Our practices aim to promote sustainable and independent learning, critical thinking, decision making and ethical discussions that prepare students to be responsible for their learning journey.
Each project aims to develop the student’s capacity to understand a bigger concept,
strength and expand competencies while promoting character principles for life.
Students learn best when their social and emotional wellbeing is cared for at school, in a safe space to learn about and practice SEL competencies. Advisory serves as this critical element of our program where students explore 5 elements of SEL: Self Management, Self Awareness, Responsible Decision Making, Relationship skills and Social Awareness.
Middle School's Social Studies curriculum is based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a collection of 17 global goals for the year 2030, including climate action and quality education.
Students rotate through our Arts & Design wheel, by Learning Period to build core competencies in music, drama, visual arts & design. These rotations help create more informed trajectories as students enter into High School.
Personalized Learning
Our curriculum includes Personalized Learning courses in which students may choose unique subjects focusing on their areas of interest. Thus, they may explore different strands of knowledge, allowing them to build a curriculum based on the path they want to follow in their future studies or careers. The courses are taught on a quarterly, semesterly, or year long duration, offering a variety of activities that go beyond academic subjects, from arts and technology to political and environmental concerns.
The ISC Academy has more than 110 fee-based and non-fee based activities available for students of all ages. Besides sports, it offers a wide range of enriching activities for students, from arts and crafts, to technology and clubs. For Middle School students, there are more than 20 options, such as Choir, Google Science Fair and the 3D Printing Club.
All Middle School students are language learners and all Middle School teachers are language teachers. One of the most critical elements of learning is acquiring the academic language necessary to understand the concepts being taught. We welcome students with all levels of language into our Middle School. Students with language needs can access extensive support from a team of skilled professionals across the disciplines.
Middle School students at ISC engage in a rich and diverse curriculum that is divided by disciplines: Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, English, Portuguese, Brazilian History and Geography, Arts and Design, and Physical Education and Health. These are supplemented by our Advisory, Silent Sustained Reading, and Personalized Learning courses.
Owain Phillips is an educational leader with over fifteen years of experience in the United States, Poland, Japan and now Brazil. He has led the Middle/School for the last two years, focusing collective efforts to diversify personalized learning, implement Standards-Referenced Assessment and strengthen the Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) program.
