Chatsworth Blog

Tucked away amid lush nature and serenity, Chatsworth International School is a conducive place for students to learn, explore and grow. Close to the city centre, yet far away from the drab of the concrete jungle, it provides a nurturing environment for all.

As an established K-12 international school in Singapore, Chatsworth offers a holistic and affordable educational curriculum for children aged three to 18 years old. Since 1995, the institution has adopted the mission to ‘Inspire, Educate and Enlighten’. As an International Baccalaureate (IB) school with a personalised learning approach, we take pride in celebrating the uniqueness of each and every student that comes through our classrooms.

Inspiring Young Minds

The ability to evaluate information, judge and provide value through what we learn, and to have confidence in our own judgments are all important aspects of a critical thinker. At Chatsworth, we do not believe in rote learning. Through our pedagogy of inspiring the young, we strive to create a learning environment designed to stimulate these mental processes and help our students develop their own learning strategies.

Our IB programme is a comprehensive one. From kindergarten to diploma levels, our students undergo a journey of discovery and inquiry. At preschool level, children aged three to five years old are exposed to a world of creativity and stimulation to inspire them to enjoy the learning process and through the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) until year 6. In our Early Childhood Centre, you will find a safe and secure space tailored to our young learners.

As they move  beyond the primary school years, the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) fosters the development of skills and academic knowledge – both in the classroom and outdoors. Our students are given ample opportunities to discover their passion and try new things to help them make connections between theory and the real world.

Educating Future Leaders

In Years 12 and 13, Chatsworth focuses on enabling our students to become ever-ready for the vigorous demands of high school and university life, as well as develop skills which are vital to becoming successful adults. For example, our IB High School Diploma Programme opens up a world of experiential learning comprising Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS). Through a range of activities, our school is able to encourage our students to adopt a balanced lifestyle which incorporates creative, physical, and social service pursuits.

One of the key areas of such social service activities is how we conduct service learning alongside our students. It allows them to not only tap on their academic knowledge, but also cultivate a community-oriented mindset to make the world a better place. For example, students can participate in recycling, fund-raising and academic support programmes or even contribute to the food bank.

Apart from cultivating intrinsic values, our Diploma students are also offered the opportunity to undertake and earn a Bilingual Diploma in Singapore. Research has shown that bilingual children grow up to be efficient communicators and have stronger cognitive abilities, so this is one of the ways the school can maximise the potential of each child. Through these activities and initiatives, our students are well equipped to be future-ready and leaders of tomorrow.

Enlightening Experiences

As a school which is part of a diverse but close knit community, we are able to create an environment where students feel right at home despite their backgrounds. Here, you will find over 50 different nationalities under one roof and navigate the very same journey. Our culturally responsive teaching is sustainable and helps children make sense of the world around them, far beyond what is actually surrounding them.

Arts, sports, and even nutrition. These are the areas which also make life at Chatsworth so vibrant and engaging. Through the different facets of our wholesome curriculum, our students are able to enjoy the pursuits of creativity and wellness to give them a memorable experience to remember. In fact, we believe that all these will go a long way in building resilient and successful individuals in the years to come.

Learn Beyond the Classroom With Chatsworth

At Chatsworth International School, we help students excel in life long after they leave the gates of the school. This is why you will see students who are passionate about learning and excited for their future ahead of them. Through kindergarten to diploma levels, our learning approach is a powerful artery of inspiration, education and enlightenment to build strong characters.

Book a tour of our campus or call us to find out more about why Chatsworth is the school for your child to learn and grow.

For both students and parents in Singapore, the transition from primary to secondary school is a time of excitement and apprehension. As your child walks through the door on the first day of secondary school, they will encounter new surroundings, unfamiliar faces and possibly different curriculum and school subjects.

This transition can be difficult for both parents and children alike as they adjust to a new school routine and curriculum in Singapore. Let’s look at some of the stressors and challenges that secondary students face when transitioning to this next phase of their education.

