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Welcome to SPH Sentul's Digital Portal. This website (managed by the teachers) is meant to provide useful information and resources for parents, students and teachers. Please click on the Academic Program relevant to you and find a wide range of updated information on SPH programs, curriculum and policy. School events and schedules will also be available.

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Welcome to SPH Sentul's Digital Portal. This website (managed by the teachers) is meant to provide useful information and resources for parents, students and teachers. Please click on the Academic Program relevant to you and find a wide range of updated information on SPH programs, curriculum and policy.

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Chromebook booking

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Students' database 2019/2020

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List

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Photos

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Click HERE

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With no prior experience with teaching in an IB PYP school, starting out last year in my new school as the Classroom Music Teacher was quite a daunting experience. I was truly blessed though to have great support in my Principal and other staff members who encouraged me to teach my music program from my previous school and try and link in to the class UOI's where I could.

As I do in any situation I set about trying to impress as much as I could and link as often as I could to the classroom UOI which I thought would be the best PYP inquiry teaching.

What I found though was the skills/techniques I wanted to teach the children were not being done chronologically/developmentally as I tried to focus too much on the OUI taught in the classroom. I was a little frustrated with this and didn't understand how I could honour my discipline of teaching musicianship and authentically link to the PYP units being taught.

At the beginning of this year I went to the 3 day course "Making the PYP Happen in the Classroom". This was my first experience of IB PYP Professional Development and yes at the start I was completely overwhelmed by the whole thing.

While I learnt an incredible amount about how to teach using the PYP inquiry method my biggest question still wasn't answered:

How can I teach classroom music in an IB school, using the inquiry methodologies to AUTHENTICALLY link to the class UOI and at the same time HONOUR my developmental curriculum.

This answer came 3 months later at an Arts Workshop for Single Subject Teachers presented by Theo Mandziy ( Coordinator of Primary Single Subject Programme and Visual Arts teacher, Australian International School, Singapore)

At this workshop I realised I was focusing too much on the 'UOI' and not on the skill development of the children because I mistook linking with the classroom to be more important than the skill set I was teaching.

I was focusing on the topic/theme/idea eg using an indigenous song and then singing, dancing or playing instruments to it, rather than focusing on the skills & techniques and using my language during my lesson to link into the "concepts" being taught.

Theo presented 3 ways of planning:

This may be a wonderful concept & idea but Theo said it is very hard to pull off, especially if you are only part time. This is where the Specialist subject teacher/s plan the UOI and the classroom teacher links in with it.

Specialist teachers don't need to link with every UOI, as long as you find at least one UOI to link with in the year that is suffice. To find this UOI look for authentic and purposeful links to the work in both classrooms, which allows you to honour the discipline that you are teaching.

You can write your own UOI that links with it or even take a line of inquiry from the classroom UOI.

The best way to link in is with the PYP Concepts being taught. Here the key is ensuring the language (key words/ideas) used in both class settings is the same or similar.

These links can be done before, during or after the class UOI is taught. For example this year I have linked with the Year 6/7 OUI on Ancient Civilisations by teaching my Ancient Celtic Music unit before the class did theirs and this worked fine.

Single subject teachers don't need to teach all 6 transdisciplinary themes because it is unrealistic & not authentic to the disciplines being taught. So while we need to teach 6 UOI over the whole year it may be more appropriate to teach from certain themes eg. "How we express ourselves".

Our Stand Alone Units may also be taught throughout the whole year with no fixed start or end date. For example you may use Musical Elements as your UOI. Beat for example can be taught all year round as you refer to it along the way.

How have I now implemented this in my classroom?

I have since revamped my program have a look at my example overview from my Reception (5 yr olds) class:

view a pdf version here: IB PYP Single Subject Overview planner

I have 6 UOI, 4 year long ones & 2 that link to the classroom UOI.

To honour my discipline, I still use my developmental curriculum 'The Interactive Music Room: A developmental classroom music program for interactive whiteboard, Book 1- beginning primary' which I have adapted from 'Music Room: A developmental classroom music program, Book 1 - Beginning Primary'.

However while this resource has been written with inquiry learning in mind, I always add other resources to this to enhance the UOI being taught and bring personal meaning to the students learning.

In the future I will post a blog on how I present and display this in my lessons.

I am and will be constantly looking at how I can better improve this. And in no way do I believe I have conquered this task of a 100% answer to my initial question, on how to authentically plan a PYP UOI as a specialist/single subject teacher. But I do believe I am now on the right path, or at least on the verge!

