Primary School (Grades 1-5)
Foundational Learning, Inquiry, and Growth
At VIS, our Primary School provides an inclusive and supportive learning environment where students build essential skills and develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. Guided by the PYP framework, learning is inquiry-driven, engaging, and transdisciplinary. We encourage our learners to ask questions, think critically, and make meaningful connections. Alongside strong foundations in literacy, mathematics, and languages, students are encouraged to explore the arts, physical and social education, sciences, and technology, fostering creativity and problem-solving. The Primary School years are a time of growing independence, responsibility, and collaboration, where students are challenged to see themselves as active learners and caring members of their community.
Programme of Inquiry
Our programme of inquiry is developed using a carefully designed, transdisciplinary framework that connects learning across all grade levels and subjects. Our students explore global concepts, engaging in meaningful inquiry that is relevant to their lives and the world around them. While much of the learning is integrated across disciplines, teachers also provide explicit instruction in essential skills and knowledge that supports deeper understanding. This transdisciplinary approach helps students make connections between and across subjects, see patterns in their learning, and develop transferable skills and knowledge. Our programme of inquiry ensures that learning at VIS is purposeful, engaging, and tailored to the needs and interests of each student.
Immersions
A distinctive feature of our Primary School is Immersions, a dedicated time each Wednesday when students develop skills for learning through their own passions and interests. During Immersions, students step beyond their regular classroom routines to explore new ideas, pursue curiosity, and collaborate in unique ways. Activities vary across grade levels and groups, ranging from passion projects and creative explorations to hands-on research and inquiry. This flexible approach allows students to build independence, creativity, and problem-solving skills, while also nurturing the joy of learning and the confidence to be agents in their own learning.
PYP Exhibition
The culminating experience of the Primary Years Programme at VIS is the Grade 5 PYP exhibition, a celebration of learning that embodies the skills, knowledge, and learner attributes students have developed throughout their primary years. Throughout this process, students identify and investigate real-world issues and opportunities that matter to them, engaging in in-depth research, collaboration, and action. Guided by mentors, they design and present their learning to the school community, demonstrating not only their academic growth but also their ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and take meaningful action. The PYP exhibition emphasizes student voice, agency, and responsibility, marking the transition from the PYP to the MYP.
The PYP framework is a launchpad that empowers our young learners to be the explorers of their own education.
The PYP framework is a unique educational model that focuses on both how children learn and who they are as learners. It positions students as active participants in their education, emphasizing their needs, interests, and abilities.
The 5 Essential Elements
The PYP incorporates 5 essential elements:
- Concepts
- Skills
- Attitudes
- Action
- Knowledge
Students explore six subject areas:
- Language
- Social studies
- Mathematics
- Science
- The Arts - music, visual arts, dance and drama
- Personal, social and physical education
The teaching of additional languages other than English is embraced, in order to support the international perspective of the curriculum.