The lower years

The Mentor
In the lower years, each class has a mentor, and sometimes a co-mentor. This is a teacher who helps you and your class with various academic matters. You can initially approach them with your questions, and they serve as the point of contact for your parents/guardians. The mentor monitors your performance and attendance. Together with all the other teachers, the mentor ensures a pleasant and positive classroom atmosphere to facilitate the best possible learning environment.

In the second academic year, you stay in the same class with the same mentor. When you change your level, you move to a new class and have a different mentor. We discuss this with you and your parents at the end of the first academic year.

Subjects
In the lower years, you have the following subjects: Dutch, mathematics, biology, social studies, media and ICT (MI), English, healthcare, applied design (ToVo) or visual arts, and technology, physical education, and talent development. You also have the subject "persoonsvorming en socialisatie" (P&S), which focuses on personal development and socialization.

We strive to make learning and progress as visible as possible. In the "PTO's" (Programma voor Toetsing), you can find an overview of the goals we want to achieve and how students can demonstrate that they have achieved these goals.

Talent Development
Perhaps the most important subject. We will search for talents together, whether you already know them or still need to discover them. In the first academic year, it's mainly about your personal passion and talent. In the second academic year, the lessons are connected to the profiles in the upper years.

Persoonsvorming & Socialisatie
You have P&S as a subject in every academic year. In this subject, you learn about self-discovery, decision-making, self-appreciation, openness to new things and other people, and personal growth. P&S closely collaborates with talent development in the lower years, citizenship and career development in the upper years, and Mundus & More. Every year, you add to your digital portfolio in Google Classroom, gaining insight into your own skills and development.

Choice of Direction
At the end of your second academic year, you make a choice for a direction in the upper years. If you find it difficult to make a choice, discuss it with our career counselors; they can assist you.

For the TL (Theoretical Learning Path), you do not make a choice for a direction in the second year. We offer two directions, namely, Healthcare & Welfare and Economics. You only make a choice if necessary in the fourth year. If you manage to take exams in all subjects, you will have more options for your further education after VMBO.