The TAS Middle School (Years 6 to 8) academic program is an introduction to senior school life; stimulating, challenging and creative, with the care and attention needed for these young students as they navigate their way through adolescence. In 2018, we introduced the International Baccalaureate’s Middle School Years Programme (MYP) and since that time there has been an overwhelming benefit to our students.
The manner of teaching and learning with the MYP changes to make our students more engaged, creative and globally aware so that when they then move into their senior years, they are better prepared and more focussed.
Middle School builds supported academic foundations
Our Middle School encourages all students to become responsible global citizens, resilient, independent and lifelong learners. We aim to inspire all students to succeed by making informed decisions that promote their academic, social, emotional and physical growth. Goal setting, time management and a variety of assessment tasks combined with homework sessions promote the development of a specific set of study skills over their time in the Middle School.
The Middle School years ensure the necessary academic and social grounding for the successful management of senior school life.
More information about the Middle Years Programme (MYP)?
While the MYP does not affect the core content of the NSW curriculum that is taught at TAS, it is a different approach to education that allows teachers and students greater freedom to explore in depth and across subject lines through critical thinking, curiosity, heightened creativity and improved expression.
Classes draw connections between all subject areas rather than in isolation, and learning is explicitly linked to the world around them. Each subject topic is taught through the lens of one of the six Global Contexts:
- Identities and Relationships,
- Globalisation and Sustainability,
- Personal and Cultural Expression,
- Fairness and Development,
- Orientation in Space and Time,
- Scientific and Technical Innovation.
These frame the learning within a meaningful context; encourage deeper reasoning; encourage deeper enquiry; extend students beyond the curriculum content; promote international mindedness; and help them to recognise our common humanity.
The Year 8 Community Project
The MYP culminates in the Community Project for Year 8 students. Working in small groups, students research a ‘need’ in their community and then act on that need to develop a solution. This is then presented to their peers, teachers and parents. It is a rigorous process and one that better prepares students for the demands of later academic life.