Digital Chapel Issue #65

ISSUE #65

MAY 2021

DIGITAL CHAPEL Versão em Português

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YEARBOOK 2021: STILL TIME TO PARTICIPATE

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HS AWARD CEREMONY

HS STUDENTS JOIN PROJECT FOR YOUNG REFUGEES Created by the newspaper Joca, in partnership with UNHCR (UN Refugee Committee), the Mi Casa, Tu Casa project has Chapel students involved in !

writing letters, donating books, and encouraging reading among

THE 2021 MUSIC RECITAL IS ON ITS WAY!

Venezuelan refugee children and adolescents living in shelters in Roraima, in the northern region of Brazil.

CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40 !

SPIRIT WEEK

Arthur Nasinbene Admissions Coordinator for Latin America at Hult International Business School !

NEW ARRIVALS

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a video we made to announce the project, explaining the ways to participate. We also posted on the WhatsApp groups for each grade, and we are spreading information on the project in all classrooms through CARES and Portuguese language teachers in Elementary, and Advisory in High School. In early May, we placed four boxes in the hallways of Elementary and High School for people to deposit books.”

Student João Pedro Fegyveres, who is collecting books with his family, neighbors, and colleagues at Chapel, explains why he decided to

SERVICE PROJECT Eighth Grade Students Spread Awareness of the Mi Casa, Tu Casa Project A group of 8th grade students — Alma Castañares, Beatriz Abram, and João Pedro Fegyveres — recently brought the Mi Casa, Tu Casa project to Chapel. This project aims to collect children's books to create libraries in the 13 Venezuelan refugee shelters maintained by UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) in Roraima, in northern Brazil. Launched by the newspaper Joca, the initiative also involves a letter exchange program between Brazilian and Venezuelan children. “At Chapel, we are working on two fronts: publicizing the book donation campaign in elementary and high school,and coordinating the exchange of letters between our ES students and the refugee children, with help from the Brazilian Program Coordinator Eliana Cardia,” explains student Beatriz Abram. She says that 1st grade students will send drawings and 2nd to 6th grade students will send letters telling them about life in Brazil, cultural diversity, and other subjects.

Currently, about seven thousand people live in the shelters of the federally funded Operação Acolhida; almost half of this population is between 0 and 17 years old.

participate in the project: “Reading is a way to facilitate the adaptation of these children to Brazil, so that they feel more comfortable here.

I hope the project brings a lot of joy to children and teenagers, as books are a great way to occupy time and learn good things, making them forget a little bit about the difficulties and let themselves be carried away by the creativity and imagination of the books.” Beatriz Abram comments that participating in the project is an opportunity to learn more about the refugee

Alma Castañares was the first student to get involved with the project, and she took the initiative to call on her classmates for support: “Using Chapel’s Instagram Account, we posted

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issue: “I wonder how children feel in shelters, and how libraries and letters can help them feel less alone. In addition to being a source of entertainment, books can give them ideas for a better world.”

Donation of books to the Mi Casa, Tu Casa Project What to donate?

New or used children's literature books, in Portuguese and/or Spanish. Preferably, write a small dedication inside the cover of the donated book.

Where to donate?

Deposit the books in the four identified boxes in the ES and HS hallways Until when?

Until the May 20. After that date, the books will be taken to the headquarters of newspaper Joca in order to be sent to the shelters.

More information about the project: https://www.jornaljoca.com.br/joca-e-acnurconvidam-jovens-para-acao-com-refugiados-emigrantes-da-venezuela/

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in people’s lives,” celebrates Ms. Caires.

In addition to the special memoirs section, another distinguishing feature of this edition will be the journalistic twist. “In the absence of events, we produced content such as an interview with sports coordinator, Bruno Pereira, and also a timeline of the events that took place at the opening of the campus, with texts explaining what went differently this year,” says 12th grader Leticia Barbosa.

Classmate Sofia Buazar adds, “We talked a lot about the idea that this yearbook will be a reference material in the future. In this sense, it will be very special because people will be able to see, in addition to texts, images of everything that was modified and adapted by Chapel during this pandemic year. It will be a historical record, a book that will tell a story. After all, the Yearbook is a memory that we will keep forever.”

