Ours is a full- french immersion independent school that caters pre-school to grade 12. We are a UNESCO school, a CAIS school, and just recently an International Baccalaureate (IB school). The school is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Overall impact
We primarily engaged in the programme through 2 challenge days. These were such an enormous success! Our students were able to learn about pertinent life skills while putting their 8 essential skills to the test.
Principle 1: Align
We all used the same videos on the challenge days to describe the skills.
Principle 2: Plan
We used challenge days with our middle school students : grade 7 & 8. Since this year we were focusing primarily on our Learner Profile attribute words coming into Middle School, this was where our time and attention went.
Principle 3: Measure
We gave formative feedback on the challenge days and afterwards. We did not formally measure the 8 skills since we were assessing the Learner Profile attribute words this year.
Principle 4: Teach
This was done primarily in a formative way, on Challenge Days.
Principle 5: Practise
Since the homeroom teachers were the ones leading the challenge days, we spoke at meetings about using the programme, and the skills in their own subjects. I did so, for example, in my social studies and French Language Arts classes.
Principle 6: Apply
Since this year’s focus has been on getting certification with IB at the Middle School level, we did not communicate the skills to the wider school community. Rather, we communicated the IB Learner Profile Words instead.
What's next
We are developing the implementation of the IB priorities for the next 2 years at least. I see a strong connection between the Learner Profile Attributes and the 8 Essential Skills and hope it could be a stronger focus in the future.
