Digital Chapel #61 by Chapel School

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DIGITAL CHAPEL Issue #61 | March 2020

ECEC CELEBRATIONS

ES PROJECTS

HS INTERVIEWS

NEW TEACHERS

CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40

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ECEC MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IN CELEBRATIONS February was a particularly festive month in the ECEC. It promoted a multidisciplinary approach of the curriculum and the interaction between groups of different ages. The first event happened on February 11th, when students and teachers celebrated the 100th Day of School with activities based on the number 100 to show its daily presence in our lives. Some days later, the children celebrated their friendships on Valentine’s day, February 14th. On the 19th, they had a Splash Party - but the traditional hose bath was reformulated this year. To wrap up the festive month, Carnaval was celebrated on the 21st along with the 1st and 2nd graders from ES, in an exciting parade that brought joy to the whole school.

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SPLASH PARTY: AN ENJOYABLE PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY The traditional hose bath - anxiously awaited by the children - has gained new playful and pedagogical features for the little ones. "Our goal in the Splash Party is to use simple toys to provide children with sophisticated games,” explains the ECEC principal, Ms. Conchita Kennedy. "We explore water and beach toys, stimulating the children's sense of touch in an enjoyable way to bring feelings of well-being", she adds. The activities happened in the playground, where small swimming pools and many colorful toys were available to the children. The classes had a schedule to participate in the event and all kids wore UV Protection Clothing. Music teacher, Ms. Roberta Braga, picked the day’s playlist: “We chose songs they learn in class, so they could sing along while they played,” she tells us. Carla Elvedosa, Pre II and Kindergarten teacher, explains that the Splash Party is directly connected to the school curriculum since it tackles temporal contextualization, climate, seasons, warmth and cold and other themes through which students can create stories and enrich their vocabulary. “The party helps students to understand how the environment they are in interferes in their behavior and in themselves, after all, the Splash Party only happens if there is a good weather outside,” Ms. Elvedosa concludes.

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CARNAVAL: BRINGING DIFFERENT AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE TOGETHER In the ECEC, the greatest Brazilian festival is an opportunity to work on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary projects to foster the development of several skills. "We not only value healthy friendships and laughter by bringing the ECEC classes together to play during the Carnaval, but we also allow students to be creative, to use their imaginations, to develop corporal expression and to enhance their rhythmic and auditory perception, among other skills, while getting ready for the party,” lists the ECEC principal, Ms. Conchita Kennedy. The principal explains that this celebration merges projects of several areas: music, arts, physical education, and portuguese. "The students explored the different ways of celebrating this day all over Brazil. They got to know about frevo, maracatu, samba, marchinhas, and they made props and musical instruments to take part in the parade around Chapel and then in the party in the covered gym," she tells us. "The purpose behind working with the cultural diversity in the Brazilian Carnaval and in its linguistic elements such as the ones in marchinhas, for instance, is to enrich their life experiences,” comments Portuguese teacher Ms. Carla Elvedosa. In Ms. Roberta Braga's music lessons, the children made rattles out of recycled materials and followed along different tunes with their instruments, which were decorated in Ms. Camila Costa's art class. "In class, students became familiar with some string and percussion instruments used in Samba, and they were introduced to other musical genres such as chorinho. “In their PE lessons, the children rehearsed choreographies to dance to the party's playlist," explains Ms. Braga. "We value healthy interactions between the different ages through music, singing, and playing. Besides, it is important to develop a collective mindset, aware of the meaning of the costumes and of popular culture since childhood", concludes Ms. Kennedy.

Click here to see the photo album.

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ELEMENTARY INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS ARE STRENGTHENED IN THE ES Projects that merge the curricula of different subjects are a daily reality in the ES. Among the countless benefits of interdisciplinary activities, “the projects break the structure of traditional teaching because they make children think in a free and comprehensive way,” explains 1st grade teacher. Ms. Karina Wenda. MAKERS NA FOLIA: a party of integrated projects The three 1st and 2nd grade classes worked on a major project which culminated in a Carnaval parade on the morning of February 21st. The students made the props and percussion instruments for the celebration in the makers class, based on a thorough study of the historical and linguistic elements of Carnaval and on the sound properties of the instruments and the typical music, explains Ms. Wenda. The head of the ES Portuguese department, Ms. Eliana Cardia, assesses the relevance of two factors of this project: "One of them is to stimulate and celebrate Brazilian culture, since Carnaval is a typically Brazilian festival despite being celebrated in other countries. Another factor concerns the children's learning: an interdisciplinary project is much more meaningful for adding to students' knowledge. It develops both concepts and behaviors more thoroughly, since the child is not attached to the perspective of one single subject - they can see the fact through different points of view: the arts, language, History, and music are some of them.” First grade teacher, Ms. Carla Elvedosa, states the idea was to both study the origins of Carnaval and “how it is played in its many forms: parties, samba schools, blocos, frevo, marchinhas, samba, among others.” When students took ownership of their knowledge, they could take part in a typical celebration that is now much more meaningful to everyone, concludes Ms. Elvedosa.

