The International Baccalaureate
Middle Years Program

In the fall of 2002 Greer Middle School began the process of implementing the Middle Years Program (MYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB).  We are a prospective MYP school—expecting full authorization in the spring of 2005. 

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) attempts to tie schools together with a common thread and curricular emphasis.  Our MYP is based on three fundamental concepts outlined my IBO:

1.   Internationalism (stressing intercultural awareness and appreciation)

2.   Holistic Learning (focusing on how different subject areas are related—not separate)

3.   Communication (learning how to communicate in a variety of formats and languages for a variety of purposes)

A student’s participation in Greer Middle’s MYP will better equip him or her for success in Greer High School’s IB Diploma Program (DP).  The DP was started in the 1960’s and focuses on pre-university preparation for eleventh and twelfth graders by offering them a more rigorous curriculum.  For more information on the DP, visit Greer High School’s website (www.greenville.k12.sc.us/greerhs). 

Greer Middle’s MYP works to make a student’s education more applicable to the “real world.”  This is accomplished through the five Areas of Interaction (AOI).  The AOI serve to re-focus the traditional curriculum and make it more applicable to different areas of our lives.  The five Areas of Interaction are

·      Creative Genius (CG) 

CG deals with the area of creation. It explores the reasons man creates along with the outcomes, benefits, and consequences of those creations. Students focusing on this Area of Interaction would be producing some product throughout the unit or at the end of the unit.

·      Approaches to Learning (ATL)

ATL focuses on developing and perfecting study skills. Students would be reflecting on questions such as:

How do I learn best?

How do I know?

How do I communicate my understanding?

ATL goes beyond Study Skills and broadens into collaborative skills, communication, information literacy, reflection, problem solving/ thinking skills, and conceptual understanding. 

·      Environment (ENV)

This area deals with the environment in which we live. It focuses on conservation and the choices man makes that affect the environment around us.

·      Health and Social Education (HSE) 

Health and Social Education focuses on the student’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual well-being. The IBO believes that “Integrating health and social education throughout the curriculum and school life aims to prepare students for life by developing their ability to make choices from alternatives and to evaluate and make decisions about health hazards which they may face”  ⁽Areas of Interaction. International Baccalaureate Organization 2000. Geneva, Switzerland).

·      Community and Service (CAS)       

This final area of interaction deals with the student’s role in the community. Classes viewing the curriculum through this Area of Interaction would focus on how that lesson and/or project relates to the community. Students are required to complete a specific number of community service hours each year. By actually performing service for the community, students understand the connection between what they are studying and how it affects their community.  At Greer Middle, sixth graders are required to complete 15 hours each year, seventh graders 20 hours, and eighth graders 25 hours. 

Greer Middle provides many in-house Community and Service opportunities for our students.  Here is what we’ve accomplished so far in 2004:

·      Greer Middle students raised over $500 for the Red Cross’s Hurricane Relief Fund

·      GMS and the Greer Christian Learning Center participated in Operation Christmas Child which collected 8,879 shoe boxes filled with gifts and supplies for the world’s neediest kids

·      GMS eighth graders collected newspapers for the Greenville Humane society

·      GMS students helped clean at Kids’ Planet and the school as part of Make a Difference Day on October 23^rd

·      GMS sixth graders collected and shipped supplies to Romanian orphans

·      GMS sixth graders wrote letters of appreciation to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan (including former GMS students)

·      The GMS Beta Club is sponsoring a can food drive to benefit Greer Community Ministries December 6-16.

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Greer Middle School

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