Dear ITJ Santa Monica Community,
We are delighted to announce the launch of this blog which aims to share the learning journeys of staff and students in implementing our academically rigorous, student-centered international curricula throughout the school.
In the past month we have launched our International Learning Opportunities (ILO’s); a chance for students to experience learning outside of the classroom and take advantage of the international cultural experiences afforded to us in being part of an international group of schools. More information can be found here (link)
Kinder: International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC)
Coordinator: Monica Montalvo
“As part of our IEYC curriculum we focus on 8 Personal Goals: Thoughtfulness, Respect, Resilience, Morality, Inquiry, Cooperation, Communication, Adaptability. It was very important for us to introduce each Personal Goal in a fun and exciting way so we decided to use an animal to represent each goal to engage students and increase their familiarity with them. Our psychologists created a puppet and a story for each Goal and through activities, experiments and games, these are woven into everyday lessons and are displayed in every classroom across the school, so students develop their own understanding of how these important concepts are applied in their everyday lives.”
Primary: International Primary Years Curriculum (IPC)
Coordinator: Gabriela Covarrubias
“The IPC is a thematic interdisciplinary curriculum designed around a specific learning process: (See picture). This month students have been working on the Brainwave unit, which helps students self-regulate the learning process. Each year we will be expanding the IPC curriculum into more subjects to enhance students’ understanding of key concepts (big ideas) and create a more immersive environment for English Language acquisition.”
IPC Learning process
Middle: International Middle Years Program (IMYC)
Coordinator: Tania Obispo
The IMYC is part of the ‘fieldwork family’ and so many of the teaching and learning pedagogies are applied consistently as students progress from the IPC. This year we have been focusing on reflective journaling and our Science team is piloting how the IMYC Science Curriculum can support more of an interdisciplinary thematic approach to learning for our students.
Upper: International Baccalaureate (IB)
Coordinator: Julieta Sanchez
“The IB is the most academically rigorous 16-18 program in the world, giving our students direct access to the world’s best Universities, and this year we are preparing our IB students for a successful launch in August 2022. I will be delighted to update our community on our journey each month.”