THGILTOPS
MIDDLE SCHOOL SALVADOR
escola CONCEPT
"IT ISN'T WHERE YOU CAME FROM. IT'S WHERE YOU'RE GOING THAT COUNTS."
ELLA FITZGERALD
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spot It is now your turn to celebrate what Middle School looks like during virtual school: a team of resilient learners, educators and parents trying their best to make lifelong learning a lively village! The Spotlight is a publication where we celebrate our past months accomplishments, hear the voices of those representing unique groups and get to dive into exceptional reading to inspire us to strive for a better and fulfilling world where we can all have a chance to dream. So what's next? Find yourself a comfortable spot, wear your best smile and enjoy the read. It was made from us, with you, for you.
The Spotlight Team
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light
what By Priscila Torres
if
How do you make a difference? How do you leave your legacy? Should you point a finger to the person next door, or to the person sitting beside you, or should you roll up your sleeves and be part of the change? From Micro to Macro: What makes you stand out in your household? In your family? In your grade level? In your school? In your neighborhood? In your city? In your country? How do you impact the future? When we consider the times we are living in all these questions matter… and they matter more than ever because you can be responsible for changing the course of the future if you just think about how you can positively impact change. Will using old tools to solve new problems get to the answer? Or should you invest in developing new tools to solve unknown problems?
otsefinam ehT
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Life will give you waiting rooms, will put you through escape rooms, where you will have limited time to find your path and figure out the answers to riddles, questions, and challenges. Life will jolt you into emergency rooms where you will have to act fast and save lives… it will parachute you into opportunities where you are a spectator and part of an audience in the show of life, and then it will abruptly escort you in front of a jury to make just decisions.
But let's hone in on waiting rooms… Have you ever stopped to think about the what ifs of life? And if not now, then when? As you sit in the many waiting rooms that life presents you with, you stop, think, ponder, and wonder...
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what if...
I worked harder? I complained less? I took more responsible risks? I persisted on a task without giving up the first time around? I truly listened and tried to be empathetic without passing judgement and truly putting myself in the shoes of others? I chose to think interdependently while trying to solve a problem, and valued synergy over selfishness? I treated others the way I want to be treated at all times, and by others I mean everyone, independent of color, shape, race, background, social class, and origin? I understood that all people have feelings and my feelings are not the only feelings that matter? I stopped looking for excuses? I learned that there are no people to blame about results, but myself? I invested energy in creating, imagining, and innovating?
As life presents you with choices, it also gives you the option to be an eternal spectator and sit and relax in the complacency of waiting rooms or to be part of the change and make a striking difference that will mark your legacy. Mankind has a tendency to believe in certain myths‌ the myth that overnight success is possible‌ ignoring the full story that success takes years to mature, that there are no gains without pains, that you cannot achieve and succeed without having to dream, plan, act, invest, focus, fail, analyze feedback, and pick up from where you last left off.
If you exit the waiting rooms of life and step into the doors that lead to mazes, you will find yourself having to embrace challenge over comfort, growth over stability, and question marks over periods. These mazes will keep you curious and on your toes, will force you to become a lifelong learner who can impact change and will present you the opportunity to establish your legacy in the world post COVID-19. What if you tried? What if I could be by your side? Let's go together!
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Fluency in language
Digital fluency Icoos Lopez, grade 9 educator, believes that the Virtual School brings new learning challenges, for both learners and parents. She shares her perceptions about the Escola Concept Virtual School in this edition of the Spotlight.
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"IT'S NOT ABOUT WALKING AROUND PREVENTING THEM FROM GETTING HURT. IF STUDENTS MAKE MISTAKES, THEY WILL TRY TO FIND WAYS TO SUCCEED."
10 DEVELOP LEARNING
VISIBLE THINKIG
During my classes, I noticed that learners, in addition to acquiring knowledge in Spanish, developed a range of skills and competencies that have helped them become more independent, disciplined, and organized with regards to the delivery of their tasks. It is very important, that they demonstrate resilience, understanding, and empathy, in addition to strengthening the Habits of Mind.
