The final project morning of this academic year and the presentation of the sixth IB PYP theme, “How We Share the Planet”, for primary school students coincided with the reflection on the end of the school year. So, what have we learned over the year?

By analyzing and delving into the sixth IB PYP theme, students from grades 0 to 4 sent a clear message about conserving natural and energy resources. “Through their projects, they spoke about choosing a greener future,” summarized second-grade teacher Jūratė Babickienė.

“This theme is about us – humans who share this planet with the plant and animal world. It is about our rights and responsibilities: about sharing finite resources with others around the world; about caring for the less fortunate; about relationships between people and nations; about equal access to education and healthcare for all inhabitants of the planet; about world peace and conflict resolution. There is enough room for everyone under the Sun. Let’s share the planet!” discussed primary school teacher and IB PYP coordinator Rūta Gudynienė with her students.

First graders, reflecting on the results of the sixth theme, concluded that it is not us who share the planet, but the planet that shares with us.

Primary school teachers noticed that over the project years, the qualities of class communities have strengthened – unity, friendliness, empathy, support, and sense of community. Students are working better in groups and are able to perform assigned tasks more effectively.

It has become customary to have guests during project presentations: this time, too, parents and support teams gathered in the classes for the project presentation, writing reflections, advice, and praises, but also received tasks themselves – they solved children’s favorite “Kahoot” quizzes and answered questions. Some of the questions raised by the students, such as whether we need to think and talk about reducing consumption, why we need to sort waste, and how to protect living things, make one ponder.