PYP Newsletter Term 3 22-23 by St Andrews International School, Green Valley

Newsletter

Term 3

What a very busy year we have had so far at Green Valley! Nearing the end of the school year, I am sure you’ll agree that we have had yet another fantastic year as a PYP school! It is truly wonderful to walk around the classrooms to reflect on the growth and progress of our children, both academically and personally.

The exciting and hands-on nature of our units of inquiry have enabled this growth in knowledge and skills, and most importantly, continued to develop our love for learning! Every learner can share and reflect on their progress this year and has proudly shared this journey with their learning community during the many Learning Journeys, the Student Led Conference and the PYP Exhibition.

I have been blown away by the creativity and innovation of our skilled PYP teachers this year, who have crafted units of inquiry to inspire our children’s curiosity, their ability to make a positive change and their love to learn! This in turn has developed our children into lifelong learners, who not only care about the world around them to become the future changemakers, but also nurtured them into well rounded, balanced individuals.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support, collaboration and enthusiasm during my time as PYP Coordinator, as this will be my last term in this role. Next year, I have taken the decision to refocus my energy and passions to get back in the classroom and teach our wonderful Green Valley children!

I would also like to take the opportunity to introduce the newly appointed PYP Coordinator next year, Paul Noonan. Paul has extensive experience in PYP schools and has held an array of leadership roles that will move our PYP curriculum from strength to strength.

I look forward to seeing you all after the holidays and want to thank you once again for making my time as PYP Coordinator an enjoyable and rewarding experience!

Mrs Faye Wood PYP Co-ordinator

PYP Exhibition

In our final year of Primary, we celebrate and share our knowledge and skills as PYP learners in an Exhibition. The Exhibition gives us an opportunity to plan our own inquiries and to share our understanding of a real-life, local or global issue to our learning community.

This year, we have planned our Exhibition in the ‘sharing our planet’ theme, where we have chosen a sustainable development goal to focus on such as: climate change, clean water and sanitation, quality education, poverty, economic growth, life on land and life below water.

We have chosen these issues depending on what we are passionate about and we plan to make a change by tackling these issues with the action we take.

The Exhibition is not only a chance to share how much we have grown as learners, but also to collaborate with our learning community to discover more. For example, we have had the opportunity to plan our inquiries with mentors, who are experts in our chosen areas and who have guided our learning journeys every step of the way.

We have also been active with the wider community and have visited or worked with local charities to make sure we make a positive change and really make a difference.

The Exhibition has put our learning skills to the test! We have used many skills to make our inquiries successful, such as communication skills, social skills, self management skills, research skills and thinking skills.

We invite all members of our learning community to join us on Monday 19th June, where you will see how much we have grown as learners in the PYP and that we are ready to take our next step in our education as secondary learners!

(Written in collaboration with our Year 6 learners) Alexis Le Garec Liva Biondi

Central idea

Changes happen in the world around us.

In this unit of inquiry, the children have been learning about colours, numbers and shapes as part of their mathematical development. The children have loved exploring the environment around them, with many opportunities for outdoor and hands-on learning, using their senses to make connections to learn.

In particular, the highlights on this unit of inquiry were our mystery guests that we shared our learning with! We welcomed parents into our class to discover more about changes in the world around us. For example, Ayda’s mum talked about her pregnancy and shared baby pictures to give real life examples about how we grow and change over time. Our curious learners had many questions and listened beautifully. We had so much fun making lava lamps with Gugu’s mum and the children used careful observation skills to describe what they saw. The children have had regular opportunities to learn in the kitchen, observing how the ingredients change into yummy treats. The highlight of the unit was making Thai snacks with Yim and Beam’s mums, where the children explored their sense of taste, smell and touch.

Of course, they have continued to develop their language skills, personal and social skills to get them ready for Kindergarten class next year. Our littlest learners are now ready for this next step in their education!

Central idea

Through investigation, we come to new understandings.

This term, the Kindergarten children have been developing their understanding of the natural world through the Unit of Inquiry ‘How the World Works’. During this unit of inquiry, the children have had ample opportunities for hands-on scientific investigations, taking advantage of the children’s natural awe and wonder about the world around them.

The children have loved their many investigations using ice, oobleck and magnets. They have looked at floating, balancing, shadows and more! This unit has also nurtured the children's imaginations with their junk modeling structure creations, manipulating materials for new purposes.

