How The World Works

In the PYP, science is viewed as the exploration of the biological, chemical and physical aspects of the natural world, and the relationships between them. It encourages curiosity and ingenuity and enables the student to develop an understanding of the world. Reflection on science also helps students to develop a sense of responsibility regarding the impact of their actions on themselves, others, and their world. Inquiry is central to this exploration as students construct knowledge and make connections to their own lives. By encouraging hands-on experiences and inquiry, we are able to support students as they engage in the world around them, ask questions, and seek new understandings.
One was we do this is by observing the hatching of chickens. Please enjoy these videos from our latest batch of eggs! Come and visit them in the library today!

Student Led Conferences

This week Spicewood hosted its Spring Conferences in order to share and celebrate the progress of our students.  This is an exciting time for both teachers and students as we have the opportunity to share some of the learning that has taken place over the last several months.
We especially love the format of having students involved because it allows them to take responsibility for what they have achieved and also begin to think about what they still want to know and be able to do. They have the opportunity to share with their families assessments and reflections from their Units of Inquiry as well as books they have been reading, writing pieces, math problem solving and art. Another exciting aspect of the process is seeing the learning environment and imagining what it looks like when teachers are conducting class meetings, problems solving, science experiments, role playing, historical reenactments and all the other things that happen at Spicewood throughout a normal school day.
We want to thank all the families who joined us for these very special celebrations and take our hats off to you for being a partner with us in the education of your child!

5th Grade PYP Exhibition

This past Wednesday, our 5th grade students hosted their Exhibition as the summative project representing their experience in the PYP. The purpose of the project is for the students to demonstrate their cumulative learning while mirroring the process of a PYP Unit of Inquiry. While at Spicewood over 6 years students participate in 36 units of inquiry. Each year grade levels complete one Unit under each transdisciplinary theme, and do 6 of each theme between Kindergarten and 5th grade.
The Exhibition allows students to synthesize their learning of the five Essential Elements of the PYP: knowledge, skills, attitudes, action, and concepts. They do this in groups while conducting inquiry and research on an issue facing our world right now. Groups are mentored by Spicewood teachers and staff, and then presented to the community.

Our students, teachers, and mentors did a wonderful job working together to celebrate this AMAZING achievement.

How We Organize Ourselves

At the heart of PYP's philosophy is a commitment to structured, purposeful inquiry as a vehicle for learning. This exploration and study is done through the transdisciplinary themes.

One of the Themes each grade level explore is: How We Organize Ourselves. This unit delves into systems, cycles, decision-making, the function of organizations and communities, and economic activity.

Here are the central ideas to some of these units:

• There are systems in place help that help us meet our needs and wants-Kindergarten
• People work to  meet personal, financial and societal needs-2nd grade
• The development of human-made systems impacts our communities-4th Grade
• Systems of government organize societies-5th Grade

Above is a picture of 2nd grade students participating in Market Days at the end of their unit on the economy. Students studied consumerism, marketing, production, and taxes before creating a  product to advertise and sell. This is one example of how the transdisciplinary themes support hands-on inquiry of big ideas!

5th Grade Begins Work on Their PYP Exhibition

At the end of the Primary Years Program, 5th grade students work in groups on a project that outlines all they have learned on their journey through the PYP. This project, called The Exhibition, acts as an evaluation for both Spicewood, and our 5th grade students. We use it as a tool to reflect on how we, as a campus, are doing at implementing the PYP, and as a way to gauge how individuals have grown over time.
Working with a Spiceood faculty mentor students must write a central idea, inquiries into and questions that will outline what they hope to learn.
This is a powerful process for students as they have to use all the essential elements of the PYP: concepts, attitudes, knowledge, transdisciplinary skills and action.
Some of this year's topics include world hunger, poaching, immigration, the national debt and addiction.
Join us on May 2nd as our students share their work with the community!

Perspective is a Powerful Tool in Learning about the World Around Us

Throughout the exploration of our units of inquiry, we ask students to consider what they are learning from multiple perspectives. This is a powerful tool for learning about other people and cultures.  Our 5th grade is currently working on their Exhibition, which is the culmination of their PYP experience. They are exploring issues such as obesity, child abuse, pollution, immigration, world hunger and the national debt. Throughout the study of these intense topics students encounter passionate opinions and deep feelings. An important and valuable part of this culminating project is to explore all sides of these issues, and make a plan to take action for what they believe.

This something that we must do as teachers as well, constantly reflect and expand our own understandings. This is a video that explores the limitations of a single perspective.
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or  we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Community Members Enhance our Understanding of the World

Today our 1st grade was fortunate to have a guest speaker from our community, Ellen Tuthill, speak to them about a unit of inquiry they are exploring under Sharing the Planet. The central idea is: water is a limited and essential resource shared among all living things.
In this unit 1st grade investigates why water is essential before discussing access to fresh water, and who owns water. This is a powerful unit for students who believe that water flows from the tap everywhere in the world. They begin to comprehend the differences between fresh and salt water and how limited sources of fresh water are.
In her presentation today, Mrs. Tuthill shares photos and video clips from her trip to Jido, Ethiopia. Jiddo is a community that suffers from lack of water, as well as lack of potable water. Although the town has a well, it is contaminated with unhealthy levels of flouride. The next closest source of water is 16 KM away. Mrs. Tuthill shared the difficulties that families deal with while trying to obtain water to drink, feed their animals, water their crops...even wash their hands to ward off disease.

Throughout the Program of Inquiry here at Spicewood we incorporate many perspectives on the topics and issues we explore. Seeing the photos of kids from Jido, and hearing Mrs. Tuthill's first hand experiences broadens the world for our students.

Earlier in the year 1st grade students explored how nonprofit organizations help meets the needs of others. This built off that knowledge as students saw how organizations are working to bring fresh, clean water to the people of Jido.