The mission of the International Middle School at GAIS is to provide an outstanding international education focused on inquiry-based learning with the goal of fostering confident, respectful, creative and responsible lifelong learners and global thinkers.

The International Middle School implements the International Baccalaureate: Middle Years Programme (IB MYP), a modern international educational program that fosters the development and education of the whole person, through the understanding of concepts, the mastery of skills needed in the modern world, and the development of positive attitudes.

International families and students who have had some German, French, or Spanish exposure will find the small class sizes, rigorous international math and science curriculum and GAIS community a welcome choice for middle school.

Applicants to the middle school can be English-only speakers. The school's courses are a mix between those taught exclusively in English (or bilingually) and those which students can opt to take in either English or German. See here for more information about our middle school admissions process.

The IB MYP provides students with:

• Holistic learning through an interdisciplinary approach
• Integrated, concept-based learning
• The ability to solve large-scale, complex problems
• Confidence and strong communication skills
• Intercultural awareness and values
• Fluency with computer technology
• Active community service

Life in the 21st century places many changing demands on adolescent students. They are at a crucial period of personal, social, physical and intellectual development, of uncertainty and of questioning. The IB MYP is designed to help them find a sense of belonging in the ever-changing and increasingly interrelated world around them and to foster a positive attitude to learning.

The Middle School's small class sizes and nurturing environment ensure that the teachers and staff can give students individual attention. Differentiated teaching is practiced in the Middle School, and individual learning plans can be developed where necessary with parents and students to accelerate learning. Both the individual attention and the IB program allow for students to progress quickly.  Our student to teacher ratio is 10:1.

The IB is being embraced by many local schools at the high school level. GAIS currently has the only bilingual international IB MYP program on the San Francisco Peninsula.

Students who graduate from our Middle School go on to local private and public, as well as German , high schools.  The IB MYP program promotes independent learners who are able to succeed in large and small high schools alike.

Student and parents receive counseling on high school options starting at the end of sixth grade. The school provides assistance with high school applications both in the US and abroad.  Recent GAIS Middle School graduates have attended:

In the US:

• Castilleja, Palo Alto
• Gunn High School, Palo Alto
• Menlo Atherton, Menlo Park
• Menlo School, Menlo Park
• Palo Alto High School
• Pinewood, Los Altos
• Sacred Heart, Menlo Park
• Saint Francis, Mountain View
• Sequoia High School, Redwood City (including the IB program)
• Summit, Redwood City

In Europe:

• Berlin Brandenburg International School
• Stuttgart International School
• Vienna International School

Attachments:

File
GAIS Handbook 2011-12.pdf