HOMEROOM AND PERSONAL-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
The daily time spent in homeroom allows for the reinforcement of some important subjects in these grades that are also worked on transversally in coordination with all the areas and teachers.
Parents, as well as teachers, should give students a space for their development. At the same time, we should keep close, be alert and willing to guide them, and accompany them at this stage. They need orientation in every aspect since they are restructuring their opinions, their tastes, and their habits.
The high school trips are a good opportunity to foster this growth and also offer contexts to strengthen ties within the group and the teachers. The trip also allows students to have special contact with the richness and problems of our country.
The solidarity campaigns and the voluntary work offer the children the opportunity to establish a commitment with our reality as well as develop new organization, learning and study strategies.
The student’s participation through the Student Council, the CET, opens spaces for them to learn, give their opinions, reach agreements, commit themselves to solve their problems, among others.
NEW ACTIVITIES ARE INTRODUCED
The work of the natural sciences in Ninth Grade is given in three-month periods with specialized teachers in each case.
The areas of visual arts, music and theater are worked in three-month periods.
In Ninth Grade we introduce the areas of Personal Social Development (in Spanish, DPS), Computer Science, French, Economics and Management.
In Eighth and Ninth Grades, The Physical Education and Sports activities, as well as the Science (bio-orchard) and Handicraft (wood craft and art) workshops are carried out once a week, in Pachacamac. In Ninth Grade these workshops are linked to the productive project of the area of Economics and Management.
INTEGRATION OF AREAS
At this stage, the learning areas continue to be integrated. Since there is a greater number of areas that are worked on independently, the teachers apply strategies to adequately integrate them, both within each area as through the inter-area coordination at the time of annual planning.
FINAL EXAMS OF NINTH GRADE
In order to strengthen what has been learned in Ninth Grade and to generate new encouragement for the academic work, we have designed a group of tests that consist in:
» Writing an argumentative essay.
» Developing a number of work hours in favor of the community.
» Passing a standard English test.
» Fulfilling the Physical Education tests.
We encourage all the adults that are close to the children to accompany them in this demanding yet feasible situation, so it can be successfully overcome.
BILINGUALISM
The integration of languages into the curricular work is an important objective for the school. At this stage integration should be greater.
The students have already experimented the work in different areas in English, and in High School they accumulate greater experiences specially considering that all their English teachers are foreigners (United States, England and Canada). The areas that are taught in English vary according to the grade, as well as the contexts and the demands. Moreover, the areas that are not in English still take advantage of the materials, bibliography and web pages in this language. What we pursue is to get students to become functionally and coordinated bilingual.
It is worth mentioning that when they learn other areas in English, the students increase their opportunities to apply their knowledge of English, yet the objective of learning English is not placed above the main objectives of the area. In relation to this, the teachers and students may turn to special strategies whenever it is necessary, complementing the work with some explanations or readings in Spanish.
In Ninth Grade we intensify the preparation for the First Certificate in English (FCE) from Cambridge University, which the students will have to take at the end of Tenth Grade. At the same time we begin teaching French.
LEARNING STRATEGIES AND STUDY HABITS
At school, we help the children to learn to organize themselves to fulfill their different tasks, for which we develop and analyze the strategies that may prove helpful for them.
At home, the children must organize themselves to comply with a study schedule (between 1 and 1 ½ hour a day in approx. 20 to 30 minute blocks). There, the parents carry out a guiding role whenever it is necessary and see if their children need support (organization of work space, time, concentration capacity, perseverance, care and attention to the work details, concern for specific difficulties).
We must keep in mind that in High School the long-term extensive work will be more frequent, as well as a greater workload in the Reading Plan. If we observe our children working until late at night, we should analyze with them where they failed in their organization in the previous days and weeks, because they probably accumulated too much homework for the last minute. If it is recurrent that they have very long days of homework and study, let’s find the moment to talk with them and the teacher about the probable causes.
The students who need to reinforce some areas or subjects in a special way can coordinate with their teachers to attend the weekly counseling hours.
In High School, the counseling hours may be spaces not only to improve the student’s development in one area, but to learn to take the initiative, develop perseverance, as well as to learn how to study together supporting each other.
The evaluation continues to use different tools that set high standards and transparent criteria so that each one can improve in whatever is necessary. The General Test administered in November each year is an important tool in this sense.