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DIGITAL CHAPEL Issue #54 | Nov 2018

LITERARY EVENT

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CHRISTMAS RECITAL

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

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A DIFFERENT HALLOWEEN

NEW COMERS

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CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40

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IV Chapel Literary Event Submissions deadline within 4 days Students, staff and families can submit their texts until November 27 to the IV Chapel Literary Event. Texts can be up to a 2,500word prose (chronicles and short stories) or a 18-stanza poem or song. Portuguese, English, French and Spanish Works on the theme ‘Travel Adventures’ will be accepted. The same author may participate with several texts of different genre and languages. The best works will receive an award and all texts aligned with the proposed theme - will be compiled at the fourth printed edition of the event’s anthology. This year’s edition pays tribute to Guimarães Rosa. Erick Santana, the event´s coordinator, explains the theme ‘Travel Adventures’ was chosen because writer Guimarães Rosa based great part of his work on travel experiences. ‘Contestants can relate stories and memories of real or imaginary trips. It is a broad theme so there is plenty of room for creativity’, states Mr. Santana. Paula Moro, Brazilian Program Coordinator, reminds us that from this edition on, the adult category has been separated, increasing the chances of 10th through 12th grade students of winning an award. ‘It is important students participate because this is an opportunity they have to write for pleasure and see their work published collectively, in a book which celebrates the linguistic diversity of our community’. Ms. Moro adds: ‘Don't be shy and show your creativity!’

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Christmas Recital Celebrates the Birth of Christ In the morning of November 30, 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders will perform in the Christmas Recital themed ‘The reason for the season’. The event will celebrate the birth of Christ with music, dance, singing and a theater play. Our 1st graders will dance, the 2nd graders will play the flute and 3rd graders will play the xylophone.

All grades will sing Christmas carols and all presentations will be joined by the Elementary Choir. Ms. Roberta Braga, the recital’s coordinator, states that Chapel’s music curriculum is based on three pillars: instrumental technique, singing and movement, therefore, ‘the recital is an opportunity for children to demonstrate what they learn in the classroom’. A partnership with the drama club, coordinated by Ms. Vanessa Almeida, will provide us with a play that narrates the birth of Christ. Rehearsals are happening this week and teachers have collaborated tremendously: ‘teachers of the participating grades are great supporters of our work and this is fundamental for the success of the event’, explains Ms. Braga. Music teacher Mr. Valnei Lopes informs the recital is part of the curriculum, and this is the reason why the event happens during class time.

‘The performance, which is the practice of artistic education, is part of the musical education we provide in class’. Students and teachers are eagerly awaiting for the families.

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CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Christmas Bazaar Offers Games, Workshops and Music for Families The event planned by parents and sponsored by the school has once more brought our community together for a day full of activities, games, music and charity. ‘The Christmas Bazaar was expanded and the volunteer parents prepared several sporting activities and games so families could have fun and also attract our teenagers to the event’, explains Chapel’s superintendent Ms. Lucy Nunes.

The Sports Festival provided everyone with fun moments with friendly indoor soccer and basketball matches among parents and children and teachers and students. At the same time, there were musical presentations by High School bands and individual performers. Chapel Art teachers prepared a Christmas ornament station to foster creative moments for families. A Escape 60’ bus – a mystery game whose goal is to decipher codes and solve enigmas to escape from a room in 60 minutes - was another attraction for all. The little ones could play with many toys and make their own slime. In the auditorium, the traditional booths offered exclusive products, fine crafts and miscellaneous objects for accessible prices. NHS students used the occasion to gather toys and donate them to orphanages. Local charities participated in the Bazaar by selling products whose profits will be donated to the Oblate Fathers. ‘The Christmas Bazaar has become a major event in our community since we can feel the Christmas Spirit among us – its essence is the family, the community and the charity which must be even more practiced at this moment of the year. Parents have volunteered more and more to make events such as this one special to our families. They are very engaged’, appreciates Ms. Nunes.

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Click here to see the photo album.

