International Baccalaureate

To learn more, please visit www.ibo.org.

Founded in 1968 the International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation, which offers four high quality and challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools. For close to 50 years, IB programmes have gained a reputation for their rigour and high academic standards, for preparing students for life in a globalized 21st century, and for helping to develop citizens who will create a better, more peaceful world. Currently, more than 1,3 million IB students attend over 4,500 schools in 147 countries.

Curriculum overview

A commitment to excellence

AaIS has designed a transdisciplinary curriculum that draws together individual subject disciplines into a coherent whole. Our teaching aims to bring together research, best practice and a wealth of knowledge and experience in international education to create a curriculum which is relevant, challenging and engaging. Instruction is in English with support for mother tongue students. As well as Norwegian, students will learn an additional language.

Throughout the primary school students work on transdisciplinary units of inquiry. Each year, students work within six different themes that are universally important. This approach gives students the opportunity to learn important concepts without the restriction of subject boundaries. The organising themes for the Units of Inquiry are: 

“Who we are”, “Where we are in place and time”, “How we express ourselves”, “How the world works”, “How we organize ourselves” and “Sharing the planet”. 

 

Incorporated in these transdisciplinary themes are six further specific areas: language, mathematics, science, social studies, art and personal, social and physical education. While emphasis on subject disciplines will vary depending on individual units, coverage of concepts, knowledge, skills and attitudes is ensured through comprehensive curriculum mapping.

The middle school teaches the national curriculum of Norway in an interdisciplinary way that encourages Holistic Learning, Intercultural Awareness and Communication. We aim to build character alongside academic learning.

Students at AaIS learn through investigation (inquiry). The programme is a student-centred system that tries to educate children as a whole, focusing on social participation and responsibility, as well as academic skills. This is most evident in the Learner Profile which is a set of ten attributes that the programme tries to develop in all students. 

These attributes are: Inquirers,Knowledgeable,Thinkers,Communicators,Principled,Open-Minded,Caring,Risk-Takers,Balanced,Reflective

Languages

AaIS language of instruction is English. Norwegian language lessons are apart of the student’s weekly schedule. The total number of Norwegian lessons AaIS students experience is equivalent to that of local schools and in alignment with Norwegian law requirements.

We support students’ language development in a number of ways. Initially, we assess students language level and then place based on proficiency in either the Language and Literature (L.L.) or the Language Acquisition (L.A.).

  • Language and Literature (L.L.)-Students placed in either Norwegian or English L.L. classes have a higher language proficiency.
  • Language Acquisition (L.A.)-Students placed in either Norwegian or English L.A. classes have a need to develop foundational language skills. It is our goal to support L.A. students to transition into L.L. classes.
  • Mother-tongue support-It is our aim that students will receive mother-tongue support from a native speaker weekly in developing Norwegian language, based on availability.
Currently we offer Spanish lessons during the school day and separate beginner/intermediate Spanish Clubs after school (please see Spanish Club).

Inclusion

AaIS has a highly qualified Inclusion Team made up of
  • Specialized Inclusion Teachers (Spesialpedagog),
  • Inclusion Teachers
  • Inclusion Assistants (Miljøarbeider)
 
Inclusive education happens when students with and without special needs participate in a learning process together in the same classes.
AaIS Inclusion Team helps children who need extra support either academically and/or social-emotionally.

Physical Education

For developing the personal growth and physical activity of our students AaIS offers a variety of opportunities such as:

  • Large sports hall
  • Outdoor sport and access to external sports arena
  • Swimming lessons (Years 3 and 7)
  • Skiing (annual Ski Day)

Well qualified staff at AaIS encourage students to enjoy sports and participate in different kinds of activities, helping to experience the advantages of both individual and team work, as well as competition and self-discipline.

It is also possible to rent our sportshall for different purposes. Contact aais@aais.no for inquiries.