For 11th grader Mariana Cadore, participating in the Yearbook Club was an excellent opportunity to learn new skills: “I loved working with the graphics programs, for example, but it was also a great experience, since in the process of gathering the most important facts of the year to include in the yearbook, we started to understand Chapel not only as an institution, but also as a community.” She says that the focus of the texts was to seek “the positive side of remote education, verifying, for example, how we are working together in a spirit of cooperation and positivity during this difficult moment.” Luana Moussa, herself a 12th grader, considers the participation of seniors in the Yearbook Club essential: “It is our last year and the Yearbook is very important for us; that's why we are striving to make the best publication.”

YEARBOOK 2021 Participate in the Next Edition, Whose Theme is “A Touch of Gold”

The 2020-2021 edition of Chapel's Yearbook is in its final phase of production. This annual publication is designed and developed by the Yearbook Club, an extracurricular club open to students from grades 9-12. Club members work together to create a Yearbook that captures the essence of the Chapel community: students, staff, sports, activities, events, and memories from each school year.

Yearbook Club students are inviting the school community to participate in a memoir section, sending testimonials and photos of remarkable and special moments experienced during the remote/hybrid teaching phase. The material can be sent until May 18, via email to publications@chapelschool.com, under the care of librarian Fernanda Caires, who is responsible for the school's publications. “The idea is to share happy moments. We will have pages reserved for these memories, which are precisely the 'touches of gold' in the lives of families during social isolation,” explains Ms. Caires.

A Touch of Gold: The Belief in Better Days The theme of this year's Yearbook, “A Touch of Gold,” refers to hope for the future: “Gold is related to light, and we believe that, even in the midst of a pandemic, people need to believe that things will return to normal, since we all have hopes for the future,” explains 12th grader Sofia Buazar. Based on the question, "What was your touch of gold?", students, parents, teachers, and employees are being invited to send records and reports of good times lived during the remote teaching period. “It was good to realize that even in the midst of so much chaos and so much uncertainty, there were still hints of happiness !4

admiration and respect of colleagues and teachers, serving as role models for all..

IB Learner Profile Awards

Inquirer: Nurtures their curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research.

RECOGNITION High School Students Receive Awards in 14 Categories The High School Awards, held annually, recognize students who have excelled in different ways during the past school year. For grades 7-11, four awards are offered: the Commitment to Learning Award, Citizenship Award, Chapel Award and Best GPA. Seniors also compete in these four categories, but they also receive awards based on the ten attributes of the IB Learner profile, which encompasses cognitive skills, values, and attitudes nurtured in the IB Program. Among the fourteen categories of the award, only one — Best GPA — involves grades, while the other thirteen relate to holistic qualities that Chapel seeks to develop in its students. Thus, the same student can stand out in several categories and receive more than one award.

The first step in the award process is the nomination of students in each category by the teachers of that grade. After that, the nominees become candidates and receive votes from the faculty. Traditionally, the award ceremony is held in the Chapel auditorium with the presence of all students and teachers. Last year, due to social distancing, the 7th to 11th grade awards were announced through videos sent to families. The seniors’ ceremony was held live on Zoom. This year will be the same: the awards ceremony for the 12th grade students will be broadcast live on May 28 via Zoom, and in the beginning of June, the 7th to 11th grade classes will receive the respective videos with announcement of nominees and winners. “Offering this type of recognition award is a tradition of American schools that Chapel maintains. However, what is most important to us is not the awards, but the involvement and development of each student in their learning path. This is always our goal: that students excel each year, and that each one has himself as a reference to continue challenging himself,” says high school counselor Marta Bidoli.

Get to know the High School Awards categories:

Commitment to Learning : recognizes students who demonstrate independence, initiative, and curiosity in the learning process.

Knowledgeable: Develops and uses conceptual understanding, demonstrating knowledge in various areas.

Thinker: Applies thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and solve complex problems.

Communicator: Expresses oneself confidently, fluently, and creatively, often in more than one language.

Principled: Acts with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of equity and justice.

Open-minded: Critically appreciates one’s own culture and personal history, as well as the values and traditions of others.

