A BIG TICK FOR PYP AT DIO We are incredibly proud of the feedback we received from IB which highlighted the world class Primary Years Programme we deliver at Diocesan Junior school
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ach IB school is regularly evaluated to ensure that the standards and practices of its IB programme are maintained. Evaluation visits support a school’s effort to continually improve the delivery of the programme. As part of the process, the school engages in a self-study to identify the strengths of its programme and identify ways it can continually improve on its delivery of PYP. Due to COVID, the review took place virtually this year and involved two reviewers online with our staff and students over three days. Although it was somewhat of a challenge to organise with many online discussions with girls, teams of teachers, staff and the Board of Governors, as well as Zoom visits to classrooms, the girls and staff demonstrated very ably the positive learning culture at Dio. Special thanks has been extended to the group of parents who met with the evaluation team via
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Zoom and spoke so knowledgeably about PYP and their daughters’ learning from a parent perspective. On the final day, a Zoom meeting was held with the evaluators to hear their findings. As expected, they were very impressed with the PYP being delivered at Dio and also spoke very highly of the staff. Their final statement was that Dio Junior School was a highly impressive school and rated close to the best they have seen for the delivery of the PYP. They noted that there is a shared understanding of the PYP at all levels across the School – the BOG, principal, staff, parents and students – which all added to their feeling that it is one of the best models they have seen. Special thanks to Nicole Lewis for leading this review in her role as PYP Coordinator. As a school we have identified some goals for us to work towards going forward.
Develop and encourage studentinitiated action: Students showing initiative and taking action in their community as a result of their new learning and knowledge. This links to service learning at Dio. We are currently working with the new Service Learning manager, Lucette Chu, to strengthen service and action learning in the Junior School. Continue to develop and strengthen our relationships within the community to provide our girls with real-life connections and experiences to their learning. Your daughter’s programme of inquiry is visible on her year level blog. If you have an area of expertise and are eager to support the programme as a guest speaker or host site visits, we would love to connect with you. Please contact PYP coordinator Nicole Lewis: nlewis@diocesan.school.nz
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