CHANGEMAKER SHOWCASE
ISP LEARNING PRINCIPLES
Learning best happens when…
Learners’ curiosity drives what and how they learn.
Learners know what they’re learning and why it is significant.
Learners know where they are as learners and how to go further.
Learners persist with relevant and rich challenges.
Learners consider and connect complex ideas.
Learners apply their learning in diverse and challenging contexts.
Learners feel a sense of safety and belonging.
Changemakers at ISP
At ISP, changemakers are learners who leverage their curiosity, competencies, and compassion to take meaningful action that positively impacts the community.
Being a changemaker at ISP is a continuous process that goes beyond a single unit of study or school year. It is woven throughout our curricular and extracurricular learning programmes.
The 2024–25 Changemaker Showcase offers a snapshot of this inspiring work, featuring one story from each grade level that provides a glimpse into the kinds of meaningful projects our students are engaged in throughout the year.
The ISP changemaker approach is a core part of our mission and is closely aligned with the IB Learner Profile, which strives to develop internationally minded individuals who recognise our shared humanity and responsibility for the planet — and who work to build a more peaceful, sustainable world.
We hope you are inspired by our students efforts to be changemakers,
Dr. Cal Callaway
Incoming Director ISP
Building a Caring Classroom
Compassion, Community, and the Power of Everyday Actions
In their ‘Who We Are’ unit, our youngest learners explored what it means to be part of a caring community. Through play, storytelling, group reflections, and daily routines, they investigated what kindness looks like, sounds like, and feels like - and how each person helps shape the classroom culture in their own unique way. Students practiced empathy, collaboration, and active listening as they built relationships and made space for one another’s voices and ideas.
Older students in the class, like our returning ECF 3/4s, took on leadership roles, modeling positive social behaviors and supporting their younger peers in developing social-emotional skills. From helping a friend solve a problem to offering comfort when someone felt sad, their actions showed that even small moments can make a big impact. Together, the ECF students created a classroom where compassion and community were not just values - they were lived experiences, practiced every day.
Daring in Many Forms
Exploring Courage, Curiosity, and Change – One Small Step at a Time
In ECF 5, students explored what it means to be daring through a shared Central Idea: being daring leads to new experiences and discoveries within ourselves. Grounded in the Transdisciplinary Theme ‘How We Express Ourselves’, each of the three ECF classrooms and the Atelier brought their own lens to the inquiry, honouring the diverse ways that courage and self-discovery can show up in everyday life.
Across classrooms, students learned that daring doesn’t always mean going fast or taking big risks. It can also mean daring to go slow, to notice, to ask questions, or to try again. Some classes focused on the quiet, reflective side of daring by slowing down to observe small details, drawing what they noticed, and building the confidence to try new artistic challenges. Others explored emotional growth, such as overcoming a fear of dogs through gentle interactions with Brodie, ISP’s beloved therapy animal. One group took on the unfamiliar experience of using the Grade 1 toilets, interviewing older students and bravely stepping into what’s next.
This collective exploration was co-constructed with teachers and students, guided by the belief that our youngest learners are capable of deep thinking, emotional growth, and meaningful change. As teachers worked alongside students as researchers, the project became a living model of curiosity, reflection, and the small everyday acts that shape who we are becoming.
GRADE 1
Forest Friends and Changemakers
Learning from Life Cycles, Taking Care of What’s Ours
Grade 1 students explored how understanding life cycles can help us care for our local environment, especially the animals and forests of the Czech Republic. Through their inquiry into responsibility, they examined how our choices impact the natural world and how we can act with care, even when no one is watching. They reflected on what it means to be principled and how we each have a role in protecting the spaces we share.
To share what they had learned, students became authors, writing and illustrating books to help others understand the importance of local wildlife and how to protect natural spaces. Their books served not only as reflections of their learning, but also as tools for advocacy, reminding us all that even the smallest among us can help care for our shared planet.
GRADE 2
Wellness Warriors
Curiosity, Health, and Helping Others Thrive
In their unit ‘Who We Are’, Grade 2 students explored how understanding our bodies and minds helps us take care of ourselves and each other. With curiosity as their driving force, students dove into topics like sleep, nutrition, hydration, exercise, and mental health. Working in teams, they researched their chosen wellness focus and developed creative, actionable ways to share their learning with the wider community.