Caring: Shows empathy, compassion, and respect, acting to make a positive difference in the lives of others and the world around them.

Risk-takers: Faces uncertainty with courage, thoughtfulness, and determination; works independently and cooperatively to explore innovative ideas and strategies.

Balanced: Understands the importance of balancing aspects of your life (intellectual, physical, and emotional) to achieve well-being for yourself and others.

Reflective: Carefully considers the world as well as their own ideas and experiences.

Citizenship: acknowledges those who demonstrate character traits such as responsibility, discipline, and respect — both in curricular and extracurricular activities — and who have a positive impact on the community.

Chapel: recognizes the students who best combine the characteristics awarded above, achieving good grades, showing good attitudes, and earning the

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department. “Despite the challenge of providing immediate feedback for students to review the video when necessary and to synchronize the voices, we were delighted to watch the performances, as it was the first time we could watch them each sing individually. Remote and hybrid education provided us with this perspective, because until then we only heard them singing as a group,” comments Ms. Braga.

The process of recording xylophones, on the other hand, is taking longer: they are being recorded in the classroom one student at a time, following the health and safety protocols. “Even so, the nervousness is great — it’s like children were on stage, even with only us as an audience,” explains Ms. Braga. “Even in the face of social isolation, we kept the focus on interpretation. We managed to find ways to make children go through this process, which is to study, learn, sing, and perform, even if it is not in front of a live audience.”

The video of the 4th to 6th grade music recital will be ready at the end of this semester. We are all looking forward to its debut!

SHOW Music Recital to be Published as a Video The production of the latest edition of the Elementary School Music Recital is in full swing. In the absence of faceto-face presentations, each student in grades 4-6 is recording his or her participation individually.

Afterwards, all performances will be edited to produce a video of the recital. “It is a totally new process, very different from what we used to do. As a teacher and coordinator of this project, I can say that the experience has been very enriching, and that we are happy with student engagement,” says music teacher Roberta Braga. Mr. Caio Oliveira, elementary music teacher, also says that “the recording experience was different and significant for the students as well. They realized how difficult, time-consuming, and laborious the recording process is; how much practice is needed before recording to feel safe and confident; and they also had the possibility to be part of something bigger, since it is the first time that the two rooms of each grade will play the same song together.”

The theme of the recital will be animated films, and students will participate by singing a song and playing a piece on the xylophone. For the singing portion, the children recorded individual videos at home, following the melody of the song in a playback track produced by the music

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WE LEARN FROM THOSE WITH WHOM WE CONNECT Paula Busso | ES Portuguese Teacher

Institutional Psycho-pedagogy. With the arrival of her twin sons, Pedro and Gael, 7 months old, Ms. Busso started looking for schools closer to her home, and the plan to work at Chapel came to fruition.

Today, she says she is very proud and also feels challenged, which makes her even more excited: “In addition to the impeccable organization and quality of teaching, I am very proud to be able to join a team of extremely qualified professionals. I also feel challenged to learn more, living with different cultures in this international scenario.”

In her leisure time the new teacher spends time with her children and also plays sports, her original passion. Currently she is dedicated to crossfit and weightlifting, which brought her back to competitions: in 2015, she was the Brazilian champion in weightlifting.

Paula Busso was still quite young when she discovered her vocation for teaching. She played basketball competitively, and, at the age of 16, traveled around Brazil participating in tournaments. After suffering a serious injury, she could no longer play — or receive her athlete's salary. Since she had already mastered English, she turned to teaching the language to others: “Being a teacher became my passion,” she says. She immersed herself in her studies, earning degrees in Translation/Interpretation, Literature, and Pedagogy. After finishing her first undergraduate course, the young woman went to Canada through an exchange program for qualified professionals.She lived abroad for four years, where, in addition to completing academic coursework, she served as a volunteer at the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) teaching English to war refugees.

She also gave Spanish lessons at a center for vulnerable adolescents. Her motto for life comes from the richness of these experiences: “We don't learn from those who know more, we learn from those with whom we connect,” says the new ES Portuguese teacher.

