Planet of Life 

A Memorable Experience 

Written by Amaira, Cosme and Jake

The exhibition process was from March 11, 2024, to May 17, 2024. During these two months, we worked very hard on our inquiry, focusing on the UNSDGs, Approaches to Learning (ATL), and Learner Profile Attributes (LPA). We used various resources, including newspapers, articles, and websites, to gather information for our slides. We also documented all our reflections and research in a journal. When I was in P4, I feared PYPX, but now, having completed it, I realize it is not as hard as it seemed. So, I encourage others not to worry about PYPX and to enjoy the process instead. (Cosme)

Participating in the PYPX was an incredibly fun and interesting experience. I enjoyed presenting my work and meeting new people, and I particularly appreciated learning new things and understanding different perspectives. The first step was to choose a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) that interested me. I selected UNSDG 15, Life on Land, because I believe it is important to take care of our planet. My Line of Inquiry (LOI) was human responsibility towards the planet. I chose this LOI to explore how we can better care for the Earth. Next, we began researching topics related to our LOI. The research process was both fun and tiring. I enjoyed discovering new information, but it was sometimes challenging to find unique insights as many sources had similar information. After completing our research, it was time to start recording and practicing our presentations. In this process, we learned to identify our mistakes and improve our presentation skills to speak confidently and clearly. (Amaira)

On May 15th, we presented to our parents, and on May 16th, we presented to the entire MIS community, including Indus and Symbiosis schools. Our PYPX journey began in March and concluded in mid-May, with extracurricular activities (ECA) starting in January 2024. Through the exhibition process, I improved various skills, including communication, thinking, research, note-taking, practice, and teamwork. After our Thursday exhibition, I felt proud and happy to have completed our presentations. The experience improved my communication skills, and I look forward to future exhibitions with confidence. Participating in PYPX was a memorable experience that I will always cherish. My favorite part was presenting my research to my parents, as it allowed me to showcase my hard work. The day after our final presentation, we celebrated with a pizza party and a movie, which was a perfect end to our PYPX journey. I am now ready and excited for the MYP. In conclusion, PYPX was an incredible learning experience that taught me valuable skills and provided unforgettable memories. I encourage future participants to not worry about the process and enjoy every moment. (Jake)

The Peace Activists

Our Thoughts and Memories

Written by Ambar, Ziee, Seo Yeon

My exhibition journey is something I’ll never forget; it was full of emotions and unexpected turns. Let me tell you a bit about it. We began preparing for the Primary Years Program (PYP) Exhibition at the start of the year. Throughout this time, we were often given examples and activities that would be useful for our exhibition. The real preparation started with our PYPX Extra Curricular Activities (ECA). These sessions were fun and varied, helping us get ready for the exhibition in different ways. The exhibition officially kicked off when we identified our United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and Lines of Inquiry (LOIs). This was the point where everything started to come together, and our focused work towards the exhibition began. (Ambar)

PYPX has helped me improve my skills and abilities in several ways. I have become more confident and can now speak clearly in front of a crowd, which was a challenge for me before. My research skills have also improved, allowing me to effectively gather and analyse information. Additionally, I have enhanced my presentation-making skills and developed better teamwork and collaboration abilities. Throughout PYPx, there are several milestones to look forward to, including Extra Curricular Activities (ECAs) where you update your journals and complete tasks, forming groups based on chosen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), conducting individual research, meeting with experts for feedback and advice, creating slides, preparing notecards, and finally presenting your work. Initially, I felt sad about not being with my friends, but working with my group made me realize the value of meeting new people and collaborating with them. (Ziee)

My Line of Inquiry (LOI) is “peaceful and just world,” with the Key Concept (KC) of “function” and the Related Concept (RC) of “law and legislations.” This theme is important because both people and the world need peace. To understand this, I studied the history of war, laws, and peace stories, discovering that peace is complex and comes in many forms. For the final presentation, I investigated the history of wars, different types of conflicts, and notable peacemakers. Although my data was limited and challenging to read, I worked hard to present it effectively. The presentation was difficult, but I learned a lot and developed valuable teamwork skills. Despite being tiring, it was a fun and rewarding experience. (Seo Yeon)

Nature’s Inquirers

The Great Journey!

Written by Iyana, Hridaan, Helena, Maceo

   We started our introductory PYPx journey in August 2023. Initially, we had a limited understanding of PYPx, so we participated in Extra Curricular Activities (ECAs) and kept journals to demonstrate our skills and growing comprehension of the project. We worked on a variety of engagements that helped us understand the approaches to learning. My favorite approach to learning was social skills, as I worked with my group, and we resolved problems together. Collaborating with my peers allowed me to improve my communication and teamwork abilities. I enjoyed sharing ideas, listening to others, and finding solutions as a team. This experience made our project more enjoyable and successful. We began creating posters and were introduced to our website. I enjoyed trying to understand PYPx and making progress along the way. (Iyana).

In my group, there were four people: Maceo, Helena, Iyana, and me. We began by assigning roles and creating essential agreements that everyone had to follow. Initially, I found it difficult to get along with my group, and we needed to communicate more effectively. However, over time, our communication improved. We started our research within the first four weeks (Hridaan).

