Middle School
TYIS
Curriculum
The foundation of our curriculum at TYIS is based on learning outcomes and content standards from a North American perspective.
Our standards, which include the Common Core, are further adapted to focus on a cohesive learning progression across grades to ensure that students master the knowledge necessary to succeed at each level.
Our rigorous curriculum provides opportunities for students to acquire new skills and knowledge in order to express themselves in unique ways.
In addition to the core subjects of study (Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies), co-curricular classes integrate with the curriculum to enrich and enhance the content of the and overall student learning experience. Co-curricular classes are provided once a week for all grade levels and include physical education, swimming, music, art, computer skills and Japanese.
TYIS incorporates a variety of social and life skill-oriented activities and events throughout the school year to increase the quality of student experience. This includes but is not limited to our annual fall and ski camps, the science fair and science field trip to a Japanese school, all school spelling bee, talent show, sports day, seasonal spring concert, and our essential core values program.
Additionally, an ongoing professional development program and evaluation system supports teacher growth in areas such as pedagogy (the study of how best to teach), inclusion and equity, technology, and discipline-specific knowledge.
Overall, the TYIS curriculum incorporates an ambitious focus on developing young learners into becoming independent, creative and proactive global citizens who understand the importance of high academic achievement and acting as responsible global citizens.
Middle School Curriculum
Our middle school curriculum aims to transition maturing students into becoming independent critical thinkers with the academic and social-emotional skills needed to succeed in high school and beyond. We want students to develop positive attitudes and beliefs about themselves as learners. We prompt them to develop behaviors and routines to set and meet goals, do quality work and seek support to overcome challenges and obstacles.
From this secondary school level, students independently transition from class to class, engaging deeply with core subjects like language arts, math, science, and social studies, all taught by subject-specialist teachers. In addition to these, they participate in a diverse array of co-curricular classes including swimming, physical education, art, music, information technology, and Japanese. These classes are specifically designed to challenge and engage young adolescents. Students conduct hands-on experiments in our science lab, create electronic music on their laptops during music classes, and collaborate to plan a three-day middle school field trip. Each activity is aimed at teaching practical and valuable realworld
skills that prepare them for future challenges.
As students mature, they must have opportunities to experience more autonomy and have a voice in their studies and school life. Middle school students have the opportunity to contribute to school event planning committees, choose from elective classes such as cooking, tennis, psychology, or language courses, and to engage with their community in service learning projects. In addition, we offer a three-day outdoor education camping excursion to our campground at Lake Nojiri, where students can engage with the outdoors in new ways, such as kayaking and sailing.
Our middle school students come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it is important to foster a sense of global citizenship and responsibility and to encourage international awareness and understanding. We acknowledge the fact that middle school students are going through transformational stages of development and TYIS is dedicated to providing the support necessary to navigate these challenges. At TYIS we believe in a holistic approach to education that enables all students to thrive in both their academic and emotional development, and that values the uniqueness of each and every student.
Testing
TYIS students are assessed using formative and summative strategies throughout the school year in all subject areas.
Parents are informed of progress through classroom teacher communication, three report card cycles, classroom blogs and Parent/Teacher conferences.
Additionally, TYIS incorporates i-Ready, an online program that offers tailored lessons in language arts and math, adjusting to each student's skill level.
This is an additional reporting structure to reflect student progress and provide ongoing academic support throughout the year.
Students also take computer-based quizzes after reading books in the Accelerated Reader program.