MACC (Multi Age Cluster Class) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Multi-Age Cluster Class, commonly referred to in Coquitlam as Middle Age Cluster Class is originally a Vancouver-based gifted education program meant to enrich the regular curriculum for students in grades 4-7 commonly referred to as MACC. The admission process involves several steps where a child's suitability for the program is evaluated. A student is referred by their home school, challenge-class teacher, gifted case-manager, or parent for consideration for admission. Children seen as suitable candidates are invited to attend the "Pre-MACC Experience", a two-day session held at a Vancouver School Board school or a Coquitlam School District school if in Coquitlam. After that, students who are seen as candidates are invited to spend one-two days in the classroom at the school they would potentially attend. Offers of admission are based on this final step. A certain I.Q.

Intelligence quotient

An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...

score is not needed to be accepted into the program, but instead the student must have a gifted mind and be able to "think outside the box." The program emphasizes the creation of lifelong learners.

Location

Currently, there are three schools with MACC classes in Vancouver, British Columbia that are administered by the Vancouver School Board (VSB). Tecumseh Elementary School

Tecumseh Elementary School

Tecumseh Elementary is a public elementary school in Vancouver, British Columbia part of School District 39 Vancouver.- History :The school was named after Tecumseh, a leader of the Shawnee tribe. Tecumseh was built in 1910. The main building consists of three floors. A gymnasium is in a separate...

and Queen Mary Elementary School

Queen Mary Elementary School

Queen Mary Elementary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, is an elementary school. The school opened in 1915.It is located at 2000 Trimble Street, at the intersection with 4th Avenue in the West Point Grey neighbourhood. As of 2009, the current school principal is Monika Sanft. The school has a...

offer a grade 4/5 and a grade 6/7 MACC class. General Gordon Elementary School

General Gordon Elementary School

General Gordon Elementary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, is an elementary school. The school opened in 1912. It was named for British General Charles George Gordon who was killed at Khartoum in January 1885....

currently offers a 5/6/7 French Immersion MACC class. There used to be two additional MACC classes at Lord Nelson Elementary School

Lord Nelson Elementary School

Lord Nelson Elementary is a public elementary school in Vancouver, British Columbia part of School District 39 Vancouver.- History :Lord Nelson elementary was founded in the 1911s, and many of its early students were of Italian descent, as this is a large ethnic group in the Hastings-Sunrise area...

and Sir William Osler Elementary School

Sir William Osler Elementary School

Sir William Osler Elementary is a public elementary school in Vancouver, British Columbia, part of School District 39 Vancouver.- History :Sir William Osler Elementary is named after William Osler , a Canadian-born physician.- Programs :...

, but they both merged into David Livingstone Elementary School

David Livingstone Elementary School

David Livingstone Elementary is a public elementary school in Vancouver, British Columbia part of School District 39 Vancouver.-History:...

, which was taken away due to budget cuts to the VSB in June 2010. However, there are other MACC programs outside Vancouver, such as Berkshire Park Elementary School, Hyland Elementary School, and Bayridge Elementary School in Surrey

Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...

, which is in the Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...

region. All three Surrey programs are grades 5-7. Surrey

Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...

is considering adding a high-school program. There also used to be a high school MACC program in Kitsilano Secondary School

Kitsilano Secondary School

Kitsilano Secondary School is a secondary school in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada. The school has several district programs including French immersion, on-site pre-employment...

, but they changed it because the 4 pillars of the MACC (Autonomous Learning, Literacy, Numeracy and Project-Based Learning) were not sufficient for the number of subjects taught in High School. Coquitlam has two MACC class equipped schools, namely Citadel Middle School and Hillcrest Middle School.

Autonomous Learning

The word "autonomous" means to be independent, self-governing, efficient and to be able to learn by yourself and be a self-motivated learner. This is a very important life-skill that is emphasized in this program. The students need to be autonomous, as they are not always reminded of due dates, or to take notes for their projects. This flexible learning style works well for self-motivated, creative students because it allows them to set their own goals. This benefits students and general society because this teaches students how to become leaders in their own learning and the world. The learning system is much more different because students set their own pace, which means that everyone in the class can be in different areas of the curriculum. Many faster students accelerate through Math, and some Grade Sixes can be learning Grade Seven or Eight Math.

Numeracy

In the MACC classes, students work on self-paced textbook work in addition to problem solving and contests. That way they can work at their own pace. More emphasis is placed on problem solving to promote critical thinking skills. Some classes have 'individual math work' but in small groups where everyone's skill is more or less the same. Teachers believe that in doing so, this will bring up a lot of interesting math discussion, which they think is useful in learning math. Also because of all the work MACC students/teachers spend on problem solving type math, they score high in math competitions.

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

In the MACC program, each student along with their parent(s) and teacher, personalizes his/her goals in his/her IEP. It summarizes their goals in the four pillars of the MACC program: Literacy, Numeracy, Autonomous Learning and Project-Based Learning. Report cards are also partially based on what the students have done to achieve these goals. Unlike regular report cards. Students are marked with Acquiring, Developing, Mastery, Or Extends.

Reviews

1. This is my second year in the MACC class. I enjoy learning differently. In my particular class, we learn at our own rate and do different things. It all depends on the teacher to decide whether the student will enjoy the MACC class. I like the MACC class and I hope to be in it next year.
-Jesse Gr. 7 Nov. 5, 2011
2. Stop

Stop

-Film:* Stop, a 1970 film by Bill Gunn* Stop, a 1972 Quebec film by Jean Beaudin* Stop!, a 2004 film starring Dia Mirza-Music:* double stop, the act of playing two notes simultaneously* organ stop, a component of a pipe organ-Albums:...

trolling Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...

.
-JordanRulz Grade 8 November27, 2011
3. Agreed
- Synt

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