KIS Middle School is currently accredited by the Secondary Schools Commission, Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges, Philadelphia as part of the US-linked KIS High School Diploma program (grades 9-12) and the International Baccalaureate Organization’s Middle Years Program (grades 6-10).

KIS Middle School has an holistic program following the MYP curriculum model which includes eight subject groups. The focus is student centered and the learning process encourages hands-on experience. Enrichment and extension programs are provided in:

• Intramural sports programs
• Life skills (personal health and development programs)
• Religious and values education
• Outdoor and environmental education

Curricular Innovation

Following a 32 year successful track record with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, KIS started discussions in 2004 regarding the introduction of the IB Middle Years Program. In 2005 KIS was approved by the IBO for the MYP 'consideration phase' and final authorization was granted in December 2006.

Ethos

In keeping with KIS mission statement and KIS Middle School philosophy that aims to provide a broad-based educational program for the holistic development of transitional adolescents, Middle School offers:

• A secure, stable environment with flexibility for individual growth during this transitional period in student life
• Structured and clear guidelines within which students can find their "voices" and learn to express and exercise freedom responsibly
• Academically challenging student-centered instruction, imparted by a team of caring, committed teachers, enriched and extended to prepare students for high school, college and later life
• Attention to individual student needs, balanced with an emphasis on the value of challenge and fostering of self-reliance as students grow and mature
• Broad experience of education to equip students to live in a global society, at the same time grounded firmly in traditional values of enquiry, hard work, integrity, respect and reverence

KIS Middle School Coordinator - final word

We are now into our second semester with the Middle Years (grades 6 to 10) split between two campuses and, happily, we are slowly ironing out the wrinkles and debugging the program. Students are getting more used to the new routines and, more importantly, the expectations of the MYP in terms of criterion-based assessment and teaching done in the context of the Areas of Interaction. The grade 10 students have come back with their Personal Projects completed and are now in the throes of producing their written reports. The Personal Project fair is the highlight of the MYP calendar and will take place in February. We are very much looking forward to seeing the results of nearly ten months of hard work, creativity and inspiration! MYP teachers are busy putting together their samples of assessed student  work to be sent off in February for monitoring; this is a way for us to check that grading is being done in a fair and consistent way compared to MYP school across the region. We are also busily uploading our MYP Unit Plans into the new Atlas Rubicon curriculum mapping software; this will allow us to analyse the teaching and learning both horizontally across a Grade level and vertically up and down all Grade levels. We'll now be well placed to ensure that Areas of Interaction are being used widely and effectively as well as seeing links across the curriculum for the planning of Interdisciplinary Units. It's all hands on deck and every nose to the grindstone in the MYP! Come and visit us and have some fun!
 
Graham Lambert
MYP Coordinator