Manju Nair, GIIS’s IB PYP coordinator shares what makes the programme stand out
If there’s anyone who knows about the IB PYP, it’s GIIS’s Manju Nair. After all, she’s been the head of the IB Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) at international schools in Singapore and China for over eight years, and been in the education industry for over 20 years. Not only that, she’s the current co-chair of the Singapore Malaysia PYP Coordinators network and has been a speaker at the World Forum for Early Care and Education as well as an IB regional conference. She believes that every child is capable of learning, and loves to support teachers who play such an important role in the lives of children. We recently had a chat with Manju about the IB PYP, and here are the highlights of that conversation…
What makes the IB PYP at GIIS different?
“Our IB Primary Years Programme is an inquiry-driven programme that fosters curiosity and independent thinking in our young learners aged 5 to 10. The IB-certified team that we have are highly competent, passionate and creative in the way they facilitate the PYP. Students at GIIS have multiple second-language options to choose from, and we have a music, dance and visual arts curriculum embedded in our PYP.”
“Our SMART campus offers a suite of made-to-purpose studios and state-of-the-art technology that support experiential learning for our students. A well resourced library and readily accessible physical and online resources are also available for students to dig deep into their areas of interest. With the aim of making an international education accessible to all, our IB PYP is a highly affordable programme. In fact, I think it’s almost 40% lower than many other international schools.”
What do the IB PYP students love about the programme?
“Many of our students in the PYP have made the transition from more traditional knowledge-driven models of education to the in-demand concept-based model of the PYP and are able to immediately articulate the difference. They understand and appreciate that their views are valued, that they have agency in all matters – both curricula and routine, and that they are given ample opportunities to voice their opinions.”
“As educators, we observe their journey and are happy to see how all of their transdisciplinary skills evolve and are developed: their self-management, research, social, communication, critical and creative thinking skills. Students often comment that they learn through joy, and often don’t realise they are learning so much because they have fun throughout the day!”
What about the teachers?
“We have such a vibrant and experienced PYP team at GIIS who bring multiple talents and interests with them. Whether it is movie making, taking forward green initiatives, performing arts, visual arts, writing and publishing initiatives or IT competency, we often find that we do not have to go looking for expertise outside the team, and our students benefit from this exposure to a wide range of learning engagements.”
“An example of this is one of our PYP teachers, Ms. Anubha Mehta, who has recently become an Ambassador for the TeachSDG (Sustainable Development Goals) programme for 2021, where she works with the TeachSDG community to encourage her students to support the UN’s Global goals through several projects. We also have very strong subject expertise within our PYP-certified group of educators to support our curriculum customisation and enhancement initiatives.“
As an IB-certified school for PYP and with your extensive experience as a PYP educator, do you have any tips for parents applying to a PYP school?
“I would say let the IB PYP be your first choice for your primary school-age child. The PYP is a fast growing, future-ready programme, and helps your child develop skills, dispositions, and capabilities that will help them adapt to changes, and to become lifelong learners. The international mindedness and the empathy students develop in an IB programme are invaluable; students engage in perspective-taking at an intellectual level too.”
“Our IB-trained teachers (at the PYP and IB DP level) embody the key values of the IB programme and are excellent role models for students. They are equipped to rigorously and explicitly guide students every step of the way, without compromising their academic skills, because GIIS always has a strong ethos of academic excellence. This is what excites me, and inspires me day in and day out in my work at GIIS.”
Thank you, Manju!
If you’d like to know more about the IB PYP at GIIS and how it nurtures students to develop a life-long love of learning, get in touch with its friendly admissions representatives.
This post is in partnership with GIIS