In an effort to bring a faith based high standard of education to our students, St. Cecelia School went through a rigorous authorization process and became an authorized International Baccalaureate World School, December, 2015. The IB Programme fits well with our Catholicity because it requires community service and aims “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” (IB Mission Statement).

IB is known for setting high standards and emphasizing creative and critical thinking. With the guidance of their teachers and peers, St. Cecelia School IB students become responsible for their own learning. The IB program calls for students to express themselves through writing, to look at big ideas across disciplines, and it requires students to examine connections between what they are learning and the real world. No matter what they’re studying, students dig deep into subjects and try to find answers.

MYP teachers enjoy watching their students make these connections:

1. Mrs. Spence, MYP Math teacher shared, “Students no longer ask me why we are learning things. They now make connections between the standards we learn in math and how they are used in the real world.”
2. Mrs. Benson, MYP Individuals and Societies teacher states, “I love the fact that through problem based learning students look at a task through different perspectives and world views. This helps them realize, at times there may be different solutions and no right answer.
3. Mr. Zemchak, IB Language Acquisition teacher also loves IB, “Since the majority of the Spanish-speaking world is Roman Catholic, IB helps me to link the language to the students’ faith and give them more ownership as well as forming a bond with the people of Spanish-speaking countries throughout the world.”

St. Cecelia is currently a candidate school for the Primary Years Program. PYP is for children ages 3 to 12 where the IB focus is on six themes:

1. Who we are,
2. Where we are in place and time,
3. How we express ourselves,
4. How the world works,
5. How we organize ourselves, and
6. Sharing the planet.

Students examine these ideas through language, social studies, math, arts, science, and personal, social, and physical education.

Our pre-school through 5th grade teachers are busy learning about the PYP and initiating the important IB Learner Profile into their daily routine. The IB learner profile consists of ten attributes SCS wants our students to own. These attributes are: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective. Each month students in grades PreK3– 8th are awarded an IB attribute of the month.

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To find out more about the IB Programme at St. Cecelia, check out our website or give us a call today.

St. Cecelia is a private Catholic school in Pinellas County Florida. We are accepting new students for the 2017-18 school year.