Educational Concept
- Who we are: school profile
- BERLIN KIDS INTERNATIONAL School
Weinstr. 1
10249 Berlin
Tel: 27582915
www.berlin-kids-international.deSchool founding 2007 Enrollment 185 students from (37 nationalities) Student population All children attending the school are bilingual Program bilingual Englisch-German Class size 24 (maximum) Year levels Primary: Years 1-6
Secondary: opening with Year 7 in 2012Staff 29 teachers and educators/Erzieher (11 nationalities) Curriculum International Primary Curriculum
Berlin State Curriculum
Cambridge Curriculum (beginning in 2012, pending approval)Governing bodies Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur gGmbH
Berlin Kids International e.V.Head of School Cornelia Donner School hours 8:30-4:00 Morning supervision 7:30-8:20 Afternoon program 4:00-6:00 - A Bilingual School for Bilingual Children
- The BERLIN KIDS INTERNATIONAL School was founded as a school for children whose families speak both English and German. All children who enter the school are already conversant in these languages; many also speak a third language at home. The school program serves these children’s needs through instruction in both languages. Reading and writing are taught in English and in German from Year 1.
The school attracts qualified teachers and educators (Erzieher) from many different countries, each a native speaker of one of the two school languages. The teachers and educators embody the mission of the school: most are bilingual themselves and have chosen to work in an international environment.
Every class at BKIS has two main teachers– an English-speaking class teacher who teaches English and IPC, as well as a German-speaking class teacher, who teaches German and mathematics. Bilingual educators (Erzieher) round out the team for each class. Music, physical education, Spanish and French are taught by specialist teachers.
English is used for 60-70% of all teaching in the first three years of schooling, balancing out to 50% from Year 4 onwards. This policy ensures that our students become truly bilingual, as more weighting on the "minority" language (i.e. the non-local language) in the early years of school ensures that it becomes as fully developed as the local language
- Teaching and Learning at BKIS
- Teaching and learning at BKIS are based on the principle that children learn most successfully when they progress at their own pace. From the beginning, students are encouraged to assume responsibility for their education and to organize their learning according to the goals set down in their weekly plan, using materials suited to their individual level. Moreover, students learn to work independently, with a partner and in small groups.
The curriculum is based upon the International Primary Curriculum and the Berlin Curriculum. Cross-curricular thematic units provide the framework for teaching and learning at BKIS. In order to allow the students and teachers time to develop these themes, the school day is organized around three flexible 90-minute teaching blocks in addition to traditional 45-minute lessons.
- Multi-age Classes
- We believe that children’s developmental needs (social, emotional, intellectual and physical) are best met in mixed-age classrooms. At BKIS, children of different ages and ability levels are grouped together, without dividing them or the curriculum into year grade levels. Children learn naturally from other children and are able to experience themselves in different roles, acting as "teachers" as well as "learners". In a multi-age classroom, children benefit from differentiated instruction that allows them to focus on their own learning needs. Children learn to cooperate, rather than to compete; they develop a far greater sense of belonging to a group characterised by different backgrounds, abilities, interests and ages. Multi-age classes at BKIS span a range of two years – that is, Years 1 and 2 are taught together, as are Years 3 and 4. Years 5 and 6 are taught as separate year groups.
- An international Curriculum
- As an international school whose students and teachers come from all over the world and have settled in Berlin, we are committed to providing an education that is both global and local. To achieve this goal, we follow two curricula which are recognized in Germany, Europe and worldwide: the International Primary Curriculum and the Berlin State Curriculum. Students will be able to earn the following degrees: Mittlerer Schulabschluss (10th grade), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (pending approval) (11th grade) and the bilingual Abitur (13th grade).
- The Role of the Educator ("Erzieher")
- We believe that the role of the educator is a keystone of successful primary schooling. At BKIS, the Hort staff is fully integrated into the school day, with educators providing early-morning and afternoon care, as well as taking an active role in the classroom alongside the class teacher. Educators respond to the needs of individual students, facilitate group work and contribute to the social and emotional development of the children during the school day.
- Our School Day
- Our school is a place where students and teachers enjoy being together, a "home away from home". Students may come to school as early as 7:30. Classes start at 8.30. Teaching blocks in English and German are interspersed with playtime in the school yard, a daily session for individual learning, lunch in the cafeteria and workshop time. During “individual learning”, students complete assignments and receive help from teachers. Early afternoon workshops, offered three times a week by members of the Hort and teaching staffs, give students the opportunity to select activities, such as circus, woodworking, crafts, French or Spanish and music. The core program ends at 4:00 pm. Optional activities, such as sports, music and dance, are offered during the time slot from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Students may also play with their friends and pursue interests in any of the spaces available to them: the school yard, the art room, the construction room, the games room or the library. Homework is not assigned on a regular basis, as assignments are usually completed during the “individual learning” block.
- Our Active Community
- At BKIS we encourage all members of the community to take an active part in school life. Students are involved in the development of the school through class councils and the school conference. Parents, too, are represented at the school conference and are encouraged to join the BKI Association, which originally founded the school along with Pfefferwerk gGmbH.
In order to foster a strong sense of community, parents are required to volunteer at the school. This can involve anything and everything – painting the classroom in the summer break, offering a yoga workshop, helping with the summer fair or coaching the football team. The school library is just one example of a space in the school that has been created by parents working hand-in-hand with students and staff.
