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The York School 2024/25 Year in Review - Primary Years Program (PYP) Exhibition: Taking actions that raise awareness of global issues
The York School’s PYP Exhibition is the culmination of our Junior School students’ journey. In this independent inquiry project, graduating Grade Five students apply all the skills they have developed since Junior Kindergarten to investigate, take action and raise awareness about a given topic.
The theme of the 2025 PYP Exhibition was "Sharing the Planet.” Students investigated topics related to environmental sustainability, using the UN Sustainable Development Goals as their starting points. The research process mirrors that of a teacher creating a unit: students develop their own central idea, lines of inquiry, and concepts. From there, students decide on an action that will raise awareness about their findings. This action can range from writing a book to creating a video or piece of art.
Through the PYP exhibition, our students are empowered to follow their curiosity, conduct meaningful research, and share their learnings with the wider community. The following stories showcase the ways that our Junior School students embraced the PYP challenge.
Learning to live more lightly on our planet
While researching the impact of consumerism on our planet, people and animals, Bridget S. ‘32 learned about the benefits of minimalism and explored ways she could live with less. She removed everything from her bedroom that she didn’t have an immediate need for, and then identified items she could donate to a thrift store. Bridget created a five-minute video about her experience with minimalism that was shared with students in Grades 1 to 5.
Speaking out about the deadly impact of oil spills on marine life
Matty P. ‘32 wants people to take oil spills more seriously. While researching the impact of oil spills on marine plants, animals, habitats and ecosystems, he made some startling discoveries. He learned that when birds get oil on their feathers it can weigh down their wings and prevent them from flying. At the Exhibition, Matty invited visitors to conduct an experiment that involved dipping one feather into clear water and another into oily water. When participants compared the weights of the two feathers, the oil-covered one was 4.2 grams heavier.
Matty P. ‘32 wants people to take oil spills more seriously. While researching the impact of oil spills on marine plants, animals, habitats and ecosystems, he made some startling discoveries. He learned that when birds get oil on their feathers it can weigh down their wings and prevent them from flying. At the Exhibition, Matty invited visitors to conduct an experiment that involved dipping one feather into clear water and another into oily water. When participants compared the weights of the two feathers, the oil-covered one was 4.2 grams heavier.
Being a voice for endangered species
In their collaborative PYP exhibition, Kaitlyn C. ‘32 and Emily M. ‘32 conducted individual research related to their shared interest in animals. Emily investigated poaching and Kaitlyn looked into overhunting.
In their collaborative PYP exhibition, Kaitlyn C. ‘32 and Emily M. ‘32 conducted individual research related to their shared interest in animals. Emily investigated poaching and Kaitlyn looked into overhunting.
Emily knew poaching was a serious problem and recognized the Exhibition as an opportunity to make people more aware of the issue. One of her discoveries was the fact that elephants are a “keystone species” whose extinction would trigger a chain reaction affecting entire ecosystems. Kaitlyn discovered that when elephants, rhinos, leopards and tigers are hunted for their tusks or fur, it doesn’t only cause pain and suffering for the individual animals, it traumatizes the other members of the herd. She also learned that hunting impacts the growth of trees and the availability of fruit because many endangered animals are “seed distributors” who sow seeds naturally because their bodies can’t digest them.
Kaitlyn and Emily pooled their newfound knowledge to create a book that raises awareness about these serious threats to animals.
Slowing down fashion to protect the environment
Brooklyn G. ‘32 started designing and sewing clothes a few years ago. His love of fashion inspired his inquiry into the environmental costs of fast fashion. He was shocked to learn that the mass production of inexpensive, trendy clothes contributes to 10% of global warming because many of the clothes are made from plastics that release greenhouse gases. He decided to take action against the damaging effects of fast fashion by upcycling clothes that a friend no longer wears into a beautiful new dress.
Read more from the 2024/25 Year in Review here (link coming soon).
Brooklyn G. ‘32 started designing and sewing clothes a few years ago. His love of fashion inspired his inquiry into the environmental costs of fast fashion. He was shocked to learn that the mass production of inexpensive, trendy clothes contributes to 10% of global warming because many of the clothes are made from plastics that release greenhouse gases. He decided to take action against the damaging effects of fast fashion by upcycling clothes that a friend no longer wears into a beautiful new dress.
Read more from the 2024/25 Year in Review here (link coming soon).
