About

The Whittier-Wainwright community collaborates to create critical, open-minded and passionate learners who actively seek solutions to relevant world problems.  Through inquiry and meaningful experiences, learners are prepared to question authentically, investigate responsibly, challenge respectfully and think for themselves as a means of creating a better world.

The Whittier-Wainwright School community strives to develop critical thinkers prepared to solve complex world problems through a rigorous program of inquiry.

• Actively collaborate within a professional learning community to address students’ academic and social emotional needs.

• Embrace and demonstrate student-centered, inclusive teaching and learning approaches in the classroom.

• Cultivate creativity and passion for lifelong learning.

• Incorporate digital learning to engage students in problem-solving of all subjects.

• Establish personal values as a foundation upon which international-mindedness will develop and flourish.

Wainwright Intermediate School is a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme and the Middle Years Programme and is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. IB schools share a common philosophy – a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education.  

For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org​

 

International Baccalaureate Mission Statement 

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people with their differences, can also be right.  

 

The IB Learner Profile 

Wainwright IB learners strive to be:  

• INQUIRERS - We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
• KNOWLEDGEABLE - We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
• THINKERS - We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions. 
• COMMUNICATORS - We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups. 
• PRINCIPLED - We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
• OPEN-HANDED - We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.
• CARING​​​​​​​ - We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
• RISK-TAKERS​​​​​​​ - We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.
• BALANCED​​​​​​​ - We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives—intellectual, physical, and emotional—to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.
• REFLECTIVE​​​​​​​ - We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

The IB learner profile represents 10 attributes valued by IB World Schools.  We believed these attributes, and others like them, can help individuals and groups become responsible members of locak, national, and global communities.

All Wainwright students are part of the IB PYP (grades 4 and 5)  or MYP programmes (grades 6-8). 

Primary Years Programme (PYP) 
PYP Coordinator: Ruth Schlattmann 

PYP for parents 

The PYP prepares students to become active, caring, lifelong learners who demonstrate respect for themselves and others and have the capacity to participate in the world around them. It focuses on the development of the whole child. For more information, visit Primary Years Programme. 

Six transdisciplinary themes 

• Who we are 

• Where we are in place and time 

• How we express ourselves 

• How the world works 

• How we organize ourselves 

• Sharing the planet 

Middle Years Programme (MYP) 
MYP Coordinator: Cheryl Steighner 

MYP for parents 

A challenging framework that encourages students to make practical connections between their studies and the real world, the MYP is inclusive by design; students of all interests and academic abilities can benefit from their participation. For more information, visit Middle Years Programme

The MYP curriculum framework comprises of eight subject groups: arts, design, individuals and societies, language acquisition, language and literature, mathematics, physical and health education, and science. Students will receive at least 50 hours of instruction for each subject group, in each year of the programme. 

Students will complete the first three years of the MYP at Wainwright and can complete the final two at Foss High School.

Students who complete the MYP are well-prepared to undertake the IB Dipoloma Programme (DP) or Career-related Programme (CP).  

For more information about Foss High School’s IB programme,   

Follow the links for more information from the International Baccalaureate about the Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme​.

• Conceptual Learning ​​​​​​​ - Concepts are big ideas that have relevance within specific disciplines and across subject areas. MYP students use concepts as a vehicle to inquire into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance and examine knowledge holistically. 
• Approaches to Learning (ATL) ​​​​​​​ - A unifying thread throughout all MYP subject groups, approaches to learning provides the foundation for independent learning and encourage the application of students’ knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Developing and applying these skills help students learn how to learn. 
• Service ​​​​​​​ - Action (learning by doing and experiencing) and service have always been shared values of the IB community. Students take action when they apply what they are learning in the classroom and beyond. IB learners strive to be caring members of the community who demonstrate a commitment to service—making a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment. Service as action is an integral part of the programme, especially in the MYP community project, and to some extent in the personal project.  
• Language and identity ​​​​​​​ - MYP students are required to learn at least two languages. Learning to communicate in a variety of ways is fundamental to their development of intercultural understanding and crucial to their identity affirmation.