Core subject curricula

Core subjects are those considered the most academically important and therefore given the most weight on the timetable and scheduled at times most ideal for concentration (usually in the morning). Three of these core sujects - Mathematics, (natural) Science and English language - follow curricula for the Cambridge Primary Program (CPP). Information Technology will join soon with the Cambridge ICT program. Although the CPP does not include social science, MIS considers this, in the form of geography, history and interdisiplinerary humanities also as core.

Core subject teachers are all native English speaking education professionals with a background in that discipline. The teacher is supported by a local graduate teaching assistant, who helps with classroom management, administration and materials preparation, leaving the teacher to concentrate on preparing and delivering motivating and productive lessons.

Learning through the use of multiple intelligences requires that resources for each subject include not just visual textbooks, but also tactile tools and games, audio-visual content, interactive computer CD Roms and art materials. Our resource stock is regularly updated from stockists in Singapore.

Our five core subjects are ...

English Language

The MIS English program prepares students to sit the IGCSE exam in English as a second language. Native speaker children or non-native speakers with exceptional English language ability may also apply to take English as a first language and English Literature, but this is rare. English language book resources include Graded Reader sets, an SRA Reading Laboratory, popular class reader titles for upper primary (e.g. I am David and The Cay). We tailor the needs of each grade level with skill-specific work in reading and listening, vocabulary and cloze and particularly in the skill of writing and composition, using a variety of skill-specific texts published in the UK, Austalia and Singapore. English lessons are also holistic and aimed at whole-bodied, multi-sensory, and mulitiple-intelligence learning. Therefore, they often involve ...

• art and practical work, using the school's extensive art resources.
• audio / visual material from a large collection of children films and documentaries from BBC, Disney and Scholastic, in addition to current subscription to a cable TV package offering Discovery, Animal Planet, BBC World and The Disney Channel.
• audio material from a growing collection of audio-accompanied class- and graded- readers such as Harry Potter, Robinson Crusoe, Tom Sawyer and Frankenstein, specifically designed to develope listening skills.
• the development of autonomous research skills using library and internet resources. Library resources include Oxford Children’s Encyclopedia set and sets of both Collins and Heinemann dictionaries. Internet resources include Computer CD ROMs of Jumpstart complete series (grade 1-6), Reading and Writing Blaster, Spell it !, Computer Classroom, Rosetta Stone, Dr Seuss, Primary English and Reading for Literacy.

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Mathematics

Our main mathematics textbooks include UK-published Ginn Maths (Year 1-6) and the complete range of Ginn supplementary resources, My Pals are Here grades 1-6, Maths Guide 1-6 and several other Singapore-purchased textbooks compatible with that country’s IGCSE 'O' level-aimed curriculum. Secondary use UK-published Mathematics Matters as preparation for the IGCSE exams.

Mathematics is about understanding the abstract. But for a child to achieve this they need to start with the concrete and the tangible, using materials and tools they can touch, explore and manipulate and, by doing so, grasp the underlying concepts. We integrate a wide range of tactile resources and activities into the curriculum, including number cubes, western and Chinese abacuses, base 10 cube sets, meter rulers, volumetric 3D shapes sets, geometry sets, large protractors and squares, scientific calculators, cuisenaire rods, balances and weights, domino sets and a wide range of numeracy games specific to each grade level.

Maths learning is also supported by our IT department from as early as Kindergarten, in the form of CD ROM Maths practise software including Jump Start pre-school to grade 6, Leap Ahead Maths (Learning Company) and Maths Made Easy (Nightingale Press, Australia)

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Natural Science

The MIS Science program follows the Cambridge Primary Program curriculum and uses material taken from the widely-respected (UK-published) Ginn Science program and (Singapore-published) My Pals are Here. Lower Secondary classes follow the Cambridge Checkpoint program leading to IGCSE preparation, using UK-published 'Matters' textbook series for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Science is also supported by a range of resources and activities promoting interest, realism, interactivity and multiple-inteligence learning. Frequent practical lessons occur in our equipped science laboratory. Audio/visual resources include a large collection of children’s films and documentaries from BBC, Disney and Scholastic, in addition to current subscription to cable TV package offering Discovery, Animal Planet, BBC World and The Disney Channel. Our library reference resources include Heinemann Illustrated Science Encyclopedia set, CD-Rom encyclopedia sets and over 500 non-fiction book titles, both series and individual books on all areas of natural and human sciences and the world around us. Our IT center resources include CD ROMs from DK, Scholastic, and Mars Publishers, including Mad about Science, Encyclopedia of Science and Encyclopedia of Nature. As in all subjects, children are encouraged to develop pro-active self-study skills and skills in library and internet research.

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Humanities (Social Sciences)

This section is awaiting content and will be available soon.

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Information Technology (IT)

Our computer center contains 8 side-by-side student PC terminals, all with unlimited broadband internet, printer and file sharing access via a network. All student terminals constantly run a browser filter, denying access to inappropriate sites. There is a large whiteboard for simultaneous teacher instruction, often using laptop to LCD projector. We have an extensive collection of CD Rom educational software for all levels and ages, including US and UK publications such as DK, Scholastic, Mars and Knowledge Adventure publishers.

The IT program begins in Kindergarten, where children begin to use the interactive CD-Rom Jumpstart. This colourful package of integrated lessons developes general computer confidence and mouse skills while reinforcing and practising basic phonics and numeracy. Primary classes start with local navigation, creating and maintaining filing systems, using MS Word and the basics of internet navigation. Secondary classes progress to program-specific modules in Power Point, Excel, Access and to Basic and Advanced HTML.

IT learning occurs not just in timetabled IT lessons, but across the timetable in subjects such as science, social science and English. These subjects all emphasise the importance of internet research for projects, preparing homework assignments on computer and maintaining an efficient filing system. Such subjects also use specific CD Roms for supplementary practice and quizes. This may occur within the subject time or in free time. The computer lab is open to students during break and lunch and at periods immediately before and after school.

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