The final product of our project Everybody matters is now online!



Read more: https://everybodymatterseu.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_10.html

Download the handbook for schools here: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O-bb0lBQoiZHQ5cSdEfR4YcwvlGkXbGw/view?usp=sharing

Covid-19 - Looking at the bright side

Picture: José Marques, Portugal

Looking at the bright side 

Living in the midst of a pandemic there are fewer things we can do, but is that really something to fear? 

We’ve been given a chance to rethink about everything, about the things we did, we do and we want to do, it’s the perfect time to find motivation. Sure, online classes sound boring when we think about the whole waking up early even though we feel like we are having some really long vacations, but just indulge in this for a second: it occupies less of our time, our schedules are lighter and we get the chance to do a lot of things we feel like doing, one can be working out, writing a novel, playing games with some friends (that’s where the internet comes in handy!) or doing anything else. 

This isn’t social distancing, this is pure physical distancing, you still have the means to communicate to anyone you love and wish to talk to. That’s what you should keep in mind, things will get better and the whole world will learn, even if just a tiny bit, about how great the outcomes are when various countries cooperate in order to do something good for mankind. Just like our little big project, that got together a group of teenagers, from four different countries and created bonds stronger than those we could imagine. 

João Rodrigo Faria, Portugal

Covid-19 – a surreal reality

As students, during this Covid-19 outbreak, we have been dealing with big concerns about school, exams and classes. However, we are certain about one thing: the school year is not ruined.

Suddenly being the best solution due to the conditions in which we find ourselves, we were required to migrate to the online and we had to adapt and learn through a digital platform.

Learning from home has both positive and negative aspects. Learning online, and in a very short time, as we had never experienced in other circumstances, is a very positive challenge. The ability to adapt to learning and using new ways of communicating was a very important step and I would say of self-improvement. On the other hand, a more negative aspect is worth mentioning: social real life interaction and teamwork are being lost, hopefully not for too long.

Then, we started to value everything we took for granted up to now, namely school life. Although this e-learning component opens new learning opportunities, we miss the usual school routine and we miss our friends.

Finally, we can only show enthusiasm, effort and dedication, which is needed now more than ever, in this new stage of our school life. On the 18th may the senior students, who are preparing for their 11th and 12th grade national exams are going back to school. It’s weird… everybody wearing masks, keeping social distance, students confined in their classroom …

People are scared as they are trying to go back to some of their normal activities. The idea of coexisting with this virus has changed the way we see each other and it is like a shadow hanging over our lives.

Still, we have to believe that better days are to come and we need to stay positive and take care of each other by being patient and warm-hearted.

Dear friends in Finland, Croatia and Italy, keep safe and we will all be together soon. 😊

Telma Rodrigues, Portugal

Cooperation, respect and consideration


I think that, in order for a team to function well, all its members should be shown equal respect and we should strive to have understanding for other people's ideas. However, I also think that it is important to respect yourself, to know your values and possibilities and to advocate your views.
Teamwork is based on working together and respecting each other. While working in a team, people can get closer and the atmosphere is going to be more positive. When respecting one another we are showing that we acknowledge their work and ideas. Members of a team need to push each other and work together under all circumstances in order to succeed.
Working in a team means helping each other to achieve a common goal. To show respect towards the people we are working with means we have to cooperate, accept their ideas and thoughts and make compromises. We need to be supportive and friendly to our team members to make our cooperation easier and enjoyable.
Majority of the time we spend in school or at work, we are surrounded by other people and we work in groups. In this situations is easy to forget about other peopleˋs emotions and thoughts. The best way to show respect and to maintain good cooperation is to listen other`s opinion and to be ready for compromise. Every team member should know how to express thoughts, respect other ideas and be involved in the work.
You can show respect and consideration by doing your job (or homework, studying etc.) on time, put a lot of tought and hard work in to everything you do. You can cooperate as a team member if you listen and respect others, do your part and help others.
When you`re working in a team, you should respect others and their opinions. You shouldn`t work only by yourself and you shouldn`t let others to work alone. Teamwork is dreamwork.
When we work in groups we should always listen to everybodys ideas, we should respect their ideas and thoughts. In order to cooperate everybody in the team must respect others and listen to them.
How can you show respect and consideration at school or at work?
I can show it by actively listening to what my classmates/coworkers have to say and not just pretending to listen while I wait for my turn. I can always try to solve a problem by objectively considering every solution and concluding what the best one is (or finding compromise among more solutions), without pushing on my own ideas if I realize they aren't the best.
How to cooperate as a team member? If a leader is established, they should be treated as such. Everyone's ideas should be respected and taken into consideration. You should try and divide the work among the team members equally, and to make sure the work is divided so each member is doing the work they're best at. You should also be assertive and not let others stop you from speaking your mind if you have something to say.





