PYP Exhibition 2023

The Grade 6 students once again wowed the SJK community with their PYP Exhibition. The PYP Exhibition is a student-driven inquiry that marks the end of their learning in the Primary Years Programme (PYP). It is an opportunity for our students to take ownership over their learning and showcase all the learning skills they developed during their time in the PYP. It is an important milestone as our students finish their time in the PYP and move into the Middle Years Programme (MYP).

What really stood out during this year’s Exhibition process was the power of student ownership in the learning process. For the last eight weeks of the school year, Grade 6 students have been architects of their own learning, displaying great passion for their chosen issue and a sustained commitment to the learning process. It was their individual interests in biodiversity, equity, access and sustainability that drove their learning. This year’s Grade 6 students confidently, passionately and capably used their agency as learners to create their own inquiries which they shared with the SJK community this week. The students were highly motivated and self-directed, and they thought critically and creatively to make their own choices and problem solve to create solutions. Throughout the process, students reflected on their preferences and strengths, and identified areas for growth as well. Grade 6 students noted during class discussions that they also developed a better understanding of themselves and how they best learn through the Exhibition process.

Another notable part of the Exhibition process is the call to take action. The Grade 6 students grew to care deeply about the issues they inquired into and many of them chose to take action to make the world a better place. As a result of the PYP Exhibition, Grade 6 students:

- Sent emails to Lower School teachers sharing the benefits of mindfulness and physical activities and encouraged these activities in their classrooms. Grade 6 students were thrilled to see several classes participating in some of the activities they suggested.
- Reached out to clothing companies that use child labour and gave them ideas for ways to stop these practices in their supply chains.
- Read stories about inclusivity to the primary classes and talked to them about ableism.
- Organized a campus clean up to prevent plastic and other trash getting into our waterways.
- Organized a sports equipment drive for a local community organization to increase access to sports for all children.
- Planned a Civvies Day to donate to SJK’s Project Nepal and improve access to education in Nepal.
- Wrote a letter to the mayor advocating for increased affordable housing options in the Waterloo Region.
- Posted on social media to spread awareness about responsible use of technology and social media.
- Created a hand-out to inform parents about bee friendly plants.
- Planted native plants in SJK’s Chalmers’ Pond to decrease phosphates in the water.

From the song the Grade 6s chose to perform to express their desire to create a better and more peaceful future, to the issues they chose to explore, the questions they asked, the experts they chose to seek out and the way they chose to share their knowledge with the SJK community, the Grade 6 students took ownership of their learning and demonstrated that they are internationally minded lifelong learners who are ready to take on the MYP … and the world!

The Grade 6 students have certainly inspired the SJK community to care about some important issues and take action ourselves.