We continuously share exercises and assignments so learners can develop and see their academic progress. Learning becomes even more visible when students are able to solve the proposed challenges and activities, when they can conclude presentations and research. I particularly enjoy using Thinking Routines and Thinking Maps. It allows them to analyze their learning, thoughts, conclusions, and ideas, individually and in groups.
APPS At Concept, we highly value the importance of reading, and I always reinforce this habit with my learners. Ă RVORE DE LIVROS, for example, has newspapers from Spanish-speaking countries, and EPIC offers a variety of Spanish books. TRAINING LYRICS, despite its name in English, is an app where students can sing karaoke or solve word puzzles in other languages. They have a wide repertoire of songs in Spanish as well. A great option for those who are more visual learners is watching live TV in Spanish with MXL ipTV. For those who prefer accessing news in Spanish, I can also recommend YouTube, where you can find programs in Spanish from all over the world, like CNN and BBC.
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12 HOW CAN FAMILIES SUPPORT ADOLESCENTS WITH THEIR LESSONS IN THE ESCOLA CONCEPT VIRTUAL SCHOOL? Parents can help to create a routine, with set times for eating, bathing, studying, doing homework, research, and work. It is important for parents to be part of the process and to have a more observing, advising, and guiding role. It is necessary for parents to let their children do it for themselves. It's about showing the way, holding their hand when they need it ... it's not about walking around to prevent them from getting hurt. If students make mistakes, they will try to find ways to succeed. Another support is getting involved in the discussions about the projects, checking what they are learning, researching with them when they ask for your help. Enjoy the opportunities to sit at the table and have meals together to bring news or topics to debate, building ideas within the family. Finally, a very important support is to always encourage them, congratulate them for each achievement, and challenge them so they will continue being thirsty to get to know the world and learn more.
HABITS OF MIND Regarding the Habits of Mind, they've used a lot of "Thinking flexibly", "Persisting", "Finding humor", "Creating, imagining and innovating", "Taking responsible risks", "Listening with understanding and empathy", "Communicating with clarity and precision", "Remaining open to continuous learning", "Applying past knowledge to new situations "... In the end, I believe that they were all practiced by them.
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14 Here's a timeline of how the school has been communicating with parents throughout COVID-19 crisis this far.
April 27th: launch of the donation campaign for the Escola Concept partners of the COLLAB network or choice of tuition reduction
OUR JO
Crisis manageme
March 17th: launch of virtual school phase 1.
March 23rd: school informs families that meal and after school fees are suspended for March and for the entire period the school will remain closed.
April 27th: the school focused on the individual needs of each division. Early Years and Grade 1 remained on vacation to maximize on campus learning. Lower and Middle School Learners continued with virtual school on May 4th.
May 19th: launch of phase 3 for Middle School
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OURNEY
ent during COVID-19
March 30th: launch of virtual school phase 2
May 20th: 20% tuition reduction for Early Years and Grade 1 for the July tuition. 10% tuition reduction for Lower and Middle School for the July tuition.
April 7th: first communication about the anticipation of vacation.
May 22th: local holiday anticipation for Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday
April 15th: vacation toolkit with appropriate age level suggestions for children and families.
June 15th: security back to school
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ADOLESCENCE: "A TRANSITION PHASE" By Carlos Nascimento Jr
Who is used to hearing tender
In Geology, the layer located
references to adolescence as
between two well-defined types
place in our society, inspiring all
we refer to childhood? And to
of rock deposition, but which is
kinds of care that we can offer
mention the relevant role of
not uniform as it contains flaws
them, and adulthood is the longest
adolescence for society as we
in the rock settlement is called
and most "productive" phase of
do for adulthood? If the
the transition layer. And also in
human life, adolescents easily
qualities that come up on
urbanism, the spaces that are
hide in their vagueness.
conversations about teenagers
called "transition" are areas
They no longer need the same
are almost always "difficult",
between rural and urban space,
protection as the child, but are not
"rebellious", "boring",
in which the utilities of
yet prepared to play the role of
"precocious", "immature", it
properties are sometimes mixed
the adult.
is time to look at this phase of
with rural and urban
human development from
characteristics.
another angle.