This term has been research rich, with the children asking questions about changes they have observed. Developing their thinking skills, the children have been inquiring into life cycles of fruits in our locality by making regular visits to the mulberry bushes and jack fruit trees in the school environment to observe the changes over time.

The highlight of this term has to be the Kindergarten children visiting a local mulberry farm to collect mulberries and bringing them back to school to make their own mulberry jam, juice and ice lollies in the Primary kitchen. These were very much enjoyed by all the children as they enjoyed the fruits of their labour!

Central idea

As people grow, they learn about who they are and what they can do.

Our current unit of inquiry has been focused on the transdisciplinary theme of ‘Who we are’, where the children are enjoying reflecting on the progress they have made as learners and as people!

In particular, the children have utilised their research skills, as well as reflection skills, to discover how people change and grow over time. We reflected about what we could do as a baby and compared this to all the new and fun things we can do now! The children have loved our ‘Guess who?’ classroom display, using their baby photos to make predictions of who the baby is, even including teacher’s photos too!

We have explored our senses and how they help us learn more about the exciting world we live in! We enjoyed a blind fold challenge, tuning into our senses of smell, touch and taste to name different foods. We have also enjoyed exploring our senses through the many different sensory play activities, where the children have shown excellent inquiry skills and curiosity.

We have used our thinking skills to think about what we need to be effective learners and how to support our personal interests and abilities. In particular, we have been reflecting on activities we enjoy in Early years, our successes as learners so far and what we are looking forward to next year in Year 1. We have also shared this learning journey with Ms Lucy (Key Stage 1 Coordinator) to support the children’s transition into Key Stage 1.

Central idea

People interact and use the local environment in different ways.

The Year 1 children have been undertaking a Unit of Inquiry called "Sharing Our Planet” where our young learners embarked on an exciting adventure delving into the wonders of their own backyard. Through engaging activities, the children gained an understanding of their local environment and its fascinating inhabitants.

During this unit, we have delved into the captivating world of animal classification and explored the diverse array of creatures that call Thailand home. They learnt about the characteristics that distinguish animals into different groups and gained an appreciation for the biodiversity that exists within their surroundings.

Alongside this, the Year 1 children took agency to inquire about animal diets and studied scientific vocabulary. Adding further knowledge, they then began to explore physical features of Thailand, discovering the country's vast landscapes, rivers, and mountains. They applied their newfound knowledge to create a stunning 3D map of Thailand.

Finally, to fully immerse themselves in their local environment, the children embarked on a captivating walk through our local area. Guided by their curiosity, students observed the flora and fauna they encountered, fostering a deeper connection and appreciation for the world they share and enabling a deeper understanding of their responsibility to their local area.

Central idea

Habitats have unique features which living things are dependent on.

The children have been busy finding out about global habitats, researching into the ways that animals and plants have adapted in a habitat of their choosing. The children have developed their research skills to find out many interesting facts about their chosen habitat and have created trioramas showing what the habitat looks like as well as displaying their newfound facts from their research.

Using their computing skills, the children have employed copy and paste functions to add information from internet searches and can save and retrieve their work in Google slides to store their research findings.

There have been ample opportunities for scientific inquiry in this unit and the children proved to be excellent inquirers in an investigation to discover what plants need to grow. Using their thinking skills, the children designed and carried out their own scientific investigations to find out if plants would grow in different light, different temperatures, on different surfaces or with different liquids. We have collaborated regularly with Ms Cronin, a secondary Science teacher, where the children enjoyed using apparatus, such as microscopes, in the Secondary Science labs to observe how plants respire.

To finish off this unit, we went on a jungle expedition to identify plants and habitats native to Thailand. For their action, the children chose to collect trash from the forest for it to be reused in school recycling campaigns, or to dispose of it safely. They have also created tree identification lanyards for all the classes to use next year on their assembly and bush walks so we can all be more knowledgeable about the different species of trees in our locality. This has been a fantastic unit and a culmination of all their PYP skills throughout the year.

Central idea

Communities can take action to ensure responsible production and consumption.

Throughout Year 3’s PYP topic of responsible production and consumption, they gained a deeper understanding of the impact of human activities on the environment. They learnt about the importance of reducing waste, reusing materials, and recycling as much as possible to reduce their impact on the environment.