What to expect in Secondary at an international school

For starters, students will need to acclimatise to a new academic environment, learn how to navigate it and attend class on time with the necessary books and resources. Making the transition from primary to secondary school can also be daunting for children, who may worry about making new friends who come from different parts of the world than they do. However, in a supportive environment, they can easily settle into their new school, learn about different cultures and form lasting friendships with their peers.

In addition to adapting to new teachers and classmates, students may also be studying a curriculum that is different from that taken at the primary level (or in their home country). Chatsworth International School offers the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students from Years 7 to 11. The MYP encourages students to make connections with their studies in traditional subjects and the real world. With a flexible and internationally recognised IB curriculum that promotes both personal development and academic achievement and challenges students to think critically and creatively, ask the right questions and think across disciplines, the switch from other curricula to the IB is often a smooth transition.

How do I help my child transition to secondary school?

1. Visit the school ahead of time

When making the important decision of what secondary school to attend, some families may feel overwhelmed. One way to ease this process is by booking a campus tour with the school’s Admissions team. These tours provide families a good insight into the school environment and  what the school has to offer. They also allow your child to meet with current students and faculty, which can give them a better sense of the school's culture and community.

2. Participate in student transition day/ student orientation

At Chatsworth International School, we organise taster lessons for a variety of subjects at the secondary level for our existing Year 6 students. On student transition day, the Year 6 students experience a day in the life of a secondary student. The day provides a formalised opportunity where primary students meet the secondary teachers for a day of planned lessons and activities and tour the secondary facilities. Students would experience 'taster' lessons for subjects such as English, mother tongue languages, maths, science, theatre/drama, art, music, design, and individuals and societies. For new students at the beginning of an academic year, they will attend student orientation before they commence their studies at Chatsworth. This is a great opportunity for them to get information they need to adapt to school more confidently,  connect with new friends and meet their teachers.

3. Attend parent information workshops

It also helps if parents obtain a good understanding of the curriculum and what their child will be learning throughout the year in order to help them manage their time more effectively. Chatsworth conducts MYP introduction workshops to help parents understand the academic aspects of the MYP. The school usually offers two workshops to Year 6 parents focusing on the essential aspects of the IB MYP programme and language pathways from primary to secondary.

4. Participate in CCAs

Another way to integrate into school better is to find opportunities that will assist your child in making friends. This can include joining the school Co-Curricular activities (CCAs) and Extracurricular activities (ECAs). One of the most important benefits is that it can help your child make friends quicker. Participating in activities outside of the classroom can allow your child to meet other students who share their interests, which can help them form bonds that last well beyond secondary school.

Ultimately, engaging in CCAs and ECAs is not just a great way to make new friends, they also allow students to discover new passions, hone their skills and enrich their student life, which is a critical element to a holistic education .

Get your child on the right track

The move from primary to secondary school, especially when it involves a change of school or from another country to Singapore can seem like a daunting task. A supportive and nurturing environment in school can make a difference during this time. It can help students feel more comfortable and confident in a new setting. There are many things that schools can do to create a supportive and safe environment, such as creating a welcoming atmosphere, providing support services, and fostering a sense of community.

All of these things are important for students and can help them succeed both academically and socially. At Chatsworth International School, we provide quality international education - International Baccalaureate programmes to children between 3 to 18 years old. Our highly qualified  teachers are dedicated to nurturing learners and achieving successes beyond school. Our Student Services are also easily accessible for students to provide social, emotional and academic support whenever they need it. Book a campus tour today to learn more about the Chatsworth school life.

When we think of resilience, we think of situations where people have shown extraordinary bravery or can take on hardships. The fact of the matter is that resilience is commonplace – being able to accept failures or having the grit to try again. For children, the ability to bounce back from anything probably also means that they will grow up to be confident and successful adults.

People who are resilient display some typical traits: acceptance, purpose, and flexibility. Parents can build resilience in their children by creating opportunities for them to pick up these skills. Sports is one of the ways to do so.

Building Resilience Through Sports

Strategy, teamwork and courage. These are the key ingredients when it comes to being good in a physical sport. No matter the type of sports, we all know that every player within the team plays an important role right down to the person on the reserve bench. Things on the playing field also change frequently and quickly. As such, children who engage in sports will often develop a growth and flexible mindset.