While childhood has a privileged
However, there is a lot of beauty in the whirlwind of emotions and
Well, adolescence, to which
the energy of teenage desire. With
The time of adolescence, as a
similar characteristics can be
each long conversation, full of
passage between two very
compared, also fits the concept
indignations and arguments, a
well-defined periods of life,
of "transition phase". It is
world of wishes is revealed and
carries the difficult task of
neither childhood nor
takes shape. Each long moment of
any "transition zone":
adulthood, but it contains
isolation, full of silence and
preparing what lies ahead,
aspects of both. It contains
denial, is a precious moment of
being neither what came
"voids" with "spaces" yet to be
accommodation for the
before nor what comes after.
filled by the more mature
frustrations and contradictions
In many areas of human
learning that time itself brings.
that the world around us presents.
knowledge there is a
It is a period when the human
With each long hug, with or
"transition zone". In
body simultaneously embraces
without crying, there is the
Geography, they are, for
childhood and adulthood
acknowledgment that he or she is
example, the spaces between
characteristics.
not alone and that human
two types of climate and vegetation, which contain typical aspects of both.
imperfection does not detract .
from its beauty, but, on the contrary, confirms it.
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It is also good for them to experience the full range of emotions that arise in their hearts, so that they may have the chance to learn how to deal with them, but for this they need help from those who do not judge them too.
18 It is awesome that they have many friends and that they want to be with them (and with their parents), so they can better know the variety of life and gradually understand the risk of judging behaviors. It is also good for them to experience the full range of emotions that arise in their hearts, so that they may have the chance to learn how to deal with them, but for this they need help from those who do not judge them too.
But even with all this beauty, a phrase that we adults use a lot, with many purposes, when talking to a teenager, "enjoy this age, because it is the best phase of your life", ends up not having the effect we would like. It brings the idea that what comes after it is less pleasant. As time does not stop, the only escape from this prophecy is to extend its duration and to wish them not to grow so soon, which ends up not having positive consequences. So, the best message we can offer a teenager is perhaps something like "live this time as well as you must live each time of your life."
Carlos Nascimento Jr is the coordinator for Middle School in Concept RibeirĂŁo Preto.
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MORE MORE
CONNECTION
RESPONSIBILITY
Dan
Loureiro,
more
time
to
Middle dedicate
School
educator,
himself
to
his
has
had
scientific
research projects and he enjoys the company of his family. However, he misses having a busy day at school
and
the
presence
of
his
parents
and
grandparents, "Not being able to hug each other on birthdays
was
a
bad
experience,"
Dan's full interview below.
he
says.
Read
21 THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED DURING THIS PERIOD WAS ...
I HAVE FOUND MOTIVATION... in my family and my productions.
not being able to hug my parents
when it comes to books, I prefer to
and grandmother on their birthdays. It was a bad experience, but important to ensure my family's health.
recommend by writers. I enjoy
LEARNERS MAKE ME PROUD WHEN… they are able to think for themselves and use their creativity
I CAN ENGAGE STUDENTS WHEN…
BOOKS, SERIES OR MOVIES I READ AND RECOMMEND ...
productively.
reading Bernard Cornwell, JRR Tolkien, Anne Rice, and Conn Iggulden. My favorite series are House, Fringe, Lucifer, and Game of Throne. Finally, for movies I would suggest you add to your must-watch list: The King's speech,
I am open and sincere with them.
A TACTIC TO APPROACH TEENAGERS IS ...
