Education of Middle school｜OKINAWA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

A year’s course consists of a combination of history and social science courses split into six units. In keeping with the IB’s mission of developing higher-order thinking from an early age, inquiry-based classes enable learners to grasp key concepts. In addition to the international curriculum, OIS places great value on students’ study, appreciation, and experience of Okinawan culture. Through collaborative classes, such as an interdisciplinary unit between history and music, we provide a creative, student-led learning environment with small class sizes supporting productive discussions and novel ideas.

MYP English language acquisition classes, looking ahead to the IB Diploma Program, aim for students to achieve EIKEN Pre-1 as early as possible. In order to prepare learners for international standard language proficiency exams such as TOEFL or IELTS, the curriculum averages 120 class hours per year.

OIS MYP Science curriculum is designed to captivate students’ imaginations and inspire a lifelong love of learning. Under the key concepts of systems, relationships, and change, we delve into a diverse array of topics that reveal the fascinating principles behind what may initially seem like magic. We encourage students to embrace a hands-on approach to learning, fostering deeper understanding and retention. As we always say: “Just listening leads to forgetting, seeing leads to remembering, and doing leads to understanding.” This philosophy shapes our dynamic and interactive classes, motivating students to tackle challenging topics with enthusiasm. Through engaging experiments and explorations, students awaken their curiosity and discover the joy of learning.

OIS values service learning as a tool to help both students and staff develop as concerned global citizens. We believe that each and every opportunity and experience provides learners with new perspectives and insight and develops an internationally educated individual who can lead society to peace with dignity, gratitude, responsibility, understanding, and a cooperative heart.

Students will study and analyze the texts of literary
works from various regions, periods, and genres as well as non-literary works such as newspapers and posters. Students will approach and investigate these texts from various perspectives, including language, characters, authors, and historical backgrounds, and will have opportunities to express themselves not only through written compositions, but also through a variety of other methods such as presentations and videos. Through these activities, students will foster their creative reading and writing skills along with communication and presentation skills.

Multicultural understanding and appreciation are essential in the study of the arts. Students with active hearts and minds are successful in this creative process, so, on occasion, we play salsa music at the beginning of class to uplift everyone’s spirits. Our comprehensive visual arts curriculum provides learners with a superb aesthetic sense to appreciate, analyze, and create works of art.

MYP Design class focuses more on the overall design process than on the final product or solution. The core of design is inquiry and problem solving. The design curriculum model is used to structure inquiry and analyze problems, develop and create feasible solutions, and test and evaluate them.

Since most subjects in MYP are conducted in English, students are expected to meet a standard level of English proficiency from their time of enrollment.
Additionally, as our curriculum raises students’ language aptitude, our learners take EIKEN tests to measure their progress.
While aiming for EIKEN Pre-1 and 1, students also contend for high scores on TOEFL Jr. and IBT.
They also work to pass a wide variety of other proficiency tests such as KANKEN, a kanji aptitude test.

Community projects are a culmination of events for middle school education that provides students an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to social service and service in action. Personal projects are a culmination of events that provide students the opportunity to demonstrate the achievement of their inquiry.

Community projects are a culmination of events for middle school education that provides students an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to social service and service in action. Personal projects are a culmination of events that provide students the opportunity to demonstrate the achievement of their inquiry.

PBL (Problem-Based Learning) is one of the leading methods of inquiry-based learning.
It is characterized by the creation of a product (project) by students to solve a real-world problem.
(E.g.,What are stock charts and candlestick charts, Using software to create anime songs, Improving one’s nature photography skills, World poverty, Learning 2D model software etc.).
OIS implements PBL with an innovative approach that aligns with the U.N ‘s SDGs with the goal of contributing to the world community.
Our consistent student-centered learning style enables students themselves to design their project ideas and educators to support them as facilitators.
Through these progressive learning experiences, students will develop an intrinsic lifelong interest in learning and acquire important skills needed for the future such as creative thinking, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.