PYP – SEK International School Qatar

PYP Exhibition 2023

The exhibition is a celebration for an IB school. It’s the synthesis of the journey throughout the Primary Years Programme, and a time to share the knowledge, achievements and success of each student.

As a culminating experience, the exhibition is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB learner profile that they have been developing throughout their engagement with the PYP. The enthusiasm and motivation exhibited by this group of Grade 5 students throughout their exhibition journey has been admirable.

As inquirers, each Grade 5 student identified a passion, for which they were personally compelled to investigate, educate and address. Primary and secondary sources were sought, field trips, interviews and observations staged, data collected via surveys, experts consulted and group negotiations conducted.

The mentors, all teachers from within the primary school, supported students with structuring their time, keeping them on track with their research and supporting them with questions and guidance. Our experts, including our specialist teachers, were also on hand to support transdisciplinary learning, and helped the students make their research more interesting.

Grade 5 have been passionate in the way that they have approached these significant and complex passions. They should be very proud of their achievements, and we are sure their parents were proud as they visited their booths on 1st March 2023. While exploring their passions, the parents experienced;

The knowledge that the students have generated,
The skills the students used in gaining that knowledge.
The understanding of concepts which most might think are too difficult for a Grade 5 student to understand.

Our G5 students dazzled us with their research, their singing and their dancing. Congratulations G5 for a successful PYP Exhibition.

Please do visit the PYPX 2023 website to learn more about the students passions and keep checking our YouTube channel for videos of the event.

You may follow the link to view our students’ presentation – SEK-Qatar PYP Exhibition 2023

Grade 4 Solar System

The grade 4’s unit of inquiry is about the Solar System. The students learned the relationship between the Earth, Sun and the Moon. They demonstrated rotation and revolution by acting out in groups. Then the students conducted activities showing the phases of the moon culminating in an exciting hands on activity using Oreo cookies.

PYP Visual Art – Artist Visitor

Artists, indeed, are the movers and shakers of the world. We were fortunate to invite Qatar-based Graffiti artist Hassan Bohou into our school to share his artistic journey. It was an excellent opportunity for our students to meet with a local artist and feel inspired by his creativity. Art in all its forms is the universal language. His art provoked our imagination and caused us to pause, think and reflect. This interaction provided students with more than one amazing opportunity to connect with art and artists in a meaningful way. We were able to engage with the artist and create graffiti on one of our school’s walls based on our learner profile “Be Caring”- it is essential to remember to care for everyone around us. If you would like to see more of his artwork, here is the link: https://bit.ly/3ChtMIF

Graduation Week 2022 @ SEK International School Qatar!

Congratulations to all of our students who graduated this year!

We are excited to share with you that for the first time in over two years SEK-Qatar was able to celebrate all graduation ceremonies in school premises, with family and friends joining in person to celebrate each student’s milestone.

Preschool 5

This was a very special day for all our Preschool 5 students as they attended their first school graduation. The IBPYP Programme, which runs from Preschool 3 to Grade 5 (aged 3-12), “nurtures and develops young students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning” (ibo.org, 2021). Our teachers and staff at SEK International School Qatar have thoroughly enjoyed teaching our brilliant Preschool 5 students this year. We are proud to send them off into a well-deserved, joyful summer holiday and we are looking forward to welcoming all our returning students back next academic year when they enter Grade 1 at SEK-Qatar.

Grade 5

Next up were our Grade 5 students ready and eager to start the MYP Programme in August! Congratulations to all of them for completing the PYP Programme. Throughout the past 8 years of school, they have worked very hard and learned how to tackle challenges and embrace opportunities in our fast changing world. SEK International School Qatar is proud to offer the PYP Programme as it is one of best educational practice globally.

Grade 10

MYP Grade 10 students – congratulations for finishing the IBMYP Programme at SEK-Qatar.

The IBMYP Programme runs from Garde 6 to Grade 10 and is essential for laying a solid foundation for the final DP stage. During the MYP years, students work on community and personal projects in order to learn and expand their horizon.

DP

Class of 2022!

Congratulations SEK International School Qatar Diploma Programme graduates.

Over the past two years they have studied incredibly hard to complete the ambitious International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme.

Not only did they battle through Extended Essays, Theory of Knowledge, CAS and many exams, yet it is also worth mentioning they spent most of their diploma stage living and studying through a global pandemic. This alone was another added challenge that all of our students mastered very well.