When I try to understand what they
to listen to them attentively
Hobbit, and The theory of
want and explain to them what they
and empathetically. Be honest
everything.
need, academically speaking, so we
and open to them. This will
can get to a common ground.
help you create bonds and friendships.
everything from Marvel and DC, The Lord of the Rings saga, The
AGITATION OR BOREDOM: WHAT BEST DESCRIBES THE QUARANTINE ROUTINE IN MY HOME IS… agitation. My life is always busy.
RECENTLY, I LEARNED THAT ... we should always be prepared for and sensitive to changes. Being flexible when needed, and being able to discern when needed.
AMONG THE ADVICE AND TIPS I RECEIVED FOR QUARANTINE, I INDICATE THAT YOU TOO ... avoid accepting information without understanding it. Seek reliable sources of information, and question them to fully understand. Take all the time you can to be with your family and try to also take some time to do a self-reflection.
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LIKE DARK CHOCOLATE!
Enjoying family meals, tidying up the house, meditating and getting closer to her children Alex (Grade 9) and Maria Alice (Grade 7). All of this has left a lasting memory in LĂlian Ribeiro PondĂŠ de Rocha's life. So as metaphor, she now compares this current situation with dark chocolate.
23 AGITATION OR BOREDOM: WHAT BEST DESCRIBES THE ROUTINE IN MY HOUSE IS… movement.
I HAVE FOUND MOTIVATION... when I observe people who are going through challenging times.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED IN THIS PERIOD WAS… to reconcile domestic work with the other activities that I had to continue practicing.
ONE TACTIC TO APPROACH YOUR TEENAGERS HAS BEEN ... watching and talking about
A NICE ACTIVITY TO DO AS A FAMILY IS ... to watch a movie together.
movies with them.
MY CHILDREN MAKE ME PROUD WHEN…
STAYING AT HOME IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ...
they show me something they
fix what the day-to-day hustle
did with enthusiasm.
does not let us organize, to measure what is really useful, to donate what we no longer use ...
THE TASTE THAT IS MARKING THIS PERIOD IS ...
Thus, we make room for the new.
dark chocolate, which reflects our
A DISCOVERY ...
current reality well: it is good to
I find a space or time for
be together all the time, but the
myself after making sure the
circumstances could be milder.
kids are in their virtual classes.
AMONG THE ADVICE AND TIPS I RECEIVED FOR QUARANTINE, I INDICATE THAT YOU TOO seek balance with meditation.
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Como as habilidades socioemocionais podem melhorar a convivĂŞncia? Publicado em Nova Escola
25 A neurociência e os conhecimentos da natureza cognitiva das emoções mostram que o desenvolvimento das habilidades socioemocionais e afetivas impactam direta e positivamente na aprendizagem. Mas há outro ponto a favor do trabalho com as emoções: a melhora no clima escolar e na convivência entre os estudantes. Assim, ao abrir os olhos para a dimensão sociomocional e ética de crianças e jovens, em um contexto em que as práticas são democráticas, aumenta-se a probabilidade de que conflitos, casos de violência e de bullying sejam equacionados por meio do diálogo e melhorem as relações na comunidade escolar. Aprender a se comunicar melhor, cooperar em prol de um objetivo trabalhando em grupo, dialogar e negociar um conflito de maneira construtiva, saber oferecer e pedir ajuda, por exemplo, melhoram a capacidade do sujeito de lidar com situações relacionais difíceis de forma mais competente. “Se eu parto para a agressão, é porque não encontrei uma saída mais construtiva. Ao aprender essas habilidades, amplio o meu repertório para lidar com situações de conflito”, explica a psicopedagoga Alcione Marques. Com isso, há uma relação direta entre essas habilidades e a maneira como os jovens lidarão com o conflito no ambiente escolar.
Para a doutora em Psicologia pela PUC-SP, Denise de Camargo, que estuda o tema das emoções desde 1998, quando o afeto e a empatia são valorizados na escola, a instituição fica mais leve, mais flexível e mais tolerante, com mais espaço para a diversidade. “Quando você valoriza as emoções, o que ganha é o clima da escola, que passa a ter valores de convivência mais saudáveis entre as crianças”, diz a professora da Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná. No entanto, o trabalho precisa ser feito de maneira intencional e sistemática, e não aleatória e pontual, para dar bons resultados.