Study support

Video by the Croatian partner school


Wellbeing in Alvaiázere

The Alvaiázere Centre School is located in the quiet “vila” of Alvaiázere, in the hilly interior center of Portugal. It is a school that includes students from pre-school to 12th grade, the last year of Portuguese secondary education. Its location in a rural municipality could be a constraint to the development of its Educational Project. However, on the contrary, it represents an added value in achieving its goals.

  The beauty of Alvaiázere and its mountain and gentle hills contrast with the lack of cultural offer, sports and artistic performances or exhibitions. Nevertheless, the Centre School ends up opening doors to the full development of its students.

In addition to developing its objectives in terms of teaching and enabling the conclusion of Secondary Education, currently with two study courses – Science and Technology and Humanities - this school offers real opportunities for the full development of students, the fulfillment of their status and roles, having revealed a good deal of responsible, proactive, and happy young people. For the pursuit of these purposes, the Alvaiázere Centre School has a number of pedagogical structures that ensure the quality of its educational service.

In addition to the educational offer, there are a lot of activities that allow students to open their horizons and contribute largely to their physical, psychological and social wellbeing.
Every Wednesday afternoon several Clubs are open to the students, such as Arts, Theater, History, Meditation, Music, Sports and the European Club. 
 
The Theatre Club works with groups of students from the 5th to the 12th grade and has become an icon of our school due to the positive image it disseminates in the broader community; parents have come to appreciate not only the performative abilities and talent of their young “actors” but also the self-confidence, self-esteem that comes with it, without impairing the academic work of the students.
The Theatre Club participates in all school events and is often invited present their plays in the nearby towns and to participate in School Theatre Meetings on national level, which includes the Atlantic Islands of Madeira and Azores.

School Sports is a national project that involves all schools in the country. It is part of a national strategy to promote good health, healthy eating habits, a good integration of all students in the school community. In a small place like Alvaiázere, the practice of sport has the utmost importance for our students, who can take up swimming, futsal, football, athletics, which also allows them to participate in competitions at regional and national level.

The School Library also provides many moments of learning, training and leisure because, not only, it promotes sessions about a wide variety of topics for students but also provides curriculum enrichment activities, which helps students to consolidate their learning. It’s also a great contribution to further the students’ knowledge in terms of reading, technologies of communication, and also in terms of educational games and teaching resources. It promotes a Reading Week that culminates with a Literary Evening in which the school presents to the community a great deal of work done by the students with the support of teachers and the school library throughout the school year.

To this end, our school also offers a Student and Family Support Office, the Parents’ School, a Mediation Club and The Psychology and Guidance Services, supervised by two psychologists, who do preventive action and intervene in conflict management. It supports students in terms of study strategies and learning methods and with psychological problems (anxiety, hyperactivity and depression, behavior and discipline issues). It also offers advice and guidance to all students in reference to their studies and professional future. The school Psychology and Guidance Service also works in partnership with the Municipal Council and the “Alvaiázere Projeto+”, which culminates in a study trip to a National Professions Fair, “Futurália”, whose purpose is to show the different possibilities in terms of higher education, professional qualifications and job opportunities.

