PYP exhibition 2009

Dear mentors,

Thank you so much for your dedicated involvement and the willingness to
be part of this year’s PYP Exhibition. We truly appreciate the help and time you
are devoting to this cause.
As you may well know, the PYP Exhibition is the culminating process in our
students’ lives, celebrating their growth as international students and global
citizens. It is meant to give students an opportunity of demonstrating their skills,
knowledge, attitudes, profile, and abilities to take action while being involved in
an investigation of their own. Therefore, the emphasis lies on the process of
carrying out and monitoring this inquiry, not on the product being presented.
In order to support this personal inquiry, we are enlisting your help in
offering guidance and assistance to groups of students from the Antz and the
Incredibles classes. A mentor is a guide for students, being there to offer help
with the process of investigation. You may support them by:
o asking questions and helping interpret difficult information
o suggesting directions that they may take for their research
o suggesting possible sources of information
o reviewing the expectations of an excellent inquiry to be sure that
students are following their plan and that they are within schedule.
The students have already started to work on their investigation. They have
built understanding about the central idea, have made choices as to the specific
topic they want to investigate, and they have created their inquiry questions.
They have matched their questions to subsequent concepts and have started to
give thought as to the form of the project and the resources they may need.
Consequently, they are deeply involved in the research process and they are very
excited about meeting with you.

At your first meeting, the students will present you with copies of the
following documents:
o their inquiry plan and contract (that contains the central idea, their
area of research, the teacher and student questions, proposed resources,
options for final project etc.)
o the group’s timeline, detailing what they intend to do and by when
o the PYP Exhibition guidelines
o the PYP Exhibition timeline

We hope that they will be of help for you in better understanding the
students’ work and in supervising it easier. In addition, we would like to kindly
ask you to stop at times and complete the mentor feedback form, on which you
are asked to jot down some reflections following meeting with students. Your
feedback is an important part of the process and will help us evaluate the work
children are doing, as well as address directly any problems that may arise.
Once again, we would like to thank you for your generous support and
commitment. Do not hesitate to meet with us for any inquiries you may have.

Grade 4 team