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BOARD GAME: A MEETING BETWEEN LANGUAGES, ART, AND TECHNOLOGY As soon as the children returned from the Republic Lago camp in February, the 3rd graders worked on a board game project in their technology, art, and Portuguese classes. "In the Portuguese classes, students analyzed the diverse game instructions there are and wrote their own; they used their math knowledge to create and develop the clues of the board game path and, in their free time, they decorated the boxes of recycled paper used to put the games away," explains Portuguese teacher Ms. Flávia Tacchini, who worked on the project with her colleague Ms. Juliana Hanftwurzel. The game pieces were made in the art and technology classes. In Mr. Otávio Garcia's technology lessons, kids printed their game pieces using the 3D printer. "Interdisciplinary projects engage students much more. If students can create their own game and pieces, they get even more committed to the activity," assesses Mr. Garcia. Art teacher Ms. Cris El Dib has participated in the board game interdisciplinary project for 3 years. She tells us she has worked with clay, play dough, and biscuit clay. This year the pieces will be made of colorful biscuit clay, and each student will create from four to six pieces. "Since the Arts are very visual, the subject can enrich any activity. Art can turn what the child is learning into reality, facilitating the learning process,” assesses Ms. El Dib. After the games are ready they can be taken home, but some exemplars will be available in the classrooms.

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HIGH SCHOOL

VISIT BY GEORGETOWN INTERVIEWER REVEALS CHAPEL’S EXCELLENCE

At this time of the school year, it is common for seniors to be interviewed by the universities they apply to, and each institution has its own methods when getting in contact with them. Georgetown University, in Washington D.C., holds its tradition of interviewing all candidates face-to-face. The interviewers are volunteer alumni, who are distributed all over the American states and in most of the countries. American journalist Tom Murphy is one of them, and he has interviewed candidates in São Paulo since 2012. He obtained his degree in Political Science from Georgetown in the 1970's, and while there he met his Brazilian wife, Celia, whom he has been married to for 44 years and with whom she had two children, Michelle and Patrick. This year, when he was assigned to interview a Chapel student, he was eager to visit the school he missed so much. What few people know is that Tom Murphy and his wife chose Chapel as the school for their children, from Kinder to HS, in the 1990’s. He tells us the experience was positive and remarkable. “We also like the ethics and morals of the school, the diversity of the student body and the permanent interaction between teachers and parents”. According to him, it was the right decision. The journalist states that both of his children are critical thinkers, “a habit that is cultivated at home and developed at Chapel and that comprehends all issues, may they be political, practical or personal. At home, and at Chapel, they learned the theory and the practice of dialoguing with parents, friends, and the world with curiosity and respect”. He comments there is no life lesson greater than seeing his children with good schooling and happy with their professional careers: “My daughter Michelle got her undergraduate degree from Boston College and today she teaches literature at Beekman School, in New York city. She got a masters in Pedagogy at Pace University and in Library and Information Science at Pratts Institute. My son Patrick has a degree in Psychology by PUC-SP and another in musicology by USP. He graduated in musicology at Boston University and he is currently a doctoral student at Chicago University.” Mr. Murphy concluded his interview saying he felt at home right after entering the school grounds after twenty years. “Today, Chapel has more facilities than in the 1990’s, but its spirit is the same!”

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NEW TEACHERS ORGANIC PROCESS Camila Araújo | ES English Support Teacher

Camila Araújo started studying for her 12-year-long career while in High School when she took a preparatory course on teaching. After that, she obtained a bachelor’s and a teaching degree in languages (Portuguese-English) and complemented her studies with specialization courses in English language - literature, grammar, and discourse are some of the courses she attended in Silicon Valley, California. She currently attends the Novas Estratégias para a Educação Bilíngue (New Strategies for Bilingual Education) course at Instituto Singularidades. Ms. Araújo has twin one-year-old daughters - the reasons why she left her last job at the bilingual school Maple Bear. She decided to spend a semester at home with them, but she did not complete her sabbatical leave because she was invited to participate in Chapel’s selection process. “I was looking for a solid school with a structured curriculum, and the process was very organic. I believe I was supposed to be here,” she states. The new ES teacher says she was captivated by Chapel since her first visit: “I thought it was amazing, I was impressed by the organization of the school.” When she is not teaching, Ms. Araújo enjoys playing with her daughters and watching movies with her husband.

