An International Baccalaureate scholar inquires about the world around them, takes an active role in leading their education, and has a mission for social justice.
On any given day, this type of IB learning can be found across Wayside: REAL Learning Academy. However, it’s never more evident than in November, when the fifth graders present their exhibition projects. Soon, this capstone of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) will transition to other Wayside Schools campuses.
In November, the fifth graders completed their exhibition, which included diverse topics like immigration, homelessness, and the effects of natural disasters on education. Working in small groups, they presented their projects twice: once in front of Wayside: Sci-Tech Preparatory’s 10th graders, and once in front of staff, parents and other school community.
This project is the culmination of everything they learned during the PYP, including the IB learner profile traits and key concepts. By fifth grade, they are able to put those ideas to use and be their own planners.
“The scholars choose topics meaningful to them, and find a problem in the world they want to solve,” Melissa Berdis, IB Coordinator at REAL Learning Academy, said. “This project challenges them to find a way to solve that problem and go through with the action.”
This year’s projects included a kit of essentials that was handed out to the homeless, and school supplies that were shipped to hurricane-ravaged schools in Houston.
“Parents were excited to see their kids engage in a project that made a difference in our community,” Berdis said. “It was interesting to see the diversity of our scholars’ interests – from global warming to women in education.”
REAL Learning Academy is the only campus to have an IB fifth grade exhibit because it is Wayside’s first fully authorized IB elementary school.
Currently, Wayside: Eden Park Academy and Wayside: Altamira Academy are in the candidacy stage of IB authorization, which is a multi-year process. During this stage, the campuses are evaluated by IB to ensure they meet the organization’s exceedingly high standards for authorization. Once they are fully authorized, the fifth grade exhibit will be incorporated to those campuses as well.
Eden Park Academy is already warming up for its fifth grade exhibit. This year, they held a fifth grade summative, a similar event, where they explored “how we express ourselves through the concept of patterns.” Scholars presented their findings to staff and parents.
Whether participating in the fifth grade exhibit or the summative, the goal is to to prepare scholars for coursework required in IB’s Middle Years Programme (MYP) and ultimately the rigorous Diploma Programme (DP).