Keystone Magazine Learning the Keystone Way 2015-2016 EN | Page 125

the Diploma Programme Stand-
ards and Practices by a team of
two, Nigel Forbes-Harper and
Nannan Mu. The team was im-
pressed with what the school
has to offer in resources, facili-
ties and staff. They also com-
mended the collaborative and
collegial nature of Keystone's
teaching staff. The articulation,
confidence, and ready-to-make-
a-difference attitude of the stu-
dents were most encouraging,
as was the parents’ awareness
of the diploma, and their confi-
dence in the school to deliver it
successfully.
The Keystone Factor
The IB Diploma Programme
consists of six subject groups,
namely : Language and Lit-
erature, Language Acquisition,
Individuals and Societies, Sci-
ences, Mathematics and The
Arts. Students choose one sub-
ject from each group – three
at higher and three at standard
level – including an English and
a Chinese language course, and
meet the requirements of the
core modules, which are Theory
of Knowledge, Extended Es-
say, and Creativity, Activity and
Service (CAS). Most importantly,
Keystone offers the Bilingual
Diploma. This is prestigious, and
any student completing high
school with a Bilingual Diploma
will be better placed in the in-
ternational college and univer-
sity application pool.
Keystone graduates will stand
out fur ther because of the
unique opportunity to com-
plete high school on an aca-
demic scholarship. The Junzi
Scholarship program is open
to high school students for the
two years of the IBDP. It is the
Keystone salute to the girls and
boys who have demonstrated
outstanding academic suc-
cess including strong fluency
in English, leadership skills,
and qualities of a junzi, which
in Confucian tradition entails
knowledge, compassion,
discipline and virtue. “In the
future we hope all Keystone
students will graduate with a
Bilingual Diploma,” beams As-
sistant Head of High School
and IBDP Coordinator, Rick
Spadafora adding, “Keystone
will be unique in the IB family
because of our Chinese Thread,
and we hope to work towards
making Chinese Civilization a
subject offering in the IB Hu-
manities group. We also intend
to make Keystone a center of
teacher training excellence in
the region.” In addition to these
distinctive academic merits,
Keystone is also a college prep
school complete with college
counseling, advising and resi-
dential programs that ensure
that Keystone graduates will be
ready to succeed and flourish
at the college level.
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