Digital Chapel #66

ISSUE #66

SEPTEMBER 2021

DIGITAL CHAPEL Versão em Português

ABRACE PROGRAM BEGINS ITS NEXT PHASE A new stage of the Abrace antibullying program has begun in all divisions, with teaching units involving reading, reflection, and discussion.

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ARE BACK IN FULL FORCE With the start of the new school year on August 4, extracurricular activities resumed with nearly 400 participants; students from all divisions are back to playing sports, participating in clubs, and attending academic support labs.

HS STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN VIRTUAL COLLEGE FAIR Organized by the Brazilian Association of IB Schools (BAIBS), the first ever Virtual University Fair took place on September 2, with the participation of 94 universities representing 16 countries.

CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40

Caroline Kurzweil Responsible for market intelligence for the Latin American branch of Natura & Co. NEW ARRIVALS

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Since the start of the school year, Chapel has once again been offering after school activities for all age groups, but with some modifications. First, the school adjusted the organization: all ECEC and ES students remain in the same groups for after school activities that they have during the day for academic work. In other words, the groups do not mix. In order for everyone to have space to attend activities safely, Chapel created two schedules: ECEC and ES students participate in activities from 3:20 p.m. to 4:20 p.m., and HS students (grades 7-12) participate in their sports from 4:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. This structure also helps alleviate some of the buildup at dismissal, since now there are fewer students leaving at 3:10 p.m. According to Athletic Director and Activities Coordinator Bruno Pereira, around 400 students are participating in after school activities. For High School students staying for sports, Chapel offers supervised study halls, so students are safe, monitored, and not roaming around campus. In these spaces, students can work on homework, do group projects, or do independent reading. In the second half of August, the school also resumed clubs and academic support labs, with help sessions for individual subjects like Brazilian Social Studies, Math, and Science, among others.

Early Childhood Education In the ECEC, three different activities are being offered every month for Pre II and Kindergarten. Classes meet once or twice a week, and every three classes, students alternate to a different activity. Mr. Pereira said that the first month included capoeira, fencing, gymnastics, and outdoor games. For these, Chapel hired teachers specializing in each area.

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AFTER SCHOOL Extracurricular activities resume for all divisions

Students in 1st to 5th grade participate in up to four activities per week, and the 6th graders can enroll in up to five activities. These include soccer, multisports (mini-basketball, track and field, field hockey, tennis, gymnastics, and others), cheerleading, basketball, and volleyball. According to Mr. Pereira, “at the moment, from ECEC to ES, there are more than 220 students participating in the program.”

High School High school students also count on academic support labs, which offer students the chance to clarify their questions. One teacher from each discipline is available for an hour after school at least once a week; students elect to come when they have specific questions about the material or when they would like help on a project. According to Paula Moro, High School Principal, “support labs are designed to meet the student's needs, and the teacher provides assistance outside the classroom. It is a more academic environment.” She explains that the school recommends these labs for specific students whom teachers have identified as needing additional support to develop skills, improve their grades, or overcome particular difficulties.

Support Labs High School students also count on academic support labs, which offer students the chance to clarify their questions. One teacher from each discipline is available for an hour after school at least once a week; students elect to come when they have specific questions about the material or when they would like help on a project. According to Paula Moro, High School Principal, “support labs are designed to meet the student's needs, and the teacher provides assistance outside the classroom. It is a more academic environment.” She explains that the school recommends these labs for specific students whom teachers have identified as needing additional support to develop skills, improve their grades, or overcome particular difficulties.

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Elementary School

Aimed at exploring different areas of knowledge not covered in the curriculum, clubs are activities open to all students, offered according to student interest. Students can even create new clubs of their own. “We have had an eSports club, ecological clubs, philosophy club, and now we have drama — each year we see different themes,” Ms. Moro comments. In addition, there are long-standing clubs that are institutions at the school, like NHS and MUN, which even have external governing bodies. In these cases, the school follows protocols specified by these institutions, the principal says.

Relevance of after school activities According to Ms. Moro, after school activities play a very important role: “it’s a space where students can explore other possibilities, experimenting with activities and relationships that the classroom does not offer. When it comes time to choose a career, in college, these experiences can help.

Extracurricular activities also help fulfill requirements for CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service) required starting in 11th grade as part of the IB Program. Students end up using club experiences as material for CAS, whether that is through creative activities or community service projects through clubs like NHS and StuCo, whose actions have a direct impact on the Chapel community. There is also the question of college applications. Some students show great dedication to clubs and use this as a way to build their resume for universities. Clubs promote leadership and social responsibility, which are abilities that college admissions officers appreciate. And above all, they are spaces for camaraderie, where students can build different relationships than those they have in the classroom.

In clubs, teachers act more as supervisors, monitoring and resolving potential conflicts, but it is the students who define the objectives and plan the activities. It’s a different social environment, one with much more autonomy,” she concludes.

