Our Primary Years Programme (PYP) is the perfect learning environment for fostering scientific thinking and curiosity. Our hands-on, experiential approach allows our students to explore scientific concepts through creativity, collaboration, and inquiry.

When students explored the properties of light in Grade 1, they worked to answer the question, “What happens to light when you shine it on different things?” With flashlights in hand, they tested shining light on objects from around the classroom, noticing that sometimes the light shone through and sometimes didn’t. Through their observations, students uncovered the concept of translucent, transparent, and opaque objects. They then applied what they had learned about how light travels to create their lanterns during an art activity.

In addition to inquiry, action is essential to all PYP units. When exploring Science, students engage in many different types of action to apply their new knowledge and skills or contribute to positive change. Several Grade 3 students recently activated their creativity by building dioramas to showcase ecosystems and food webs. Another student created a poster of the Western Red Cedar, highlighting Indigenous cultural connections as he described how totem poles are made. By sharing their learning with others, students are taking action to raise awareness about the topics and issues they are most passionate about.

Collaboration also has a vital role in the PYP Programme of Inquiry. Not only do teachers meet in grade-level teams to plan and prepare engaging lessons for students, but did you know that teachers also collaborate across divisions?

Last term, Ms. Rajeev, our High School Biology teacher, and Ms. Nguyen, our lab tech instructor, met with the Grade 5 teachers to discuss Grade 5 lab engagements and ensure that the experiences of our students are well-equipping them for science in middle and high school. In addition to this collaborative planning, the Grade 12 Biology class visited our Grade 5 Mini-Exhibition on the human body systems. By engaging with our Grade 5 learners about their notes, posters, and 3-D models related to the different body systems, our Grade 12 students helped expand and challenge the Grade 5 students' thinking. The Grade 5s also visited the high school science lab to engage in a lab connected to their current unit on simple machines. These collaborative experiences are among the many benefits of attending a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 continuum school.

Across the Elementary school, students also engage in OE3 (Outdoor, Environmental, and Experiential Education) experiences to create and nurture connections across the science curriculum. Connected to their unit on energy, the Grade 4 students found themselves building campfires with our OE3 Coordinator, Mrs. Banack. Students explored energy transformation and thermal energy concepts from cutting wood to starting their fires while deepening their outdoor education knowledge.

Gardening is also essential to the science connections built into our Programme of Inquiry. To support building knowledge about a plant’s life cycle and parts, the Grade 1 classes work with Mrs. Banack to create vegetable and pollinator gardens in the spring. In Kindergarten, students also engage in gardening through seasonal activities such as harvesting marigold seeds in the fall and planting daffodil bulbs in early winter. Activities such as these engage our students’ heads, hearts, and hands while fostering thoughtful connections to their units of inquiry.