On the 13th and 14th of April, the 5th graders at SGIA held their annual PYP Exhibition to display the independent study projects that they have been working on since the beginning of the school year. These student-centred projects represent the culminating event of their Primary Years Programme.

The students are responsible for every aspect of this project from deciding on their topic to finding a way to take action that will create change. They worked in groups of 1 - 4 students with 16 different topics total including anime, e-sports, world war, mental health, trading, TikTok obsession, gossip, climate change, music, space travel, clothing design, religion, food waste, paintings, video games, and rainforests.

Each topic was connected in some way to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.  For example, one group created a T-shirt to promote tolerance and harmony between different religions. This action is connected to SDG goal 16, which is peace, justice and strong institutions. Not only did they make these T-shirts, but they used the proceeds from the T-shirts to raise money to buy basic necessities, which were later distributed to the security, cleaner and gardener at the school.

Some other actions that were taken by students as part of this PYP Exhibition include:

● Playing music during break time in the canteen to help relax and motivate students

● Donating food to an orphanage

● Teaching younger students how to draw anime

● Creating a short video about the hazards of gossip and playing it for the whole school
 

Students were provided with assistance by their advisers and mentors came in to steer them in the right direction during this inquiry process along the way. The mentors were especially helpful in assisting students with finding professionals to interview, making surveys, going on field trips related to their topic and finding relevant information.

The PYP Exhibition is an essential part of the SGIA experience. It encourages students to take agency over their own education and develop a growth mindset. This process helps them develop valuable critical thinking and problem-solving skills that they will need throughout their lives. Lastly, this project achieves the objective of getting students to think globally about creating solutions to solve the world’s problems. This is a must in order for students to live up to their PYP Exhibition slogan: “Small steps lead to big change."