IB Primary Years Programme (3 years – 11 years)

The PYP exhibition was a revelation for the whole PYP community as we were in the adverse situation caused by COVID-19, we were forced to take the entire exhibition on an online platform. Initially all struggled to find solid ground and then with the power of collaboration, dedication and hard work all the mentors, teachers and students created their online presentations, which was highly anticipated as it was the first of its kind in Podar ORT International.

The feeling of accomplishment came when all the students showcased an exceptional presentation which was appreciated by the teaching and learning community that attended the sessions. We used the power of technology to the best of our efforts and have gained experience which is extremely valuable. Grade 5 of 2020 have been a beacon of the IB philosophy which inspires us to become 21st century learners with the ability to adapt. Kudos to the whole PYP Exhibition team for their priceless effort and their dedication.

This year we have culminated the 2nd PYP Exhibition for the PORTIS PYP year 5 students. This has been a great journey and achievement for all the stakeholders of our community. Unfortunately, this year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic we had to shift our teaching and learning from face to face to the virtual classrooms. The transition was both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. But, nothing deterred our students to put their best foot forward and finish their PYP culmination.

Our young learners Bariq and Hamza are new to the IB continuum. This was their first year in the PYP as these students have migrated from Iraq. It was a challenge for them to learn the technology, language i.e English and keep abreast with the curriculum taught in English. Our students emerged as the victors by overcoming all the challenges and presented their journey by choosing the topic of Music as their media. They researched and inquired about the various genres of music, various instruments, singers and musicians, various platforms and media they can be found and used and so on.  They even went a step further and the presentation was done in their mother tongue, Arabic by Bariq and was translated in English by Hamza. In all the journey was very engaging and fruticious.

For his exploration into How We Express ourselves, Abhimanyu decided to look at advertisement and how it impacts society. Abhimanyu’s research skills are next level. He created a wonderfully detailed presentation for his exhibition which demonstrated how well researched his topic was.  Abhimanyu’s presentation was flawless. He showed confidence in his demonstration skills and gave excellent responses to the question and answer sessions. It was so lovely to work with a student who is so involved in the learning process.

As our students came into concluding their PYP journeys and move onward the MYP ladder, Covid-19, a global pandemic, stood in the way. However, technology and media broke through the barriers created. Our students accordingly went on to ably conduct a fully online PYP Exhibition around the theme “How we express ourselves”, with central ideas stemming from media and its varied uses.

Vipanshi Sarawgi, using digital tools like Wix, Padlet and even her own website coupled with Instagram, was able to delve into and deliver the concept of Media and its power to influence people’s actions. Vipanshi’s sustainability goal towards Life on Land and her love for her pet dogs, combined with her research work on stray animals, animal abuse, and awareness about related causes yielded her presenting on the above passionately. She was curious and worked on understanding the forms of media, its role in creating awareness and our actions in response to the same to create an impactful Instagram presence along with her website which carried articles from pet owners and animal lovers. Vipanshi delivered an interactive experience which was very well received and exhibited her attributes as a communicator, thinker and being caring.

Aaliyah Kabani addressed the topic of the evolution of media and how it has impacted society, more so, growing children. Aaliyah has been intrigued by various forms of media and how they have been created to cater to the different needs of people, and accordingly its impact and need for responsible consumption. She accordingly went on to research on various forms and delved further into Social media and reported statistics around the same, whilst also listing its pros and cons. Aaliyah states her major learning as changes in users behavior such as herd mentality, physical disconnect and pointed a need for responsible use in times of Cyber Bullying. Aaliyah exhibited the same over digital media and received encouraging feedback whilst displaying attributes of as a risk taker, principled individual and a confident communicator.

The Grade 5 PYP Exhibition at PORTIS for the academic year 2019-2020 was one of a kind. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it took place online and was thus different from the previous years. Though it did bring along a few challenges, it was an exciting journey for the students and mentors alike.

As the Theme for the Exhibition was ‘How We Express Ourselves’ and the Central Idea was ‘Media has evolved over time causing an impact on society’, Mishika DSouza chose to work on ‘Spreading Environmental Awareness through Magazines’.

She was motivated to create her very own magazine and put together a series of articles that highlighted the need to work towards Saving Our Planet. The magazine also included artwork by her brother that portrayed the beauty of our natural environment. With articles ranging from ‘conserving forests’ to ‘reducing ocean acidification and marine pollution’, Mishika’s magazine covered two sustainable development goals: Life on Land and Life under Water.

The appreciation and positive feedback by the exhibition attendees at the end of Mishika’s presentation provided a boost to her self-confidence.

Film making, under the theme of “How we express ourselves” was something that both the students Prisha and Vivaan were very keen to know about. From the very first day they were sure to inquire everything that explored all the aspects of filmmaking, right from the process, to its technicalities and also its impact on the audience. Throughout the process students inquired, explored and analysed how films are a wonderful medium through which you can not only express yourselves but also leave its impact at such a greater extent that it could even bring out a true sense of taking action in the real world. The PYP journey of film making for these students made them realise that everything that we see is not true, and everything that is true is not seen on screen. Hence the central idea- Film helps communication in a variety of ways and influence thinking.

Prisha and Vivaan have earned to be true learners in this process and have won many hearts of the audience when they presented their exhibition. They completed this journey by leaving an impact to the audience with their idea of making a short film despite the lockdown challenges they faced. Best of luck for these young and talented minds for the years ahead in life!

Students, on the back of extensive research, designed and conducted workshops based on different themes to introduce forms of art and the concept of  Bullying for individual grades. For instance, “All different, All equal” with Sr. KG was set out in backdrop of the Anti-Bullying week. The odd-sock day  celebration drove this further with the students individually painting a sock with patterns in colourful hues, glitter and more, representing their individual  uniqueness. The “Emotions & Feelings” titled workshop with Grade 1 aimed at highlighting acceptance of uniqueness guided by a story on friendship. In  response, Grade 1 went on to create unique discs representing their unique self-image culminating in the CD art. They followed up this activity with  acting out an emotion and/or the experience of being bullied or being a bully, which was captured by the photographic lens of the students. “The Posters  against Imposters”, “Mime Time” & “Stop. Walk. Talk.” workshops with Grades 2, 3 & 4 followed. These workshops helped gather insight whilst sharing  knowledge on the area of work, i.e., Bullying. Students now have deeper understanding of expressing themselves thru art, i.e., to communicate ideas and  create awareness which was further yielded in the “Attributes are Us” workshop with their own grade 5 peers, where the actual PYP journey concludes.

Creating a connection with responses to a bully and bullying situations helped highlight various attributes in our learners including being principled, communicators, thinkers, reflective and caring individuals. This process facilitated students to see the flipside of the importance of empathy towards both the bully and the bullied. The impact of this exhibition on each student has been beyond hitherto measure and the zeal reflected in the above images from the exhibition bears testimony to the same!