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A DIFFERENT HALLOWEEN Special Activities Mark this Year’s Halloween

This year, Chapel students and teachers had an unusual Halloween: throughout the day, students of all age groups were engaged into several activities. ‘We created new ways to celebrate Halloween which value the fantasy and imagination proper to the event’, states Cristiana Cavalcanti, ECEC to 4th grade counselor. ‘It was a day full of joy, expression and creativity’, summarizes Natália Carvalho, 5th to 8th grade counselor. Dressed-up STUCO officers organized

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Halloween story-telling sessions to 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders at the ES library, which was decorated for the occasion. Fourth, 5th and 6th graders visited the fun and spooky rooms of STUCO’s Haunted House in the auditorium. Also, High School students had a costume contest for the first time and it was a success. A special CARES lesson was planned and performed by the 6th graders to all students from 1st to 5th grades in order to teach them how to make Halloween ornaments. With the aid of their advisors, the m i x e d - a g e g ro u p s m a d e spiders, mummies and ghosts in the afternoon of October 31. 'It is of uttermost importance for their learning that the 6th graders present themselves as positive leaders.

They planned their lesson with great care and were engaged by it. They felt special and responsible since they were free to lead', assesses Ms. Carvalho. The counselors claim our school has provided more and more events in which mixedage student groups work together from ECEC to High School. ‘We aim to value opportunities which allow students to express themselves positively. These moments of diversity are important, closes Ms. Cavalcanti.

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NEW TEACHERS Get to know 7 new ECEC and HS teachers ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE Juliana Durigan | ES Portuguese teachers I’ve always wanted to work at an institution with a strong background and that valued the professional pathway its professionals have followed. I found it all at Chapel’. This is the way Juliana Durigan, ES Portuguese teacher, expresses her feelings about Chapel’s working atmosphere. ‘There is alignment between theory and practice here, all discussions take shape into real work, and that is laudable’. Ms. Durigan has a degree in Languages (Portuguese) from Universidade de São Paulo and a post-graduation in psychopedagogy from Universidade São Camilo. She perfected her English while living in Miami for nine months, USA, where she studied at Miami Dade University. In Brazil, she taught at traditional schools such as Santa Clara and Vital Brazil, and she also had a bilingual experience at Play Pen. ‘I dreamed about working at an International School’, comments the teacher. When she started working at Chapel, Ms. Durigan was fascinated by the structure and support offered to teachers by the mentoring program. She believes it makes a great difference: ‘My mentor is always available to help me, and I can count on her whenever I have a question’, she celebrates.

Ms. Durigan tells us she found support in all school divisions and that this is a lifechanging experience, because all staff cares about each other. ‘I see my department is very close and I want to provide this support to my peers as well’.

When she is not teaching, the teacher enjoys going to the movies and the theater – but she has watched many children’s plays due to her 6-year-old son. She also loves traveling to the North shore of São Paulo, especially Ubatuba and Riviera de São Lourenço beaches.

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INTERNATIONAL TEACHING DEGREES Emanoelli do Valle | Pre I teacher When she started her graduation course, Emanoelli do Valle set her mind into the goal of working at international schools. This is the reason why she got a scholarship to spend 6 months in Spain at Universidad Europea de Madrid to study education while she was still studying Pedagogy at Universidade Anhembi Morumbi in São Paulo. After her graduation, she lived for a year in the USA working as an au pair in New Jersey so she could perfect her English and take further courses on education. ‘Working at an International School was my dream, this is the reason why I followed this pathway’, states the Pre I teacher. Before Chapel, Ms. Valle acquired 8 years of experience in bilingual schools such as Kinder Kampus and PlayPen, both in São Paulo. She tells us the adaptation process to Chapel was not complicated: ‘The transition process with students was good and parents are our partners, which makes everything easier.’ She claims the feedback she receives from her principal is essential to help her understand if she is meeting expectations and she enjoys the transparency the teaching goals are dealt with. In her free time, Emanoelli do Valle enjoys reading fiction and watching series. ‘I love reading and I enjoy staying home’, she tells us. She also reveals traveling is one of the things she enjoys the most in life: ‘I plan my life according to the trips I want to make, I organize my personal and financial life to get to know the world’.

