Educational Concept - Introduction
Mission – Goals – Identity
Berlin Kids International School opened its doors in September 2007 as an all-day school with wrap-around care from 7.30am until 6pm, with core teaching time from 8.30am until 4pm. Currently there are 144 students in six classes: two grade one classes, three mixed-age grades 2-3 classes and one mixed-aged class, covering grades 4-6.
It is the mission of Berlin Kids International School to provide the best possible education for English-German bilingual children living in central eastern Berlin. In order to do so, we have developed a concept which stresses the most successful teaching strategies from around the globe. This, hand in hand with our concept of bilingualism, enables our students to develop their individual skills and talents, to fulfill their potential to the highest degree, and, above all, to enjoy learning.
As an international school whose pupils and teachers come from all over the globe, we also lay great importance on cultural and linguistic diversity, encouraging our teachers and students to be tolerant and open-minded towards all social and cultural backgrounds. We strongly believe in the core values of respect, consideration for others, politeness and civil courage.
A Truly Bilingual School
At Berlin Kids International School we believe that promoting a bilingual child's two languages and cultures is essential to his/her self-image, identity, as well as future prospects.
Most students at Berlin Kids International School have two mother tongues – English and German, with an exception for students coming to Berlin from overseas who have little knowledge of German. They are given extra support in German and are gradually brought up to the same level of bilingualism as their classmates.
Every classroom has two teachers – one English speaker and one German speaker. English is used for roughly 60-70% of all teaching in the first three years of schooling, balancing out to 50% from Year Four onwards. This policy ensures that our students become truly bilingual, as more weighting on teaching the "minority" language (ie. the language not spoken by society as a whole) in the early years of school guarantees that it becomes as fully developed as the language spoken by society at large.
Classroom Structures and Teaching Methods
Teaching at Berlin Kids International School is based on the widely accepted principle that each student has a right to learn and be taught at his or her own pace. Each student is taught at an early age to organize their learning around the goals set down in their weekly plan; students learn to work on their own, with a partner and in small workshop groups, and to take part in team projects as well in individual study sessions.
We believe that students learn most effectively in mixed-age groups at the beginning of their schooling. Children learn most effectively and naturally from other children, experiencing themselves in different roles (being "teachers" as well as "learners"). A mixed-age classroom promotes patience, tolerance and communication skills; children learn not to compete but to cooperate, and develop a far greater sense of belonging to a team.
We also lay great importance on encouraging students to present their work to their classmates. The skill of oral presentation is one which is at the core of early schooling in the UK and the USA, and allows students to develop self-confidence and pride in their own work.
Lessons at Berlin Kids International School are based around cross-curricular project work, where students study the same theme – for example "where I live" – from various perspectives in different subjects, such as geography, history, story writing and so on.
In order to allow the students and teachers time to develop this thematic approach, the school day is organized around flexible 60-90 minute teaching blocks rather than traditional 45-minute lessons. Within these teaching blocks, the teachers are free to organize lessons around subjects and project work, as well as including concentration exercises, movement and games, yoga and other relaxation techniques.
At Berlin Kids International School, we fully support the concept of introducing classroom assistants to help the teachers. We believe that this practice, which is a basic element of primary education in the USA, the UK and many other English-speaking countries, is a keystone of successful primary schooling. Classroom asssistants are able to give extra attention to individual pupils, to supervise group work, freeing the teacher to concentrate on teaching others, as well as to help students with emotional difficulties and listen to their personal problems.
Our Curriculum
As an international school whose students and teachers come from all over the world and have settled in Berlin, we are utterly committed to providing an education that is both global and local. This means that we will provide students with the necessary knowledge and qualifications to live and work successfully anywhere around the globe. In order to do so, we follow teaching curricula, such as the Berlin Curriculum and the British National Curriculum, which are recognized in Germany, Europe and worldwide.
Library
Berlin Kids International School is committed to providing our students with the best facilities possible. We continue to build our library of English and German books as one of our first goals. Each classroom will also have a small library of books, resources and material relevant to the class lessons.
It is also the goal of our school to provide the library and all classrooms with computers and internet access, as we are convinced that e-learning and internet skills are central aspects of education in today's globalized world.
Structure of the School Day
In order to ensure that our school is a place where students and teachers enjoy spending their time, we believe that it is essential to establish our school as a "home from home". All students at Berlin Kids International School stay until 4pm in order to take part in extra-curricular activities.
Each morning at Berlin Kids International School starts at 8.30; before that, students have the opportunity to come to school early in order to meet their friends, organize their weekly plans, read, play, talk and so on. Students are able to stay in school until 6pm in order to take part in further extra-curricular activities such as sports, drama and dance.
As a school which encourages students to stay all day, we also offer a daily hot lunch and an afternoon snack for those who stay after 4pm.
Assessing a Student's Progress
At Berlin Kids International School, we stress a variety of forms of assessment which allow students, parents and teachers to fully understand how each individual student is progressing.
Above all, we believe that it is important that students learn to motivate themselves. One of the main policies of the school, from Year One onwards, is to encourage students to develop the skills needed for self-evaluation – to set their own goals, to judge whether they have achieved these goals, and to assess where they need to improve most. Our portfolio project also helps children in this process.
We also believe in the importance of students being able to articulate their own educational needs, and so at Berlin Kids International School, the traditional parent-teacher evening is supplemented by regular meetings throughout the school year between parents, teachers and often the students themselves.
In addition to this, teachers' progress reports provide parents with a comprehensive view of their child's develoment and achievements at school. These are mailed home twice per academic year.
Code of Conduct
In order to guarantee that the school runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible, we recognize the need for certain rules regarding behaviour, discipline, standards of dress code. Every year, a committee of elected students, teachers and parents meet to set up and review the school's Code of Conduct for the following academic year.
Teachers' Qualifications
Our teachers must have relevant primary school teaching qualifications from a German-speaking or English-speaking country. They must also be committed to working together as a team, not only with the other class teacher, but also with the educators and teaching staff as a whole. Each teacher will take part in regular team and staff meetings in order to discuss students' progress, teaching strategies, school policies and so on.
Partnership Abroad
We encourage our school's multicultural image by promoting partnership with other schools abroad. We plan to register Berlin Kids International School as a Comenius school, thus becoming an active player in the school exchange partnership programme offered within the EU. We will also make the most of our wide range of contacts in English-speaking countries to establish a network of partnership schools.
Fees
Berlin Kids International School is committed to providing an equal chance of access to all students who meet the entrance requirements. The school is therefore committed to keeping fees or parental financial contributions ("Schulgeld") to the minimum needed to hire teachers and run the school. School fees are set at €165 per child per month, with an increased rate of €185 for families with incomes over €40,000 (net/netto). This money will also fund social places (€75) for low-income families.