Back in Brazil, Ms. Busso started teaching at international schools, accumulating almost two decades of experience. Before joining Chapel this semester she taught Portuguese at St. Francis and St. Paul’s, and also worked as a classroom teacher at Concept. Along this path, she took another specialization course — in bilingualism — and, currently, she is finishing her third specialization, this time in Clinical !7

I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT I WANTED TO BE A TEACHER

Upon finishing his master's degree and returning to Brazil, he was hired by St. Francis, where he taught IB Brazilian Social Studies and IB Economics for four years. Then he went to teach at the International School of Monaco, in the south of France, for two years. He joined Chapel earlier this year and is very happy with his new home. “The campus is beautiful, people are very receptive, and I am just very thankful,” he says.

Of Portuguese descent, Mr. Pontes has always enjoyed travel, which he continues to do today: he lives in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, while part of his family lives in his country of origin. “I spent my childhood traveling between Santos, where I live, and Portugal, where I visited my family,” he says. Life on the coast, added to the period lived in Monaco, awakened his taste for water sports and outdoors. “Since I lived on the beach, I like surfing and

Augusto Pontes | HS Brazilian Social Studies Teacher

Augusto Pontes has always liked to teach. “As a child, I used to give private History class to my friends; it was my first job,” recalls the new high school Brazilian Social Studies teacher. He says that, from an early age, he knew he was going to be a teacher— he just couldn't imagine what subject: “This was always a problem because I had a lot of interests and I couldn't decide.” In search of a degree that offered him international career possibilities, he decided to study law, a course he completed at Universidade de São Paulo. However, when interning at a law firm, he realized that it was not his calling. So, he decided to pursue a second degree, also at USP: “I studied Social Sciences and saw what it was like to be happy,” he reveals.

While still in college, he taught English at Cultura Inglesa, in São Paulo, and, upon graduating, he worked at the school Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP). There, he taught classes in Brazilian History and Brazilian Economics to foreign exchange students at the institution. “This experience made me interested in teaching classes in English, or at a school that had an international curriculum,” he explains.

The opportunity came in 2014 when he was studying for an MBA in Economic Intelligence and had the opportunity to take half the course at the University of California, in Irvine. “It happened that near the university there was a school that needed a professor of Sociology and Psychology; so, I applied, was approved, and met the IB,” says Mr. Pontes.

rollerblading. But I also love walking my dog,” he concludes.

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MY EDUCATION HAS BEEN AN OUTLIER Juliana Nuin |ES Portuguese Teacher

most pleasure in teaching is reaching out to children at different levels of learning: “Ensuring that all children will be able to develop in some way, according to the needs of each one, is a great challenge, but it is the one that motivates me to teach.”

In her free time, Ms. Nuin usually reads, watches movies and television, spends time with her family, and enjoys going to the pool on sunny days. “I am a voracious reader, I love to read, but I also love to travel and I love to visit my friends, although this is currently impossible,” she concludes.

When Juliana Nuin was in high school, studying to be a Computer Technician, she never imagined that she would end up as a teacher. It all started with fulfilling the mandatory internship for the course: “I got an internship in the computer lab of the school where I studied.

Over time, I was hired and became an assistant coordinator,” she says. At ease in the school environment, the young woman decided to enter the Pedagogy course at the Universidade de São Paulo and started teaching in bilingual schools, including Escola do Futuro and Maple Bear.

The new elementary school Portuguese teacher has a postgraduate degree in Neuroscience Applied to Education from the Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo and is currently finishing another postgraduate degree in the area of Technology in Educational Design, from Unifesp (Universidade Federal de São Paulo). “My education is an outlier; I started in a technical course of data processing, so I always had an inclination towards technology.

And this skill ended up making my life easier as a teacher, guaranteeing me a slightly more peaceful and different path too,” reveals Ms. Nuin.

