Overview

All 9th and 10th grade students at Southwest High School are MYP students. The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) provides a framework of academic challenge for students aged 11-16 years. The program is devised to help students develop the knowledge, attitude and skills to participate actively and responsibly in a changing and increasingly interrelated world. It includes problem solving and analysis which leads to critical thinking. The MYP is designed to teach students to become independent learners who can recognize relationships between school subjects and the world outside.

Students take classes in 8 subject areas:

• Language A
• Language B (Spanish, French, Japanese, ASL)
• Physical Education
• Sciences
• Arts
• Math
• Technology
• Humanities

These eight subject areas provide a broad and balanced base of disciplines, which will provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare them for the future.

MYP Fundamental Concepts

Holistic Education 

The focus on developing links between the disciplines through global contexts (Areas of Interaction), so that students will learn to see knowledge as an interrelated whole. Students will realize that most real-world problems require insights gained from a variety of disciplines.

• Organize events and activities that promote cross-curricular links through the Areas of Interaction
• Develop skills to view knowledge from varying points of view
• Develop Areas of Interaction within and across the disciplines
• Provide vertical and horizontal articulation within subject areas

Intercultural Awareness

The Middle Years Programme focuses on developing students’ attitudes, knowledge and skills as they learn about their own and others’ social, national and ethnic cultures. Through intercultural awareness, students will learn to foster tolerance and respect of others through empathy and understanding.

• Organize cultural activities
• Adopt school policies Incorporate a global perspective in curriculum
• Develop an understanding of one’s own culture

Communication

The Middle Years Programme supports student's understanding by providing opportunities of reflection and expression. Language acquisition is crucial for maintaining cultural identity, personal development and intercultural understanding.

• Develop skills to view knowledge from varying points of view
• Facilitate mother tongue development
• Provide opportunities to learn a second language

The MYP: A unique approach to development of skills and attitudes relevant in today’s global society