Dear Parents and Caregivers

It's been a busy fortnight with our Y5's heading out to the Botanic Gardens, Y3 exhibition for their How the World Works UOI and SwimFest for all our primary learners. Our staff have also had the opportunity to meet Simon Mann, our new Principal for next academic year.

I've had the privilege of connecting with our Year 2 learners over the last few weeks. Recently I asked them to help me investigate which shapes would be best to paint on the floor outside the learning hubs to make pick-up time a bit easier. I look forward to hearing the results of their investigation, and will update you too.

Today's assemblies were a pleasure to watch, thank you to parents and caregivers that came to watch. 4W shared their UOI on simple machines and forces, finishing with an insight into the birds that have been nesting outside their window! Y1 shared about their How We Express Ourselves UOI, focusing on many of the celebrations we are able to share here in Singapore. It was wonderful to see how some of our youngest learners are making authentic connections and are becoming global citizens.

We use the IB Learner Profile  to support our learner's ideas around Global Citizenship and develop learner's international mindedness. Global citizenship refers to the idea that individuals have a sense of belonging to a wider community beyond national borders and have a shared responsibility towards the planet and its inhabitants. As we saw today, establishing the idea of being a Global Citizen starts with even our youngest learners. 

Another element of the PYP framework we often get asked about is Learner Agency. We foster learner agency at every year level encouraging learners to be actively involved in their learning, making choices and taking actions. Learner agency is about giving our children the tools and resources they need to become active and independent learners who are capable of taking ownership of their own learning journeys. In this weeks News from the Year Groups we have focused on the different ways learners are able to take ownership of their learning.

Have a lovely weekend.

Ms Fiona

In Early Years education, learner action and agency are fostered by establishing strong, trusting relationships with learners and their families. By building these relationships, we aim to create an environment where children feel confident to act with agency throughout their learning journey. This confidence is nurtured during their time in Nursery, where they are encouraged to explore, experiment, and make choices. When children feel a sense of belonging and know who they are, they are more likely to take risks, try new things, and ultimately, become active participants in their own learning. 

Some everyday examples of agency in action in Nursery are confident learners sharing their wonderings with peers and adults and feeling supported to question why? where? and how? to discover more. Adults follow the learners’ interests; it is their passions and interests that drive our day. Child-initiated and led play allows the children to find their voice and take ownership of their learning. This week, a group of learners organised a trip on an aeroplane to the South Pole and carefully thought about the items they needed to make the trip successful. The children confidently and proudly look after their learning environment, sweeping, tidying and organising the resources. They use the composting and recycling facilities, taking action to care for the world around them. As part of our current unit of inquiry ‘Sharing the planet’ the children have taken great interest in caring for the class snails. Their ideas and observations have been actioned, and a collaborative snail song has been written, which will be performed at the upcoming Stay and Play!

In Kindergarten, we take a holistic approach to supporting children to take action and agency, not just in their homeroom but in the wider school life. Children learn best through play and when they are able to initiate their own learning, make choices and take action. The children learn how to become independent and take responsibility for their own learning. Giving children autonomy and agency is an essential part of supporting growth and development. By allowing children to take action, we can help children develop important skills, such as a sense of self-efficacy and a strong sense of identity. 

In the homeroom environment, the children create visual signs, labels and pictures to support their understanding of the timetable and how we manage the learning environment. When children have agency in their learning, they tend to show greater motivation to learn and thrive. Last week, the learners took agency to plan and deliver a Kindergarten assembly. During our unit of inquiry, we followed children’s interest and curiosity about ‘Journeys.’ The children had the opportunity to share their learning with their grown up’s about their experiences in the unit so far. This was a wonderful moment in the children’s learning journey.

The IB class Year 1 as part of the Early Years, and as such our approach to learning is grounded in hands-on exploration and learner-led inquiries, providing ample opportunities for our young learners to take charge of their own learning journey. 

Our spaces are buzzing with excitement as they dive into a world of exploration and discovery. Through hands-on activities, during independent inquiry time, and integrated learning opportunities, they're not just absorbing information but actively engaging with it. An emphasis on developing independence and self-management skills, starting with choosing their own learning activities during these inquiry sessions to collaborating with peers in group projects, our learners are beginning to take responsibility for their own learning journey. This can look like, conducting a survey after a maths lesson, selecting a phonics game, pursuing a personal interest, or initiating kindness projects within the classroom. They're discovering the power they hold to make a positive impact and are honing their ability to self-direct and problem-solve. 

Every voice is valued, and every idea is encouraged. Through open-ended questioning and class discussions, we empower our learners to express their own ideas. We successfully link these discussions to our current UOI,  where we can scaffold their learning journey while still allowing for individual exploration and discovery. We are continually amazed by the initiative and creativity shown by our Year 1 learners and celebrate classes 1P & 1R for their fabulous assembly this morning. Whether it's organising a class event, leading a group project, or simply lending a helping hand to a classmate, they're constantly finding ways to make a positive impact in their school community and beyond.