We had time to research and gather information for our project. One day, our teachers gave us access to slides to organize our information, and they helped refine our content, correcting any mistakes. Our next task was to search for pictures to enhance our slides. Although I struggled to find high-quality images, we eventually completed our slides and moved on to creating our action plan. I decided to make an organic planting kit as my action. Then the teachers instructed us to write notecards for our presentations, which we did. We first presented it to our parents and teachers, then to other classes, and finally to students from Symbiosis and Indus. We repeated our presentations for each new group that came in, and although it was repetitive, it was also fun. (Helena)

After eight weeks of challenging work, it was finally time to present our project. Everyone was excited and happy, but mostly stressed. The day started off great, and we presented our work very well. We continued presenting for two straight days, which was quite exhausting. After the presentations, we had to reflect on our experience. Initially, we were frustrated about having to do this additional task. However, our mood changed completely when we came to school on Friday and found a party waiting for us with pizza and juice. We were so happy and felt it was a perfect way to celebrate all our hard work (Maceo).

Water Heroes

Our Unforgettable PYPX Journey

Written by Miraya, Zakiya, Anes, Suhaana

We started our journey about seven weeks ago, on March 11th. PYPX has been one of the best experiences in PYP. It was long but amazing, and I loved presenting. The PYPX ECA was also fun, and I enjoyed making our journal. PYPX has taught me a lot of things and has enhanced my skills. For my group, the most challenging part was making the slides. Everything was getting mixed up at first, but eventually, we got it right, and our slides turned out amazing. The days leading up to presentation day were very hectic, and everyone was nervous. I was especially nervous when we presented to Indus and Symbiosis schools. When presentation day finally came, it went great. I had so much fun sharing all my research. I chose UNSDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. One of my favourite things was presenting my action. The expert meetings were amazing, and I learned so much from my experts. PYPX is very fun, but it can also be challenging. It is an amazing research journey. You get to pick your UNSDG, and although the work is a lot, it is worth it. It makes you so creative, and you learn so much. PYPX is the best part of PYP. (Miraya)

I first started with the PYPX ECA, which helped me understand a bit about what we would be doing in the exhibition and how it would unfold. We also found out our exhibition groups and who we would be working with. I was so happy to see that some of my friends were in my group. Along with our groups, we learned about our UNSDGs. Mine was number 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. For our research, we used various sources such as books, online resources, websites, articles, and blogs. We created presentation slides, designed them, and organized all our information according to their titles. We also made note cards to summarize our slides so we wouldn’t need to look at the board while presenting. Some of my challenges while presenting was forgetting my place on my note cards, but after some encouragement from my teachers, I wasn’t afraid to make mistakes. (Zakiya)

When we started the exhibition, we researched extensively. I worked hard on my research because we had to present it to our parents and the whole school. I was a bit nervous at first, but then I got comfortable. Starting my research was stressful, but I knew it would be useful. I kept researching and working hard.  We worked together until we had all the information we needed, and then we organized it in a plastic file. Preparing for the exhibition was a lot of work, but I knew it would be fun. (Anes)

This is our PYPX exhibition journey throughout P5 and how the process of it changes over time. This blog explains our PYPX experience and how we did it in detail. My PYPX was a memory I will never forget, and it has taught me a lot of things. PYPX has made me a better learner. I faced lots of challenges and opportunities through PYPX. In art class, we created models of our related concepts using clay. Once we started the research in class, we used multiple sources. For example, on the first day, we watched a video, and the next day we used an eBook. After finishing our research, we created a PowerPoint with our findings and started working on an action we could take. We also made notecards to guide us through our presentation for exhibition day. We decorated our boards with our actions and posters according to our LOI and UNSDG. Finally, the day of the presentation arrived, and we had the opening ceremony. When the parents started visiting the classrooms, we presented, and it went well! The next day, two other IB schools and the younger grades of our school came to visit, and we presented for them as well. The day after that, we had our final reflection for PYPX and a pizza party to celebrate! Despite the difficulties, we got through it. I really loved my PYPX exhibition journey! (Suhaana)

Sustainable City Solutions

Our PYPX Journey

Written by Sahil, Nandikaa, Ivan, Minwoo (Shine)

My PYPX journey was hard, tiring, and stressful. We began our first PYPX Extra Curricular Activity (ECA) from January 15-17. Although it was a long process, I enjoyed it in the end. Throughout this journey, I strengthened my Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills and the Learner Profile Attributes (LPA). This included improving my presenting strategies and skills through creating slides and enhancing my social skills. My research skills have also improved significantly, thanks to the topic I worked on. Teamwork and collaboration were particularly important since I worked with a group. My group members were Sahil, Shine, and Nandikaa. (Ivan)

One of the first milestones is choosing your SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). Be careful with this choice, as it determines your group. Make sure to select something you are passionate about since you will be working on it for the next seven weeks. For example, I chose Goal 9 but ended up in Goal 11 because no one else had selected it, and my entire group was reassigned to different areas from our original choices. Yet we all found connections to UNSDG #9. The second milestone, which is crucial, is starting your research. During this stage, we created our LOI (Line of Inquiry) and CI (Central Idea). We then researched our chosen topics. My LOI focused on sustainability and technology. Presenting is our third major milestone, which I believe is very important. We practiced in front of our friends and classmates and recorded our presentations for additional practice. We also engaged in a lot of individual and group practice sessions. (Nandikaa)

During my exhibition, I learned a variety of new skills. One of the key skills I developed was presenting, including speaking confidently in front of a crowd. This will be beneficial for me in the future as I continue to improve my presentation abilities. Throughout the process, I faced several challenges, one of which was maintaining eye contact with the audience while presenting. I overcame this by looking just above the audience, creating the illusion of eye contact without the pressure of directly looking at them. (Sahil)

Finally, the best part of the PYPX journey is the freedom to inquire into something we are passionate about. It allows us to explore topics of our own interest while understanding that PYPX is a combination of both group work and individual effort. Although the process is challenging, it is also a lot of fun. I am proud of myself for completing this project. One of the highlights was celebrating with pizza and playing with friends. It was incredibly fun and a memorable way to conclude our hard work. (Shine)