How excited would you be to come back to school to see your friends who are literally from around the world? You would also be meeting new students from Syria, Russia, Turkey, South Africa, Belgium and many other countries. That’s exactly what’s happening in the Middle School.

ACS Hillingdon is a candidate for the Middle Years Programme (MYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB) this year. As defined by the IB, the MYP is a "programme of international education designed to help students develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and responsibly in a changing world.” We plan to have a pre-authorisation visit from the IB next semester and we hope to be authorised for the 2009-2010 school year.

The excitement this year revolves around Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the new schedule. Students are taking eight subjects in two days, with each subject given the same amount of class time. To accommodate the eight subjects of the MYP programme, both the Middle School and High School have changed schedules to an eight-day rotating block timetable. The schedule is designed to give students and teachers more contact time together because there are fewer movements between classes during the day.

With the new schedule come new implementations of all-school activities such as all-school assemblies to celebrate birthdays, international holidays and to recognise students who demonstrate characteristics of the Learner Profile. The assemblies will also give students opportunities to lead and teach one another about their cultures.

Beyond the school day, our students are involved in numerous activities, including sports, after school clubs, a Native Language Enrichment (NLE) programme and Saturday activities. Students at ACS have many options open to them. You will not hear parents say that their child does not have anything to do. Parents and students need to decide what to do and not to do; with so many options come difficult choices.

At ACS, we pride ourselves in the rigor of our academic programme. We are proud that our students not only learn in the classrooms, but also beyond the classroom. The Grade 8 students will be going to Outward Bound in Wales to do an Adventure and Challenge course. Outward Bound says this course “is about young people pushing themselves beyond their expectations, achieving things that they never thought possible and working together to meet new challenges.” We believe that the world is our classroom: there is no limit. Grades 5 through7 will be taking their extended trips in the spring.

As a community of international educators, parents and students, we all learn from one another, whether it is something cultural or an entirely new programme such as the MYP. It is a growing and learning experience for all of us and you sense that the moment that you walk down the hallways in our school.