In Year 2, we provide learners with opportunities to take action in a variety of ways which are relevant and age-appropriate. For instance, during the Sharing the Planet unit of inquiry after learners researched habitats, they considered sustainable choices they could make themselves. Some of the examples which were discussed include switching off the lights when leaving a room, using both sides of a piece of paper to draw on and taking reusable stainless steel water bottles when going out or on a trip. Learners recently took action during the How the world works unit, when solving a problem to create a pair of sunglasses for the character Curious George. Using their knowledge of the terms transparent, translucent and opaque, learners chose materials suitable for a pair of sunglasses and justified their choice of material. 

Providing opportunities for agency at the age is a bit more structured and guided compared to older year groups. Learners may be offered choices from a pre-selected set of choices. For example, when writing narratives, learners had agency over the form in which they shared their stories - puppet show, digital book, sand art, comic strip. Our current writing genre is procedures and learners have had multiple opportunities to write a procedure about a topic that they are confident with and can teach others. During Mathematics learning engagements, learners may be agentic when choosing the strategy they are most comfortable with to demonstrate their understanding of a concept. For instance, choosing to create arrays or use repeated addition to show multiplication. It’s important that learners feel their sense of agency as this gives them ownership of their learning. 

Stay tuned for the next few weeks as we move into the How the world works unit of inquiry, the Year 2 learners will be organising a mini-exhibition and will have a lot of agency and opportunities to take action. 

Year 3 has been a hive of activity for the past two weeks as we prepared for our mini-exhibition. This is the culmination of nearly two months of workshops, research, and hard work! Learners will be really proud to share their knowledge of their chosen landform or phenomenon. Compared to previous years, there was more agency offered this time. Some learners shared their understanding as a digital presentation, others as a book, and many as a display board. But the choice was theirs. 

As a Year 3 team, we decided on this because we wanted to put more emphasis on our learners as 'lifelong learners'. This meant that the learners could follow their passions, inquire into their own questions, and take risks. There were a lot of mistakes, dead ends, and changes of plans. But that was the point. Learning is messy, and that’s OK. It’s been a blast. When parents visit this Thursday and Friday, we hope you feel the passion and excitement our children have for their learning.

In Year 4 our Learner-leadership Team have been moving from strength to strength. Between 1 to 3 learners from each class have provided activities on Friday lunchtimes throughout Term 2 and Term 3.  The Painting Group are working on a mural of a tree and this week all members of Year 4 drew 'leaves' in the shape of their hands containing their comments on how they contribute to our school community.  Along with our Year 4 Swim Fest, another highlight of the week has been our Year 4 Activity Morning. This was led by our Learner Leadership Group who ran four activities in the Sports Hall for the whole year group. It was wonderful to see learners managing groups of 35 learners, explaining the rules of the games, answering questions and getting the Games underway. It was also very encouraging to see other learners responding so well to activities run by their peers - showing respect, cooperation and enthusiasm. We have seen other examples of leadership blossoming in the playground as learners help each other to solve social issues and organise games and activities for each other at break times.

Transitioning from one unit of inquiry to another is always an exciting time. Our How We Express Ourselves unit of inquiry culminated with the completion of our global goals brochures and a visit to the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Advocating for a global goal is one way that our learners have taken action this term. Thank you to 5Y for sharing many of their actions with us at last week's assembly. Moving our learning to an outdoor setting was an engaging and motivating experience for everyone. Learners enjoyed designing their own 'Andy Goldsworthy' nature art, using a variety of natural materials. Leaf rubbings and still life sketching provided an opportunity for learners to notice how nature takes on unique and varied forms. Our final activity of map drawing, encouraged learners to view their environment from a different perspective and design a map that others could interpret. 

Our new unit of inquiry Where We Are In Place and Time was launched this week. Our central idea is 'Exploration expands human understanding' in the context of Space Exploration, in the past, present and future. In groups learners participated in a collaborative experience where they estimated how far away each planet in our solar system is from the sun. The term 'astronomical unit' was shared with learners and they discovered that it represents 150,000,000 km, which is the distance from the sun to earth. Some of our groups were closer to the actual distances than others. However our purpose was less about the product and more about the process and skills that learners had the opportunity to use. They displayed agency, as they discussed ideas, shared opinions, compromised, problem solved and made choices and decisions. 

It has been wonderful to see our Year 5 learners become more confident communicators and passionate advocates for what they value and care about. 

We are excited to update you on the progress of our exhibition journey. Our Year 6 students have been hard at work, delving deep into their inquiries and seeking answers to their questions. They are actively looking for people and places they can visit to gather more information and insights related to their chosen topics.

We encourage you to engage in meaningful conversations with your children at home about their inquiries. Your support and guidance during this phase of the exhibition will greatly benefit their learning experience.

As we move forward, it's essential to start considering the different forms of action that our students might take based on the "PYP ACTION" (image below). This is an important aspect of the exhibition, where students translate their knowledge and understanding into tangible actions that can make a difference small or big. It may involve participating in an interview with an expert or visit to somewhere interesting which will broaden their knowledge, or relate to advocacy as they share the message with others they feel is important to hear. 

We want to remind everyone that this phase of the exhibition can become a little challenging, but it's also an opportunity for our children to demonstrate resilience and focus. Encourage them to stay determined and motivated as they work towards their exhibition goals.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teachers. We are here to support and guide our learners every step of the way.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our exhibition journey.

The Year 6 Team