Taking action, the children demonstrated how caring and principled they are about their local beaches and participated in a beach clean-up in Na Jomtien. Not only did they learn about the harmful effects of littering, especially on marine life and the ecosystem, but they also met Amara (an Olympic windsurfer and trash hero) to deepen their understanding of the dangers of plastic pollution. On this visit, the children also learnt about how the trash collected could be sorted and recycled into useful products, collaborating with a local plastic factory to melt the plastic gathered into new products such as cups, place mats and coasters.

Year 3 then worked collaboratively to produce a performance for their learning journey that showcased their learning and acting skills to introduce their action that will involve collecting plastic bottle caps and straws for a community recycling project, in collaboration with Amara and the local plastic factory.

Central idea

Structures are designed to serve a purpose in our community.

For our unit on religious beliefs, children in Year 4 have used their communication, thinking and inquiring skills to work together in groups and present a multi-media mini exhibition event in the final week, where they will communicate the central idea and lines of inquiry using the PYP inquiry cycle. Over the course of the unit, the children have had agency to design how they would like to share their learning journey with their parents, making their final learning journey a spectacular one!

This unit is intended to nurture and develop our children’s international mindedness and to celebrate their own religions and cultures, as well as those within our learning community. In doing so, the children have made connections between the similarities and differences between religions, learning about their own traditions and beliefs as well as a chosen religion they would like to find out more about.

As part of our tuning in, we had expert visitors from various religions in our school community who shared with us some of their customs and beliefs. This has helped the children to advocate the perspectives, beliefs and values of how we are all connected as a community and learn respect for other people’s behaviours and choices.

Central idea

Scientific investigation of the Earth leads to understandings of its systems and cycles.

Our latest Unit of Inquiry started on board the International Space Station! We were on a critical mission to collect and test soil samples from unknown planets. We explored the attributes that make a successful space explorer, and identified that scientific thinking was vital. We were required to investigate the Solar System and gather scientific evidence about the Earth.

The children put their knowledge and skills to the test during a space camp, where the children truly proved themselves to be superb space explorers! We visited the Space Inspirium where we enjoyed learning many new facts about space, walking on Mars and visiting the International Space Station (ISS). The children also continued their space training at school with outdoor activities using coordinates, an underwater construction challenge and an orienteering trek. We all graduated from space camp with flying colours!

To conclude the unit of inquiry, the children made reflections about their most enjoyable learning experiences and it was clear that there were too many to choose from! The children have thoroughly loved this unit of inquiry and reflected that ‘the pilots of the future will be astronauts, so it’s important that we learn more about space now!’

Central idea Exhibition!

Year 6 are currently in the middle of their Exhibition unit, based on the transdisciplinary theme ‘Sharing the Planet’.

During the Exhibition process, the children have agency to produce their own unit of inquiries, designing their own central ideas and lines of inquiry related to their passions. From their inquiries, they will take action to demonstrate their understanding, applying knowledge and skills to make a contribution to a cause or positive change.

The Exhibition is a culmination of their learning through the Primary Years Program through a process of inquiry, which will lead them to exhibit skills, knowledge, conceptual understanding and learner profile attributes to showcase to an audience. It is very much a collaborative process, where currently the children are actively working with experts within our Learning Community to deepen their understanding and inquiries.

Year 6 look forward to welcoming you to their Exhibition on Tuesday 19th June, to not only share their units of inquiry but to celebrate their learning journey throughout their entire primary experience!

Making links with the traditions and values of our learning community is an integral aspect of the PYP curriculum. In their current unit of inquiry, Year 4 has had an array of opportunities to collaborate with many teachers in our learning community to find out more about different religions to deepen their research skills.

Khun Meow shared her Buddhist religious beliefs, traditions and values with the children, sharing important symbols and artefacts.

During their Exhibition, the #aquapeople group have regularly collaborated with their mentor (Mr Ben) in the forest school area, developing a prototype invention to clean waste water. Using natural materials as part of their filtration system, the children have explored ways in which to clean water for poorer communities in a green, sustainable way to take action for the sustainable development goal ‘clean water and sanitation’ for all.

In their current unit of inquiry, the Year 2 children have many opportunities to learn in the Science Secondary laboratory in the expert hands of Ms Cronin. These lessons have not only deepened the children’s knowledge and understanding of plants and living things, but also their scientific inquiry skills to use specialised scientific equipment and design their own experiments. This collaboration between Primary and the Science department has not only enriched the children’s learning experiences and knowledge, but also their love for scientific investigation and discovering their own conclusions in a hands-on way!