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IN SEARCH FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY Cory Blasingame | HS English teacher Brazil is the fifth country Cory Blasingame has lived in. Besides her homeland, the USA, the HS teacher has already lived in Turkey, Ecuador and South Korea. It all started when Ms. Blasingame was at college and had the opportunity to participate in summer program to teach English as second language in Mexico. It was at that moment she realized what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. ‘Teaching in different countries, to different people, trying new cultures and living new experiences’, she tells us. Ms. Blasingame has taught at HS for eight years and she has been an IB teacher for six. She has a major in English with emphasis on HS language teaching from Mississippi State University. She decided coming to Brazil after teaching in Ecuador: ‘That was when I felt I would like to live in South America, and in that continent, Brazil has always been a reference for me’. Destiny then helped her to find Chapel. The school got in touch with her through a website she submitted her résumé to. When Ms. Blasingame received the video from Chapel, it was love at first sight. ‘I watched the video a thousand times, I showed it to my family and I told them that was the place I wanted to work at’, she jokes. The teacher states the video depicts Chapel’s reality and she says she feels great at the school, which according to her resembles the place she studied as a child: ‘I have worked at big schools, and I can say Chapel has a sense of community that makes me feel more than a number. People here care about each other’, she comments. Cory Blasingame expects to stay for a long time in Brazil and says she feels very happy in São Paulo. She has already been to MASP, MAM, Pinacoteca, Paulista Avenue, Vila Madalena and she has feijoada for lunch every Saturday. ‘I love São Paulo, I have been living wonderful moments’, she celebrates.

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BREAKING THE LANGUAGE BARRIER Brittany Wade | 4th grade teacher The new 4th grade teacher has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Dalton State College and a Master of Arts degree in Art Education from Piedmont College, both in Georgia (USA). She started her teaching career in Dalton, working for four years as a fourth grade teacher. She visited Brazil in 2017 and when she decided to teach abroad, she chose São Paulo due to the fact it is a metropolis. Ms. Wade got to know about Chapel through a job fair in Atlanta and identified with the school especially because she had a friend working here. She states that despite the process of adaptation, she had a very pleasant start: ‘The campus is wonderful, everyone war mly welcomed me and we got along right away’, explains the teacher.

Brittany Wade says she is in love with Brazilian cuisine and natural beauty: 'The landscapes, both from the shore and countryside are beautiful', she claims. This is the reason why she has spent her weekends and long holidays exploring new places. She has already been to Ilha Bela, in the North shore of São Paulo, and in her last holiday, she enjoyed the city of Curitiba, the capital of Paraná. She has already planned her summer vacation, which she will spend in Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguaçu and Chile, where she will meet some friends. 'I am adapting well to Brazil. The greatest obstacle is the language, but I am solving this problem by taking Portuguese lessons,' she concludes.

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USA CULTURAL AMBASSADOR Renata Chimim | ES English support teacher Renata Chimim has a degree in Languages (Portuguese-English), another in Pedagogy and a Masters in Applied Linguistics from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP). The new 1st and 2nd grade reading and writing support teacher has almost 20 years of classroom experience, both in public and private schools in Brazil and in the U.S. Ms. Chimim lived in the city of Winchester, Virginia, for 3 years to participate in a teacher interchange program where she taught English as second language to immigrant children. Her initiative to integrate the diverse c u l t u re s o f t h e s t u d e n t s l e a d t o a n improvement in children results and promoted the school’s sense of community. ‘I promoted cultural diversity by planning the school’s International Festival. Parents began participating in the school community and they felt pride in sharing their culture’, tells the teacher. The event became a reference and Ms. Chimim received a prize for the initiative: a commendation for her work and the title of city ambassador. Her vast experience turned into the dream of teaching in international schools and this is the reason why she sent her résumé to Chapel. 'What I like the most here is the sense of community, Chapel is like a big family that welcomes everyone in', she comments. Ms. Chimim also compliments the opportunities of professional development the school provides through the training and knowledge sharing sessions. She mentions everyone is always willing to help as well: 'The values we teach students are the same ones we live as staff members: empathy, welcoming and responsibility', she summarizes. In her free time, the new teacher enjoys watching musicals to lighten up. She also likes to watch movies and TV. ‘I like staying home and I love animals’, she states. ‘Oh, and I love to learn!’, she concludes with a smile.

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FROM ENGINEERING TO TEACHING Bruno Silva | HS Math teacher His excellent performance in Calculus classes while studying Electrical Engineering is the reason behind Bruno Silva's teaching career.

Before finding his intended calling, Mr. Silva had other professional experiences. As soon as he graduated in Engineering from Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, in São Caetano (SP), he worked at a multinational company. The corporate routine did no please him, so he quit his job and started a post-graduation course in Electrical Engineering. As soon as classes started, his former Calculus professor called him, asking him if he would like to teach at the graduation course. Bruno Silva accepted the offer: 'I loved the experience. I felt I found my professional pathway on the spot, he tells us.

From that day on, Mr. Silva became an education entrepreneur. ‘I developed a tutoring platform that provided private lessons and this is how I became a Math tutor’, remembers the new HS teacher.