Their unit culminated in a student-led Wellness Fair, where each group hosted an interactive booth designed to teach others how to stay healthy in fun, hands-on ways. Through this project, students practiced both self-awareness and community-minded action, showing how knowledge, curiosity, and empathy can come together to support healthier lives for all.
GRADE 3
Cosmic Creations with a Conscience
Turning Trash into Intergalactic Treasure
Beyond their impressive grasp of space concepts, the Grade 3 students showcased their ingenuity as young changemakers by creatively reusing recyclable materials to construct their models for the ‘Space Expo’. Embracing the principles of their earlier sustainability unit, these budding scientists transformed everyday ‘waste’ into captivating representations of planets, Earth’s layers, and even technological marvels of space exploration.
A walk through the Expo revealed a remarkable array of repurposed items taking on new life. Cardboard boxes became the foundations for layered Earth models, with painted egg cartons forming the intricate textures of the crust, mantle, and core. Plastic bottles, once destined for the recycling bin, were cleverly cut and pieced together to represent the spherical forms of distant planets, their surfaces brought to life with vibrant paint and repurposed bottle caps for craters and other features. Students utilised aluminum foil and discarded CDs to mimic the reflective surfaces of satellites and the shimmering light of stars. Even humble materials like toilet paper rolls and scrap fabric were transformed into components of lunar landers and astronaut suits, demonstrating a resourceful approach to bringing their cosmic visions to reality.
By choosing to build with recyclables, the Grade 3 students not only deepened their understanding of space but also actively practiced environmental responsibility. Their creative reuse of materials underscored the powerful message that innovation and learning can go hand-in-hand with caring for our planet, making them true changemakers within their school community.
4
Honouring Changemakers in Our Midst
Learning from Leaders Within Our Own Community
In their Changemakers unit, Grade 4 turned their attention to the ISP community itself, interviewing Upper School students who are leading the way in making a difference in our local community. After conducting interviews, fourth graders wrote and displayed biographies of these inspiring peers in the school hallways, creating a celebration of student-driven impact.
This project not only sharpened students’ writing and research skills but also challenged them to reflect on what changemaking looks like at any age. Their work served as both a tribute and a spark, encouraging younger and older students alike to take action in their own ways.
GRADE 5
Walking for Water
Science, Storytelling, and Real-World Impact
As a culminating year in PYP, Grade 5 dives deep into what it means to be a changemaker, exploring many opportunities throughout the year to learn about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, pursuing individual creative action through their ‘Art Attacks’ unit, all leading up to the culmination of PYP exhibition. One of these units that exemplifies this spirit of changemaking is the newly expanded unit of ‘Water’, which incorporates not only science but activism as well. As part of an expanded science unit, students engaged in hands-on experiments related to water systems, documented their findings in lab reports, and completed a culminating investigation designed by each class. This scientific lens laid the foundation for deeper inquiry into global water access, leading them to the powerful story of Salva Dut in ‘A Long Walk to Water’.
Inspired by the book, students joined the Iron Giraffe Challenge through Water for South Sudan and raised over 53,000 CZK (approximately $2,300 USD) to support clean water initiatives. Their efforts earned an honorable mention in the organisation’s global live drawing, placing ISP among just 13 schools recognised worldwide. The unit concluded with a student-led “Walk for Water” event that raised awareness across the school. From science labs to service learning, Grade 5 students demonstrated how data, empathy, and action can come together to make a meaningful difference.
GRADE 6
Designing for a Better Tomorrow
Reimagining Communities Through Sustainable Thinking
In the ‘Call to Action’ project, Grade 6 students became designers, researchers, and changemakers as they explored what it takes to build a sustainable community. Starting with a real-world location, each learner investigated current challenges – from environmental concerns to infrastructure and resource access – and identified existing solutions.
They then proposed bold, innovative ideas and reimagined systems, bringing their visions to life through detailed models. Their final presentations showcased not only creativity and collaboration, but a deeper understanding of how thoughtful design can drive equity, resilience, and environmental responsibility.
Remembering the Past, Reflecting on Identity
History, Humanity, and the Power of Perspective
In Grade 7 Individuals and Societies, students explored the complex concept of identity — how it shapes how we see ourselves, connect with others, and engage with the world. They examined how identity can foster pride and belonging, but also how it has been used to justify exclusion, discrimination, and violence.
