
EIS PYP Newsletter
December 2020
As an international school, we are committed to processes that help us to improve and develop in accordance with both national and international standards.
Exupery International School’s program and premises have been nationally accredited to the fullest extent possible (six years) by the Latvian Ministry of Education. This means that our students are assured an education that is, first and foremost, formally recognized by both national and international institutions. Local recognition of the program’s efficacy is only one component of the larger picture, however. We believe that with every accreditation our program receives, the school’s diploma will become more universally valid and prestigious for our graduating students.
Exupery International School has been granted membership of the Council of International Schools (CIS), which embodies our commitment to global citizenship and intercultural dialogue. The CIS is renowned for providing cutting-edge guidance for teacher training, offering continual assistance with improving its member schools, and validating all new staff members to ensure that they are properly qualified for their position. These outside accreditation processes guarantee that EIS — as a team, a school, and a vision — is always evolving in the framework of well-vetted, rigorous systems for the benefit of the students.
Exupery International School is a fully authorised International Baccalaureate (IB) school currently offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP) as of June 2019. The PYP nurtures and develops students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning. The PYP challenges students to think for themselves and take responsibility for their own learning. The PYP appreciates the inquisitiveness of young people and through student led inquiry allows students to explore local and global issues in real life contexts.
For students who will be in Grades 10, 11 and 12 we have also been authorized by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) to offer both the United Kingdom IGCSEs and Advanced Levels. Finally, we have been granted candidate status* for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP).
*EIS is a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme and pursuing authorization as an IB World School.
Only schools authorized by the International Baccalaureate can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.
For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org
'Our school is a place where students come to ask questions and learn, not a place where the learning is done to them. Future-proof education is about life-long learning, and being able to navigate a global society by applying knowledge, skills and character combined. This is a different type of education than one that sees learning as synonymous with taking in information.'
Marcelle van Leenen, Head of Preschool & Primary
Primary school program (P2 - P6)
Students develop and pursue their passions in order to be successful and contribute to a positive global future. At EIS, this is reflected in our students, staff, and curriculum that challenges and inspires our learners to explore, discover, and thrive. EIS is an IB World School and the Primary and Preschool School use the IB Primary Years Programme to offer a rigorous inquiry-based programme. Our goal is for our students in the Primary to want to come to school each day, excited to learn. The IB PYP provides the framework for that learning to take place. Through the PYP, students develop the knowledge, skills and understandings necessary to prepare them for a life-long learning journey.
EIS students are equipped with the ability to think independently, ask questions, express their opinions while at the same time showing respect for the opinions of others. EIS also emphasises the importance of the creative, social and physical areas with a clear goal of developing children’s social and emotional skills in order to navigate themselves within a community.
To learn more, watch the video:
In the Preschool and Primary at EIS, we view learning as a partnership between student, parent and our school. You can help your child by:
EIS believes that the PYP curriculum framework fits the mission, philosophy and goals of our Primary and Pre-school. The curriculum is based on research and understanding about how children best learn and how their brains work. It allows us to have considerable flexibility in the choice of content and topics that our students will study. It connects our school to a wider international school network and an internationally respected educational organisation, thus requiring us to work towards continuous school improvement.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) learner profile describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success. They imply a commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.
Each of the IB’s programmes is committed to the development of students according to the IB learner profile. The profile aims to develop learners who are:
The goals of the PYP are essentially the same as our school’s goals, as reflected in our mission statement. However, the PYP allows us to achieve them more effectively. It demands a true partnership between students, teachers and parents in the school community and the global community.
Children are actively engaged in learning about issues and themes of universal significance. These are designed to allow students to become reflective and internationally minded; qualities that allow them to participate more fully in the world they will enter as adults. The PYP classroom is student-centred, they are encouraged and supported to be independent learners and critical thinkers, and learn to take appropriate socially responsible action.
Each year, classes work through a cycle of units of inquiry, the number completed in one year varies according to grade level. In the Preschool and and P1 it is four and from P2, six units of inquiry. The units may have a science, social studies, language, PSPE or arts focus. In addition, many subject areas of the curriculum can be linked to a unit of inquiry and single subject teachers often work with homeroom teachers to create a transdisciplinary approach to learning. This means that different subject areas are used to further the students’ understanding of the unit’s central idea. Every unit has a central idea which is a statement that encapsulates the desired learning, within the broad themes of Who We Are, How We Organise Ourselves, How We Express Ourselves, Sharing the Planet, Where We are Place and Time, How the World Works.
The IB offers a curriculum framework that transcends any one country’s national curriculum. Each IB school then develops their own curriculum based on the IB framework. The framework has rigour and is about supporting and guiding students so they develop enduring understandings. At EIS we have developed and continue to refine our curriculum using both the IB framework, and a variety of other international curriculum standards.
EIS has its own written curriculum in all academic subjects with specific learning targets and outcomes that students are expected to achieve. Student progress is tracked at several points throughout the year in each grade level using a variety of tools: Language Continuums, a Developmental Reading Assessment, end of semester mathematics assessment, ongoing assessment in units of inquiry with checklists, rubrics and regular anecdotal records.