For me I have loved (and will continue to) the chase of aspiring to plan in the most effective and authentic way in a PYP school. I am becoming a better teacher for it and can't wait to see the results.

How has it changed me as a teacher?

The skills, techniques, activities, songs and instruments haven't changed. It has been the vocabulary I use when teaching which has changed as I focus more on the way I deliver information to the children to keep the lines of inquiry at the forefront of my lessons.

My questions to other PYP specialist/single subject teachers out there are: How do you plan? What has worked for you in your school? How do you link to the classroom UOI while staying true to your discipline?

Read part 2 in this series showing how we developed the programming further in 2014 onwards.

Teach to transform!

Cheryl

If you like my work, please support me by buying me a coffee. thank you for your support.

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Planning IB PYP in the Specialist / Single Subject Classroom

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With no prior experience with teaching in an IB PYP school, starting out last year in my new school as the Classroom Music Teacher was quite a daunting experience. I was truly blessed though to have great support in my Principal and other staff members who encouraged me to teach my music program from my...

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This blog article captures the journey of transformation during online learning as experienced by single subject teachers. They travelled from the stage of disruption to adaptation, and to growth.
By Vandana Parasher

"While everyone figured their way out, we realized that open sharing of ideas, reflections and experiences helped everyone through."

With Covid-19 spreading around, forcing educators to leap out of their comfort zones without much prior warning and expecting them to transform their educational practices overnight, we were left with no option but to 'comply' to this sudden change- ironically, in the times when we were all talking about 'Agency'!

These times reinforced the value of Approaches to learning (ATLs) and IB Learner Profile, such as risk-taker, balanced, inquirer, thinker, being resilient, open-minded and principled. Teachers around the world stretched their boundaries and like true brave-hearts plunged into the unknown, in the search of possible ways to make authentic and relevant learning happen through technology. While everyone figured their way out, we realized that open sharing of ideas, reflections and experiences helped everyone through. We also reflected on our journey with single subject teachers (specialists) who worked their way through different phases.

Here's an account of how our specialist teachers rediscovered themselves through a process of inquiry, action and reflection.

"We could see ourselves gaining confidence by the end of this phase."

Phase of Disruption:

This phase brought a lot of anxiety, fear, resentment and uncertainty amongst the teachers, especially the Specialists. We were flooded with so many questions, doubts, wonderings related to the medium, curriculum, learning etc. that it became a bit unsettling.
Wonderings:

What should be the structure of a virtual lesson for my subject?

How can I teach 'skills' virtually?

What will happen to the planned curriculum- standalone and Transdisciplinary integrations?

How will we teach without the requisite tools/equipment?

How will we engage the children effectively?

What about exploration, inquiry and collaborative learning?

What if technology turns out to be a roadblock?

Phase of Adaptation:

The adaptation phase was a learning zone for us which started with 'acceptance' of the situation and gradually led to the desired 'change'. It saw us engaging with all our wonderings, thinking of possible ways to address them one by one and taking 'action'. We could see ourselves gaining confidence by the end of this phase.
Action:

In collaborative planning sessions with specialists the first week, we identified the learning outcomes which were simpler to execute virtually.

We mainly looked at some standalone engagements in all subjects

We had to tweak part of our written curriculum to suit the virtual learning demands. E.g., in PE, in place of swimming and soccer we had to look at yoga and aerobics for Grades 2 to 5, and recreational exercises aiming at motor coordination for EY

To begin with, we explored the asynchronous way where all the Specialists (dance, drama, music, visual art and PE) created simple tutorials which could be followed at home, and student work could be uploaded on the e-portfolio platform Seesaw

These tasks were posted every day with a clear learning objective, steps and success criteria so that they were self-explanatory and would require least parental involvement

Teachers reviewed the work on Seesaw and shared feedback to feedforward in the form of voice notes and text

Students engaged with the feedback effectively and produced a second draft wherever necessary

"Students were also seeking one-on-one connection with the single subject teachers where they could learn something in real time."

Reflection:
It was a comfortable and assuring beginning for all the specialists because student responses indicated some level of engagement at home; however, there were concerns with 'check for learning/understanding' which could happen in a synchronous way but not so effectively in asynchronous mode. Students were also seeking one-on-one connection with the single subject teachers where they could learn something in real time. So, with this reflection, we moved towards planning Synchronous lessons after 2 weeks of asynchronous work.

"This phase saw us stretching beyond the obvious."

Phase of Growth:

This phase saw us stretching beyond the obvious. The single subject teachers tasted some success with their asynchronous structure and felt ready to move towards the Synchronous lessons.