In search of new professional challenges, she joined Chapel earlier this year and is happy with the experience. “The school is incredible, the structure is exceptional, and the care for employees is admirable, I am really enjoying it,” comments the new teacher. What gives her the !9

I BECAME A TEACHER BECAUSE I LIKE TO HELP PEOPLE Bradford Cannon | IB Economics Teacher

At first, he taught in Curitiba (PR) at a Marist school that offers an American extracurricular program, and, earlier this year, he joined Chapel. “I am very happy to be here. The students are great — they are very capable — and the teachers are very receptive,” he says. As for living in Brazil, he says he is enjoying it and can even imitate the different regional accents in Portuguese. “I love to read and learn interesting things about Brazil, and I like to study cultural differences within the country. I play around with my wife by speaking with a Minas Gerais, Curitiba, and São Paulo accent,” he jokes.

During his free time, Mr. Cannon enjoys traveling and trying typical foods from the places he visits. He also likes the beach, reading, and, of course, soccer. “I like soccer a lot, I used to play, but I haven't kicked a ball in years.

Currently, I love to watch the games. My team here is Cruzeiro, which, unfortunately, is in bad shape right now,” he concludes.

Married to a Brazilian woman and residing in Brazil for three years, Bradford Cannon has a degree in Economics and Spanish from the University of Delaware, the state where he was born. He also has two master's degrees: one in International Development, from the University of Pittsburgh, and another in Secondary Education. In the time between the two degrees, he spent two years in Paraguay, working on service projects as part of an American government program. In the United States, he taught Economics and Spanish at high schools in Maryland and Delaware.

The new IB Economics teacher came to Brazil in 2014 during the World Cup. Interestingly, on the fateful day of July 8, he was present in the game in which Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany, at Estádio do Mineirão in Minas Gerais. “It was crazy. In 90 minutes, people went through all the stages of trauma: “first they didn't believe it, then they shouted 'Let's come back, Brazil,’ and finally they were fighting with each other,” he comments. To compensate for the disappointing semifinal game, it was in Minas Gerais that Mr. Cannon met Paula, whom he started dating and then married in 2018. As his wife was finishing her doctorate in Biology and could not move to the United States, the couple decided to live in Brazil. "I already spoke a little Portuguese because I studied it to come to the World Cup, and I already knew what to expect from Brazil," he says.

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I DID NOT CHOOSE TEACHING; TEACHING CHOSE ME Daniela Hayashida | ES Portuguese Teacher

discovered Chapel’s motto, “Faith in Education,” and she said it struck a chord: “It has everything to do with me because if there is one thing I have, it is faith in education. I believe that only education can really change the situation in our country.” It was with such purpose that she sent her curriculum to the school.

The teacher is enjoying the new experience, as she considers the positive side of the changes.

“Chapel has very strong teamwork, which is fantastic. It is a privilege to work in an international school, and it is also a challenge, which I am loving,” she comments. Adept at meditation, Ms. Hayashida takes advantage of her daily trip to São Paulo to reflect and align her thoughts, which she considers essential to have a good day at work. During her leisure time, she loves experiencing nature — whenever she can, she puts her feet on the grass. Cooking with her husband and spending time with her family and their dog also make her happy.

Daniela Hayashida was just nine years old when, accompanying her volunteer father in a special education institution, she was delighted to see deaf children communicating with their hands.

“I am shy and I was very quiet; that's why I identified with that silence and, at the same time, that voice,” she says. She quickly enrolled in a sign language course and volunteered to work at the school. At 10, she prepared materials for classes and helped the teacher.

Years later, when it was time to take the vestibular college entrance exam, the young woman had no doubts: Languages. “I chose to study Portuguese just because the deaf child has a lot of difficulty learning to read and write,” she explains.

In addition to studying Literature, the new ES Portuguese teacher also has a degree in Pedagogy and has several specializations: Institutional Clinical Psychopedagogy , Pedagogical Coordination, Sign Language, and Special Inclusive Education with an emphasis on Sign Language and Neuroscience. Ms Hayashida believes that when planning her professional future during her childhood, teaching came to her as a life mission. "I'm the only person in my family to follow a career in education because I always knew that I would feel fulfilled by it. I love what I do,” she reveals.

After years of working with psycho-pedagogy at Ateal — an NGO that helps children with deafness — and teaching at state, municipal, and private schools in the city of Jundiaí, where she lives, Ms. Hayashida came across Chapel School.

