January - April

Tasks to complete during the 2nd half of the school year as a MYP coordinator

Administrative

• IBIS Deadline for Projects (20th of April for May session students and 20th of October for November session students)

• Projects presentations (typically in March/early April)

There are a number of ways to present from a large convention style fair setting to virtual room presentations to classroom/smaller audience settings. As my school is smaller, we use the classroom with smaller audience setting. It gives time for feedback to students and gives every student a fair opportunity to talk about their project.

• If your school does eAssessments ensure that you have a:

  • quiet location for exams

  • policy for how students will take the exams (either on their personal computer or in a computer lab)

  • schedule for invigilation.

• Set up a timeline/guidance for progress/end of year reports

Make sure to talk with curriculum leads before, during and after the process. Their input is really valuable. Also ensure they are part of the editing and revising process. I have also found that a screencast walking teachers through the report step by step is extremely helpful in answering many of the questions.

• Plan out your second PD/inset day. This should be in coordination with the leadership team and should be based on your school’s action plan and vision. You may consider having someone from the IB come to give a workshop for the school. Applications for in-school workshops are through IBIS.

Staff

• Work with PYP coordinator (or primary lead) to develop the transition of primary students into MYP for next year. See Alison Yang’s website on PYP to MYP transitions.

• Work with DP coordinator (or high school lead) to develop the transition of MYP students into DP/high school for next year. See the following two helpful resources:

  • IBO’s guide to transition

  • Helpful video for transitions

• Begin to develop a curriculum review cycle for end of year to focus on: subject group overview, assessment and unit plan reviews. Perhaps consider some extended time for work. This is a good time for teachers to review when it is fresh in their minds before holidays.

• Projects must be moderated by the school before sending to the IB. It would be best moderated in groups of 3 and meeting time needs to be used for the moderation.

The moderation can be done before or after the presentations, although the teachers at my school find it useful to see the presentations before doing moderation. Shown below is a sample moderation sheet to use.

Sample moderation template for the personal project. To use, go to the link, click on File> Make a Copy or File > Download. Please do not ask for editing permission.

• Talk with the languages teams near the reports to confirm any students moving up phases/moving to Language and Literature. Confirm the languages team have clear standards for having students moving phases.

It is best to have a window of time to move into a new phase. It should not be allowed any time in the year. This will cut down on the need for parent discussions with the MYP Coordinator about when their child can move up a phase.

Parents

• Connect with parents through a weekly or monthly newsletter about the MYP.

• Highlight features of MYP in workshops and webinars including: Learner Profile, ATL skills, social/emotional learning, supporting children at home, inquiry in the MYP, assessment in the MYP, advantages of the MYP, explaining the projects, how MYP prepares students for DP, next steps after MYP.

  I consider webinars and workshops to be different. Webinars are disseminating information without much feedback, usually a 15-30 minute talk and short Q/A, where the parents can watch from home. Workshops typically are longer and are face to face, anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours involving the parents through discussions from the material.

  You should not be doing this all by yourself. Utilise your curriculum leads, pastoral leads, middle leaders and teachers for guidance and expertise. They could and should also be leading workshops for parents.

• Invite parents to be guest speakers for different units. It is great to have one location of contacts and expertise the parents can provide. You will then have a reusable list for teachers to consider any time a specific topic comes up that a parent could come in to talk with students.

• Invite parents for end of unit celebrations/open days to see/participate in the learning.

Students

• Meet with students about their service as action goals for the year, as well as their personalised learning goals. This can also be led by the pastoral team or service coordinator.

• Coordinate with students to help organise the special events, either through homeroom or their projects class.

• Have students reflect on their personalised learning goals.