PROGRAMME CHANGES IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the rainy season!

As always, there is a lot going on around the school and a lot of planning for the future. This feels like a good time to let everyone know about some planned programme changes for next year.

Language B Changes in the Primary School

As many of you already know, we will be transitioning away from offering French as a Language B option in the Primary School over the next three years. Apart from the fact that the number of students attending French is diminishing (in part due to legislation), we are keen to establish a stronger Indonesian programme for all our young learners.

One of the PYP’s central aims is to develop a better, more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. “The ability to communicate in more than one language is essential to the concept of an international education that promotes international understanding.” We feel we can do a better job of realizing this goal by applying what we believe about the way children learn.

We think that young students’ needs are best served when they have opportunities to engage in learning within meaningful contexts, rather than simply being presented with learning as an incremental series of skills to be acquired. There is no doubt that within Indonesia, we can provide far more authentic opportunities for language learning experiences through Indonesian than through any other modern language.

We also think that learning is more effective when instruction is differentiated i.e. when it is aligned with students’ levels of readiness. Furthermore, we think that language acquisition is enhanced by regular exposure to the language. We currently have the resources to provide a multi-leveled programme in Indonesian on a daily basis.

At the moment, the vast majority of primary students study Indonesian. Expanding this programme will allow us to practice essential skills at school more frequently while integrating Indonesian cultural studies, and any other government requirement such as civics or religion. Unlike other language options, Indonesian offers the ideal vehicle for understanding the culture of the host country and celebrating its diversity.  This is a priority in an IB World School.

In order to achieve this goal, French will be phased out over three years, ensuring that the vast majority of students currently studying French can continue to do so, four times per week, until they reach secondary school. They will of course continue to receive the mandated class of Indonesian Studies once a week. The plan is as follows.

2016/17 – French in Grades 3, 4, and 5 only

2017/18 – French in Grades 4 and 5 only

2018/19 – French in Grade 5 only

Indonesian will be taught to all other students from Grade 1 to Grade 5, four times per week. They will also continue with Indonesian Studies once per week, though there will be greater flexibility in how this is delivered.

At the same time, we will attempt to build a more substantial mother-tongue programme to respect and serve the needs of our diverse student population. The benefits of developing and maintaining a quality mother tongue programme where languages such as Japanese, Balinese, French, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, German and Dutch can be nurtured are central to the mission of an IB World School.

Early Childhood Changes in the Primary School

There will also be some significant changes for all our younger learners next year. The Early Childhood programme is carefully designed to meet the specific developmental needs of our youngest learners. Our team of teachers, assistants and specialists work hard to create a safe, happy and engaging learning environment for each child. We would like to make some improvements to ensure that our preschoolers and kindergarteners receive a well-balanced programme. This is already reflected in the newly designed preschool report card, which talks about their Intellectual Development, Physical Development, Creative Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

Next year, our students will receive an additional 2 periods of PE each week and an additional 2 periods of Music each week in order to enhance both the creative and physical domains of our programme. This will help ensure that our students have more opportunities to engage in the creative cycle and to explore and discover a comprehensive range of physical capabilities.

At the same time, we will be introducing an Early Intervention Coordinator to assist students and teachers in Lower Primary. The role of this person will be to work closely with our young learners and intervene early when a specific need is identified. Some students need more support. Some students need further challenge. We hope that we continue to engage all our students.

Thank you as always for your positive support,

Alan Lorenzini