Para Telma Vinha, pesquisadora do Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Educação Moral (Gepem) e professora da Unicamp, a ideia é que a escola planeje as ações sobre competências socioemocionais como qualquer outro assunto no currículo. Trabalhar com competências emocionais não é só emoção, vai além. É um conjunto de habilidades que precisam ser desenvolvidas para viver melhor. Embora ainda seja alvo de debates no campo educacional, o desenvolvimento dessas habilidades na escola foi incorporado pela Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC).
Para ler na íntegra, clique aqui
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What If The Future Of Work Starts With High School? Published in Forbes 2019
27 Nearly 100% of the jobs created during the economic recovery went to workers with postsecondary education training. That training really begins in high school. The work of the future will require a robust system of lifelong learning and high school may just be the fulcrum in that system, best positioned to make the necessary profound changes across the system. Right now, the university degree is the new high school diploma. It is the best proxy we have, but it remains insufficient. Four out of five CEOs say that skills gaps in creativity and problem solving make hiring difficult and nearly half of job tasks may be lost to automation within the next two decades. While we have substantial technical skills gaps we also have a profound shortage of non-technical, uniquely human skills such as empathy, social intelligence, creativity, communication and judgment among others. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce predicted that without changes to our postsecondary education system immediately, our economy will be short 5 million workers by 2020. This is not new information but our responses to these challenges are insufficient. Merely pushing more people on the existing factory pipeline through higher education is not working.
Nor are efforts to retrain those displaced in short-term skill acquisition boot camps. We need to start thinking differently. Enter The Fourth Industrial RevolutionThe first industrial revolution was steam, the second was electrification and mass production, and the third was the advent of computerized technologies and with it the automation of physical labor such as manufacturing. The fourth industrial revolution will be marked by many advances in many forms of technology but most notably the automation of cognitive labor. Anything mentally routine or predictable, no matter how cognitively intense, can and will be achieved by some form of technology. As a result, we need to think differently about what work humans best address and how we prepare them for that work.
To read the full article, click here.
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THE PLEASURE OF BEING SELF-TAUGHT Clara Zanelli Faiçal, Grade 9 learner, used the isolation period to start studying finance and Mandarin by herself, without an educator.
29 I EXPRESS MY WAY OF BEING ... I don't speak much about how I feel, but I express myself through art. Each of the artworks I make has a poem that I read and that inspired me.
STAYING AT HOME IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ... get to know myself better and to try new things. Now I have more time for myself, so I can do a lot of things. I learned to cook different dishes, I am studying Mandarin and finance, not to mention that I have spent more time with my family.
WHAT I LEARNED MOST IMPORTANT IN THIS QUARANTINE ... I have discovered that I am self-taught! I can learn what I want on my own. This feeling of uncertainty, of not knowing how Brazil and the world will be tomorrow, has made me want to live each moment as if it were the last, to enjoy my family's company more, to say that I miss my friends and to be more true to myself.
WHAT I MISS MOST ABOUT MY OLD ROUTINE IS ... seeing my friends every day, being able to hug them and to laugh with them. I even miss
them, and being able to leave
BOOKS, SERIES OR MOVIES I READ AND RECOMMEND…
the house to go to school.
a good recommendation is
AMONG THE ADVICE AND TIPS I RECEIVED I FROM QUARANTINE, I INDICATE THAT YOU TOO ...
undoubtedly "the hate you
be more patient and
sow", both the book and the
understanding.
the educators explaining the matter personally, talking to
movie. It portrays racism with a very unique view and
FOR ME, CONCEPT VIRTUAL SCHOOL IS ... an opportunity to work more on my independence. I discovered that I am self-taught! I can learn what I want on my own.
definitely more people should get to see it.
THGILTOPS
MIDDLE SCHOOL SALVADOR
escola CONCEPT