We believe a child who is academically prepared with knowledge is only partly equipped to make a meaningful contribution to society and the world. We cultivate a community for the gifted child that is acutely aware of their social and emotional sensitivities and appropriately nurtures them. Mackintosh Academy’s holistic approach nurtures children socially, emotionally, creatively, physically, and cognitively in a supportive environment that models empathy, sharing, caring, and contributing to community. We believe in cultivating hearts and minds that are open to new ideas and perspectives.
At Mackintosh, the child is at the heart of all of our work. Teachers cultivate students’ individual learning potential while encouraging them to mature into whole, healthy human beings who are confident about their unique gifts and their place in the world. We have dedicated learning specialists and a school psychologist on staff to further nurture our students’ needs. Mackintosh students develop a sense of themselves as worthwhile contributors, who use their keen minds and compassionate hearts to offer their special gifts to a world that needs them.
We believe that traits such as being empathic and compassionate towards others, listening with understanding, hearing different points of view, negotiating, communicating, resolving conflicts, and taking responsibility for behavior are critical in the development of our children’s social and leadership skills.
Learning does not occur in isolation but in a community of learners who accept one another’s feelings, opinions, and beliefs. They come to understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. We know that students in the twenty-first century are faced with the challenges and opportunities of learning about an interconnected world where knowledge is constantly developing. Our educational philosophy prepares students to be active participants in a lifelong journey of learning through engaged inquiry and reflection.
The International Baccalaureate Programme centers on a “learner profile” that we use as a starting ground in our practice of whole-child learning. The shared vocabulary around the IB profile elements, posted in every classroom and discussed frequently, helps us nurture these qualities in students.
