Curriculum
Our school program was developed with a multi-national student body in mind. Over the years, we have had students from the following countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The curriculum at TIS is based on the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB). We are currently a candidate school for the PYP and we are undergoing the authorization process. We are also a candidate school for the MYP and we are doing a trial implementation of that program before seeking authorization. (Only schools authorized by the IB organization can offer any of its three academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), or the Diploma Programme (DP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.)
The Primary Years Programme is divided into six transdisciplinary units throughout the year. Here are the units that the elementary students will engage with in the 2011-12 school year.
- Grade 1 — Personal Health, Places We Know (Maps), Celebrations, Rocks and Minerals, Transportation, Habitats
- Grade 2 — Waste, Occupations, Folk Tales, Natural Forces (Earth Science, Disasters), Inventions, Taxonomy
- Grade 3 — Public Health, Space, Communication, Matter, Money, Energy
- Grade 4 — The Human Body, Architecture, Traditions and Values, Weather, Government, Water
- Grade 5 — Medicine, Journalism, Archaeology, Aerodynamics, Consumerism (Exhibition), Biodiversity
Our core program is enhanced by local professionals who have expertise in fields such as art, music, Japanese language, physics, and engineering. Because of our location in Tsukuba Science City, TIS is able to provide students with unique learning opportunities. Our students have taken field trips to many of the national research laboratories located in Tsukuba (e.g. JAXA, NIAH, etc.), enjoyed digging up bamboo shoots and planting rice with the help of people in the school’s neighbourhood, and learned crafts such as pottery from professional craftspeople.
Member of Japan Council of International Schools since 1998