The Alvaiázere Centre School also promotes the implementation of the National Strategy for Education and Citizenship and the Education for Health and Sexuality Project that goes beyond simple sex education. It is developed throughout the school year in partnership with the Health Center, the Police and other Institutions. It promotes various types of actions to help in the prevention of addictive behaviors, smoking habits, HIV infection, the flu virus, dating violence, discrimination and verbal abuse, Cyberbullying and road safety. Its action is also extended to oral and mental health, with the projects “Sobe” (oral hygiene) and “Mais Contigo” (suicide prevention).

The action of the School is also noticeable by the participation in several National Competitions, such as: the National Reading Contest, the “Olympics” of the different subjets, the Youth Parliament, the Eco-Schools project, the Participatory Budget, the Cartoons Contest, the National Education Council Contest, the Philosophical Tale, among many others.

The different annual events, not only national but also international , are being celebrated in order to train active, participative, socially responsible and culturally aware young people: The International Food Day, The International Day of the Declaration of Human Rights, International Philosophy Day, the International Month of School Libraries, the School Day of Non-Violence and Peace, the Holocaust, the 25th of April – celebration of the Carnations Revolution that re-established Democracy in Portugal, after a half-century dictatorship. Weekly, the several activities are disseminated on the internet School Page and in the Wall Newspaper and also in the Local Newspaper. Other activities like “Halloween”, “St Martin’s Day” (eating roast chestnuts, a seasonal fruit), the Christmas Season, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Food Week, the Day of the Sun, St. Valentine’s Day, are published in a large panel, conceived monthly, which raises cultural awareness of current themes and consolidates the formative component of school.

The Town Hall, in collaboration with the Centre School also promotes sessions for the students about Entrepreneurship. The students are motivated to create their own business projects, which are presented, discussed and voted in a final session. The best ones are given the opportunity to participate in challenges at a higher level. The Education Week, also promoted by the Town Hall, involves all students of our municipality, from pre-school to the 12th form, including the Professional School with a large, varied and appealing cultural program.

Our school is also a solidarity school that encourages volunteering at several levels: food donations during the Christmas season to offer to families and students in need; visits and entertaining actions at the local Nursing Home, garbage collection and disposal in different Eco points, essential to the promotion of the students’ ecological awareness to achieve Sustainable Development and the Reduction of the Ecological Footprint.

Throughout the school year, trying to provide happiness and a favorable learning environment to all students, the school organizes several study visits and study trips not only to the villages and institutions of the municipality but also to other places of historic or cultural interest in our country and even abroad. These less formal learning opportunities make knowledge happen with a different flavor, through interaction with different social and cultural environments, promoting self-confidence, tolerance and understanding of differences, as well as cultural literacy and awareness. 
 
In order to increase academic success rates, it is also important to mention the existence of support classes to help students overcome their learning difficulties, an action that also extends to behavioral issues. Early school dropout has been eliminated in our Centre School for several years now.

The students of disadvantaged social backgrounds benefit from financial support according to the Social Security income groups. Some students don’t pay for their meals in the school canteen or pay half the price. In addition, some can have brunch or an afternoon snack for free. The financial support also covers stationery and some books. The Town Hall also contributes with financial support for transport and school materials. 
  
School Day” and “Day of the Diploma” are a special moment in our school; all teachers and students participate like in a giant class, covering all school subjects, learning together, sharing abilities and having fun at school. This special day culminates in a ceremony at the Culture House with the Certificates Award, in which the merit of students, from all levels of education is highlighted.
 
The academic year ends with a Closing Party in which the proximity of all school staff, the collaborative spirit and the performing ability of the students come together in an inspiring way.
The Alvaiázere Centre School is, in fact, a different School, lacking in material and technological resources and yet its human resources are there to promote and maximize the wellbeing of the students as well as their full development in terms of knowledge, skills, abilities and positive values.


Clube Europeu
Agrupamento de Escolas de Alvaiázere