Shanghai Community International School

On Thursday, April 22, the entire Lower School and the Grade five families came together to celebrate the Grade five student’s Primary Years Programme (PYP) Exhibition journey. For the past eight weeks, the Exhibition Showcase has been at the center of every Grade five student and teacher’s mind!

Students started by tapping into their curiosities and passions and picking their top three concepts. Following this, they spoke with a SCIS supporting teacher to help make their final concept more complete. The Grade five teachers then sorted students into groups according to their desired concept, and then the team building began!

Over the next several weeks, students attended their “Exhibition homerooms," from 10:40-1:40 every day to work with their new group members and Exhibition teacher. They challenged themselves by posing critical thinking questions about their concept, conducting rigorous research, finding reliable resources, and working together with their groups to put their ideas into action.

Action was a large part of the Exhibition, where students thought locally to help their communities. Action ranged from teaching other SCIS classes about their concepts, advocating for a local education organization to fund rural women to get a university education, to doing chores for their parents to raise money for endangered animals.

On Exhibition Showcase day, exhibitors welcomed students and teachers to Ted Talk-style presentations and information stations to discuss their ideas. In the evening, our parent community was invited to attend to share in their child’s learning journey. It was wonderful to have an opportunity to have our families on campus to celebrate this enormous accomplishment! 

Reflecting on their learning journey, students had the following thoughts to share:

“The PYP Exhibition is a memorable moment to show yourself.”- Se Been 

“I liked presenting to the 3rd and 4th graders because they seemed to enjoy it a lot.”-Edo

"Exhibition is a long run, there will be challenges, but eventually, you will arrive at the finish line~ The end is important, but the journey is valuable."- Emma

The PYP exhibition is the culmination of the PYP programme. It is a celebration of all the elements of the PYP programme (knowledge, skills, concepts, and action) that students have learned in their primary years. This also provides an opportunity for students to exhibit the Learner Profile attributes that they have been developing within the PYP.

SCIS. Lifelong Learners.