The Spotlight on IB at CTS

The mission of W.H. Council Traditional School is to be the school of choice that generates students who excel academically and are responsible, courteous citizens. This will be accomplished by providing a challenging curriculum in an atmosphere of high expectations. With the fulfillment of this mission, W.H. Council Traditional School will generate a community of global learners.

Council homeroom teachers selected one student from their classroom who displayed all the IB Learner Profile attributes throughout the first quarter. IB learners strive to be open-minded, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, inquirers, caring, risk takers, balanced and reflective. These students were exemplary role models for their peers. Recipients of this recognition were rewarded IB World Pins, which can be worn on the collar near the top button of their uniform for the rest of the 2024-2025 school year.

Congratulations to the following IB Students of the Quarter:

Kindergarten: Charleigh Allen, Maggie Lovvorn-Harris, Aiden Holbein, Raina Thomas, Blakely Nelson

First Grade: Kaelynn Easterling, Rylan Shelton-Shephard, Janiyah Oakley, Dhian Patel, Donald Truong

Second Grade: Haleigh Jones-Canady, Koryn Gentry, Rachel Callier, Alijah Johnson, Brooker Creighton

Third Grade: Emma Gafford, Kaycee Shelly, Patricia Cushman, Zuri Murphy

Fourth Grade: Kaiden Holley, Kinleigh Gaskin, Rachel Kidd, Curby Andrews

Fifth Grade: Skylar White, Olivia Turnbull, Ethan King, Penny Curtis

Central Idea: Making the right choices helps us stay healthy.

Lines of Inquiry:

• An inquiry into daily habits and routines (hygiene, sleep, play, eating).
• An inquiry into balanced choices.
• An inquiry into the consequences of choice.

Key Concepts:

• Form
• Causation
• Function

Students learned how healthy daily habits and routines promote wellness. They connected actions to consequences and distinguished good choices from poor ones.

Central Idea: Learning about ourselves helps us understand and connect to others, specifically community helpers.

Lines of Inquiry:

• An inquiry into the ways we are special and unique.
• An inquiry into how people grow and change.
• An inquiry into the groups to which we belong.
• An inquiry into how community helpers help our community.

Key Concepts:

• Function
• Form
• Perspective

Kindergarten students learned about how they share similarities and have unique qualities that make them different. They also explored how to establish essential agreements with their classmates and teachers to build a community of learners. Additionally, they discovered that community helpers have special jobs that contribute to keeping our community healthy and safe.

Central Idea: People, animals, and plants have different parts to help them grow.

Lines of Inquiry:

• An inquiry into how organisms use external parts to survive and grow.
• An inquiry into what behaviors from a parent or offspring help the offspring survive.
• An inquiry into what human problems have been solved by mimicking the external parts of animals and plants.

Key Concepts:

• Responsibility
• Change
• Function

Central Idea: People have responsibilities to their families, friends, and themselves.

Lines of Inquiry:

• An inquiry into what it means to be responsible.
• An inquiry into the importance of being responsible.
• An inquiry into our responsibilities and rights globally.

Key Concepts:

• Responsibility
• Causation
• Function

Second graders explored the meaning of responsibility at home and school. They learned about the importance of responsibilities and how their actions benefit others. Students shared their responsibilities at home and in school.

Central Idea: Scientific discoveries about the natural world and its cause-and-effect relationships can often lead to new and improved technologies that impact society.

Lines of Inquiry:

• An inquiry into balanced and unbalanced forces.
• An inquiry into the pattern of motion.
• An inquiry into electric and magnetic interactions.
• An inquiry into simple machines.

Key Concepts:

• Function
• Causation
• Connection

Third graders explored the forces of motion, learned about simple machines, and investigated electric and magnetic interactions. They researched the different types of forces we encounter in our daily lives and wrote a children's book about these concepts, which they later read aloud to younger students.

Central Idea: We are responsible for keeping body systems healthy so they function correctly.

Lines of Inquiry:

• An inquiry into how the body system works.
• An inquiry into the responsibility of keeping a healthy body.
• An inquiry into how body systems are connected.

Key Concepts:

• Responsibility
• Function
• Connection

Central Idea: Society is a reflection of cultural beliefs.

Lines of Inquiry:

• An inquiry into the six aspects of culture.
• An inquiry into why culture is important to societies.
• An inquiry into how culture has affected history.
• An inquiry into how culture has affected society.

• Form
• Function
• Perspective

Fifth graders studied the six aspects of culture by exploring the history of early colonists and the Native American tribes that inhabited America. Students compared and contrasted the cultures and perspectives of European colonists regarding the colonization of North America. They conducted research on a Native American tribe of their choice that lived in North America during colonial times. Working together, students created posters to showcase their findings and presented their information to their classmate

PYP students have VOICE, CHOICE, and OWNERSHIP! When students feel valued and heard, they become proactive in their learning. They become involved in what is happening in their community and take action!

Patricia Cushman, a third grader from Mrs. Jones's class, hosted a student-initiated supply drive to support Purrfect Partners of Mobile, an organization that fosters and rehomes cats and kittens.

On September 21, CTS students, families, and staff volunteered at Dauphin Island beaches for the annual Alabama Coastal Clean Up. They picked up trash and helped keep Alabama's coastal waterways clean. Through these school-wide community service projects, CTS aims to cultivate open-minded, caring, and forward-thinking students.