Curriculum

Skills and Qualities

Student Services & Opportunities

Advisers’ Voice

Lower Secondary School Curriculum

Project Based Learning

Pioneering a VUCA World through Innovation!

The world is changing at a tremendous pace. Technology is advancing exponentially and is being called the fourth industrial revolution. At the same time, countries around the world are facing a variety of problems brought about by globalization, such as climate change and pandemics. We do not know what the future will bring – this world full of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity is called a “VUCA World”.

However, on a positive note, we are living in a wonderful time when all kinds of innovations are flourishing and we are reaping the benefits of these innovations. Let me give you some examples of recent innovations. Examples are self-driving cars, quantum computers, mRNA in biotech, cultured meat, space exploration, and even plans for migration to Mars. These are just a few examples of technology. The present era has been called the Cambrian explosion period of technology.

Skills and Qualities necessary to become Innovators

VUCA World is an era for innovators, where innovators shine brightest.

We want its students to develop the following six qualities to become innovators and shape the future of the world.

Curiosity

Passion

Ability to think for yourself

Creativity

Communication ability

Resilience

Laurus System of Creating Innovators

Our learning with universities, businesses, and research institutions to connect with researchers, professionals, and entrepreneurs. Students will go beyond the classroom and be inspired by the adults around them, making it applicable to the real world.

The problem with current Japanese junior and senior Upper Secondary students learning is that they spend too much time studying for exams. At Laurus, students learn what kind of research they can do in college and are prepared to contribute to the real world.

STUDENT SERVICES & OPPORTUNITIES

Extracurricular Sports & Activities

Our students have many opportunities to represent their school in performances, contests, and tournaments. Laurus Secondary School will have a growing variety of extracurricular programs: academic, performance, art, & sport.

Guidance Counselling

From Grade 6 onwards, Laurus Secondary School will provide formalized guidance counselling. Our intent is to help all of our students choose their academic paths and move successfully towards post secondary education and the professional goals that await after graduating from Grade 12.

Mentorship Program

Throughout our students’ experiences they will be guided by professionally trained mentors and researchers in science and technology. These one-on-one learning relationships will provide students with coaching and experiences that can only be found in the real world.

Field Studies

Since education is meant to help students how to grow and succeed in the real world, we want to make sure that we are providing them real world experiences! To do so, at two times each academic year, we will take our students into the field to make observations and to conduct experiments. These experiences will provide learning opportunities that are second to none.

SCIENCE ADVISERS’ INTRODUCTION

American Citizen (from Buffalo, NY)

B.A. – SUNY Buffalo 1980 (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Ph.D. – University of Texas 1987 (Cancer Biology)
M.B.A. – SUNY Buffalo 1990 (Marketing)

Life Technologies, Inc. (USA) – Marketing & Technical Training
Life Technologies (Japan) – Business Development
Invitrogen / Life Tech (USA) – Global Product Manager
RIKEN Yokohama Institute – Senior Staff Scientist
DNAFORM K.K. (Japan)– Chief Technical Officer
Merck Millipore (Japan) – Life Science Marketing Manager
Reprocell K.K. (Japan) – Chief Marketing Officer
Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan) – Market Development for Bioreactors

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Dr. Paul E. Cizdziel

ADVISERS’ INTRODUCTION

After graduating from Duke University in the U.S., she worked for a major U.S. consulting firm before completing her MBA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

She is involved with global leaders in Japan and abroad, including prominent entrepreneurs, educators, and astronauts, as well as government agencies, teachers and business people from all over Japan, and university and Upper Secondary students, in order to promote a fundamental shift in education worldwide.

Neinei Shirakawa

Laurus Innovator Education

Laurus Innovator Curriculum

Cambridge International Curriculum

LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM(Year 7, 8 & 9)

・English & Language Arts
・Mathematics
・Combined Science
・Japanese (JLA / JSL)
・Global Perspectives

・Physical Education
・Engineering & Technology
・Art & Design
・Music & Performance Arts
・Discoveries Project

Overview

The Lower Secondary School program at Laurus offers the Cambridge Lower Secondary Curriculum that provides a broad and balanced education for learners. It continues Laurus’ STEM and PBL emphases to the end of Grade 8. From Year 10 students will enter the Upper Secondary program that offers elective specializations towards Post Secondary studies.

