PYP Around the School 

“Doing good for others is not a duty. It is a joy, for it increases our own health and happiness.” Zoroaster

The IB Mission Statement is very clear in its communication. Yes, their aim is to create challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessments but this is not their only goal. Overarching this is the desire to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world. 

At this time in our lives, this vision seems particularly important! For some of our students (and indeed ourselves), the world may seem a bit hopeless at the moment and full of distress. That is one of the reasons we have decided to encourage students and families to spread joy by writing cards and letters to our essential workers (for more information please see the Flexischools and Seesaw messages sent our Thursday 30/07/20 - you can also find information regarding this in this issue of the newsletter).

For our students, being empowered to take action and to make a difference builds self-efficacy. In fact, doing good things for others makes us feel good about ourselves. When we are exploring units of inquiry, we often look for opportunities where students can take action. This does not mean simply fundraising, instead the focus is on the little things we do each day. 

At the moment our 1/2s are exploring the connection between living things under the transdisciplinary theme ‘Sharing the planet’. While they have just started this unit ,already we can see opportunities for students to take action. Actions could be very small and something like leaving insects alone in the garden so they can remain a part of nature and a part of the food chain. It could be that a child uses the other side of a piece of paper rather than getting a new one because they made a mistake so that there are less trees chopped down and animal habitats are preserved.  In Year 5/6, students are exploring economics and consumer decision making. For some students, they have already begun to explore ethical consumerism and fair trade. This might spark them to purchase one brand over another the next time they go shopping which is a big action in and of itself. 

It is important to note here that we do not ‘push’ action. True action comes from within as a result of learning and a desire to make a change. It is obviously not our place to encourage students to choose one brand over another and every person has a different perspective on this. We encourage the learning and exploration and our goal, in line with the IB, is to help students know that what they do can make a difference and can make the world a ‘better and more peaceful place.’

The Year 1/2s have been learning some facts about why our planet is so special as a part of their ‘Sharing the planet’ unit of inquiry. We hope that by appreciating our planet and learning about the connection between living things that students will make decisions that help our environment.

The 5/6s are looking at economics and consumer decision making under ‘How we organise ourselves’. Some students have chosen to read books about fair trade.