Stonehill International School Bangalore:
Located in Bangalore, Karnataka in southeastern India, Stonehill International School was founded to meet the highest educational expectations of Bangalore's rapidly growing multinational community. Stonehill will be the first school in Bangalore to implement all THREE programmes of the IB (International Baccalaureate). We live in an interconnected and complex world that is changing at an unprecedented pace. Preparing our children to succeed in this challenging environment demands a real world based approach to education. Stonehill is a school for a diverse student body, with a global faculty and an international curriculum. We believe our particular location in India, gives the Stonehill community of learners an incredible opportunity to examine change, explore the interconnectedness of issues and develop a global perspective. To offer an educational experience that is truly international, Stonehill invited the Council of International Schools (CIS) to be its consultants.
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Early Childhood Centre:
In early childhood children have an incredible capacity to observe, absorb and learn. Learning and development during these few critical years occurs at a rate that will never be mat
ched at any other stage in a child's growth.
Childhood Curriculum:
Within safe and secure spaces, including each classroom's attached private garden, Stonehill's Early Childhood Centre provides an environment that encourages the natural curiosity and fearless sense of inquiry of children between the ages of 3 and 6. The programme fosters exploration and investigation using a variety of resources, in order for children to learn about themselves, other people and the world around them. They are given opportunities to inquire, learn and play through reading, writing, art, construction, imaginative and investigative play, both inside the classroom and outdoors.
Primary Years Programme:
Stonehill recognises the importance of preserving the innate curiosity of early childhood throughout the primary years. Research shows that children at this life stage can develop a positive attitude to learning if they are given opportunities to use what they already know to make connections and construct new meaning and understanding. The Stonehill curriculum for students aged 6 to 11, provides a framework for the school to build its own, unique curriculum with concept-driven units of inquiry. Traditional academic subjects of mathematics and language arts are taught throughout the primary grades using programmes developed externally and adopted by international schools around the world.
The Stonehill Primary Curriculum:
At Stonehill, the primary curriculum is implemented by teaching the traditional subjects of mathematics and language arts using structured curricula selected for their wide acceptance as outstanding programmes in the world of international education. Mathematics is delivered using the "Everyday Maths" programme developed by the University of Chicago, while language arts utilises the "First Steps" programme developed in Australia. Specialist teachers take the primary classes for modern languages, Spanish, Mandarin or Hindi and for music and physical education.
The primary classroom teachers are responsible for the stand alone curriculum in mathematics and language arts and for developing an
d delivering the six units of inquiry. These integrate social studies, science, personal/ social development and the arts in six transdisciplinary units at each grade level.
Each year, a guiding question from each of these six themes is selected and used by the teacher to direct all students to inquire into issues related to the guiding question. These inquiries are developed on site, according to a set planning framework, thereby allowing themes of local and global relevance to be incorporated, leveraging the particular expertise of teacher and specialist delivering the units. The spiralling set of units that develop the six themes from year to year make up what is known as the Stonehill Programme of Inquiry. This programme is reviewed by Stonehill to ensure that the units cover the scope and sequence of topics of the six traditional disciplines: language, mathematics, science, social studies, arts and personal and social development.
Middle Years:
The Middle Years are a challenging time of transition for learners as they move from childhood to adolescence. This is a crucial period of personal, social, physical and intellectual growth, of uncertainty and questioning.
Through the Middle Years Programme, designed for students aged 11 to 16, teachers extend the academic teaching by helping students develop critical thinking, solve 'real-life' problems, develop knowledge of local and global issues, communicate ideas, engage in public debate and express creativity through action. Through this process, students develop a certain independence and maturity, learn to manage time and
multiple expectations and become aware and confident of their academic and personal development.
Middle Years Curriculum:
The Stonehill Middle Years Curriculum has at its core the eight traditional subjects: maths, arts, sciences, physical education, languages, humanities and technology. Most parents have been taught these subjects as discrete areas of knowledge with little attention given to the interconnectedness of learning that is essential for an individual to be effective in the modern world.
The Stonehill Middle Years curriculum uses concepts called the "areas of interaction" as lenses through which to look at learning in each subject. Because these lenses can look across subject areas they can be used as themes for teacher and student to explore the connections in learning.
Environment, health and social education, and homo faber (man the maker) are the three "areas of interaction" that link such subjects as technology, maths, arts and science. Health and social education spans physical education, humanities and language. Clearly, based on these areas of interaction, topics from real life can be explored using a transdisciplinary approach.
Community and social service is the fourth area of interaction. All areas of knowledge are needed by the student to move outside of his personal domain into the wider world around him. Consequently, community and service gives the student a chance to use all of his learning to solve real world problems.
Approaches to learning is the fifth and final area of interaction. Students can use this area of interaction to think about the deeper questions associated with what and how they learn. They can examine, for example, how they know what they know in maths and ask how that is different from what they know in history. They can think about issues of good and bad. Such as, ‘what is good science and what is bad science' - the answer to which will be different from the answer to ‘what is good history and what is bad history'.
At the heart of the Stonehill Middle Years Curriculum lies the personal project. This is an opportunity for students in the final year of the programme (M5) to explore a question of personal interest. The student is guided in the inquiry by a member of faculty and uses the skills and knowledge learned in the programme to create an original piece of work or artifact. A project journal is maintained in which the student documents the process from conception through research to initial design to implementation, testing, redesign and production. The student must emphasize at least three areas of interaction in this project and be reflective in explaining his/her approach. Significantly, it is the journal with its written expression of how the process was carried out which is assessed, not the final product.
High School:
At Stonehill, the High School is the term used to describe the last two years of the Secondary Programme (D1 & D2) during which the IB Diploma (DP) will be implemented. Currently Stonehill has filed the IB DP part A application and is expected to be able to offer the IB Programme by 2010.
English/Mother tongue:
At Stonehill, the language of instruction is English. Stonehill recognizes that many students are not native English speakers and in order to maximize their ability to achieve, opportunities must be given for the students to develop their mother tongue. Stonehill will actively seek ways to support mother tongue development by undertaking measures such as including specialist materials in the Library, providing space for small group tuition and facilitating the employment of instructors for after school tuition.
Native Hindi speakers will be supported with courses to develop Hindi to IB examination level.
Second Language:
The ability to communicate in a language other than English or one's mother tongue will be key to successful interaction in a rapidly globalising world. After careful consideration, Stonehill has decided to support Spanish and Mandarin as the two choices for second language acquisition. We believe both are languages of the future and will become increasingly important for commerce, political and cultural interaction.
Creative Arts:
Stonehill is committed to offering its learners a complete and balanced education. A key component of the learning experience is an innovative and stimulating creative arts programme.
Music, theatre, visual arts and dance are an integral part of life at Stonehill. We believe that the creative arts enrich people and communities and are critical to an understanding of global cultures and the common themes that unite societies. When children are given freedom to explore and express themselves through the arts, they become more accepting of differences, more open to new ideas and more prepared for life in the 21st century.
Physical Education:
Physical Education (PE) at Stonehill goes far beyond participation in sports and games. It's primary aim is to encourage the development of intelligent performers who understand and appreciate the importance of a balanced lifestyle. Through the Primary and Middle Years programmes, students are encouraged to develop critical thinking,
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