Curriculum Development at HPS

Partnering in Your Child’s Learning: The IB Primary Years Programme

At Highton Primary School, you are a vital part of our learning community. Together, we help your child grow through the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP).

What are "Key Concepts"?

The PYP curriculum is built around Key Concepts—big ideas that are timeless, universal, and connect different subjects. Think of these concepts as a "special lens" through which your child explores each topic.

Instead of just memorising isolated facts, our students learn to see patterns and make meaningful connections. This "big picture" approach helps them truly understand how the world works.

How You Can Join the Journey

You can play an active role in deepening your child’s curiosity at home. As a PYP parent, having simple conversations that encourage "big picture" thinking makes a huge difference.

Try asking questions about these everyday concepts:

• Change: "How is the weather changing this week?" or "How have you grown since last year?"
• Responsibility: "What is our responsibility toward our pets or the environment?"
• Connection: "How does this book remind you of something that happened at school?"
• Form: “What is it like?” or “How would you describe this?”
• Function: “What is it purpose?” or “How does it do what it does?”
• Causation: “What made this happen?”
• Perspective: “Does everyone see this the same way?”
• Reflection: “How did you figure that out?” or “ What have we learned from this?”

By exploring these ideas together, we help our students become lifelong learners who stay curious about the world around them.

Regards,

Tracy Thornton

IB PYP Coordinator