About IB

International Baccalaureate MYP Magnet Programme

Admissions Information

The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) comprises eight subject groups:

The MYP requires at least 50 hours of teaching time for each subject group in each year of the programme.

Each year, students in the MYP also engage in at least one collaboratively planned interdisciplinary unit that involves at least two subject groups.

8th grade MYP students also complete a long-term project, where they decide what they want to learn about, identify what they already know, discovering what they will need to know to complete the project, and create a proposal or criteria for completing it.

Our approach to teaching and learning

The MYP aims to help students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and responsibility in their community.

Teaching and learning in the MYP is underpinned by the following concepts:

Teaching and learning in context

Students learn best when their learning experiences have context and are connected to their lives and their experience of the world that they have experienced.

Using global contexts, MYP students develop an understanding of their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet through developmentally appropriate explorations of:

identities and relationships
personal and cultural expression
orientations in space and time
scientific and technical innovation
fairness and development
globalization and sustainability.

Conceptual understanding

Concepts are big ideas that have relevance within specific disciplines and across subject areas. MYP students use concepts as a vehicle to inquire into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance and examine knowledge holistically. The MYP prescribes sixteen key interdisciplinary concepts along with related concepts for each discipline.

Approaches to learning

A unifying thread throughout all MYP subject groups, approaches to learning (ATL) provide the foundation for independent learning and encourage the application of their knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Developing and applying these social, thinking, research, communication and self management skills helps students learn how to learn.

Service as action, through community service

Action and service have always been shared values of the IB community.

Students take action when they apply what they are learning in the classroom and beyond. IB learners strive to be caring members of the community who demonstrate a commitment to service—making a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Service as action is an integral part of the programme, especially in the MYP community project.

Inclusion and learning diversity in MYP

As part of the MYP curriculum, schools address differentiation within the written, taught and assessed curriculum.

This is demonstrated in the unit planner and in the teaching environment, both of which are reviewed during programme authorization and evaluation.

The MYP allows schools to continue to meet state, provincial or national legal requirements for students with access needs. Schools must develop an inclusion/special educational needs (SEN) policy that explains assessment access arrangements, classroom accommodations and curriculum modification that meet individual student learning needs.

IB Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate 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 this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

What the MYP Offers Students

The MYP aims to develop active learners and internationally minded young people who can empathize with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning.

The programme empowers students to inquire into a wide range of issues and ideas of significance locally, nationally and globally. The result is young people who are creative, critical and reflective thinkers.

Ammons Vision Statement

Action through Global Awareness

Ammons Mission Statement

The mission of the Herbert A. Ammons community is to engage students in developing their intellectual, emotional, and social talents while promoting responsible citizenship in a global society. Engaged in a holistic approach to education, students grow in intercultural awareness, becoming compassionate, independent, life-long learners.

Ammons Core Values

The core values stressed at Herbert A. Ammons Middle School come from the attributes of the International Baccalaureate learner profile. Students are encouraged to be inquirers who are knowledgeable thinkers and communicators, principled, open-minded, caring risk-takers who are balanced and reflective.

Where do Ammons Student Go to College?

Harvard · Penn · Yale · Columbia · University of Florida · University of Miami · Florida State University · Paris-Sorbonne University & University of Paris · Universitat de Barcelona & Universitat de Madrid · Northwestern · Columbia · MIT · Brown · New York University - NYU · Columbia · Stanford · Cornell · And So Many Others

IB Learner Profile

The aim of all IB programs is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

IB Learners Strive To Be

Inquirers

They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable

They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers

They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators

They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled

They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-Minded

They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view and are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring

They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-Takers

They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced

They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.

Reflective

They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.

Marisol Gomez-Decena

As a new 6th grade parent to Herbert A. Ammons Middle School and as the new PTSA President I am “E”lated to share with you just how “A”mazing Ammons truly is. My son and I are so “G”rateful and have felt so welcomed in our new school. From the instant we arrived we have been made to feel like we have been here for years. The teachers are “L”oving to their students and make sure that these students have an “E”xciting experience at Ammons. The administration and staff at Ammons are truly “S”upportive and go above and beyond to make parents and students feel like a welcomed member of the EAGLE family. Scholastic achievements are rewarded and students are motivated to accomplish their goals and are given the opportunity to achieve their highest potential through the IB program. Ammons also offers a variety of athletic and extracurricular activities allowing our students to become the most well-rounded middle schoolers in Miami Dade County.

