MySchool, an IB World School

MySchool was founded in 2012-2013, led by an experienced Omani leadership and is adopting the Primary Years, and Middle Years IB programmes.

Fundamental to our teaching and learning approach is the recognition that children are natural inquirers who will develop socially, physically and academically in different times and at different speeds, as we believe that education is a process, not a race.

To cope with the international approaches to education and respond to the learners’ needs, MySchool has adopted the inquiry-based & concept-based approaches to teaching and learning which we think allow for students to develop as critical thinkers, and problem solvers. Students are able to own their learning, inquire into, investigate, make decisions, transfer and apply what they are learning in school to real life.

Developing international mindedness among the school community has always been an integral element of MySchool philosophy. Indeed, we focus on the global concepts that allow students to think deeply. We encourage investigation, research, collaboration and communication as key elements of the teaching and learning practices. As a result, students are motivated to think independently and critically to take the responsibility of their own learning and to raise a sense of awareness towards the human condition through their personal experiences and those of the others in their national and international communities.

Indeed, at MySchool, we pay close attention to students’ language needs and abilities to ensure they are able to reach their full potential and to cope with national and international challenges. Students learn through a bilingual program that offers English as the language of instruction and Arabic as their mother tongue to maintain their cultural identity in addition to French as a third language and the Chinese as a fourth. In fact, we think that when students learn an additional language, other than their mother tongue, they will develop a broader understanding of other cultures as well as accept the others with all their differences.

The implementation of the IB programs helped us to develop the concept of leadership and the creation of young leaders who are able to easily deal with the global issues and changes in a positive and contributing way.

We also believe that the uniqueness of the learner profile contributes in developing students as citizens who respect all the people with their different nationalities, customs and beliefs in a global peaceful world.

One of the important 21st C skills students need to develop is digital literacy. As a matter of fact, since its opening, MySchool provided students with a well equipped apple ICT Lab. Then, smart boards and desktops have been established in all classrooms. Currently, MySchool learners have their personal iPads for (Grade 3-7) and MacBook Pro for (Grade 8-11). And in the short term, we would like to purchase Apple Tvs for all classrooms. Lower Primary and Early Years have in-class iPads used occasionally as we think at this age students need develop basic skills like the fine motor ones. Additionally, MySchool’s long term objective is to become an Apple distinguished School.

Thus, integrating artificial intelligence in our educational system would allow us to better understand our students‘ personalities , as well as to define their learning styles and preferences. Consequently , we will be able to enhance their Approaches to Learning to align with the 21st century skills and to prepare them for their future education.

Besides, data analysis would support us in the self-assessment of our performance as an educational institution, as teachers, and meet our students and parents needs. We believe that if this system has worked well in our context, it would also be beneficial to other schools and students in government and private sectors and definitely would enhance the development of education in Oman.