Over the years, our teachers at Chatsworth International School have seen this play out amongst our students. We have observed that playing sports can also build resilience in children by teaching that:

1. Setbacks occur

Winning and losing in a sports event is typical. No matter the amount of training and preparation, it is normal to fall short in the face of tough competition. Going through the rites of passage helps our students to view failures as part of the learning process and to accept them. As a result, they develop an optimistic mindset without being afraid to try again.

2. Hard work pays off

For those who wish to excel in sports, hard work and dedication is a must. Hours of training goes into perfecting a throw or kick, and students need to practice for a certain amount of time. Those who are committed to learning what they can about their chosen sports are usually the ones who perform a lot better. For children, winning a sports competition can also bring about an immense sense of accomplishment, motivating them to do even better the next time. As such, it is a quintessential example of having their efforts pay off.

3. Communication is key

Holding a normal conversation in the middle of a basketball court is almost impossible, with all the players scattered around in a tense environment. To decide on a strategy or gameplay, players will need to learn how to communicate effectively. Therefore, sports can also build resilience by honing collaborative skills which opens the way to forging connections with others. Good communication is essential to emotional resilience as it breeds positive emotions rather than negative ones.

4. Physical health is gold

You may think that resilience is all about the mind, but the truth is that physical health is equally important. A child who knows how to take care of himself by eating right, sleeping well and drinking enough water will have the drive and motivation to maintain all the other pillars of resilience. Sports build resilience by completing the healthy package, and we all know that a healthy body breeds a positive mind.

Adopting a Resilient Mindset Through Sports

Michael Jordan once said, “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

Once your child is exposed to the trials and tribulations that comes often in the world of sports, he will inevitably grow into a confident individual who is not afraid to fail. He will stand tall and face the challenges despite them not being within his control. And he will be able to collaborate and team up with others for the better good. Therefore, sports is truly one of the golden ways to build resilience from a young age.

At Chatsworth International School, our goal is to build a lifelong commitment to physical fitness and educate our preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary students on important skills such as teamwork, effective communication and leadership. Here, our students will be exposed to co- and extracurricular activities to grow their interest in their sports of choice, or even participate in competitive sports under the auspices of ACSIS (Athletic Conference Singapore International Schools), of which Chatsworth is an active member.

As a multifaceted international school, we provide ample resources for our students to reach their fullest potential. As such, all students who display dedication and interest in their sports teams will be given equal opportunities to be fielded for competitions. Our nurturing approach ensures that no students are left behind, and we do not cut students because of their abilities.

Book a campus tour to discover all the benefits of our sports-oriented curriculum.

Do you remember playing with your favourite childhood toy or teddy bear? 

One of the simplest ways for children to engage in play is interacting with a favourite teddy bear. This imaginative play with a teddy bear allows the child to think creatively, develop communication skills and practise social interactions, in addition to providing a feeling of comfort and safety, aiding their emotional development. Winnicott says teddys are about more than just comfort: “They lead to play which is fundamental to the development of a healthy mind”. Inspired by this type of play, I suggested a new activity to the kindergarten students  called, The Teddy Bear Factory.  The goal of this extended activity was to create their own teddy while applying new skills and understandings about their five senses to this task

The Provocation  

The Teddy Bear Factory started with the students talking about their favourite teddy bear. This motivated them to share their personal knowledge, starting the creative process by thinking, reflecting and reasoning before creating their teddy bears.

I asked guiding questions to help them visualise and shape their teddy bear in their minds. After working on this mental image, the children began to draw independently. As part of this process, they were able to reflect on their original design and change it as many times as they wanted until they achieved their desired vision. As Paulo Freire said, "Learning is a process where knowledge is presented to us, then shaped through understanding, discussion and reflection." 