Lisbeth Alvarez

What I love about Herbert A. Ammons MS is that it is more than just a school it truly is a family. Within the walls of the building that houses its students is a com unity of teachers, staff and administration that will go above and beyond to help its students achieve success. The goal of Ammons is to not challenge its students academically but also encourage them to get out of their comfort zone by joining clubs, extra-curricular and giving back to their community. My daughters wanted to be in everything and anything that Am mons had to offer. Both of my daughters learned that there were activities that they enjoyed that had it not been for the encouragement to be open minded they would not have tried. Gabriella has been on cheer, cross-country, track, various clubs and even started a writing club for the school, The Scribble Society, with the support of Mrs. Starling while in 6th grade. Furthermore, the 18 MYP program has taught my children to be caring by giving back to their community. Sophia has carried that with her through high school by continuing to
volunteer in local organizations and Gabriella as a current 8th grader at Am mons is always looking to present new ideas in her clubs on how students can give back. Most importantly, my daughters carry with them the knowledge and values that have been instilled by the exceptional teachers at
Ammons.

Since I entered Ammons as a parent in 2015, I was welcomed with open arms. This school from the get-go encourages and welcomes it’s parents to be involved. As such I have appreciated every opportunity to help and give back to a school that has provided my child ren with a stellar education. As the current Pa rent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) President, I have had the opportunity to speak with parents about the positive experience that they have had at the school, while also helping to guide new parents that are just entering the middle school with their children. Through the PTSA communication of Bloomz and at general meetings, we work to provide the parents with tips and information to help them support their child ren. We work hand in hand with the administration to ensure that communication is shared to the pa rents about the different components of the IB MYP including learning the importance of the IB Portfolio which each student must complete each year to earn their 18 Certificate at the end of 8th grade.

Word s cannot express how grateful l am to be pa rt of the Ammo ns family and know that my child ren share this sentiment. I look forward to my daughter, Gabriella, havi ng an incredible 8th grade year and am excited to see all of the wonderful experiences she will have, as well as, the memories she will make. Ammons Middle School offers an outstanding well-rounded education and environment and I am glad that both my children have had the opportunity to attend .

Sophia Hussey

As a parent of three, I am very pleased to have chosen Herbert Ammons Middle School as the place where all my children would attend school and learn. It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction for me to know that our daughter, Emma, currently spends her days learning and studying at Herbert Ammons Middle School and my twins, Lucas and Sarah have also spent their days learning and growing at Ammons. I am grateful for the outstanding and well-rounded education all my children have received and are receiving. The rigorous International Baccalaureate program is well balanced between academics and extra-curricular activities, both which present unique learning experiences and opportunities for growth.

Just like her older siblings, Emma is very happy to be a part of the “Ammons” family and is enjoying her time in school. I am confident that all the activities in which she is involved in school will help her with her confidence and build her self-esteem, as they did with her older brother and sister. The community service aspect aimed at assisting students to become more global minded has exposed my children to new volunteer experiences, making them more aware of the world around them. This has resulted in my children learning the value of service to others. Most importantly, my children have always been inspired and influenced by their exceptional teachers at Ammons Middle.

As the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) President and former PTSA Treasurer many parents have shared with me that their children, who have attended Ammons, were very well prepared to take on the challenges of high school, proving once again that Ammons provides an outstanding education for their students. At each PTSA general meeting, we have provided parents with tips on organization, time management training, and study skills support. We have been impressed by the amount of personal communication from the administration and teachers. Ammons fosters the growth of students and individuals and encourages them to become more responsible and set high goals for themselves as well.

I am grateful to be a part of the Ammons “family” and to know that my children feel the same way. I look forward to my daughters continuing progress and I am happy about my older children’s experiences and achievements based on their time at the school. Ammons Middle School has a history of outstanding academic achievement and an environment that exceeds my expectations.