It was a great pleasure to have taught and equip our Grade 12 students with the necessary knowledge and skills for their next stage in life. All of SEK-Qatar wishes our 36 graduates the very best for whatever thier future might hold.

PYP Exhibition 2022

This year’s exhibition was a synthesis of the journey throughout the Primary Years Programme, and a time to share the knowledge, achievements and success of each student. As a culminating experience, the exhibition has given students an opportunity to pursue their interests, develop conceptual understandings, apply ATL skills and demonstrate the attributes of the IB learner profile. Students where able to showcase student agency and take action to make a positive difference in their school and local community.

During the exhibition, students overcame challenges as they worked collaboratively with their group members. Primary and secondary sources were sought, virtual field trips, online interviews and observations staged, data collected via surveys, experts consulted and group negotiations conducted. And it was from this, that sustainable action to educate, eradicate and even reimagine has and continues to be taken by these learners. Throughout the process they were guided by mentors who supported students with structuring their time, keeping them on track with their research and supporting them with questions and guidance.

The grade five students celebrated this process by presenting their understandings to the school community. They should be very proud of their achievements, the skills the students used in gaining that knowledge, the understanding of concepts which most might think are too difficult for a G5 student to understand, and the actions that the students have taken to attempt to solve their issue, or raise awareness of it.

Book Week 2022

This week we have been celebrating Book Week at SEK-Qatar. There have been many exciting opportunities for students to learn more about some of our great books in the library, as well as take part in many games and activities based around literacy.

Some of the great activities included:

Book mark making competitions
Story writing
Mystery Readers
D.E.A.R (Drop Everything And Read)
Read-A-Thon
Book Nooks in the main hall

We had many parents come into school to join us, reading some of their favorite stories, or reading in their home language. We would like to thank all those parents who were able to come in and celebrate with us..

The PYP Student Council also contributed to the fun, by organising some fun days over the week.

Funny Hat Day
Reading in our PJs
Teddy Bears ‘Book’nic

One of the most important part of our Book Week celebration is the Book Character Parade that happened on Thursday. Students dressed up as their favorite book character and shared with their friends!

Saving Animals with Grade 1

Transdisciplinary Theme

Sharing the Planet

Central Idea

Many factors might lead species toward endangerment or extinction

Lines of Inquiry

Factors leading to endangerment
From endangerment to extinct
Our responsibility toward endangered species

During our unit of inquiry ‘Saving the animals’, our students learned about extinct and endangered species. Through this unit, students learned their responsibilities towards endangered animals as well as how to help them. Students chose to raise awareness and create posters that show ways of protecting endangered species as part of their action plan.  Here are some examples of their posters. Congratulations G1 for helping us know about animals that are close to extinction.

Energy with Grade 5

Transdisciplinary Theme

How the World Works

Central Idea

People use, store and change energy for different purposes.

Lines of Inquiry

Forms of Energy

The storage and transformation of energy

Conservation of energy

The Grade 5 students applied their knowledge of the lines of inquiry from their current unit of inquiry to show new ways to use, store and save energy by building a model of their choice using recycled materials. They demonstrated their conceptual understanding of sustainability and energy, and used their thinking and research skills to create the models seen below. The students presented their learning through videos and live presentations to their peers.

Grade 3 and the Fruit Bowls

Transdisciplinary Theme

How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea

People express their ideas, feelings and culture through the arts.

Lines of Inquiry

The different ways artists interpret what they see, think and believe
How artists use technique to convey a message
How audience members appreciate art and perceive messages

If you had a bowl of fruit, what would it look like? Would it hold just one kind of fruit or many different kinds? Would the fruit be whole or chopped? What would the bowl and basket look like? How would you choose the fruits to add in your bowl?

To introduce our new unit of inquiry, How we express ourselves, Grade 3 created their own piece of art with the title, Fruit Bowl. After following a short video tutorial on how to draw a fruit bowl, the students were encouraged to create their own artwork. This was an opportunity for them to be creative and explore different materials in their environments.

We saw so many interpretations of a fruit bowl which led to fantastic discussions about what is art and how does different art make us feel.

Here are some of the great fruit bowls that were created by Grade 3. We hope you enjoy them!

PYP Music Patterns

This term, Grade 2 students have been exploring patterns in music through rhythmic, melodic as well as harmonic sequencing. Utilizing the digital platform of Chrome Music Lab: Song Maker, they have composed some uniquely sounding music which, in turn, displays as a production of colorful sequences.