Founded by De La Salle Brothers in 1852, St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) is an independent catholic school, whose mission is to nurture students to learn how to learn and to learn how to live, so that they can be empowered to grow into men and women of integrity and men and women for others.
St. John Baptist De La Salle, founder of the De La Salle schools, pioneered a progressive education system more than 300 years ago.
Today, SJI continues that spirit of education following the mission and supporting innovative education. In addition to the secondary school education for boys, SJI offers pre-university education for both boys and girls with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP)*.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, as an alternative to the GCE "A" Levels, is recognized for admission to all Singapore universities and leading universities globally. It is valued for its holistic curriculum and strong focus on independent learning and thinking for university studies, the workplace and the all-round development of young people for a fulfilling life.
The IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) cultivates the knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable students to excel in university. Through the SJI IBDP, students gain rigorous and balanced academic preparation, an ability to draw on knowledge and understanding of various cultures and histories, and the experience of learning how to think critically and apply what they have learned in different contexts and across disciplines.
Over the course of the two-year IBDP, students will: Study six subjects chosen from six subject groups; Complete an Extended Essay; Study a Theory of Knowledge course and Participate in Creativity, Activity, Service
The annual Year 6 Grad Show presents the works by the visual art and music students from the graduating IBDP class. Their artistic works and original compositions were presented to the SJI community in the Bunker. This video showcases the creative works as explained by the student artists from Class of 2022:
The Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course develops in the students an interdisciplinary and
coherent approach to learning that unifies the academic areas, and at the same time
encourages appreciation of other cultural perspectives.
TOK encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself and aims to help young people
make sense of what they encounter. It makes students aware of the nature of knowledge
and personal biases and offers the chance for them to reflect and recognise the role of
knowledge and apply it with greater awareness and credibility.
For the IB Diploma assessment, students are to complete an essay and create an
exhibition of three objects with accompanying commentaries to explore how TOK manifests
in the world.
For more information, visit:
https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/theory-of-knowledge/
The Extended Essay (EE) provides students with an opportunity to engage in personal
research in a topic of their choice, under the guidance of a supervisor. The EE promotes
high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity, and
acquaints students with the independent research and writing skills expected at
university. The EE journey culminates in a major piece of formally presented and
structured writing (3500-4000 words), in which ideas and findings are communicated in a
reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject chosen.
Through continual process reflection, students are able to demonstrate the rationale for
decisions made and the skills and understandings developed, as well as the authenticity
and intellectual initiative of their voice.
The learning involved in researching and writing the extended essay is closely aligned
with the development of many of the characteristics described in the IB learner profile.
Students are to a large extent, responsible for their own independent learning, through
which they acquire and communicate in-depth knowledge and understanding.
The research process necessarily involves intellectual risk-taking and extensive
reflection; open-mindedness, balance and fairness are key prerequisites for a good
extended essay.
Assessment for the award of the IB Diploma comprises both externally-assessed and teacher-assessed components. Read more