On Monday October 1 2012, there was an Introduction to the PYP  workshop held at YIS for new families and interested school community members.  The workshop which was led by Ms Jacquie Pender, ES Principal, and Ms Shanel Catasti, ES Vice Principal/Curriculum Coordinator, was attended by twenty parents. This interactive workshop allowed parents to experience being part of a PYP classroom which includes working collaboration, active learning and independent thinking time. They also shared their prior knowledge of their own schooling, how that relates to 21st Century Learners and their child, and how the PYP addresses this.

Some important information shared with parents during the workshop actually came from recent research about what type of education will best help children learn. Looking over the key points listed below, these are all evident in the PYP and are a regular part of what learning looks like in at YIS:

1. How to process and use information and less about imparting it.

2. Work collaboratively

3. The ability to use new technologies in multiple ways

4. Promote dynamic and active learning classrooms

5. Educational experiences promote international and global understanding

6. More emphasis on the analysis of data

 Lawrence. H. Summers (former President of Harvard University) New York Times, 20 January 2012

Parents were asked to share ‘burning’ questions they had about PYP and to complete a parent questionnaire about the elementary curriculum.The key points that arose from these were:

• How are the subjects of mathematics and language connected to the Units of Inquiry?
• How is student progress assessed and monitored?
• How do students in PYP perform compared with other curriculums around the world?
• How does PYP linked to the other IB programs of MYP and DP?
• How does PYP support students in their development of life long learning?

The most common question that parents ask was: “How can I best support my child at home?”  

Ms Pender shared some simple yet important advice. The best way is to allow your child to play!  Let your child develop a passion he/she has, allow time for relaxation and exploration and give your child opportunities to be bored and make decisions on how to use his/her time. Also talk to your child in your mother tongue as it supports on-going learning of  the mother tongue language, which is vital for learning another language.

The importance of PLAY has been well researched and documented and recently posted on the Community Learning blog that highlighted why children and adults need to play.Read More about the importance of Play HERE!

This will be addressed more in detail in a future parent newsletter and blog post.

Parents gave positive feedback about the workshop saying:

“It was a good opportunity to know about the PYP and talk with other parents. Thank you!”

“The workshop was wonderful and very informative. It cleared lots of my doubts.”

“I got the big picture purpose of PYP and I totally agree with it! Thank you.”

“We feel fortunate to have access to YIS and to have such dedicated and passionate teachers. Thank you!”

Thank you to all parents who attended and such positive, supportive feedback!

There will be a repeat of this workshop for new families on Tuesday 29 January, 2013.