The Foundation Subjects

There are seven foundation subjects; these are:

• Art & Design

• Design & Technology

• Geography

• History

• Physical Education

• Music

• Learning Technologies

The critical content in the core and foundation subjects is covered through our Discovery units to enable students to make links between different subject areas. As a result, our students experience a variety of single-subject lessons as well as lots of transdisciplinary learning where content from multiple subjects is covered within the same lesson.

The critical content for Key Stage 2 in each subject area is outlined below:

ART & DESIGN

The students are taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design. They record their observations and use these to review and revisit ideas to improve their mastery of Art and Design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials such as pencil, charcoal, paint and clay. In addition, the students learn about significant artists, architects and designers in history.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, our students learn the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. When designing and making, the students in Key Stage 2 are taught to:

Design

• Use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups

• Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design

Make

• Select from and use a wide range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks, including cutting, shaping, joining and finishing, accurately

• Select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to the materials’ and components’ functional properties and aesthetic qualities

Evaluate

• Investigate and analyse a range of existing products

• Evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work

• Understand how key events and individuals in Design & Technology have helped shape the world

Technical Knowledge

• Apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures

• Understand and use mechanical systems in their products, including gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages

• Understand and use electrical systems such as series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors in their products

• Apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products

Cooking & Nutrition

• Understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet

• Prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes, using a range of cooking techniques

• Understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed

HUMANITIES (GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY)

We have worked very hard to design a curriculum which reflects our children’s place in Hong Kong, expands their horizons and makes them carefully consider key themes and debates. We seek to broaden our students’ real-life experiences both in- and outside of the classroom through educational visits, guest visitors, experimentation, exploration and discovery. This way, the children acquire a range of knowledge and skills in both Geography and History, which they can then apply to other subjects and in a variety of situations. Furthermore, it is our aim that through geographical and historical learning, the children will become accountable, global citizens, understanding their role in protecting our world and environment and knowing how they can create positive change and development as they grow.

Geography

In Geography, our students extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include countries within Southeast Asia and other continents. This includes learning about the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. Students develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.

The students in Key Stage 2 are taught to:

Locational Knowledge

• Locate the world’s countries, using maps and concentrating on environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities

• Identify human and physical characteristics of Hong Kong, including key topographical features (such as hills, mountains and islands), and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time

• Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, the equator, the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)

Place Knowledge

• Understand geographical similarities and differences by studying the human and physical geography of Hong Kong, home countries and other parts of the world

Human & Physical Geography

• Describe and understand key aspects of:

• Physical geography, including climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle

• Human geography, including types of settlement and land use, economic activity such as trade links, and the distribution of natural resources, including energy, food, minerals and water

Geographical Skills & Fieldwork

• Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied

• Use the eight points of a compass, four- and six-figure grid references, symbols, and keys

• Engage with fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area, using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies

History

In Key Stage 2 History, our students continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study through their Discovery units. They are encouraged to make connections and notice contrasts and trends over time and to develop the appropriate use of historical terms. The students consider and devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They begin to construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information, and they are supported to consider how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

Physical Education

Our specialist PE teachers deliver a broad and balanced curriculum which gives all students in Key Stage 2 the opportunity to experience a wide range of physical activities. Our mission is to inspire a sense of pride in our school community. All our students are given the opportunity to develop and sustain a healthy, active lifestyle and to become lifelong sporting learners. We strive to raise levels of participation in and commitment to sport across the Primary School. Students are encouraged to work together in order to develop a variety of skills, including teamwork, resilience and sportsmanship. We challenge them to perform at their very best, and we celebrate their achievements whilst harnessing the value of sport and PE in promoting wellbeing for all members of our community.

Our students benefit from extensive onsite facilities, including a modern gymnasium, a heated outdoor swimming pool, a multi-purpose court and an all-weather pitch. This enables us to provide a PE programme of the highest quality. Over the course of a school year, DBIS Primary students take part in the following activities:

• Invasion Games

• Athletics

• Net Games

• Striking & Fielding

• Gymnastics & Dance

• Health-Related Fitness

• Swimming & Personal Survival

We are also extremely proud of our extensive programme of before- and after-school sports ECAs. These are available to all our children, including those who wish to specifically train to represent the school in various local and international sports tournaments.

MUSIC & THE CREATIVE ARTS

We are proud of our thriving Creative Arts department, through which students are encouraged to develop into confident communicators and performers in a supportive atmosphere.

We provide a wide-ranging, holistic approach to the Creative Arts and offer a number of opportunities for our students to express themselves and develop in confidence and skill. Our team of Creative Arts specialists in Music, Drama and Art aim to deliver a diverse programme both in and out of the classroom in order to enrich and inspire the students. Supported by a committed group of peripatetic teachers, the Music department offers numerous ECAs and an array of public performance opportunities. These include large-scale community events as well as whole-school concerts, shows and celebrations. We also create a number of opportunities for particularly talented performers to participate in international Music and Drama festivals through our ongoing membership with the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA).

In addition to their specialist lessons, our students engage with Creative Arts mornings, which focus specifically on developing confidence and competence in Music, Art, Dance and Drama.

Learning Technologies

We aim to enable our students to understand and apply a range of technological and computing skills to effectively communicate, investigate and create in ways that help them make informed and sensible choices to benefit and extend their learning.

Our specialist lessons are made up of progressive units of study underpinned by the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) standards. Throughout Key Stage 2, our students develop a set of skills which can be applied to other aspects of learning. To complement their technological and Discovery learning, the students are immersed in a variety of creative and practical Design & Technology activities, where they learn the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making.

Digital Citizenship is a key component of the LT curriculum. We aim to ensure that our students are able to use technologies critically and safely, developing into confident users in a range of contexts, with a clear understanding of the benefits and associated risks. In specialist lessons, our students develop computational thinking skills through the use of a range of programming platforms and robotics.

Whilst LT is taught as a discrete subject by our specialist teachers, we empower our students to utilise their technology skills to enhance their learning in other subject areas. As a result, our specialist teachers work closely with the classroom teachers to ensure that students are able to explore and access their learning through a variety of technologies.

Mandarin

We believe that the learning of a foreign language provides valuable educational, social and cultural experiences for all students. DBIS students develop linguistic competence, extend their knowledge of how language works and explore differences and similarities between Mandarin and English. We believe that learning another language raises awareness in students of the multilingual and multicultural world, promoting an international dimension to student learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and those of other members of the school community.

We aim for our students to gain confidence and competence in speaking Mandarin. In addition, as they learn in Mandarin, our students have opportunities to consolidate the knowledge, skills and concepts they are developing in other areas of the curriculum and across our Discovery units.

Mandarin lessons at DBIS are interactive and engaging, with students developing skills in the key elements of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Our specialist Mandarin teachers are expertly supported by our educational assistants, allowing for even greater differentiation and the possibility to challenge and extend our native and most able learners as well as to support those with specific learning needs. The students are separated into pathways, depending on their progress, attainment and previous exposure to Mandarin. This ensures the lessons are further tailored to meet the students’ individual learning needs.