Curriculum
Curricula in Da Vinci's Intermational Primary School

Da Vinci's International Primary School implements the British International Primary Curriculum and the Polish curriculum approved by the Ministry of National Education in English, which is our language of instruction.

The programme of Da Vinci's International Primary School is much broader than the fields and requirements set in the Polish curriculum.

Knowledge of English is one of the school’s priorities. Apart from the fact that it is our language of instruction, additional English lessons are run by a bilingual native speaker.

Da Vinci's International Schools (Primary and High School) is a candidate school* for the International Baccalaureate (IB) MYP (Middle Years Programme) and IB DP (Diploma Programme) and pursuing authorization as an IB World School.

IB World Schools share a common philosophy - a commitment to improve the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering challenging, high quality programmes of international education that share a powerful vision**. 

* Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes visit http://www.ibo.org.

**Mission Statement from the IB
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

International Primary Curriculum (IPC)

IPC is an international curriculum supporting the learning process from early years. It is dedicated to teaching children aged between 3 and 12. Its goal is to make learning as pleasant as possible for the child and help them acquire soft skills, but also master academic knowledge.

IPC is applied in schools from over 90 countries worldwide.

IPC structure

International Primary Curriculum has been designed to organise learning in such a way as to connect all the information taught at school into a whole. It is possible thanks to dividing the curriculum into smaller thematic units. As we know, children learn the best when they really want to learn and the material to be acquired seems interesting to them. The IPC includes over 130 thematic units, among which every pupil will find one that they will really find interesting.

Every thematic unit incorporates different subjects: geography, history, art, music, computer science and technology, society, physical education and science such as mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics. Moreover, every unit has references to learning mother tongue and foreign language. Thanks to such a form, we can organise very interesting classes for the pupils, which let them develop and acquire the knowledge defined in the curriculum.

IPC thematic units

Thematic units are describes in a very detailed and ordered way. It provides pupils, teachers, and parents precise information on the subject of approaching class and the goals to be achieved that the pupils will strive for. IPC distinguishes three goal groups: subject, personal, and international learning.

The subject goals are to convey information on the knowledge the pupil will gain and the skills that will be developed or practiced. Teaching goals in most cases overlap with the goals of specific school subjects included in the Polish curriculum.

Reaching personal goals means development and discovering by the pupils such traits in themselves as:

Insight — asking questions is helpful in acquiring knowledge, and so is drawing conclusions on the basis of the received answers.

Flexibility — the ability to find oneself in different situations, especially unfavourable ones, and accepting new ideas, roles, and strategies. The ability of unconventional thinking.

Consistency — completing the undertaken actions. The ability to accept failures and undertake new attempts.

Morality — familiarity with moral problems that may appear while discussing various issues, and an approach of accepting other moral standards.

Communicativeness — expressing one’s thoughts freely and the ability to communicate with different tools. Knowledge of more than one language. The ability to communicate with a larger group of recipients.

Reflexion — the ability to notice problems appearing in the course of the learning process and application of various techniques of solving them. Awareness of one’s strengths and developing them, as well as understanding one’s vices and eliminating them.

Openness — the ability to notice different points of view, traditions, and cultures and use them, as well as understanding different types of human behaviour.

Respect — for people, animals and the nature. Understanding and considering the needs of others in one’s actions.

The variety of units makes it necessary to engage in various fields. Some topics will be covered for 6 to 8 weeks, and emphasis will be put e.g. on science with the omission of issues connected with art. Other units, also covered for several weeks, will focus on history and art and will omit scientific problems.

Such an approach to teaching allows focusing on specific problem entirely, without the necessity to shift from one topic to another during successive classes.

Method of work

Introduction — Every new thematic unit is introduced in an attractive way for the pupil, so that first contact with a new topic inspires interest and curiosity. Thanks to this, the pupils will participate in the learning process eagerly. Depending on the age and needs of the pupils, introduction may take an hour, a day, or even the entire week.

Harvest — At this stage we verify what the pupils know about the discussed topic. It may turn out that there will be a pupil who is particularly interested in the discussed topic and he or she will be able to help others a lot. This stage is very important and helpful as it helps plan activities properly, i.e. so that little time is spent on acquiring the skills that the pupils have mastered already.

Explanation — At this point the teacher discusses the details of the discussed problem.

Acquisition and use of knowledge — It is the main stage of the learning process. Pupils gain knowledge with various methods in different groups, and then use it, demonstrate it, explain it, and share it with others.

Ending — It is the time for summarising and systematising the knowledge gained by the pupils over the past weeks. At this stage the pupils also say goodbye to the topic in the form they choose.

International Primary Curriculum is based on the principle of block teaching, thanks to which the pupils do not switch from one subject to another all the time. Thanks to the application of thematic units, the entire knowledge gained by the pupils is coherent and inter-disciplinary.

The form of the classes is interesting and attractive for the pupils and lets them contribute to them and take active part in them, instead of only being a passive recipient of the messages sent by the teacher.

Thanks to a combination of IPC curriculum and active-learning methods, children do not only acquire knowledge. They also pursue their passions and interests, acquire numerous skills, from teamwork to public speaking and critical thinking, during the classes.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Albert Einstein