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A STELLAR JOURNEY Leonardo Silveira | HS Science Teacher The new 9th and 10th grade Science teacher has an inspiring curriculum vitae, which he started to build during his High School years when he decided to take a preparatory course in Chemistry. After that, Leonardo Silveira obtained his bachelor and teaching degrees in Chemistry. Later on, he obtained his Masters and Doctorate degrees in Chemistry from Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lastly, he became a postdoctoral researcher on Nanotechnology at Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp). He has been a HS teacher for eight years and a college professor for ten. “I started teaching at universities while I was a doctoral student, and two years later I became a HS teacher”, states the teacher, who has already taught at Colégio BIS (Brazilian International School) and Colégio Fecap. When he started working at Chapel, he was not only amazed by the welcoming and friendly environment, but also by the freedom in presenting the curricular content: “I feel I am free to teach, we are not stuck to any material, I can use a variety of resources to meet the lesson goals and this makes a great difference”, he comments. In his free time, Mr. Silveira enjoys traveling, visiting new places, and different cultures. "I am used to traveling at least once a year, but I am a home-lover. On weekends, I enjoy staying in with my books and family," he tells us.

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LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Livia Galeote | HS Portuguese Teacher Working as a volunteer at a free college entrance exam preparatory course was the way young Livia Galeote found to start teaching while she was a Languages (PortugueseItalian) sophomore at Universidade de São Paulo (USP). She obtained a masters degree in Compared Studies of Portuguese Language Literature from USP while she kept teaching. She has been a teacher for ten years, and before joining Chapel, she worked for nearly three years at Escola Móbile. Ms. Galeote learned about the job opportunity at Chapel from a friend, and the result made her very happy. “I felt great at the interview, I enjoyed the school grounds and all its trees - it’s very beautiful,” comments the new Portuguese teacher, and she adds: “I fell in love with the library.” She says she felt welcomed and embraced by her peers and tutors: “All my peers have been helpful and there is always someone willing to guide you, besides, our mentors provide us with a sort of learning space, so we feel at ease even when we make mistakes.” The new teacher likes to spend her free time reading - poetry mainly - and doing artistic activities: “From visiting museums to writing, drawing, and taking pictures, I’m attracted to where art is,” she concludes.

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CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40: Christian Duffy de Abreu, 23 years old Where he lives: New York Years enrolled at Chapel: Pre I (1999) to 12th grade (2014) What is your academic background? I have a degree in Bioengineering (concentration in Biomedical Data Science and Computational Medicine) from University of Pennsylvania, in 2019 Briefly describe your professional life. I've been working since July at Vioo, a company I founded with my basketball r i v a l f ro m S t . P a u l ' s . V i o o i s a n educational and technology company whose goal is to aid students and parents to make the most rewarding and safe decision when choosing their colleges and jobs. Through video testimonials, it's possible to understand how your daily life would be and to connect with people who are already studying/working where you want to be. We want to show the array of opportunities that only a few know, starting with universities in the US. This is the reason why we are based in New York. Before Vioo, I worked at Intel, where I could truly act as an Engineer. I helped to develop technologies which would reconstruct 3-D scenes for the Tokyo Olympics, and I also created algorithms to detect stress so they could be integrated into smart watches. These opportunities happened in the Silicon Valley and in San Francisco. Your greatest goal in life is: It's hard to tell. I remember that in my senior yearbook I wrote: “help people, make money, go nuts”. I'm surely on the first stage, still...but also on the third one! However, with biomedical engineering, I've always wanted to be part of a team that will build something to change our perspective of what is possible with technology. This is the reason why after Vioo, my next challenge will be with brain interfaces, an area I used to like and study a lot. But these are short term plans - I'm thinking about the next 3 to 10 years. If I were to choose a goal to aim for the rest of my life, it would be to keep, value, and deepen the relationships with everyone who has helped me to be where I am at now. No goals can be reached by yourself.

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Tell us your best memory from Chapel. I think it has to do with sports, right? Those who met me know that I loved to play all sports, but there was this special victory: it was the semifinal of the São Paulo High School League, in Campinas. We were losing 0-2, with 14 minutes to go. Thomas Weaver, our number 10 shirt, shot from outside the penalty area and brought the score to 1-2. I received his through ball, and if I’m not mistaken, it was a bicycle kick, and I managed to dribble the defender and win a penalty that Thomas converted. With 3 minutes to go, I took off to the left, brought the ball to my right leg and I shot from outside the penalty area. The ball was deflected and fooled the goalie: 3-2 for Chapel. I ran to the bleachers to celebrate while the whole team was screaming behind me...what a legendary comeback! Here’s the picture of the moment we held the cup so you can see how excited we were. How did Chapel influence your life? Chapel will always be part of my life, so, it is still influencing my life. I was baptized at Chapel, my mom got married at Chapel....almost every memory of my childhood happened in the school. This is the reason why I see Chapel as a vehicle that guided my growth. That being said, I’d say that the same Christian, in another school, would have become a totally different person. That is funny because much of who I am, be it my hobbies or personality, can be related to some aspect of the experiences Chapel provided me. Therefore, I can only be thankful: I must thank my friends, who I consider brothers and sisters; my teachers, who I turn to whenever I need help (and I always need help - lol); and my family, who lived it all with me.

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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