Thursday, May 17, 2012

Learner Profile Quality Video

Here is a great copy of the Learner Profile video produced by IB.  The students and teachers in this are from schools worldwide.


Friday, December 30, 2011

How do I know if Middle Years IB is right for my child?

At Sullivan, we've created an MYP-IB program for all of our students. We believe that the organization of the program supports every level of learner. All of our students learn a second language each year, explore international-mindedness and strive to exemplify the 10 Learner Profile Qualities.

This program fits particularly well for students who:
  • are interested in connections between subject areas
  • want to know more about the world
  • wish to make a difference through community and service
  • strive to balance academics, arts and physical activities
  • need organizational, study and communication habits

Come find out more about our program during our Open Houses on January 23 and February 13, 2012 from 6:00-7:30.

Monday, February 7, 2011

School of Choice

Sullivan Middle School is the only middle school of choice for Rock Hill School District. Students who are NOT zoned for Sullivan may apply (between January 21 and February 29, 2012) to be enrolled. Please note that if you are already in our zone, you need not apply. The link to the on-line application is here.

MYP-IB is a great fit for many types of students! It's not "just for gifted students." The Middle Years Programme seeks to help students make connections between subject areas and develop the Learner Profile Qualities that are at the basis of all IB programs. Students will be challenged to be open-minded, reflective, caring, balanced, risk-takers, inquirers, knowledgeable, communicators, principled, and thinkers. Students will take a semester of a second language (either French or Spanish) every year. They will learn ways to strengthen their learning through Approaches to Learning.

Our two School of Choice Open House dates are Monday, January 23 and Monday, February 13 from 6:00-7:30 PM. Light refreshments will be served. The night will conclude with tours of the school. Call Mrs. Chris McLean at 803/981-1474 or e-mail her at CMcLean@rhmail.org for more information.

Monday, November 29, 2010

The Mission

As a Middle Years International Baccalaureate World School, Sullivan’s mission must be aligned with the International Baccalaureate’s (IB) mission. Their mission is verbalized in their mission statement, which is common to all three levels of IB (Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Program).

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

The outcomes of the mission are reflected in the 10 learner profile qualities (Reflective, Thinkers, Balanced, Communicators, Caring, Inquirers, Balanced, academic Risk-Takers, Open-Minded, Principled) that we encourage and recognize at Sullivan Middle School.

Our mission statement was rewritten in 2005, with the input of teachers, students, the PTO and School Improvement Committee, to more clearly state how what we believe is our duty towards our students:

Sullivan Middle School will provide a safe learning environment in which faculty and families support and encourage lifelong learning to create and foster physical, emotional, intellectual and social growth, inspiring students to be responsible, productive citizens of the world community.

Would you like to learn more? We will be hosting our first parent coffee hours on Wednesday, December 15 at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Please contact Cathy Baker at Cbaker@rock-hill.k12.sc.us or 981-1450 if you would like to attend. Registration is limited to the first 25 people at each session. More sessions will be scheduled in the new year.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Learner Profile Qualities

Learner Profile Qualities are the heart of every International Baccalaureate Programme. According to IB's Learner Profile Booklet, the Learner Profile Qualities are ".... a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose."

At Sullivan, we challenge ourselves and our students to demonstrate the following qualities:

Inquirers - love learning, researching and are independent in this learning. They don't accept the easy answer.

Communicators - express and understand information. They are creative and collaborative and can work in more than one language. They explore and use a variety of communication methods (verbal, written, etc.).

Knowledgeable - students explore a myriad of issues of local and global significance. This exploration leads to both understanding and the acquisition of knowledge across many disciplines.

Thinkers - are critical, creative and ethical when they approach complex problems. They tend to not accept the first answer.

Principled - students are ethical in their approaches to individuals, themselves, communities and other groups. They take responsibility for their actions and try to remain fair and just.

Open-minded - individuals are aware and appreciative of their own cultures and beliefs, but are also open to those of others. Open-minded students look for and evaluate opinions that are different from their own.

Caring - students are committed to helping others, whether locally or globally. These students seek to make a positive difference. Our students are challenged to perform community and service both with their classes and independently.

Risk-takers - are not afraid to offer their own opinion or ask questions. They are able to go against the flow to try out new ideas and strategies. They are brave in risking their opinions and expressing their beliefs.

Balanced - students understand how important it is to have a mix of social, physical, academic and emotional health.

Reflective - individuals think about their learning and their experiences. They know their strengths and limitations and are able to work with each to enhance their learning.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Areas of Interaction

These five Areas of Interaction serve as lenses through which each subject area focuses its content. Because the five Areas are in all subject areas, students begin to see the links between them.

Approaches to Learning - seeks to teach students the skills needed to be successful in school such as organizing, researching, collaboration and communication.

Human Ingenuity - emphasizes both the positive and negative impacts of how the human mind has shaped our world.

Environments - asks students to think about the ways humans interact with the world at large and the part we play in it.

Community and Service - challenges students to identify their communities (large or small) and seek to find ways in which they may serve these communities.

Health and Social Education - delves into the physical, mental, emotional and social well-being of individuals and communities.

What is MYP-IB

The Middle Years International Baccalaureate Programme has at its heart the desire to make our students aware of their interconnected natures. We strive to show them how all content areas are connected to one another through the five Areas of Interaction. We strive to show them how all three IB programmes are connected (primary years, middle years and diploma programmes) through the scope of the learner profile qualities. Most importantly, we strive to show our students their connections to others in the world by emphasizing international-mindedness.