning our Canadian curriculum with the five essential elements of the PYP framework: Concepts, skills, knowledge, attitudes, and action. Merging these five elements of the framework with the learning outcomes of the Alberta curriculum will ensure that teachers can help students construct their own understandings of the world and how their actions can shape both the communities they live in and others around the world.

And, most notably, students, as they start to learn about the PYP in action, will soon begin to shape their own teaching and learning – through developing their own questions that then informed planning for learning across all subject areas.

The next few weeks at CIS will be a journey of growth, open-mindedness and determination, and one that will strengthen our learning community. Our classrooms already breathe a sense of intellectual freedom, where each learner is unique and the driver of their own learning. Now, over the next few months as we pursue accreditation, we will delve deeper into ensuring that we meet both our Canadian curriculum learning outcomes and adhere to the IB framework and its commitment to inquiry and transdisciplinary learning. The journey will be immensely challenging but also very rewarding. It will further transform the whole CIS community into lifelong learners.

With a growth mindset at the core of what we do, we know that is only the beginning of a fantastic journey for CIS! Go Grizzlies! #LearnTodayLeadTomorrow

* Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programs: the Primary Years Program (PYP), the Middle Years Program (MYP), the Diploma Program (DP), or the Career-related Program (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programs, visit http://www.ibo.org.

 Want to learn more about our Canadian curriculum and our IB PYP Framework? Join our Virtual Open Day online this Saturday on April 16.