Annual Fund – Giving appeal to the entire community in the fall, focused on contributions to the annual operations of the school (i.e. educating each child).
Campus Manager – the person in charge of all operational logistics for each campus
CC – Chimney Corners Campus (PP3 & PP4)
DELE – A standardized test on Spanish Language skills.
Differentiation – A framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing different students with different avenues to learning. All people naturally learn in different ways and can learn concepts more thoroughly and deeply in an environment where content fits their learning style.
Formative Assessment – Analysis of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson or unit, completed on an ongoing basis.
Heads of Preschool/Primary/Middle School – the person in charge of the overall implementation of education and oversight of teacher performance for the respective section.
HD– Human Development are classes that provide comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate sexual health education to students. MIS teaches information and skills that will protect students and empower them to be safe and responsible.
IB– International Baccalaureate, a global organization offering an education for students from age 3 to 19, comprising of four programmes that focus on teaching students to think critically and independently, and how to inquire with care and logic. The IB prepares students to succeed in a world where facts and fiction merge in the news, and where asking the right questions is a crucial skill that will allow them to flourish long after they’ve left our programmes. There are over 5,000 IB schools in 150 countries worldwide.
i.lab – A dedicated classroom space for making and design with low and high tech equipment, strengthening the integration of design thinking into the curriculum.
Inquiry-BasedLearning – A form of learning and teaching where teachers and students develop questions on a proposed topic/problem/scenario that are interesting to them, research the topic in class, present their findings and reflect on what as well as how they’ve learned. Inquiry Based learning leads to deeper understanding of topics and more enthusiastic learning of content.
JOC – Join Our Class, the school’s communications portal, containing classroom blogs and photo galleries, school directory, calendars and volunteer sign-up opportunities.
Language Immersion – A teaching methodology and environment where a non-native language is used for instruction across a variety of topics/disciplines to accelerate and deepen the acquisition of the new language. Characterized by “being and living” in an alternative language environment.
Learner Profile Attributes – 10 qualities the International Baccalaureate seeks to develop in all students progressing through the academic programs. They include:
Inquirers
Knowledgeable
Thinkers
Communicators
Principled
Open-minded
Caring
Risk-takers
Balanced
Reflective
MAP – Measures of Academic Progress (standardized test for English Language Arts and Mathematics, implemented from 3rd – 8th grade at MIS)
MIS – The Magellan International School
MYP – Middle Years Programme, an educational program for students ages 11 – 16 emphasizing intellectual challenge and connecting studies to the real world. At MIS, we offer the MYP in grades 6 – 8.
Noche de Gala (or Gala) – Fundraising event hosted in the winter focused on contributions to the annual operations of the school (i.e. educating each child) AND specific capital/facility projects to enhance the educational and community experience.
PE – Physical Education
PSPE – Personal, Social & Physical Education or programs to prepare our students for life and career beyond the school that includes thoughtful, age-appropriate instruction on identity, interactions and active living.
PYP – Primary Years Programme, an educational program for students ages 3 – 10, with a transdisciplinary framework focusing on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both at school and beyond. At MIS, we offer the PYP from PP3 through 5th grade.
PYP/MYP Coordinator – The person in charge of the ensuring that academic planning, collaboration and delivery of the curricula meet all standards and practices.
Scope & Sequence – The depth and order in which concepts, content, and skills are taught.
SEL – Social & Emotional Learning are classes that teach self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making skills at students’ social and emotional developmental level.
SIECUS – Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. Their curriculum provides a foundation from which our Human Development program is based upon.
Singapore Math – A teaching method for maths providing students the opportunity to understand math in an abstract way focusing on problem solving rather than drilling and memorization. At MIS, Singapore Math influences the teaching of math in the classroom, however we do not follow the formal sequencing of Singapore Math lessons.
Spirit Shirt – A non-uniform, standard MIS t-shirt that students wear on assembly days. New families receive one as a gift for their child at the start of the school year, and they can be replaced as your child grows out of the size.
SSR – Support Services & Resources are services offered by MIS to support individual learning and/or behavioral needs of students. Also includes support for high school placement/counseling.
Summative Assessment – Analysis focused on the cumulation of all skills/concepts/outcomes at the end of a lesson or unit.
TADS – Our Enrollment & Tuition Management System as well as Financial Assessment System.
Transdisciplinary Themes – Focuses of study in the PYP that are relevant to the real world and cross subject lines. From PP3 – 5th grade, knowledge and concepts learned in each unit will build on the previous year. Teaching and learning transcend siloed disciplines that are common in most US schools, instead approaching concepts through the lense of languages, maths, science, social studies and personal/social/physical/health. The six transdisciplinary themes that are repeated during each year of the PYP are:
Who we are
How we express ourselves
How we organize ourselves
Sharing the planet
Where we are in place and time (Kinder – 5th)
How the world works (Kinder – 5th)
UOI or Unit of Inquiry – A 6-8 week long learning cycle bring student focus to a specific interdisciplinary theme.
YCT – Youth Chinese Test, a standardized test on Mandarin Chinese language skills.
