Teaching and Learning

Curriculum

Our updated curriculum is always shared at the beginning of the school year during our first parent meetings and added to our website. You can also follow our curriculum as it is implemented throughout the year on Toddle. 

Homework 

Homework is an essential part of your child’s educational progress at ISH. Homework helps students develop valuable skills such as good study habits, time management, responsibility, and perseverance. Teachers will assign homework that will foster individual learning and growth that is appropriate for their grade level. The school’s homework policy is described in the school’s Assessment Policy, published on the school website https://ib.ish.dk/about-us/school-policies.

Reports and Grades

Primary School

In the PYP, reporting on student learning serves to inform the entire learning community and answer the essential question: “How well are we doing?” (IB, From Principles into Practice, 2020). Reporting provides an overview of each student’s progress, identifies areas for continued growth, and supports the ongoing development of the programme.

We issue two formal report cards during the year:

• Mid-Year Report Card (December):
  During the months of November and December, students engage in common assessments that focus on knowledge, conceptual understanding, and skill development. These assessments, combined with ongoing formative and summative assessments from throughout the year, inform the written narrative included in the mid-year report. The report provides formative feedback to guide each child’s learning journey and reflects their progress across subject areas and approaches to learning.
  
  

• End-of-Year Report Card (June):
  The end-of-year report offers a summary of each student’s progress throughout the entire school year. Reports are not calculated as an average across the year; rather, they reflect where the child is at the end of the year.
  
  

Throughout the year, assessment is an ongoing and natural part of daily learning. Both formative and summative assessments are embedded in the learning process, ensuring teachers have a full picture of each student’s learning journey, both academically and personally.

Middle School

Students receive complete grades on report cards twice a year (January and June), and the reporting cycle is communicated at the beginning of each school year. The primary aim of assessment at the International School of Hellerup is to evidence and mark the achievement of student learning. There is a progress report published one week after the autumn Learning Conferences (October). ISH follows the IBs recommended grading  scale 1-7. These grades are based on  a holistic evaluation of student performance in each subject group over the course of the reporting period. The reports  constitute salient information that paves the way to the next step in their journey of learning. 

High School

Students receive grades three or four times a year, depending on their year level. In the IB Diploma, students receive a Progress Report grade mid-semester (October and March) and, at the end of each semester (January and June) a Semester &/or End of Year Report, which is an official school transcript used for university application. ISH follows the IBs recommended grading  scale 1-7. These grades are based on  a holistic evaluation of student performance in each subject over the course of the reporting period, and is usually derived from a combination of summative assessment and the teacher's evaluation of students' progress in Internal Assessment (IA) tasks.

Student Led and Parent Teacher Conferences

Primary School 

Student-Led Conferences and Parent-Teacher Conferences

In alignment with our PYP philosophy, we offer both Student-Led Conferences and Parent-Teacher Conferences as part of our ongoing commitment to involving students and families in the learning process.

Parent-Teacher Conferences (October)
Parent-Teacher Conferences take place early in the school year, before the mid-year report cards are issued in December. These conferences provide an opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss the student’s academic progress, approaches to learning, social-emotional development, and overall well-being. The dialogue supports a shared understanding of the student’s strengths, areas for growth, and how the learning environment is supporting their development as lifelong learners.

Student-Led Conferences (Before the Easter Break in March)
Student-Led Conferences are an essential part of fostering student agency and ownership of learning. Prior to the Easter break, students take the lead in sharing their learning journey with their families. They reflect on their progress, demonstrate their understanding across subject areas, and set personal goals. This process empowers students to take responsibility for their learning and actively engage in meaningful conversations about their growth as inquirers, thinkers, and communicators.

Middle School 

The autumn Learning Conferences are held before the release of Middle School Progress Reports in October.  These are short meetings between the student, parent and subject teacher. These autumn meetings allow us to identify areas to leverage and areas to support to ensure that students thrive throughout the school year. In spring, our Learning Conferences are student led and include students, parents and advisors. It provides the opportunity to discuss student progress, celebrate successes, set learning goals and reflect on improvements. These meetings are led by and centered around the student to promote student agency.  To end each year, we host a Learning Celebration which allows the whole community to come together to celebrate the learning journey of our students as a whole.

High School Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences (SPTCs) 

SPTCs are held after the release of the High School Progress Reports in October (PR1) and March (PR2). These conferences are an opportunity for students to celebrate their learning progress with their parents, and for the subject teachers to identify opportunities for areas of growth and improvement. The SPTCs are often situated after the Progress Reports so that teachers can discuss student performance and progress based on data derived from IB assessment criteria, whilst also giving students an opportunity to implement their feedback and improve performance in subsequent assessments that will directly affect the official end of semester reports / transcripts.

MYP Service as Action

Service as Action is a core component of the MYP programme. Its aim is to engage students into service learning which gives them opportunities through research, advocacy and action, to make a positive difference in the world.

All students are expected to complete a minimum of one service learning activity in a school year and by doing so achieve the 7 learning outcomes of service learning in the 5 years of the MYP programme:

• Become more aware of their strengths and areas for growth 

• Undertake challenges that develop new skills 

• Discuss, evaluate and plan student-initiated activities 

• Persevere in action 

• Work collaboratively with others 

• Awareness and understanding of culture, intercultural understanding and international mindedness 

• Consider the ethical implications of their actions 

These actions can be student-led or teacher-led, individual or collective, in or out of school and can be embedded in units or take the form of projects in small groups or at whole grade levels.  

Our service activities are often articulated around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as outlined by the United Nations. Each grade level will work to research and plan action to bring the achievement of this global agenda closer to home.