Cycles instead of school levels: The LIPSCHULE is moving with the times.
After the summer holidays, we are making an important adjustment at the LIPSCHULE: We will assign the school years to three cycles. This means that we are aligning ourselves even more closely with Curriculum 21 and its terminology than was previously the case.
Cycle 1: Kindergarten and 1st and 2nd grade / new: called school years 1-4
Cycle 2: Primary school / new: called school years 5-8
Cycle 3: Upper school / new: called school years 9-11
An advantage that this restructuring offers is in the event of a change of residence, as this principle is now applied in most cantons. Additionally, children who have to skip or repeat a grade have a wider variety of opportunities, as they have more time within a cycle to close any gaps in their knowledge.
In all three cycles, orientation towards competencies, and thus also the teachers, plays a central role. The latter not only design teaching units that are rich in content and methodologically diverse, but they also support the students pedagogically and didactically. This is not new territory for the LIPSCHULE, as we have always been quite progressive. In the first cycle, therefore, almost everything remains the same: our protégés continue to enjoy action-oriented, mixed-age and individualized lessons that are based on the principles of Montessori education.
In the second cycle, however, there are some changes. In future, the material studied and learned will no longer be structured according to traditionally defined subjects, rather, according to life-world categories. In addition, the individual workspace system will be discontinued and replaced by so-called ‘learning islands’, which make it possible to work on content together in pairs, small groups or individually. Plus, each student has a learning coach at their disposal, who also serves as a reference person.
In order to be able to prepare optimally for entry into professional life, the individual workspace system comes into effect again from Year 7 (school year 9) onwards. In the third cycle we also focus on a high degree of individual responsibility and interdisciplinary learning.
If you have any questions about the restructuring and new terminology or would like to know more about the three cycles, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can reach us at +41 (0)44 480 08 80 or via lip@lipschule.ch.
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