Head of Junior School
PYP Exhibition
The highlight of the Winter Term for me each year is the Year 5 PYP Exhibition. The exhibition is the culminating learning experience for the boys in the final year of the programme. It provides the boys with the opportunity to apply the transdisciplianry skills they have learned on the journey. For our boys, the exhibition work began with a visit to North Balga Primary School. There, the boys heard from the children and their parents about their experience as refugees and migrants to Australia. While some of these stories were harrowing, they provided a context for the boys' research and some insight into what conditions many refugees and migrants flee from.
The boys attended several excursions to provide provocations for their exhibition. Soon after this, they created the central idea for their work, 'Challenges, risks and opportunities may lead to migration.' Each boy then devised his own burning question to research. The theme based on migration provided a plethora of avenues to investigate. The outcomes of the exhibition were outstanding presentations by the boys with information confidently shared. The specialist teachers tied into the central idea and engaged the boys in relevant activities to support the exhibition work, expanding their knowledge and understanding.
One of the main outcomes of an exhibition is the action the boys will take as a result of their research. This can take the form of changes in the way they approach things, i.e. recycling, looking after the environment, fund raising or raising awareness. For our boys the action was far more profound. We asked the boys if their views or opinion on migrants and refugees has changed. They all indicate that the process of the exhibition provided them the time to learn and reflect on the many reasons someone would choose to leave their home for a new life in another country. They indicated that their opinions on migrants and refugees had changed. They now understood the decision to migrate was not always and easy one and for some it involved great personal risk. This type of action is what the PYP is about. Action that may not be easy to see as it is change on the inside of a person; change that can be sustained and action that will impact on others and perhaps assist in changing their opinions.
I am immensely proud of our boys, for the learning journey that they have been a part of, for their engagement in the exhibition and for their ability to articulate what they have learned and how it has changed them. I wish to thank the team of people who assisted the boys in their learning; teachers, mentors and parents. At Scotch we aim to develop boys who are internationally minded. This exhibition and the experiences it provided our boys is one small step towards that goal.
Mr John Stewart
Head of Junior School