Successfully implementing the curriculum:

PE: For transdisciplinary integration we went ahead as per the curriculum map and integrated well with Grade 4's unit on the Interconnectedness of human body systems (Who we are). PE teachers co-planned and executed an inquiry along with the form tutor and guided the children to collaboratively prepare a project on "Strengthening different body systems by adopting a fitness routine" for a certain sport of their choice. Students got together for live discussions using Zoom- breakout room feature and worked on shared slides to create their presentations.

Visual Arts: An inquiry into Graffiti as a form of 'communication' (How we express ourselves) in Grade 4 enabled students to express and share a positive message for the community at the time of Pandemic. Certain online tools used by them were Weave silk and Tate paint which allowed students to create digital art work. Students were introduced to different art forms and artists through virtual tours.

Finally, all the work that was done during the 11 weeks of lockdown was showcased through a Virtual art exhibition- Seher: A dawn of creativity. This is an annual art event for the school but this time we explored an app called Exhibbit which provided us with a virtual gallery space to showcase and celebrate student work at a very nominal cost. The entire school community took pride in this showcase.

Ceramics: Having no access to natural clay and sophisticated tools at home, our ceramic specialist explored an alternative called "Salt dough" which provided a similar experience and outcome.

Drama: An inquiry into Monologue for the unit on 'Sense of Self' (Who we are) in Grade 5 enabled students to give a voice to their feelings and emotions through this troubled phase. They learnt to write a monologue after responding to and understanding its characteristics. Drama teachers took on the role of language teachers and helped children develop their monologues as a part of the creating Students performed their monologues as well as engaged in a peer-review exercise as an audience.

Dance: The Indian classical dance teacher focused on expressions, postures and mudras used on Bharatnatyam (Indian classical dance form) through her lessons, enabling children to appreciate the nuances of this dance form. The western dance teachers helped children explore Jazz Pirouettes, Tutting and encouraged them to create their own choreography.

Music: The teachers gained confidence as they worked on the online music creation tool called ChromeApp Lab. Students explored various rhythm patterns and musical notes through this tool. Parent collaboration was a high point for music department and you can read more about it here.

"Having come this far, our specialist teachers are feeling proud of their journey and accomplishments."

Having come this far, our specialist teachers are feeling proud of their journey and accomplishments. Being certain of their capability to adapt, unlearn and relearn, they are now looking forward to the next phase of blended learning after the summer break!
In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson- "A mind, once stretched by a new idea can never regain its original dimensions". This holds true for all the teachers who stretched themselves and grew in this process!

Acknowledgement: The idea of categorizing the entire virtual learning journey into 3 phases- disruption, adaptation and growth was used by Amit Pawar - Microsoft Asia Pacific, in a webinar on "Opportunities and challenges of remote learning - How will this shape the future?" organized by EduTECH Asia Virtual.
Vandana Parasher is the PYP Coordinator at Pathways School, Noida. She has been a primary educator for over 17 years in international schools from New Delhi to Tokyo. She believes in constantly engaging with the latest research and innovation in education that leads to rethinking and questioning the existing norms. Passionate about self-directed learning and collaboration, she works towards empowering children with the right tools and mindset that keeps them excited about learning and life. You can follow her on Twitter @Vandysays and her school @PathwaysSchools.
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A transformational journey by single subject teachers

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This blog article captures the journey of transformation during online learning as experienced by single subject teachers. They travelled from the stage of disruption to adaptation, and to growth. By Vandana Parasher "While everyone figured their way out, we realized that open sharing of ideas, reflections and experiences helped everyone through."

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" Don't pick a job with great vacation time. Pick one that doesn't need escaping from. "

As I'm getting ready to facilitate an IB PYP (Primary Years Programme) workshop in Denver this weekend for new and experienced PYP coordinators from all around the world, I wanted to highlight and share four things I have the great privilege to do on a daily basis here in my role at Whitby.

All IB World Schools must appoint a curriculum coordinator. U sually, the PYP coordinator is recruited from the teaching staff at the school. A criterion is that this person should have proven teaching ability and be able to act as a pedagogical leader of the programme in the school , as cited in . Making the PYP Happen-Pedagogical Leadership in a PYP S chool

The Role of the PYP Coordinator

1. The PYP coordinator ensures the continuity of the programme through developing systems and documentation. This includes mapping the transdisciplinary program of inquiry, unit planners, daily planners, policy documents, guidelines for verification and evaluation, and continuum initiatives .