To ground these ideas in real-world history, students studied the Jewish experience in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust, focusing on the richness of Jewish life before 1938 and the devastating impact of persecution. Through survivor accounts, historical texts, and a field visit to the Spanish and Pinkas Synagogues in Prague, students engaged with artifacts, listened to personal testimonies, and honoured the memory of those lost. They closed the day by polishing stolpersteine, brass sidewalk memorials marking the former homes of Holocaust victims, as a symbolic act of remembrance and service.
This unit challenged students to connect the past to present-day issues of justice, empathy, and the ongoing responsibility of changemaking.
Community Project: Make It Matter
Student-Led Projects with Heart, Purpose, and Impact
The MYP Grade 8 Community Project is a student-led, year-long inquiry that empowers learners to explore their passions while making a meaningful impact on their community. Working individually or in small groups, students identify a need, research the issue, and take action through service, advocacy, or education.
The project fosters independence, collaboration, and global-mindedness, culminating in a final presentation that showcases their journey, reflections, and the change they inspired.
One group chose to support language learning by designing and delivering interactive English lessons to students at a nearby local school. Through games, storytelling, and conversation practice, they built meaningful cross-cultural connections while helping younger learners grow in confidence and communication.
The Power of Speech
Speaking Up, Speaking Out, Making Change
In their ‘Power of Speech’ unit, Grade 9 students explored how persuasive language can inspire action and influence change. This year, the unit deepened in impact with the addition of service partnerships, allowing students to connect their advocacy work directly to local and global organisations aligned with their chosen causes.
Each student took on the role of a changemaker, such as an activist, student leader, refugee, or climate scientist, and delivered a 3–5 minute persuasive speech addressing a specific audience relevant to their issue. Topics ranged from climate justice and sustainability to gender inequality and refugee rights. By working with ISP clubs, Prague-based initiatives, and global movements tied to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, students grounded their speeches in realworld relevance. Selected speeches were shared through the ISP Social Media Changemakers Campaign, amplifying student voices across the broader community.
Through this project, students practiced powerful communication with purpose, using their words to move others toward meaningful change.
GRADE 10
Game On!
Building Connection Through Creativity and Play
As the culminating experience of the IB Middle Years Programme, the Grade 10 Personal Project challenges students to pursue a topic of personal interest, apply their learning in meaningful ways, and create something that reflects both their growth and individuality. This year’s exhibition showcased a wide range of projects, from creative writing and engineering to wellness and design, each one representing months of independent inquiry and skill development.
One standout project came from Julia, who designed and built two custom cornhole boards for the school courtyard. Complete with a hand-painted ISP falcon, her boards now provide a fun, community-centred activity that students enjoy daily during breaks. By combining hands-on craftsmanship with school spirit and a desire to enhance campus life, Julia created something both practical and enduring - an inspiring example of how a personal passion can make a public impact.
Science in Action
Turning data into dialogue, and ideas into impact
As part of the IB Group 4 science collaboration project, students took on the challenge of connecting scientific thinking with global advocacy. Through the ‘World of 8 Billion’ initiative, each student created a one-minute film exploring the link between population growth and an environmental issue they care about—offering not just awareness, but a potential solution. The project brought the IB science curriculum to life, encouraging teamwork, cross-disciplinary thinking, and realworld relevance. It also gave students a meaningful platform beyond the classroom to share their voices and advocate for change.
One standout film – focused on Ganges River sanitation – was recognised as a finalist in the international competition, a testament to the power of student-led inquiry. The experience pushed students to think critically about the role science plays in society, while also developing skills in planning, collaboration, and communication. More than a class assignment, it was a chance to practice being thoughtful, creative, and solution-oriented changemakers.
Upper School – Hoops for Hope
Student Leadership, Community Impact
This year, Upper School students Lea, Sofie, and Klaudia led the second annual ‘Hoops for Hope’, a weeklong series of lunchtime basketball games that brought the ISP community together for a meaningful cause. Organised in collaboration with the Athletics Council and Hearts of Hope, a student-led club focused on cancer awareness, the event invited students, teachers, and parents to play, cheer, and contribute.
With energy and enthusiasm building throughout the week, the tournament raised an impressive 24,000 CZK for Liga Proti Rakovině, a Czech charity supporting cancer patients. The student organisers managed everything from promotion to scheduling, demonstrating the initiative, compassion, and leadership that define changemaking at ISP. What began as a simple idea is now becoming a valued school tradition, uniting our community through action and heart.
