Press Alert
Story and Photo Opportunity / Julia Winer
Assistant Director of Communications
(860) 509-3666

Event: International Magnet School to Host Round Table with Partner International Baccalaureate Schools
Date: Friday, February 28, 2014
Time: 8:30 am – 2:00 pm
Location: 625 Chapel Road, South Windsor, CT
Summary:
On Friday, February 28, the CREC International Magnet School will host the first Connecticut International Baccalaureate (IB), Primary Years Program (PYP), round table discussion at the school’s brand-new facility in South Windsor. The event will include schools from Maine, Manhattan, Upstate New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
The event is the first of its kind at the elementary level in Connecticut. International Baccalaureate programs are growing quickly in New England, providing IB schools more opportunities to collaborate and discuss best practices as they relate to an IB education. The topic for the round table is the Fifth Grade Exhibition Project; a lengthy research-based action project, driven entirely by student inquiry. The Exhibition is a requirement of all students in the fifth grade in IB schools.
As the newly appointed Vice President of the Primary Years Program for the Guild of IB Schools New England (GIBS), Cindy Rigling, principal of the CREC International Magnet School volunteered to host the first event at the school’s new facility. “In the Capitol Region alone, there are now 4 elementary schools that are either IB authorized or in the candidacy phase,” explained Rigling. “This will allow for an increasingly strong network of support around the implementation of the IB. I look forward to participating in and hosting future Guild of IB Schools New England (GIBS) events that promote collaboration and enable us to best meet the needs of our students through an IB education.”
The round table event will incorporate three separate exemplar presentations, followed by round table discussions and collaboration sessions:
·  Implementation of the Exhibition - Presented by Mahowski Elementary, Buffalo, NY/
·  Sustaining the Exhibition - Presented by Dundee Elementary, Greenwich, CT/
·  Assessing the Exhibition - Presented by Dwight School, NY, NY/
The program will begin with breakfast at 8:30 am and conclude after presentations and a tour around 2:00 pm. Schools unable to attend in person were also invited to participate virtually, using Go To Meeting.
###

Capitol Region Education Council www.crec.org