Sense of Sight

As this unit focused on exploring our five senses,  the next step of this project was to experiment with sight and the colours that we can see and enjoy. I made extra copies of their final drawings so they could experiment with  a wide range of designs using different colour patterns. The students were also encouraged to experiment with colours they hadn't tried before that were not their favourites. This part of the process helped them to open their mind to a range of creative options, leading them to a satisfying personal colour palette.

Through their feedback, I learned that although they loved to use their favourite colours, they were also excited to share when they used colours that deviate from their normal selection. They were risk-takers when they used colours that they never used before, and they enjoyed experimenting with different possibilities. The children learned that there was more than one way of doing things. The act of designing and adding colours to their teddy bear plan encouraged their imagination as they also began to give personalities to their teddies.

Sense of Touch

From the colours selected in the children's  drawings, I gathered a wide range of cloth scraps with different textures that the students could experiment with. Some were velvety, shiny, rough, soft, and so on. The students  used their senses to choose  materials continuing the design process. First, they looked for the material in the colours they had on their design. Then they touched different textures of cloth to find the perfect personal ones for their teddy. They were all curious to touch, explore and compare different textures from the materials that would add unique  characteristics to their teddy.

Sense of Smell

In this stage, the children chose a distinctive smell for their teddy. This started with a discussion of the students’’ favourite and least favourite smells. The discussions gave space for a relaxed conversation where they laughed and made interesting comparisons. They all made personal discoveries; some students liked the smell of flowers and some didn’t, others liked the smell of egg and some  enjoyed the smell of durian. From this discussion, I found some essential oils for them to choose from and add a few drops inside their teddies. 

Sense of Hearing

To help the students inquire into sound, I presented them with different materials that produced sounds  that they could use on their teddy bears. After interacting with the materials, some students chose the sounds that would add characteristics to their teddy,while others chose to have a ‘silent’  teddy. One student chose to stuff her bunny’s ears with a crinkly plastic material that created sound, giving the teddy the power of “being a good listener”. Other students chose to experiment with other sounds, by using the crunchy sound of rice on their teddy’s feet or jingle bells in the teddy’s arms.

Sense of Taste and a world of imaginative play

The project was celebrated with a Teddy Bear Picnic, where students were able to appreciate their sense of taste and enjoy playtime with their special teddy. This activity gave room for extended imaginative play and allowed the students to introduce their new teddy to the rest of the group. It encouraged collaboration and conversation while they shared their teddies' names and interests. Later, the kids introduced their teddys to the school community, also sharing a booklet with information and pictures about each step they took to make their cuddly best friend and all the learning experiences they had and creative choices they made

Coming back to the classroom gave us all a feeling that the project had come to an end, but it also represented the start of a new play adventure as the students began to play with one another, taking turns and sharing their teddies. A new learning experience had just begun, giving room for them to communicate, enjoy make-believe play, and develop their social-emotional interactions. “It is playing and just playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and use the whole personality, and it is only by being creative that the individual discovers himself.”― Donald Woods Winnicott, Playing and Reality

Teacher’s Role

My role as a teacher in this process was to observe and identify the type of play the children were enjoying the most, then, extend this play in a way that would be connected to the five senses unit, offering opportunities for them to learn throughout the process. It was important to listen and support them in the development of their ideas. They were offered ongoing reflections during the process, and  were free to explore their creativity in different directions. As Loris Malaguzzi wrote in his book, The Hundred Languages of Children; "Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known."

The final product of The Teddy Bear Factory play was meaningful and reflected well their potential to construct their knowledge. As Jean Piaget says, “Children should be able to do their own experimenting and their own research. Teachers, of course, can guide them by providing appropriate materials, but the essential thing is that in order for a child to understand something, he must construct it himself, he must reinvent it. Every time we teach a child something, we keep him from inventing it himself. On the other hand that which we allow him to discover by himself will remain with him visibly for the rest of his life.” - Jean Piaget, Play and Development: A Symposium

In education, we talk a lot about students as agentic learners, and this project gave them voice, choice, and ownership of their learning. In the end, no teddy bear looked the same and they all had different personalities. Through this experience, the children were able to explore the five senses and use them to make choices to create their teddy bear. 

