The IMYC uses inquiry to develop students’ academic knowledge, skills, and understanding in each subject area.

Core Academic Subjects:

• Mathematics

• Integrated Sciences

• English Language Arts

• History & Geography

• French as a foreign or Mother Tongue language

Enrichment Experiences:

• Physical education, personal & social wellness, technology, visual & performing arts

• Entrepreneurship & leadership

• Environmental stewardship (student garden & animal care; indigenous plant care)

The IMYC draws from neuroscientific research and is designed to address the unique needs of the adolescent brain. The adolescent brain is rapidly developing organizational & planning skills through the growing neural network of the prefrontal cortex. The IMYC’s specific learning process addresses these needs, preparing students for success in the rigors of High School.

Our program is a perfect marriage between the inquiry-based learning process of the IMYC and the self-determined, student-led philosophy of the Montessori Method. Students move through a process of independent and collaborative inquiry to investigate and cultivate skills, knowledge, and understandings. Our Doves co-teaching team has adapted the IMYC units to design a student-led, self-driven process based on the Montessori philosophy, resulting in a smooth transition from the NAMC Montessori curriculum we use from Preschool through Grade 5.

Units integrate subject areas by linking their content to a single overarching understanding or ‘Big Idea.’ This enables students to construct meaning through their learning in an authentic way. The unit selection & sequence is curated to target & assess all learning goals over a three-year cycle, with 5 - 6 units per year.

Example: Communication (Grade 6)

“When information is shared accurately and clearly, the end result is more effective.”

Core skills, knowledge & understandings are targeted over the course of the three-year program, integrating subject areas and covering academic, personal, and global citizenship competencies. Teachers and students participate in an ongoing process of formative assessment which drives future learning, in addition to evaluation of learning outcomes. Students also participate in twice-annual benchmark assessments in math & literacy using Measures of Academic Progress, which helps teachers & students plan their next learning steps and growth over time. Self-reflection is an integral part of learning in the IMYC and in our Montessori curriculum through Grade 5. Units and assessment target three areas:

• Academic competencies

• Global citizenship competencies

• Personal development goals

Each unit hooks students with an engaging, real-world “Entry Point” to help learners connect meaningfully with their subject-area learning. Throughout each unit, students work on an individual or collaborative inquiry project of their own choosing. During this process, they dig deep into the unit’s Big Idea and construct their own meaning through an investigation. At the end of the unit, students take ownership of their learning and develop 21st-century skills by presenting their learning to peers, teachers & parents in the form of an exhibition using a variety of media.