The International Section of DBST was founded in February 2012. The International Section offers quality education to students from Kindergarten to class 8. The IB PYP program is offered to students 3-11. The International section is taught in English with language classes offered to support the native …. and German classes to facilitate the transition to the German Section.
Early Years
From early childhood, students are ready to develop into open-minded learners and caring global citizens. Starting age 3, the PYP Early Years Program provides a safe and nurturing environment where curiosity and exploration are cultivated.
Our English-language Kindergarten section is a fully autonomous, spacious and separate section of the school with the necessary facilities to enable learning, playing, resting and much more.
Early Years
Ages 3-6
Primary
Ages 7-12
PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAM (PYP)
The IB Primary Years Program (PYP) for children aged 3-11 is an inquiry-based framework of teaching and learning that focuses on developing conceptual understanding. The PYP sees children as agents of their own learning, allowing them to develop critical thinking and self-reliance while also anchoring them as members of their home, school and world communities.
In the PYP, the Program of Inquiry is the transdisciplinary program for social sciences and earth sciences. Updated regularly, it defines the unit of inquiries for each class from KG1 to class 5. The POI is designed to foster agency, responsibility, empathy, team work and advocacy. In an IB system, students are involved in their learning - from creating tasks to designing their own evaluations. They learn to gather information from different sources and collate their findings using a variety of media. They collaborate with each other and involve their larger communities in order to develop an understanding of how their learning can impact the world.
Like every IB school worldwide, the International Section of DBST aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring adults who help create a better, more peaceful world through intercultural understanding. We develop working documents in line with IBO guidelines that articulate students’ learning in all areas of the curriculum. These documents encourage students to construct meaning, undertake agency for their own learning, embody the values of the IB learner profiles, work with others and develop a life-long appreciation for being learners.
The PYP Exhibition is the culmination of the Primary Years Program. It is an end of class 5 collaborative project where students pick a real-life issue or problem under the umbrella of a specific transdisciplinary theme. In teams, they devise a central idea and three lines of exploration to direct an inquiry into how this issue could be taught to others. They plan learning experiences and assessments. Guided by their teachers but with a focus on autonomy, they research their topic and provide solutions to their issue. The PYP Exhibition encapsulates the learning that has taken place throughout the PYP years while providing students an opportunity to show how they embody the qualities of the IB learner profile, act as agents of their learning and devise feasible solutions to contemporary problems we face as individuals and as communities.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
After the PYP, the International Section of DBST continues to offer education to teenagers in grades 6 through 8. Modeled largely on the IB Middle Years Program, the middle school curriculum includes a rich variety of subject matters and continues to engage students to think critically, develop agency and grow into internationally-minded young adults. Students in middle school must transfer into the German section starting grade 9.
Middle School
Ages 12-15
EAL
English as an Additional Language
The English as an Additional Language (EAL) department is an integral part of the IB system designed to help students meet curriculum requirements in speaking, reading, writing and listening in English. During EAL classes, expert teachers help students whose first language is not English, or who require additional academic instruction, through a range of activities where they practice and build on their language skills. EAL requirements are evaluated at the beginning of each academic year, with the goal of bringing students up to par based on their individual needs. When required, EAL lessons replace Farsi and/or German language lessons.
POSITIVE DISCIPLINE
At the core of positive discipline is the belief that punishment is designed to make children pay for their mistakes, while positive discipline can help children learn from them. In our classrooms, positive discipline promotes positive decision making, teaching expectations to children early, and discussing how positive behaviors help us to handle personal issues in a way that feels rewarding. Quotes on the side:
Where did we ever get the crazy idea that in order to make children do better, first we have to make them feel worse? Children do better when they feel better.” Jane Nelsen
POSITIVE DISCIPLINE
Positive discipline for parents – The positive discipline model is equally a toolkit for parents to use at home. Positive discipline works best when parents, teachers, and childcare providers work together to provide a secure, consistent environment for children. While the activities and strategies for parents may differ, the core philosophy remains the same:
- creating safe spaces for vulnerability
- identifying what makes us upset
- talking about our challenges
- accepting mistake-making
- celebrating diversity of perspectives
- building positive, mutually respectful relationships with each other.