Play-based learning is at the heart of our early childhood education philosophy at Chatsworth International School. Chatsworth is distinguished by its play-based kindergarten curriculum, which emphasises what students learn and how they learn it. Here, both child-initiated and teacher-supported learning are included in our play-based approach. Our teachers can help foster a love of learning in young children that will carry throughout their education. 

 To find out more, feel free to contact us, visit our campus and enrol your child into Chatsworth to see what our international school has to offer. Learn more about how play-based learning inspires our youngest learners today.

References

The IB Primary Years Programme In An Early Years Setting. IB PYP, 2015, pp. 1-4, https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/digital-toolkit/brochures/1511-pyp-early-years-en.pdf, Accessed 21 Mar 2022.
IB PYP, The Role of the Educator in Play, January 2022
Piaget, Jean, and Margaret Cook. The Origins Of Intelligence In Children. International Universities Press, 1998.
Piers, Maria W et al. Play And Development. W.W. Norton, 1972.
Singer, Dorothy G, and Jerome L Singer. The House Of Make-Believe. Harvard University Press, 1990.
Singer, Dorothy G, and Jerome L Singer. Imagination And Play In The Electronic Age. Harvard University Press, 2009.
Edwards, Carolyn P et al. The Hundred Languages Of Children. Ablex Pub. Corp., 1993.
Winnicott, D. W. Playing And Reality.
Winnicott, D. W et al. The Collected Works Of D.W. Winnicott. 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, p. 447 - Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena.
Gardner, Howard. Frames Of Mind. 3rd ed., Basic Books A Member Of Perseus Book Group, 1983.
Vygotskiĭ, L. S. Play And Its Role In The Mental Development Of The Child. https://www.https://www.all-about-psychology.com/, 2011.
"The Educational Theory Of Paulo Freire". Newfoundations.Com, 2022, https://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Freire.html

The last two years have certainly proven that the landscape of work can very rapidly shift in ways that none of us, save a sci-fi author here and there, would have anticipated. Fortunately, conversations regarding the relevance of current student learning to their future needs have been a hot topic for the past couple decades already. The Partnership for 21st Century Learning surveyed students, educators, parents and business leaders across a wide range of industries to ascertain the skills and knowledge that would best prepare students for careers in the future. One of the most essential interdisciplinary themes that emerged was a need for ‘global awareness.’ 

In the educational community and the working world alike, we often speak of the importance of global citizenship, but how does one go about teaching it? What practical and soft skills can Chatsworth students learn to build their global awareness and enhance their participation in the global community?

Cross-cultural Communicators

The International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma Programmes address global citizenship in varied ways, but one core component of all its programmes is the study of at least two languages. Learning additional languages has the obvious benefit of facilitating functional communication with members of other language communities, enlarging one’s circle of potential employment opportunities. 

However, learning languages extends far beyond a study of vocabulary and grammar. It also introduces students to different cultural ways of thinking and expands their perspectives beyond what seems ‘natural’ to them in their own cultures. This, in turn, supports the development of open-mindedness, which has been found to be a key indicator of success in intercultural environments. 

A widely used tool to understand which people are most likely to succeed in situations requiring communicative and intercultural competence is the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire, which identifies five main traits as important factors: cultural empathy, flexibility, social initiative, emotional stability, and open-mindedness. In a 2019 study of 651 multilingual speakers, research partners at the University of London and University of Luxembourg found that open-mindedness was the trait that was most strongly associated with multilinguals.

Language Acquisition at Chatsworth International School

Chatsworth students are first exposed to learning languages in the Early Years, where they get to try out both Mandarin and French. As a PYP school, the transdisciplinary nature of the curriculum lends itself to an exploration of cultural values and perspectives as each language teacher relates the curriculum to the overall Unit of Inquiry. By Year 3, when students enter Junior Years, they choose between Mandarin and French to start concentrating on building greater linguistic and cultural fluency in one of those languages. 