English

English focuses on reading, written, and spoken communication skills for different purposes and audiences in four areas: reading, writing, speaking and listening. They learn how to communicate effectively and to a range of information, media, and texts in order to become confident communicators, avid readers, and engaged as writers using the written word clearly and creatively for a variety of audiences and purposes.

Math

Learners develop a holistic understanding of principles, patterns, systems, functions and relationships and become competent and fluent in computation.‘Thinking and working mathematically’, a unique feature of our curriculum, encourages learners to talk with others, challenge ideas and to provide evidence that validates conjectures and solutions. They seek to make sense of ideas and build connections between different facts, procedures and concepts. We have divided this subject into Advanced Numeracy, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Statistics, and Probability.

Science

Students will think scientifically and develop practical skills vital for explaining the world around us. Science provides them with the knowledge and skills they require to excel at in later stages of their secondary education and to make informed choices. This curriculum covers Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Space, Thinking and Working Scientifically, Science in Context.

E & T

Engineering and Technology (E & T) is an inspiring and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, learners design and make products that solve real and relevant problems. They draw on mathematics, science, engineering, computing, and art. The curriculum for engineering and technology aims to ensure that learners develop creative skills together with technical and practical expertise to participate successfully in our increasingly technological world.

ICT

In Information & Communication Technologies, students develop coding skills in text-based programming languages, such as Python. They learn to extract information from instructions, break problems into smaller parts, recognize patterns within sequences, present sequences of instructions verbally and visually, think logically to identify and solve errors in increasingly complex scenarios. They learn how skills such as programming and logical thinking help in local and global industries.

Global Perspectives

Students look at a variety of global issues and contexts: Disease & Health, Migration, Belief Systems, Conflict & Peace, Demographic Change, Sustainability, Poverty & Inequality, Employment, Biodiversity & Ecosystems, Law & Criminality, Education & All, Culture & Identity, Fuel & Energy, Food & Agriculture, Globalisation, Trade & Aid, Transport & Infrastructure, Human Rights, Language & Communication, the Digital World.

Physical Education

Students learn to move and move to learn. They develop skills through age-appropriate physical activities, games, team sports, gymnastics and dance. They increase confidence & control and improve their understanding of sports concepts, teamwork, individual responsibility, rules, tactics, & strategies. They participate in respectful and responsible ways, engaging appropriately and safely, and learn to understand healthy and active lifestyles.

Art & Design

Art & Design gives learners a platform to express themselves, sparking imagination, creativity and greater innovative capacity. Students become reflective, critical, and decisive thinkers. They learn how to articulate personal responses to their experiences, and develop creative skills that help with many aspects of their future development. They learn to see themselves as artists and become increasingly reflective and independent, develop the skills needed to express creative ideas and to communicate with greater impact.

Music

Learners explore music as performers, composers and informed listeners. They make, understand, and appreciate music from different cultures, times, and places, helping them develop leadership and collaborative skills and self-confidence. They develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to contribute and collaborate in purposeful and expressive ways through singing and playing instruments. Students develop creative skills that will help with many aspects of their future learning and development.

Japanese

Continuing from the Primary School curriculum, Laurus offers the Japanese Kokugo program to students from native Japanese language families in order to help them keep pace with their Japanese peers. At the same time, Japanese as a Second Language is offered to those students who are not first language Japanese speakers.

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Project Based Learning (PBL) is an effort to solve real-world problems by working on a single project over a period of weeks or months. Students learn across subject areas of math, science, E&T, and social studies.

This PBL is based on the Process of Engineering. Students learn through the process of discussing a problem, imagining a solution, making a plan, creating a prototype, testing and improving it, and sharing it with others.

Why Cambridge International Curriculum?

Benefits of Cambridge

・Structure and consistency
・Connects Kindergarten to Primary years
・World recognized
・Delivers excellence and global-minded citizens

Benefits to your child:

・International & modern approach
・Promotes hands-on and inquiry-based activities
・Provides academic skills needed to become independent learners
・On-going assessment that monitors child progression and guides teacher area of focus

Click here for more information.