As time went by, international school students started requesting his services, and this is how he got to know about Chapel. He is enjoying working at the school and his welcoming was what drew his attention the most: ‘I was warmly welcomed by everyone as soon as I got in here, and that eliminated half of the tension one feels when starting a new job’. Bruno Silva had a positive impression of the students, and he was also very well welcomed by them: ‘Chapel students are amazing and they are great at dealing with the high expectations placed upon them. This is phenomenal.’, he comments. The new HS teacher enjoys practicing sports and tries going to the gym whenever he can – even though he has not had a lot of time currently due to his Artificial Intelligence Masters demands at Universidade Federal do ABC. ‘For me, the gym is a moment to relax, that’s when I rest my mind’, he explains. Traveling is also one of his favorite hobbies – his next destiny is Parque Estadual do Jalapão, in Tocantins.

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‘THE CLASSROOM IS THE ESSENCE OF EDUCATION’ Juliana Hanftwurzel | ES Portuguese teacher From Curitiba (PR), Juliana Hanftwurzel moved to São Paulo with her husband after getting married and graduating in Pedagogy from Universidade Federal do Paraná 18 years ago. ‘I love São Paulo, I am fascinated by the cultural diversity here and the intensity of city life’, comments the new 1st and 3rd grade Portuguese teacher. As soon as she arrived in town, she worked at Escola Morumbi for several years – she began her career as an assistant teacher, became a classroom teacher and then a coordinator.

She has a vast experience in the field of child behavior, especially from 7 to 9 years old.

‘After quitting my previous job, I started considering going back to the essence of education, which is the classroom’, she tells us. She was surprised by the opportunity of participating in Chapel's selection process. 'As I got to know about the school, I fell in love, especially by the way Chapel leads the school life and how it welcomes children, families and cultures', states Ms. Hanftwurzel. She claims she loves the school's safe, multicultural and pleasant atmosphere. 'I believe this is the best route to learning and knowledge. I feel students feel safe to follow their on learning pathways.', she comments. The new teacher complimented the school’s concern about students’ and staff’s personal development. She states she is enjoying her new job and is learning something new every day. In her free time, the teacher appreciates reading and spending time with her husband and 7 and 12-year-old daughters.“

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CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40: Fabiana Saad Where she lives: São Paulo, SP Years enrolled at Chapel: K5 to 12th grade (2003) What is your academic background?

I have a degree in communication Faap (Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado), a post-graduation degree in International Marketing (course taken in Italy) and an MBA in Digital Marketing from FGV (Fundação Getúlio Vargas). Alumni from Oxford for the Women Leadership Program and have a certificate from Hyper Island for the course Digital Awareness.

Briefly describe your professional life.

What do you do work with, and where?

I'm a businesswoman, an entrepreneur, and an executive at Pmovil (Biz Dev Director) responsible for the interface with Carriers TIM, VIVO, CLARO, OI & NEXTEL for OTT, APP and various tech developments. The column Mulheres Positivas at Estadao & at Terra was developed because of my second book also called Mulheres Positivas. My objective is to inspire Brazilian women to follow their dreams and fight for their goals. My first book is called “Dicas de Mulheres Inspiradoras no comando de suas carreiras” and @home_it is one of my startups.

Your greatest goal in life is: My greatest goal in life is to inspire Brazilian women to keep on fighting for a better life, a dream job and a decent country. Women have the power to transform their families and all environment positively; all they need is confidence and resilience to strive for their dreams!

Tell us your best memory from Chapel.

My best memories at Chapel are always about sports, especially Big4 and Little 8.

Soccer, volleyball and softball were amazing!

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How did Chapel influence your life?

Chapel Years were definitely very special. I loved to be part of this big family! The opportunity to speak fluent English, learn other languages and practice sports daily is fascinating. Team sports prepared us with a collective mindset to pursue success, a powerful detail in corporate environment. Chapel taught me early enough to speak in public, therefore stage fright is not a problem in my adult life.

I met my husband Felipe Niemeyer at school when we were five.

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DIGITAL CHAPEL is a Chapel School publication. All rights reserved.

R. Vigário João de Pontes, 537. - Chácara Flora - CEP 04748-000 São Paulo - SP - Brazil Phone: +55 11 5521-7763 - www.chapelschool.com Articles: Paula Veneroso and Chapel team - Translation: Chapel School Photos: Chapel files - Design: Otávio Garcia

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