According to IB: Students develop through creating, performing and presenting arts in ways that engage and convey feelings, experiences and ideas.

Visual Arts at Wedgewood Park: Students develop an appreciation for their cultural heritage and personal histories while exploring arts traditions from other cultures. Art projects allow for creative decision-making and solutions, while exploring the study of IB concepts such as identity, communication, and personal expression. Students develop their art-making skills in a wide range of art media and materials, reflecting on the work they create through the development of a portfolio of work.

Performing Arts at Wedgewood Park: Students are introduced to music terminology and learn to read and write music: composing metered rhythms using the proper count and musical characters and working across diverse musical genres. Multiple performance opportunities are available in our band, choral, and orchestral ensembles. Content, teaching approaches, and assessments in our music curriculum support the learner profile in terms of building inquiry and knowledge, developing critical thinking skills, as well as the practice of reflection. Students become open-minded communicators who understand music as a universal language.

According to IB: Students apply practical and creative thinking skills to solve design problems, explore the role of design in both historical and contemporary contexts, and consider their responsibilities when making design decisions and acting on them.    

Design at Wedgewood Park: Students explore computer science and design curriculum in our Project Lead The Way laboratory. Through project-based learning experiences, students learn about digital citizenship and Internet safety. They learn to use computer hardware and software, analysis, and teamwork to solve engineering challenges in courses such as:

• Computer Science for Innovators and Makers (6th grade)
• Design & Modeling (7th grade)
• Automation and Robotics (8th grade)

Students develop stronger word processing, research, and communication skills that help them work through problems, find solutions, and share results. Applying these skills to their final project, students grow as IB inquirers, independent thinkers, communicators, and risk takers. The design-cycle experience prepares students for advanced high school courses and encourages them to become principled and open-minded global citizens.

According to IB: Individuals and societies incorporates disciplines traditionally studied in the humanities, as well as disciplines in the social sciences.  

Individuals and Societies at Wedgewood Park: Our curriculum spans continents and centuries as students debate what it means to be a knowledgeable citizen, further their thinking abilities, and remain open-minded to other ways of looking at cultures. They read, analyze, and respond to novels, speeches, and primary documents from Southeast Asia to the Civil Rights Era, seeking commonalities between their own and other cultures. As students move through the curriculum, they collect and organize data, draw inferences and conclusions, and use divergent thinking to explore more complex issues. Equipped with skills and knowledge to solve problems and make informed decisions as global citizens, students organize and share their thoughts in analytical, thesis, and research-based assignments. 

According to IB: Studying a new language provides students with the opportunity to develop insights into the features, processes and craft of language and the concept of culture. Students realize that there are diverse ways of living, viewing and behaving in the world.  

Language Acquisition at Wedgewood Park: Students have the possibility of learning either French or Spanish during their time at Wedgewood Park. As they learn a new language, students build relationships between languages and cultures and truly embrace the IB principle of “international mindedness.” Language studies include an exploration of Spanish, Latin American, and Francophone cultures’ music, film, architecture, literature, and politics. Communicating in English, Spanish, and French presents vast educational and professional opportunities to students. 

“Learning to speak another’s language means taking one’s place in the human community. It means reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Language is far more than a system to be explained. It is our most important link to the world around us. Language is culture in motion. It is people interacting with people.”

—Sandra J. Savignon “Communicative Language Teaching” (1983)

According to IB: Language is central to the development of critical thinking. Critical thinking cultivates intercultural understanding and responsible membership in local, national and global communities.  

Language and Literature at Wedgewood Park: Students read and discuss literature from diverse cultures and genres: short stories, eyewitness accounts, poetry, plays, and novels. Learners respond to texts in guided essays, creative writing, and research papers. Discussing ethical and moral issues and making personal connections between what they know and what they read, students use inquiry, open-minded communication, critical thinking, and reflection to take responsibility for their own ideas and learning. 

According to IB: MYP mathematics promotes both inquiry and application, helping students to develop problem-solving techniques that transcend discipline and that are useful in the world beyond school. The MYP mathematics framework encompasses number, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, statistics and probability.  

Mathematics at Wedgewood Park: Students learn that math can be practical and personal, flexible, and multicultural. Mathematical processes become opportunities for problem-solving and community-building. Students design surveys and games, convert recipes from other cuisines and cultures, and use volume and surface area to explore the environmental impact of food packaging and pricing. These activities require learners to take risks and demonstrate flexibility as they experiment with multiple strategies and tools: manipulatives, graphic organizers, and calculators. Students propose solutions and show their work in written responses and group presentations, becoming math communicators and critical thinkers.  

According to IB: Physical and health education empowers students to understand and appreciate the value of being physically active and to develop the motivation for making healthy life choices.   

Physical and Health Education at Wedgewood Park: Through engaging activities and lessons, students develop basic skills that are transferable to other situations: teamwork, self-motivation, critical thinking, and reflection. Working independently and in teams, students become effective problem solvers who can set realistic goals as well as evaluate personal and group progress.

According to IB: The MYP sciences framework encourages students to investigate issues through research, observation, and experimentation, working independently and collaboratively.  

Sciences at Wedgewood Park: Students make connections between scientific concepts and real-world issues. Sustainability, technology’s impact on society, and health trends local to global are units of study and problems to solve. Students become investigators, data analysts, researchers, and intercultural communicators who design experiments and collaborative projects that promote teamwork and interpersonal skills, essential for scientific discourse. They develop critical thinking skills to analyze data and evaluate outcomes. Through a framework that values inquiry, collaboration, and real-world application, students develop a comprehensive understanding of scientific principles that prepares them for the academic and societal challenges ahead.