Exploring International Baccalaureate at McKemy Academy

McKemy Academy of International Studies is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. Serving grades six through eight, McKemy’s global-mindedness program aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To learn more about this unique middle school option, we interviewed three members of the McKemy community:

Dino Puccetti, Principal 
Kathleen Burd, Humanities Teacher
Ava Sharpe, Eighth Grader

How is the IB approach at McKemy different from other middle school curriculum?

Dino (D): IB instruction is really about the process. It gives the student the power to explore, learn, and hopefully make learning meaningful. When learning becomes meaningful is when they really develop as students and can rise to the occasion academically.

Kathleen (K): With IB, we strive to help students become big thinkers. We like to teach critical thinking through concepts. We take a global perspective and sort of zoom out from the content that we're learning and see how it can connect with other parts of the world.

For example, what makes IB a little different is when we study Egyptian mummies. Instead of reading and just answering questions about mummies, we dig a little deeper and pose a big question to students: Should mummies be in museums? Students had to look at multiple sources to construct a claim using those multiple sources and create evidence about yes, they should or no, they should not be in museums. 

Ava (A): I like being able to ask questions. We don't just read the text, we annotate and dig deeper.

 

Describe a student who flourishes in an IB environment?

K: McKemy IB students really want to be challenged. They want to think outside of the box. They are risk takers. They really value diversity and are motivated to learn. 

D: The goal is to bring students who are naturally curious, that want to learn, and want higher rigor. We want kids to become thinkers. That includes showing what a community means, showing what working together means, and then how we impact not only our local community at the school, the smaller local community, and then the greater community, state, national, global. That is an IB student.

How does McKemy prepare students for high school and beyond?

D: The central goal is to develop thinkers that they can move on into high school and then to higher education and do great things. When McKemy students go to high school, they're better prepared because they can problem solve. They have been exposed to problems and have worked through them.

McKemy students have the ability to earn two full credits entering high school, which is a huge advantage. In math, if students are ready academically for an honors math class, they will take algebra their eighth grade year. Each student also takes Spanish from sixth through eighth grade. If they become proficient, they'll be able to test out of their first year Spanish in high school.

K: Students that complete this program at McKemy are better prepared for high school because they really value open mindedness, critical thinking, and big conceptual learning. It gives them a wider perspective in valuing diversity and how different cultures approach their lifestyle and what impact that has. We are so interconnected in the world. IB provides them with empathy and that understanding of different people. 

 

Part of the McKemy experience is completing service hours and a capstone service project in 8th grade. Can you talk a little bit about these opportunities?

K: I think the community service project is great because it shows the students that there is a bigger world out there than just outside these four walls. They usually pick a project that they're passionate about. 

A: I love helping people, so that's why I was so excited to come to McKemy. Our service projects help us be more aware of the people around you and not just your community but also know what it's like for people across the world. This year I've been working with my grandma on sewing blankets, and we're going to be handing them out to Helen’s Hope Chest. 

The McKemy slogan is “McKemy Academy: It’s a great place to be!” What does that mean to you?

D: The students are unbelievably caring. They feel like they're part of the total community here. They support each other. It's diverse in how we look and how we think. But one thing about the McKemy community is that they're very supportive of each other. When we celebrate one, we celebrate all. I think that's what makes McKemy Academy a great place to be.

A: Like Mr. Puccetti said, it’s definitely the students. I like building new friendships. The teachers are amazing, too. I have been able to build a bond with the teachers and get to know them more.

K: We have strong leadership. We have a really small school so everyone knows each other. We know all of the students because we watch them grow for three years. We problem solve together, and we make decisions together. 

Learn more about what it means to be a McKemy Academy student at the Open House on Thursday, December 5 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. 

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About McKemy Academy of International Studies
McKemy Academy of International Studies is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School serving grades six through eighth grade. McKemy’s IB global mindedness program aims at developing inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. Learn more about McKemy Academy of International Studies.