CURRICULUM

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAMME

Qatar Academy is committed to the development of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) from Preschool 3 to Grade 5, ages 3-11. Qatar Academy Primary School was officially authorized by the IB in April 2004.

The Academy has developed its own units of inquiry and students meet up to six units of inquiry every school year. Arts, physical education , and information technology are offered as separate subjects.

The Primary Year Programme provides an opportunity for learners to construct meaning, principally through concept-driven inquiry.

Traditional academic subjects are part of the PYP but it emphasizes the interrelatedness of knowledge and skills through a trans-disciplinary program of inquiry. The PYP focuses on the heart as well as the mind and addresses social, physical, emotional and cultural needs as well as academic ones.

The Key features of the Primary School curriculum are:

International perspective: in order to make the most of the diversity of background and experience of our students, Qatar Academy Primary has chosen the PYP as it synthesizes the best practice from education systems around the world and aims to ease the child's transition between schools.
Inquiry-based: our teaching methods build on students' individual knowledge and interests, and emphasize learning how to learn and how to find out, using both traditional and contemporary media.
Integrated: the subject areas of language arts, science, social studies and technology are taught through interdisciplinary themes in order to help the students make connections between the subjects, thereby facilitating more effective learning.
Individualized: around the PYP framework we have developed a detailed program reflecting our student population and our location in Qatar.

Our aim is to nurture globally-minded citizens who are:

communicators
thinkers
inquirers
risk-takers
knowledgeable
principled
caring
open-minded
balanced
reflective

Our aim is to promote the following attitudes:

appreciation
commitment
confidence
cooperation
creativity
curiosity
empathy
enthusiasm
independence
integrity
respect
tolerance

The development of the following skills is fostered:

thinking
communication
socializing
research
self-management

Students are encouraged to put what they have learned into practice through service to the school community, the local community and the global community

The subject areas that students at Qatar Academy study are:

Arts	Visual arts Music Drama
Languages	Language of instruction: English Host country language: Arabic
Maths	Data handling Measurement Number Shape and space Problem solving
Personal and Social Education	Physical Education Health and safety Interaction with others Organization for learning
Science and Technology	Living Things Earth and space Materials Forces and energy Design technology Information technology
Social Studies	History Geography Society

For more information on the IB Primary Years Programme please visit the IB's website, www.ibo.org, or contact the Roula Fallaha, PYP Coordinator. email: rfallaha@qf.org.qa