The exhibition is an extended, in-depth project celebrating the culmination of a child’s learning experience in the PYP before they move on to the next stage in their education.Young learners conduct an in-depth inquiry into real life issues or challenges, and present their research, investigation and resulting action to the whole school community. Recent research into the impact of the PYP exhibition found it to be a “valuable and pivotal experience in the life of the schools, families and students who were involved.
The PYP has an action component, whereby students use their own initiative to demonstrate their commitment to what they have learned. Action often comes as the result of deep inquiry that becomes personal and is meaningful. At its most authentic, action occurs outside of the classroom – at home, or within the larger school or local community and can occur at any time.
EIS PYP Newsletter
December 2020
EIS PYP Newsletter
September 2020
EIS PYP Newsletter
June 2020
EIS PYP Exhibition 2020
May 2020
Middle years program (M1 - M4)
In the upper grades, EIS blends the finest of local and international curricula, covering a deep and diverse curriculum whilst meeting the requirements of locally accredited programs and international standards. Our curriculum and pastoral care is structured around learning that stimulates and inspires students to find their passions, and wrap around support enabling them to become the best version of themselves. Students develop a range of cognitive strategies to enhance their comprehension and use of Language, and our additional activity program is an intrinsic and interwoven part of life in the senior school, where students are entrusted with values of independence, scholarship, and leadership.
EIS provides highly engaging, rich, and varied lessons that allow opportunity for students to develop their skills and abilities to their maximum potential that prepares them for the challenges of the 21st century. Teachers are masters of their craft who inspire and challenge students to push their thinking, make interdisciplinary connections, and develop metacognition. With experienced teachers and small class sizes, we ensure that the strengths and goals of our students are known and supported.
Learning process
In the Middle School, we offer an International based curriculum, with the main language of instruction being English, except in language lessons. Students cultivate different modes of thinking, are innovative, learn to think critically and deeply, are reflective and analytical, and have a growth mindset. Students are provided with opportunity to take part in cooperative and independent learning, research, and presentations. Some programs are in-depth, intensive explorations of subject disciplines, while others are project based that rely on a fusion of subjects and understanding to create tangible products.
M1 | M2 | M3 | M4 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
English (EIS Language of Instruction) | ||||
Russian/English/Latvian | ||||
Latvian/Russian/French as a Foreign Language | ||||
Mathematics | ||||
Art | Craft and Design | ||||
IT Strategies | Film | ||||
Science | Biology | ||||
Physics | Chemistry | ||||
Latvian and World History | Geography | ||||
Global Perspectives | ||||
Physical Education | PSHE |
We are very proud today to officially announce that two of our students participated in the National Round of the French Olympiad and achieved high overall results. Following their participation at the local and regional level, Aylar S.(Gr. 9) and Kristina M.(Gr. 6) took part in the National Olympiad on 8 February 2020, which was hosted by the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Humanitarian Sciences. Our young francophones took part in the category "French - second foreign language". In total there were about 250 participants from grades 5 to 12, and 90 of them passed to the National level. Aylar came in 3rd place in her age group, and Kristina received the incentive prize (4th place) among the students from her age group.
On December 4th 2019 the French Olympiad took place in Riga French Lycée already for the 50th time. This anniversary became a festive debut for us. It was the first time when a team of participants from grades 6, 8, and 9 tried their forces at this prestigious competition. Jelena Jesajana, our French teacher has been inspiring and training a team for two months and convinced the students to believe in themselves. We performed in the category French as a second foreign language. And we are happy and extremely proud to announce that the debut was successful: a 9th-grade student won the 3rd place, and an 8th-grade student received the incentive prize.
At the end of February, the Semarah Hotel Lielupe held an international children's and junior chess tournament, Rudaga-Kaissa 2019, in the lovely city of Jurmala. In the group for beginners (which had 26 participants), a 6th grade student, Andrei Ugolev, represented Exupery International School. Over the course of 7 games Andrei managed to score 6 points and take first place. Andrei's coach at EIS, Nikolai Kovshun, is a candidate master chess master and FIDE Instructor. Andrei also advanced to the fourth class in chess. Congratulations!
Our students recently won first place in the 2018 Hip-Hop Daugavpils Open Contest! The Exupery team, led by the fantastic choreographer and teacher Linda Paulauska, has received first place among beginners from 15 teams!
Exupery’s Grade 5 team has received the prestigious award of 2nd Place in this year’s Science Day competition! The team members competed against fellow students from all across Latvia. Their tasks included constructing an ecosystem’s food chain, working with buoyancy, producing chemical reactions, and solving a computer-based logic puzzle.
At the Exupery International we take a very student-centered approach that allows students to follow a pathway that is best suited to them. The students can choose one of the two roads into the secondary school: iGSCE program in grade 9 or through grade 10 that lead into pre-IB and pre-A Level course. Mr. Nigel Leigh Schofield, head of Secondary and Middle School is telling about secondary school curriculum.
M5 | S1 | S2 | |
---|---|---|---|
English First Language and Literature | |||
Latvian First Language and Literature | |||
Latvian | Russian as a Foreign Language | |||
French as a Foreign Language | |||
Russian First Language and Literature | |||
Mathematics | |||
Art and Design | Design and Technology | |||
Drama and Performance | Film | |||
IT Strategies | Computer Science | |||
Biology | |||
Physics | |||
Chemistry | |||
Global Perspectives | Global Politics | |||
Physical Education | |||
Online courses Psycology, Philosophy, Business, Accounting |