This concentration is focused further in the Middle Years Programme as students enter secondary school, where students are placed into one of six phases depending on their proficiency levels. The cultural nature of language acquisition is evident in the inquiry-based, conceptual units in the MYP, with global contexts providing a framework to learn about cultural perspectives alongside the more functional elements of language learning. For instance, Chatsworth students can develop intercultural awareness of etiquette, family structures, work environments, and free time pursuits of societies where French, Mandarin, and English are spoken within the ‘Identities and Relationships’ context. Meanwhile, other global contexts like ‘Fairness and Development’ or ‘Globalization and Sustainability’ help students understand how other societies’ historical, geographical, and political particulars influence how they experience and react to common global issues like migration or human rights abuses. 

At the Diploma Programme level, Chatsworth students build on these foundations to take their language skills to high levels of proficiency in the Language B course, or they have the opportunity to develop skills in a brand new language with the DP Ab initio course. In both, however, the emphasis on intercultural awareness remains strong, with students examining how societies where those languages are spoken deal with a wide range of issues, from views on marriage to gender equality to the effects of innovation on entertainment. In the process, students not only discover the variation that exists between and within language communities but also reflect on what binds people together in their common humanity.

Mother Tongue Programme

The global pandemic of the last two years has taught all of us to value all the more our connections with family and friends. For many international families in Singapore, especially those new to the island, one major concern in maintaining these strong connections is how to continue their children’s mother tongue language development while attending an English-medium school. In the fluid and mobile world of employment and global relocation, some may also worry whether enrolling their children in an English-medium school will make it impossible for them to slot back into school in their home country when they have to repatriate.

Chatsworth’s unique Mother Tongue Programme can allay these worries by offering students the opportunity to continue literacy development in their mother tongue, instead of taking another acquisition language in secondary school. In the MYP, students will be taught by Mother Tongue tutors in the Language & Literature course, coordinated by the Mother Tongue Coordinator. Students whose native language is Japanese have the additional convenience of having a Japanese teacher on staff to teach them the Language and Literature course in Japanese. Students enrolled in the Mother Tongue course may even be eligible to receive the prestigious bilingual MYP Certificate, demonstrating their high levels of proficiency in both English and their mother tongue through their various courses at Chatsworth. 

Similarly, at the Diploma level, Chatsworth students can continue developing and demonstrating their bilingual abilities by enrolling in the School-Supported Self-Taught Literature course. Supported by native-speaking language tutors and the Mother Tongue coordinator, students on this course will find themselves on track to obtain a bilingual IB Diploma at the end of their Chatsworth studies. 

Most importantly, students who keep a strong mother tongue will be able to keep secure ties to their relatives, friends, and language communities. For those students still developing their English language proficiency, it is also important to understand that strong mother tongue proficiency helps students learn English faster, too!

English as an Additional Language (EAL) Programme

Given the benefits that additional languages bring, many expatriate parents wish to take advantage of the opportunity to immerse their children in an English-medium international school environment. This is, however, often also accompanied by a series of niggling worries: 

- How will my child cope with his/her classes in English? 
- Will my child be able to make friends using English? 
- How will the school support my child in learning English? 

Chatsworth has specialist EAL teachers in both the primary and secondary schools to support the language development of non-native speakers. In primary school, EAL teachers have special pull-out classes for EAL students to work on the development of oral communication (speaking and listening) and literacy skills (reading and writing). These teachers also coordinate with the students’ homeroom teachers to provide differentiated support for lessons taught within the mainstream classroom.

In Chatsworth’s Middle Years Programme, EAL students are supported in their English language journey in three ways. First, they will have a regularly taught class of English Language Acquisition, which is the same type of inquiry-based, concept-driven language course that students learning French or Mandarin take. Second, they receive additional EAL Support classes. The timetabled EAL Support lessons help enrich students’ vocabulary and grammar, in addition to giving them additional opportunities to practice their speaking, listening, reading and writing. Finally, students have the opportunity to attend EAL Subject Support Sessions to get language-related assistance with their work in the other MYP subjects. At the Diploma Programme level, students with upper intermediate English proficiency can enroll in the English B programme to continue the development of their skills to an advanced level.

