Message about the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme from Olympia Head of Schools

Dear Parents,

As you know, The Olympia Schools has successfully been granted authorization as an IB World School. Olympia is delivering the foundational year of the Diploma Programme (IB-DP). Olympia is the first Vietnamese bilingual school to become an IB World School. We are extremely proud of our administration, teachers and especially our students and their parents who are embarking on this inaugural journey. 

The IB programme has significantly higher engagement in STEM courses than A-Levels, and IB students are more likely to continue their studies past the first year of university as well as achieve success in a first-class honours degree and even more on to post graduate studies. Through the IB programme we are providing our students with a foundation for success in their future.

The faculty of the IB programme is highly skilled with more than 70% holding a Master's degree and graduating from international universities. With international teaching experience and 100% of them participating in UB Workshops to become qualified IB teachers, our teachers are passionate companions, helping students develop deeply and holistically.  

In our small-sized classes, our students are taking on not only the core requirements of the IB DP such as Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Extended Essay (EE) and Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS), but also the essential elements of the IB Framework.  

The Learner Profile

Similar to our own Student Profile at Olympia, the Learner Profile focuses on what we want students to be both now and as they grow older. The ten profiles include:

1. Inquirers
2. Knowledgeable
3. Thinkers
4. Communicators
5. Principled
6. Open-minded
7. Caring
8. Risk-takers
9. Reflective
10. Balanced

In each of our classes, students are called upon to undertake one or two of these roles, focusing on what it means to build these skills. 

The IB Attitudes

The attitudes are ten qualities that support the personal, social, and academic growth of our students.  

These attitudes are what the IB considers essential for student development towards people, the environment, and learning.  

The Approaches to Teaching and Approaches to Learning

The Approaches to Teaching (ATT): The ATT are fundamental in developing skills that have relevance across the curriculum that help students “learn how to learn”.

The Approaches to Learning (ATL): The ATL emphasize key IB pedagogy principles, focusing on how teachers can influence how students learn as opposed to merely teaching the content of an academic course. 

Our teachers have spent the full year learning these approaches and essential elements and have completed official Category 1 training from the International Baccalaureate.

In addition, this year across Kindergarten to Grade 1, we are focused on Inquiry-based learning. This process of engaging students by making real-world connections through exploration and high-level questioning, allows students to become the drivers and the owners of their own learning. Instead of rote learning, our students are active and engaged in researching by doing.

In addition to these, there are Key Concepts and Interdisciplinary Themes which are wonderful learning tools for all our students. Across the grades, our teachers are learning about these aspects of the IB and will gradually implement them in their own teaching, no matter the grade.

As we progress this year in our IB journey, I hope that you will join in every opportunity to witness our students' work and to learn with us through workshops and Head of Schools coffee mornings. We are looking forward to learning with you. 

Head of Schools

Shannon Wellwood-Koga