Good afternoon,

One area of IB that I have a great deal of admiration for is the concept of teaching to the 'whole child'.  In the IB Primary Youth Program (PYP) it has known that a child cannot properly develop when their academic side is the only area that is being challenged.  Instead, the PYP asks students and teachers to challenge themselves emotionally, academically and socially to become the most well-rounded, successful, happy and independent adults they can be.  As we know, life is not only about how well you can score on a test.  To be happy and successful we also must know how to connect with people, understand the world around us and be active in our own learning and success.  These initiatives we have in our daily lives share the vision of the PYP and are the framework used to create their pathway for success.
Students at St. Jude's are now nominating their peers for showing characteristics such as balanced, or principled.  Students at St. Jude's are taking their learning and putting it into real life situations.  Students at St. Jude's are introduced to a topic and creating their own paths towards inquiry.  These steps are possible because of the wonderful students we have the pleasure of working with everyday, the amazing staff at SJA and also because of the visions of the IB PYP.

Have a great weekend,

Mrs. Nelson