Finally, it should ease the minds of these parents to know that Chatsworth is a school that not only teaches diverse perspectives through its language classes; it also lives and breathes diverse perspectives naturally through its wide array of students and staff. With approximately 50 student nationalities and 20 staff nationalities, it is actually quite likely that your child will find someone who speaks the same mother tongue! Moreover, with such a diverse community and small class sizes, it is even more likely that other young global citizens will exercise the open-mindedness they have developed to interact and befriend your child, irrespective of language or background.

References

¹Partnership for 21st Century Learning. “Framework for 21st Century Learning Definitions.” P21 Framework Definitions, Battelle for Kids, 2019, http://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/P21_Framework_DefinitionsBFK.pdf.
²Hofhuis, Joep, et al. “Validation of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire Short Form (MPQ-SF) for Use in the Context of International Education.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, 28 Dec. 2020, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0244425. 
³Dewaele, J-M and Botes, E. (2019) Does multilingualism shape personality? An exploratory investigation. International Journal of Bilingualism DOI: 10.1177/1367006919888581

Chatsworth International School places importance on empowering our students to be inquisitive and responsible. We have adopted techniques into our curriculum and identity to give students the tools to become proficient problem-solvers starting from preschool education and later, in all aspects of their lives. Cultivating students as thinkers and effective communicators has shown that children who implement appropriate problem-solving strategies are better liked by their peers, play more constructively and are more co-operative. 

Chatsworth International School’s mission and vision encourage students to question, collaborate, problem-solve and lead investigations to develop essential learning and personal development skills. Additionally, they teach students to foster intercultural understanding and respect from the preschool stage.

Why Is Problem Solving Important for PreSchool Education?

Problem solving teaches students to take responsibility for their actions through brainstorming solutions and resolving conflict through emotional and rational consideration.

Problem solving teaches the young ones to take what they know and discover what they do not know. It helps students overcome challenges by identifying the problem, seeking a solution, generating knowledge and making decisions. It’s important to start teaching your child to recognise their emotions and problem solve tricky situations to build a solid foundation for the coming development.

Chatsworth International School Curriculum

PreSchool Education

Our early childhood education focuses on play-based learning to nurture their sense of inquiry and imagination. This provides stimuli for them to build confidence and exercise their decision-making process. Our preschool teachers lay the foundation for them to eventually be comfortable with unfamiliar situations and develop the ability to shift through choices on their own. 

One of the methods that the counseling department at Chatsworth International Primary uses to teach our students is the Kelso's Choices approach. This problem-solving approach is a great tool for preprimary and primary students to practise resolving small problems they may face in school or at home and pick up conflict management skills. We encourage our students to try two of nine 'choices’ on their own using Kelso’s Choices before a teacher or an adult steps in to assist to resolve the problem.

International Primary School Singapore

Our international primary school in Singapore implements the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP), an inquiry-based programme, to emphasise thinking, investigating, questioning and developing as a person.

We aim to nurture in our students an international mindfulness and leverage their prior knowledge and experiences. With PYP, Chatsworth International School  teaches learners to construct meaning through critical thinking and knowledge transfer. We aspire our students to be, 

• Principled - they take safe and informed actions that positively impact our changing world.

• Balanced - through adaptability, collaboration and resilience, learners lead balanced and compassionate lives.

• Global Communicators - they build effective communication skills on multiple platforms in a global context.

• Thinkers - they engage in thought and research to solve important problems.

Preparation for a Globalised World

Your children are growing up in a generation influenced by technology which opens doors to job opportunities that have not been invented. Therefore, international primary schools need to focus on hands-on practical learning that involves soft skills such as communication, creativity and problem solving in their curriculum. A concept inquiry approach challenges students to think critically and creatively. By being active participants in their learning process, students learn to be analytical, adaptable and have a lateral mindset amongst other related skills.

More than just grades, we aim to nurture community members that can communicate their emotions to others and think critically before making a decision. It all starts with a holistic preschool education and committing to develop those problem solving skills throughout their international primary and middle years.