The 'Written Curriculum' is one of the 7 IB programme standards. PYP coordinators at IB World Schools spend a lot of time mapping the curriculum framework with various tools. Online tools such as ATLAS and Managebac, are two commonly used curriculum mapping software programmes. Strategic curriculum mapping supports schools to ensure that all the essential elements of the programme are planned, taught, assessed , and analyzed.

A ll teachers are encouraged to actively participate and be involved in developing the written curriculum at IB World Schools. This process includes practices such as writing and documenting Units of Inquiry, math, science, social studies, languages arts, world language, v isual a rts, m usic, PE scope and sequences, and yearlong and daily planners. Teachers are encouraged to provide feedback when the school is reviewing whole school policies such as on language and assessment.

Once per year all teachers in the school's PYP continuum, including single subject teachers and specialists, come together to collaborate, review and refine the programme of inquiry (POI). Teachers take a deep look at the continuum within each transdisciplinary theme and ensure that there is an articulation and balance between the essential elements of the programme - k nowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action. Based on the findings and reflection, teachers revisit the scope and sequence documents for different subject areas and make adjustments. These adjustments are then also reflected in all unit of inquiry and subject planners in order to always enhance teaching and learning for all students in our learning spaces.

2. A vital aspect of a PYP coordinator 's role is collaborative planning with all teachers. This requires a deep understanding of what constitutes a good collaborative learning team with its variety of roles

A commitment to collaborative planning is central to the philosophy of the PYP. The PYP coordinator has a pivotal role in this process and works to ensure that the standards for implementation are understood, and that the programme is planned, taught and assessed collaboratively. At Whitby we have a very strong (and exceptional!) collaborative culture and the evidence is all the 'magic' that happens in and around all of the classrooms and learning spaces every day.

When you walk into any PYP classroom in an IB World School, you will always see students actively engaged in various learning explorations and observe clear differentiation happening to ensure all students feel successful and challenged. You will see them inquiring, collaborating and cooperating in small and whole group settings around a plethora of topics and you will be amazed by the level of independence and commitment to any task at hand.

IB World School students live their school's mission statement every day through the Learner Profile and its attributes. All of this is made possible by teacher collaboration. So what makes a successful collaborative team? The question is not " Are they collaborating?, " but rather " What are they collaborating about? " The answer: t eaching and l earning. It is always about how teachers can enhance best practices and implement and assess them in order to inform next steps.

Since PYP coordinators work with all teaching team s , subject teacher s , l ibrarians , and EAL and SAIL faculty in their school on a daily basis, we see the strategic, reflective , and highly dedicated work ALL teachers put into ensuring that students experience coherence of the essential elements of the programme across the curriculum with any teacher they are with. We see the incredible amount of dedication in planning for differentiation and the reflective and thoughtful practice used to assess and follow up on instruction and outcome.

In many IB World Schools, including Whitby, the collaborative culture also includes Professional Learning Communities (PLCs ) in which teachers from different grade levels come together in small groups monthly to explore something in the curriculum they are interested in. This process is teacher driven and the PYP coordinator's role is to facilitate requested discussions and provide ideas for various resources that might be helpful for the process. At the end of each year, there is a fun, informal share of this learning. When teachers come together to share their best practices with each other, the joy, pride , and collegiality among faculty is what makes working at an IB World School so truly unique !

3. The PYP coordinator is responsible for conducting induction into PYP for new faculty and staff and be part of the collaborative decision making regarding PD initiatives within the school .

All new teachers entering an IB World School in the PYP are given an opportunity to learn all about the PYP programme through a series of engaging sessions throughout the school year or in the first weeks of a new school year. During the induction process the PYP coordinator uses many of the same processes and strategies used in the classroom : constructing meaning in a social setting, backward design planning and provocation as inquiry methodology. We use " making thinking visible " routines, discussion , and reflection as means to gauge understanding of inquiry based teaching practices. Teachers are asked to self-assess along the way and take action by planning for, implementing , and assessing some of the strategies they have learned during the PYP induction .

4 . The PYP coordinator ensures information about the PYP is disseminated clearly and effectively to all members of the school and IB community. In addition, the PYP coordinator is responsible for the communication with the relevant IB office .

