PYP Department

It has been a very exciting year for PYP. Students have gone through six units of inquiry where they explored different themes and connected to real-life situations. This also resulted to some fantastic actions where they shared their learnings to the school community through campaigns, assemblies, videos, posters, and write-ups. Our PYP students stepped up and grew in their love for learning and the environment, with numerous field trips, school events, and celebrations extend their learning and developed international-minded individuals.

This learning is not only happening with the students but also with the teachers as they continuously learn about the IB PYP programme to enhance their knowledge and teaching skills. We had workshops from Jolly Phonics and from teachers sharing their knowledge and experience. This knowledge was also shared with the school community through information sessions with parents of our school and parents who are interested to join our school. At TWIS, learning is not only happening in the classroom and for students but also for our teachers, parents, and community.

MYP Department

This year has been challenging but consistent progress in the MYP Programme. Last October, all of the teachers had a Category 1 training about the MYP Programme, and others were also given specific subject training to enhance their skills with the subject that they teach.

There were many learning activities and celebrations that happened that were connected to the units they learned in school. The students were risk-takers and became facilitators for learning while sharing it in front of the whole community.

Connecting with our society, our students were able to start community service through different subjects such as Individuals and Societies. They raised money after learning about Modern Slavery and donated the proceeds to Red Cross. We have also introduced community projects through the TWIS farm to learn more about the IB learner profile as well as ATL skills.

We have also rolled out Academic Integrity to our students to prepare them for personal projects, teach research skills for ATL, and for the DP. We have done a lot of firsts this year and expect better ideas next.

DP Department

This year has been a milestone and a year of growth on our authorisation journey. After a successful candidacy visit, we have been working simultaneously on different fronts.

The first one was and still is writing the necessary documents such as the DP student booklet, the DP subject selection and entry as well as completing our massive online DP application. The second front was about holding information sessions for all of the stakeholders of our school community. It started in a session with the parents and students of grade 9 then the faculty and finally the TWIS staff from other departments. The final front was about designing the teacher lineup for our first year of DP starting in 2022. This included selecting the teachers and providing them with a DP professional development training in their subject so they could start writing the DP curriculum.

EIP Department

The TWIS English Immersion Program team is tremendously proud as we celebrate the great growth and language development we’ve seen in the participating students this academic year. and we’d like to give you a closer look at all the factors that have contributed to our Stages 1 and 2 getting smaller and smaller and our stage 3 and EIP graduates lists growing!

First, we must acknowledge the great lengths to which the TWIS teaching community has also gone specifically in developing their own pedagogical prowess in teaching language skills. TWIS has provided its own internal professional development programs developing the CALLA (Cognitive Academic English Approach) made available to the entire academic team; this approach outlines for teachers how to predict and plan for those language and content difficulties found within their subjects, and to facilitate not only students bridging those gaps but how to then extend the use of the new language skills across subject areas. Then there is TWIS’ first graduating cohort of the TEMC (Teaching English in the mainstream classroom) certification course; there are now 10 TWIS teachers certified as specialists in teaching their subjects to non-native English learners!

But enough about teachers; it’s your students who have really invested themselves! Some of your students have developed, in the span of this academic year, more than 2 grade levels worth of reading progress according to the Scholastic Literacy Pro Online Assessment and INSIDE Reading Placement test results. Teachers across the MYP have witnessed and been impressed by the great changes we’ve seen in the student body, especially in terms of confidence in oral speaking, as well as the quality of written work! Ask any of our teachers during the PTC for your student’s EIP evidence file on their demonstrations of language abilities (even non-EIP students!) We couldn’t be prouder of them!

In this semester, the Pastoral Care Department put great effort to promote students’ well-being. In PYP, students did a great job in learning about anti-bullying, caring and self-protection. Encouraging the IB learner profile attribute of being caring continued in every grade level. Some classes built a caring wall in their main classrooms, and some others demonstrated improvement of caring behavior in their daily activities. Besides, an instruction of self-protection was sent to parents to enhance safety education at home.

In MYP, the school counselor spent time with students, as well as met often with homeroom teachers and subject teachers to get a close understanding of students’ performance and needs. Students had a weekly Pastoral Care class wherein their needs were addressed without delay.

The Pastoral Care Room was well equipped with various facilities, and students were able to consult the school counselor by appointment when they felt the necessity. A therapeutic resource was introduced from Shenzhen LIH Olivia’s Place this semester in order to support better students with special needs. Each student was guaranteed that they accessed pedagogical resources equally, without neglecting their individual developmental path.

Arts Department

The music department organized 9 Teatime Showcases, 3 formal concerts and the school's first musician competition this year. In the Teatime Showcase performance, we encourage students of different levels to participate in the performance (more than 40 students participated), so this kind of concert performances can allow the whole school to learn etiquette and learn how to appreciate the arts. In the 3 festival concerts, our students demonstrated music chorus, ensemble, and instrument solo skills.

Our students can show high-level and high-quality performances. The musician competition also invited judges of different nationalities, and adopted a professional international examination scoring mechanism, so that students can also experience a more professional international art examination system.

In terms of academic achievement, both PYP and MYP students have learned systematic curriculum, and all teaching designs are logical and systematic. Our goal is to hope that all students can learn a musical instrument and encourage all students to participate in music learning regardless of whether they have a musical foundation or not. We let students realise the importance of music in society and ensure that we consistently provide young students with the highest quality music education. Our music education helps students better integrate into the school environment and master different IB roles through music learning.

For visual arts, students demonstrate their understanding through paintings on different themes. In school, we also use idle walls to create various amazing murals.

Boarding Department

"A Home Away from Home"

This year was very busy for the TWIS Boarding Program as we worked hard to improve upon the existing structure of the House from last year with additional activities and programs to create a home away from home for our boarding students. 

For PYP boarders there was fun and games activities in the evenings as well as movie nights and evening reading program where teachers would come into the House to read a bedtime story.

This year the TWIS campus leadership team has planned and already installed several new outdoor playground facilities including an exciting collection of see-saws, rope climbing, swings and also a brand-new professional Padle Court. Next year as soon as the school year begins, we will have all of those facilities available for both PYP and MYP to use on a nightly basis, with the existing fitness room. What’s more, we will have a nightly study hall where students can focus their minds on their work in a quiet setting.

Safety procedures were updated regularly including Life Coach training on child safety, fire safety and fire alarm drills to ensure students know what to do and where to go in the event of an emergency.

CASE Department

This year, CASE at TWIS has achieved a stable ongoing program from four to five in the afternoon, Monday to Thursday. Presented to all students, it has offered over 20 experiential learning activities during the week. Stretching from Creativity through Activity, Service to English, and language support. CASE has led students to be more open-minded regarding their likes and hobbies as well as discovering new ways to approach challenges.

In general, students that have made the most of their CASE time have shown high satisfaction. This has generally been due to the flexibility, focalization, and fun provided by the CASE leaders. Trying new activities and discovering new friends, teachers, and challenges is part of the mission of TWIS CASE. Seeing an offering of 35 different activities that have as an objective to bring students closer to an international-mindedness of IB Schools. Achieved through the development of different IB Learner Profiles and ATLs.