Whitby Mission Statement
Whitby inspires a passion for learning and empowers each child to take responsibility as an open-minded, principled citizen in a global community.
Whitby inspires a passion for learning and empowers each child to take responsibility as an open-minded, principled citizen in a global community.
This language policy has been developed by faculty and leadership throughout the school. This document outlines our school’s linguistic and academic goals and defines the program designed to help our students attain these goals. This document is intended to define Whitby School’s policy regarding language for teaching and learning. This policy permeates the entire school curriculum and celebrates Whitby School’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity. The entire staff and the Whitby School community are committed to this policy so that our school can achieve its mission.
At Whitby, every teacher is a language teacher and every learner is a language learner. We believe that language is the vehicle for inquiry and a medium for learning across the curriculum. It is the pathway to thinking, learning, communicating, and making meaning, thus it has a central role in the process of inquiry.
We believe multilingualism and multiliteracies benefit the learner and the learning community in a variety of ways, including valuing and respecting the home language(s) of our Whitby community. Language development in more than one language enriches personal growth, provides cognitive advantages, and is essential to the development of international mindedness and action.
The responsibility for students' language development is shared not only among teachers but also with parents and students themselves.
Children in Stepping Stones are exposed to the Spanish language through lively songs with movement, visual aids, and other multisensory materials. Themes explored during the year include: colors, feelings, parts of the body, weather, numbers 1-10, farm animals, and clothing.
Students in Primary continue exploratory Spanish classes expanding student vocabulary and grammar while learning about the cultural aspects of the countries in which the language is spoken.
Primary students also participate in the Primary Mandarin Chinese Language Program to introduce the students to the language and foster curiosity and open-mindedness. The focus is on oral language development. Students are introduced to basic vocabulary, songs, poems and books. It is a playful exploration of the language.
The Lower School Language Acquisition Program focuses on oral language development. The aim of studying world languages is to acquire language skills and to develop respect and understanding of diverse linguistic and cultural heritages. Whenever possible and appropriate, the program supports or is integrated into the Program of Inquiry. As a result, the students are able to make connections between the language they acquire and their transdisciplinary units of inquiry.
Teaching and learning in language acquisition are organized into three proficiency levels - emergent, capable and proficient. Each level focuses on two phases. In total, there are six phases. The phases represent a developmental continuum of additional language learning.
In Lower School, students can choose to learn Spanish or Chinese. Typically, students enter the Chinese program in Grade 1. Students with prior knowledge of Chinese can also join the Chinese program in grades 2 - 4.
Language acquisition in the MYP aims to develop a respect for, and understanding of, other languages and cultures, and is equally designed to equip the student with a skills base to facilitate further language learning.
The MYP structures additional language learning in phases so that the complexity and range of language profiles that students bring to their MYP classroom is acknowledged and fostered. Students beginning their MYP studies may have exited from any of the five phases of PYP language or may have no prior knowledge or experience of the language to be studied in the MYP.
Students in Middle School can enter the Spanish program at any phase. Students transitioning from the Lower School Mandarin program can continue their Chinese studies. Students with prior knowledge of Mandarin can join this program.
We believe that maintaining and developing language skills of our learners, whose mother tongue is other than English, is vital. Developing a child’s mother tongue can accelerate the acquisition of English and increase academic achievement across the curriculum. It also enhances self-esteem and promotes international-mindedness. Language learning not only permeates all areas of learning, but it is also crucial for emotional and social well-being and to maintain cultural identity. Whitby’s EAL Coordinator works with parents to find teachers for the Mother Tongue Program. Classes are offered during WECCP and Co-Curricular time with fees varying by the number of sections offered and students enrolled in the program.
School-wide, we support the Mother Tongue development by
-PYP-From principles into practice (2018)
-MYP-From principles into practice (2014-Updated 2022)
-Guidelines for school self-reflection on its language policy (IB, 2012)
-Language and learning in IB programmes (IB, 2011)
-MYP-Language and literature guide (For use from September 2014/January 2015)
-MYP-Language Acquisition guide (For use from Sept 2020/Jan 2021)
-IB Programme standards and practices (2020)
This handbook was reviewed during the 2022-2023 school year. It will be reviewed every three years to reflect best practice and the needs of the Whitby School community.