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I AM VERY ENTHUSIASTIC INSIDE THE CLASSROOM Filip Stoops | ES classroom Teacher

In July of last year, after recovering from knee surgery, he started looking for other professional challenges, and it was at that time that he discovered Chapel. “I was delighted with the school; the infrastructure is incredible, and my entry here was very spontaneous. Here I feel that I can be myself, and the kids do, too," says the teacher. "I am feeling well adapted to the school. I am lucky to be able to work with these children, leading them to reach their maximum potential."

In his free time, Mr. Stoops enjoys any type of sport: “My specialty is soccer, but I can no longer play because of my knee. I also really like beach sports like surfing and windsurfing. When I have the opportunity to go into the sea and practice some sport, I always do,” he concludes.

Filip Stoops, a Belgian who has lived in Brazil for 17 years, joined Chapel earlier this year and is teaching Language Arts and Social Studies in Elementary School. He is also following the routine of the 6th grade class, which he will take over in August. “I can't wait to get started; I am very anxious to implement everything I have absorbed in these six months that I spent accompanying the teachers and adapting to the school's culture,” he explains. With a degree in Physical Education from the University of Ghent, his specialty is soccer, and he has worked as a coach. Mr. Stoops also has a specialization in Pedagogy, and he worked for four years as an assistant professor at the university where he studied in Belgium.

He met his wife on a trip to Brazil, and that helped convince him that it was time for a permanent change of scenery: “I come from a very cold country, with bad weather, and I really wanted to stay here. For me, Brazil has always been my life destination,” he reveals.

Upon arrival, he started out working as a cabinetmaker — since he has a background in carpentry — but after an accident, he started teaching at bilingual and international schools: he worked at bilingual schools Max School and PlayPen, and also at St. Paul’s. “All of my professional experiences have been rewarding. I have always worked in partnership with colleagues, coordinators, parents, and students,” he says.

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Master's and MBA programs. It was something I never thought to do, but I really can't explain how gratifying it is to know that you have changed someone's life.

Your biggest life goal is: To work with sports and be able to offer opportunities to improve one’s life and future through sport.

Tell us your best memory of Chapel.

I confess that it took me a long time to choose just ONE memory. I would say that, in fact, it is a collection of memories. I played basketball during my time at Chapel, and it is impossible not to remember the after school games with immeasurable nostalgia. It was great to be with friends after class talking, eating a snack, and getting ready to play. There was always more than one game, so we kept watching all the other competitions. Often families were present as well.

When I think of the sense of community that I felt at Chapel, I remember those moments with great affection.

How did Chapel influence your life?

First, I chose to study International Relations because of my Geography classes with Benjamin Vaughan, and because of my participation in MUN (Model United Nations). But Chapel's influence on my life goes far beyond that. This school taught me a lot about community, about commitment, and without a doubt, I developed many of the values that made me who I am while I was at Chapel.

CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40: Arthur Nasinbene, 24 years old

City where you live: São Paulo

Period in which you studied at Chapel: from the 8th grade (2011) to the 12th grade (2015)

What is your academic background?

I have a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Iona College in New York. In addition, something that few people know is that I am about to start a Masters in Sports Business at New York University. In theory, I would start now in the middle of the year; however, the student visa situation is complicated due the pandemic, so perhaps my trip will be postponed until the following semester, in January.

Briefly discuss your professional accomplishments I was in my junior year at college when I got an internship at a Human Rights NGO called Edmund Rice International. I was their representative at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. It was an incredible experience, as I was able to attend several meetings and even attend some of the initial meetings to create the Global Compact for Migration. After graduating, I had the opportunity to do a research consultancy for UNHabitat. It was super fast, for just a few months, but the result was beyond expectations. My team's work ended up being published and presented at the 2018 United Nations General Assembly. After that period in the United States, I chose to return to São Paulo and had a total career change. I worked for a while at Ernst & Young as a consultant, being part of a pricing project, but I soon realized that the financial area was not for me and I left. A few months later, an unexpected opportunity arose: I received a proposal to work in higher education as an admissions coordinator for Latin America at an American university called Hult International Business School. I’ve been working at Hult's office here in São Paulo for almost two years, recruiting students from all over Latin America for our !13

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