Purpose Through Belonging
Year 6 has marked the culmination of their Junior School learning through a fascinating Primary Years Programme Exhibition exploring the idea: A sense of belonging gives us purpose in our communities.
The girls’ powerful inquiries emerged from a two-day conference that served as a ‘prompt’ for their research. They absorbed fascinating presentations from three keynote speakers and attended 10 self-selected workshops from 22 available sessions. The topics ranged from exploring social media to the plight of refugees, the complexities of legal aid and psychological approaches to managing anxiety.
In the initial stages, the students’ task was to uncover what sparked their curiosity. Through individual and collaborative research, they then identified connections between ideas and developed open-ended questions with a global focus and the potential to produce positive change.
"Should children under 16 be banned from social media?" Georgie asked as she surveyed her peers to discover whether their opinions were being considered. Over the course of her investigation, she realised many decisions about children's lives don't include children's voices. "This matters to me because I'm a child, and I know what it feels like when adults make choices for us without really listening to what we think," Georgie explained. She changed her question to, "Why aren't children's opinions used to make important decisions?"
Georgie found that adults often think children don't understand enough to have a say, but children experience the effects most directly. Social media can give young people a place to express their views, but can also be why adults think they're too young to make serious choices.
"My inquiry connects to the Central Idea because listening to children's opinions helps them feel like they belong and that their ideas matter," Georgie reflected. "When children feel included, they gain confidence and take more part in their communities. Belonging isn't just about being part of a group, but about having your voice heard."
Another student explored a similar concept related to power, asking visitors: "What do you want adults to understand?" and "What have you taken from the perspectives of children?" Through interactive elements, she challenged the community to consider how power dynamics affect young people.
Throughout the process, mentors from across Wenona met with students to discuss findings and next steps, offering perspectives, refining thinking, and suggesting sources.
The community support was impressive. Students spoke with 25 external experts, connected with three other schools across Australia, surveyed 10 Wenona classes and worked with three charities. Twelve non-teaching staff, 37 Junior School staff and 14 Secondary School teachers offered their time, along with parents, families and friends.
Like Georgie, fellow Year 6 student Gracie explored a topic relevant to her daily life as a Junior School girl. “I was determined to work on the topic of AI,” she said. “But no matter how hard I tried, I could not create a question. I felt defeated. Then another idea caught my eye – the topic of belonging versus fitting in. Then suddenly I had my question: How can we educate girls in the future to stop worrying about fitting in?” At the conclusion of her exploration, Gracie came to the conclusion that she wanted to find ways for “everyone to continue to be their unique, amazing self”.
Prior to organising their learning into the exhibition format, the students visited the Art Gallery of NSW, learning from curators about representing themes through exhibition design. Back at School, the Year 6 space buzzed with activity as they planned, refined and created exhibits designed to provoke thinking about their inquiries.
One distinguishing factor of the IBPYP approach is that it requires students to take action. As a result of her research, Georgie chose to create spaces where children can share opinions on real issues through surveys or discussions. Other students ran workshops for younger peers, spoke with teachers about Junior School improvements, fundraised, or changed habits at home.
Overall, the Exhibition embodied one of the most important outcomes of young learning -discovering that your voice matters and you have the power to make a difference.