SELF-DIRECTED LEARNERS

We strive to inspire hard working and self-motivated lifelong learners; students who are curious and hungry for knowledge. Our teachers achieve this by promoting the ‘Growth Mindset” and giving their students opportunities to develop their own learning goals and to reach them through action planning and self-management skills.

REFLECTIVE LEARNERS

We strive to develop responsive and adaptive learners. Responsive learners seek and apply feedback to accelerate their progress. Adaptive learners critically self-reflect in order to determine (on their own) what they need to adjust or change in order to continually improve. Our teachers accomplish this by using formative assessment data to know what each student needs to do next to move forward in their learning. Additionally, they empower students to be learning resources for each other through peer-assessment. 

INTELLECTUAL LEARNERS

We strive to produce creative innovators and critical thinkers. Creative innovators explore with a sense of limitless possibility – combining experimentation, imagination and technical skills to design and develop novel products. Critical thinkers interpret the world around them with objectivity and healthy skepticism. They think logically and systematically to surmount bias and avoid misconceptions, miscalculations, and misjudgments. They understand that “correlation ≠ causation” and thus consider  “proximal” (downstream) and “distal” (upstream) causative factors to develop substantiated hypotheses, models, and conclusions. And, they write and speak with accuracy, clarity, and sophistication. We promote critical thinking through direct instruction, rich classroom discussions, and by giving students opportunities to solve complex and challenging problems both individually and collaboratively. To nurture creativity, we encourage students to make the most of open-ended tasks by playing with ideas, taking risks and expecting mistakes to happen.

BALANCED LEARNERS

We strive to nurture happy and successful learners. Happy learners can be quiet listeners or energetic participants who are eager to share their ideas and ask questions. Either way, they are enthusiastic, confident, and keen to learn. Successful learners move forward in their learning because they see each accomplishment as just a stepping stone to their next challenge. Our teachers ensure academic success through differentiated instruction, which means customizing ‘curriculum depth’ and ‘task difficulty’ so that each child is suitably challenged and thus progressing at a speed that is “optimal for them”. Our teachers nurture happiness by teaching with an interpersonal tone of understanding and actively listening to students to ensure they feel valued, cared about, and empowered.