The IB is highly dedicated to ensuring th at IB programmes incorporate quality practice from national and international research and the IB global community. As such there are many avenues for teachers to access, explore , and get inspired by the sharing spirit of IB educators around the world. The PYP coordinator sets up and manages an Online Curriculum Center (OCC ) for all teachers and staff in their school. Teachers can find all official IB documentation needed for their practices, curriculum review and reflection in the E-library and many great resources in the Teacher Exchange Forum. Some of the most popular blogs for IB educators are SharingPYPblog , WhatEdSaid , JustWondering and Enquiry-Based Maths . Parents play a big, important role at any school ; t heir support is invaluable and IB World Schools recognize that. IB World schools continuously engage parents in discussions and workshops around the PYP, including assessment, inquiry , and international mindedness to name a few .

Diana Ljepoja

Diana Ljepoja is the IB PYP coordinator at Whitby. She is passionate about international education, inquiry as a stance for teaching and learning, and she always strives to stay innately curious about the world around her. She loves that special spark in children's eyes when they discover something new and the smiles on their faces when they share their learning with her. Her 20 years in education have taken her all around the world and she is very happy that she's always had a dynamic, lively and engaging job in all the places she's lived and worked in. This includes teaching at IB PYP elementary schools in her native Sweden to IB International schools in Thailand, Colombia and for the past 5 years here at Whitby. Diana loves road trips and 'America's best idea' - the national parks!

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" Don't pick a job with great vacation time. Pick one that doesn't need escaping from. " As I'm getting ready to facilitate an IB PYP (Primary Years Programme) workshop in Denver this weekend for new and experienced PYP coordinators from all around the world, I wanted to highlight and share four things I have the great privilege to do on a daily basis here in my role at Whitby.

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Over the past few months, I've been hard at work creating an online training course for teachers who are new or newish to the concept-based, student-centred, inquiry classroom. Does this sound like you or someone you know? I am happy to announce that it is ALMOST ready to be released!

I'm calling it Essentials for Inquiry. (has a nice ring to it, I feel.)

Meanwhile, I have these FREE training videos which will give quick, practical and useful information and can be available on demand. I shall be releasing the 3 training videos over the course of the next week. So, make sure you have subscribed so that they will drop right into your inbox. Allow me to introduce this video training series and scroll down for training video 1, Introducing Concept-Based Learning.

Video 1 : Introducing concept-based learning:

What is a concept?

The purpose of concept-based teaching

Related concepts vs. key concepts

Developing conceptual thinking

Download your free PDF here to use alongside the video below.

And this is just the beginning! Look out for video 2 coming in the next few days, where I shall be giving you an FANTASTIC activity to begin developing conceptual thinking within your kiddos. You wont want to miss this! If you aren't already subscribed, be sure to add your e mail in the box below and get the next free video directly into your inbox!

Enjoy!

FOLLOW ME HERE, FOLLOW ME THERE.....

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New to the IB PYP? FREE Teachers' Video Training Series

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Over the past few months, I've been hard at work creating an online training course for teachers who are new or newish to the concept-based, student-centred, inquiry classroom. Does this sound like you or someone you know? I am happy to announce that it is ALMOST ready to be released!

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We strive to... ..."develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better, more peaceful world."

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https://edtechtimes.com/2013/01/24/8-ideas-10-guides-17-tools-for-a-better-professional-learning-network/

Get started developing your social media PLN with these tips and ideas for great ways to make use of social tools.
Guides
Check out these guides to find out how other educators have used social media and other tools to grow their personal learning networks.
Tools & Resources
Want to really make the most of your PLN? Use these popular social media tools for learning to grow and take advantage of your network with the latest technology.

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https://edtechtimes.com/2013/01/24/8-ideas-10-guides-17-tools-for-a-better-professional-learning-network/ Get started developing your social media PLN with these tips and ideas for great ways to make use of social tools. Guides Check out these guides to find out how other educators have used social media and other tools to grow their personal learning networks.

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In house Workshop
https://gjs.padlet.org/windy/5seno4xex2gz8ila

7 Norms of collaboration:
https://gjs.padlet.org/windy/h4ocfdztwe8mhbjp

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https://sites.google.com/view/roleofthecoordinator/resources?authuser=0

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https://edtechtimes.com/2013/01/24/8-ideas-10-guides-17-tools-for-a-better-professional-learning-network/

Get started developing your social media PLN with these tips and ideas for great ways to make use of social tools.
Guides
Check out these guides to find out how other educators have used social media and other tools to grow their personal learning networks.
Tools & Resources
Want to really make the most of your PLN? Use these popular social media tools for learning to grow and take advantage of your network with the latest technology.

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Resources for the Schools to promote the programme: Presentation to be used for Parent induction: from IB Global assets Presentation on the history of the IB Presentation for Media engagement Promotional material: fliers, logos, posters