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PRIMARY VACANCIES For the 2012-2013 Academic Year there are currently two
vacancies in our Pre-school section and a further two positions in the
Primary section of the School. For the Pre-school positions we are looking for KS1
bilingual (English/Spanish) candidates to work with children between the ages
of 3 to 6 years of age. Despite the fact that the School adopts an immersion
programme for learning English a working knowledge of Spanish is essential in
order to communicate effectively and resolves issues with children in this
age range. Successful candidates will work with a small class group of 15 to
20 children. For the Primary section of the School we are looking for
experienced KS2 teachers to work through the medium of English. A working
knowledge of Spanish is not a requirement with this age range as students are
functionally bilingual by this stage. Successful candidates will be jointly
responsible, together with their Mexican co-teachers, for two classes of 25
children. In both the Pre-School and Primary sections of the School
successful candidates will work closely with colleagues responsible for
Music, PE, Computing, Art and PSHE in the planning and organisation of
programmes of inquiry for this year group, as well as teaching “stand-alone” subjects
such as Mathematics and English. There are 21
contact hours a week with the students plus two additional hours of dedicated
collaborative planning time when grade teachers work with the PYP coordinator
and other subject specialists. GENERAL INFORMATION Our Pre-school and Primary site
caters for approximately 440 boys and girls from 3 to 12 years of age, (260
students in the Primary section and another 180 in the Pre-School section).
Each year group is made up of two classes with approximately 25 students in
each, except the first grades of Pre-School, where we have smaller groups of
15 to 20 children. In the Kindergarten section most
teaching is in English although children do also receive some formal
instruction in Spanish. Our principal goals are to give the children as firm
a language foundation as possible in order to prepare them for a bilingual,
multi-cultural education programme. The school day for students in this part
of the school is from 8:00am (KIII) or 8:30am (KI and KII) to 1:00pm with
optional extension activities from 1:00 to 2:00pm. In the case of Pre-First,
children start the day at 8:00am and finish at 2:00pm and they follow the
same extra-curricular programme as in the Primary section of the School. In the Primary section of the
school (1st to 5th Grade - equivalent to Years 2 to 6 in the UK), groups are
organised so that each class has two teachers – one native English speaker,
who covers the English side of the programme (including English, Maths and
Science) and one Mexican teacher, who covers those parts of the Mexican
programme which must be given in Spanish. The curriculum is integrated as
much as possible through the Primary Years Programme (International
Baccalaureate), with both teachers contributing to the development of Units
of Inquiry. Both teachers work with both classes in their year group, with
Art, Computing, PE and Music being given by specialist teachers. The day for
Primary students is from 8:00am to 2:00pm. Teachers from KI to Pre-First (the
first four years of School) liaise closely with the Head of Pre-School whilst
those in the remaining five Primary grades liaise with the Head of Primary.
Both of these sections and section leaders work closely with the PYP
Co-ordinator and report to the Site Manager, who is responsible to the
School’s Headteacher for the day-to-day running of
the site. There are weekly staff meetings and Grade Team planning meetings
plus occasional after school meetings to look at more general issues of
school development. The School uses the Oxford Reading
Tree programme together with a variety of other English teaching resources
and over recent years has invested a considerable amount of money in building
up the School’s central and class library resources. For Mathematics we use
the MEP programme developed by the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics
Teaching. Although most students have a
reasonable command of English, for the vast majority it is their second
language and consequently teachers have to make allowances for this in their
planning and preparation. Whilst we are not strictly teachers of English as a
second language we do use ESL techniques and resources and are currently
revising this aspect of the curriculum with all staff having recently taken
the Cambridge TKT/CLIL exams. Whilst the Primary School
traditionally built its programme around topic webs, with a central
scientific theme for each term, we are now authorised to deliver the
International Baccalaureate PYP programme, and the curriculum has been
adapted, where possible, to include all curricular subjects within units of
inquiry that form the central element of the PYP. We are looking for teachers
who are able to integrate different areas of the curriculum through inquiry
based learning and adapt the content and organisation of their programmes to
suit the differing needs and abilities of their students, together with the
requirements of the Mexican education system and the PYP programme. The introduction of the
International Baccalaureate programmes makes this an exciting time to be part
of the school and all teachers will have the opportunity to gain valuable
experience and training for the development of a career in international
education. In particular, the need for collaborative planning has increased
dramatically and the joint planning sessions between overseas and local
teachers within each grade are considered to be a critical element of the
job, which means that we are looking for teachers who are genuinely committed
to teamwork and are willing to overcome the language and cultural barriers
that make this process more challenging. We have an inclusive educational
philosophy and policy that caters to the diverse needs of all community
members which means that teachers are expected to support the learning needs
of all students. To date the School has ensured that 17 students with
intellectual disabilities have been integrated into the school community. Our computing facilities consist
of a computing centre in the library, a small research laboratory of six
computers and a mobile lap-top lab of 28 computers, which are used for
independent research and investigation. All classrooms are equipped with
their own fixed data projector and interactive whiteboards are currently
being considered for possible future installation. Teachers are encouraged to
incorporate computing whenever appropriate into their classroom activities.
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