PRIMARY IB PROGRAMME
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAMME (PYP) - IB PYP IN OTTAWA
AcadeCap offers the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). This international curriculum encourages curiosity, reflection, and meaningful engagement throughout each learner’s years of primary education.
As an IB-authorized school in Ottawa, we integrate the PYP framework into the fabric of our learning spaces and culture in order to help students understand how to learn and how to make sense of the world around them.
PRIMARY IB PROGRAMME
The PYP is structured around three guiding pillars: The Learner, Learning and Teaching, and The Learning Community.
This is an integrated, intentional approach where everything students do has purpose and context. From their earliest years, learners at AcadeCap are introduced to the habits of thought and reflection that will serve them throughout their education. Whether they’re solving a math problem or reflecting on any type of text, students are asked to engage with the material, think critically, and contribute meaningfully.
The PYP at AcadeCap lays the groundwork for confident, capable learners who are ready to take on more advanced programmes, including the Pre-Secondary School Programme and the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, and to meet the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing world.
The Learner
In the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), students are seen as capable, curious individuals. At AcadeCap, we honour each child’s unique experiences and interests, placing them at the centre of their own learning.
We nurture student agency—the ability to take initiative, reflect, and make choices. Our learners are encouraged to ask questions, think critically, and evaluate their growth. They come to see learning not as something done to them, but as something they actively shape.
This shift empowers students and builds confidence, independence, and a love of learning that lasts well beyond the classroom.
Learning and Teaching
Learning at AcadeCap is driven by inquiry. Our educators design meaningful, interdisciplinary experiences that spark curiosity and promote deep understanding across subjects.
Teaching is responsive and flexible, guided by students’ needs and interests. Assessment is ongoing and based on reflection, conversation, and observation, not just tests or grades.
By encouraging exploration and supporting risk-taking, we help students make connections, solve problems, and engage with complex ideas in authentic ways.
The Learning Community
The PYP values collaborative learning communities where every voice matters. At AcadeCap, we foster strong relationships built on trust, respect, and care.
Students learn in an environment where they feel safe to express themselves, listen to others, and take responsibility for their role in the community. Families are active partners in this journey.
These habits of connection, empathy, and global awareness prepare students to thrive—not only academically, but as thoughtful contributors to the world around them.
Transdisciplinary Learning
At the heart of the PYP is a transdisciplinary approach that empowers students to explore big ideas across subject areas. Instead of learning in isolated subjects, students engage in units of inquiry guided by conceptual questions and transdisciplinary themes, such as How We Express Ourselves or Sharing the Planet.
This integrated model helps students see connections across disciplines and understand that learning is deeply interconnected. It also supports student agency, encouraging learners to bring their own questions, interests, and experiences into the process.
Through transdisciplinary learning, students develop not only academic knowledge but also essential approaches to learning—such as critical thinking, research, and communication—preparing them to make sense of an increasingly complex world.