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A variety of clubs

PROGRAMA ABRACE Chapel Students discuss bullying across all grade levels September saw the beginning of the next phase of the antibullying program adopted by Chapel. After educating a committee of school representatives, training teachers, and meeting with parents and students, it was time to start an educational unit, which will take place at the beginning of every school year. The first step of the process was conducting a survey of all students from grades 5-12 about their experiences with bullying. The survey was developed for Abrace by Clemson University, who will also be responsible for analyzing the results. According to the Social-Emotional Curriculum Coordinator, Luciana Brandespim, these results will be used to monitor the effectiveness of the program. After the survey, all grade levels, from Kindergarten through 12th grade, started educational units based on books that were chosen to cater to each specific grade-level. These books are being read and discussed in class, and teachers have the flexibility to design lessons to best meet the needs and interests of their students. “One by one, the books deal with an aspect of bullying appropriate for each age; at the end of this unit of study, after reflection, construction of knowledge by students, and understanding of what bullying is, the teacher will introduce the anti-bullying rules which will be adopted by the class,” explains Ms. Brandespim. This will happen at the conclusion of the units at the end of October. The coordinator highlighted the fact that the entire school would be engaging in conversations about bullying during this time. “It will be another gain for our socioemotional curriculum. We are proud of the attention paid to socio-emotional development at Chapel,” comments Cristiana Calvacanti, Counselor for children in ECEC up to 3rd grade.

The 4th-8th grade Counselor, Erika Ferreira, points out that the program is educational and preventative: “in addition to discussing what is considered bullying, what is considered a common conflict, and establishing the differences between them, the idea is to sensitize students to the issue, helping them understand the seriousness of the consequences of bullying, in addition to differentiating these two behaviors.” According to the counselor, sensitization of students is an important step, helping them learn how to identify behaviors that may not always be understood as bullying, whether they are suffering the effects or practicing them. “We need to emphasize that not all bullying behavior is conscious. That’s why the focus is not punitive. It’s working with the entire community, so that everyone reflects on their own behaviors, identifying attitudes that are unhealthy and that may come to be perceived as bullying, learning both to avoid certain behaviors and to respond when mistreated by someone,” she explains.

After this educational phase, the next step will be the monitoring of potential cases, whether that be through the observations of adults in the community or obtained by information received from stakeholders. The Chapel anti-bullying team — counselors, coordinators, the dean of students, and teachers trained by Abrace — will be responsible for investigating, aiming to understand the facts and follow-up with any necessary interventions. “Because each case is a unique situation, and it is up to the adults to be aware of these incidents,” concludes Ms. Brandespim.

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After all, what is bullying?

Bullying is when someone, repeatedly and intentionally, says or does something that harms or hurts someone’s feelings who is not in a position to defend themselves. For the correct definition of bullying, it is necessary to take into account an imbalance of power in relationships, when the person being targeted is more vulnerable and cannot defend themselves; moreover, it is a repeated behavior which causes physical or psychological harm.

Chapel students in grades 10, 11, and 12 participated in the Virtual University Fair hosted by BAIBS (Brazilian Association of IB Schools) on September 2. Organized by counselors from 13 international schools from São Paulo, Campinas, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador, the university fair gathered 94 schools — 22 from Brazil and 72 from 15 other countries. Among the Brazilian universities were Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro campuses, ESPM, IBMEC, PUC-SP, and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Some international university highlights included University of Toronto (Canada), New York University (Shanghai and Abu Dhabi campuses) University of Bristol (UK), Bocconi University (Italy), ESSEC Business School (France), and American universities like UC Santa Barbara, University of Chicago, University of Miami, Rollins College, and Rochester Institute of Technology.

The event included various lectures, including “higher education in Australia and New Zealand,” and “liberal arts colleges in the Netherlands,” given by university representatives from these countries.

Additionally, panels about the IB program promoted an exchange of ideas among school coordinators about a range of topics, including how to optimize the experience of CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service), a component of the IB curriculum whose activities are seen positively by universities. Workshops on a variety of themes — like developing portfolios for applications into creative programs — were also integrated into the fair. A representative from EducationUSA (an organ of the US Department of State) spoke to students about the process of applying to American universities. In addition to the presentations, accessed through links on the online fair platform, each university provided a representative to answer students’ questions via chat. Institutions showed presentations of their campuses and course offerings, and students accessed the online rooms according to their interests. To facilitate the search, interested parties could search by university, by country or by course.

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UNIVERSITY FAIR HS Students interact with representatives from renowned universities

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With the pandemic, university recruitment has only happened online for the last year or so, and this trend is likely to continue even after trips are approved. Thirty-four Chapel students attended the fair, which indicates a strong degree of interest. According to High School Counselor Thalita Thomé, “the fair was very important for universities to get to know our students, reinforcing the excellent level of IB teaching practiced at Chapel, which already has a reputation for excellence abroad. For our students it was very important because they had the opportunity to meet representatives from universities that might interest them.” According to the counselor, in this type of fair, students gather information that is crucial for the application process, giving students a chance to establish a relationship with the admissions officers, to ask questions, and to help them make a good choice in the future.

Colin Weaver | High School Dean of Students The new High School Dean of Students is a familiar face for students at Chapel. Colin Weaver has been at Chapel — and living in Brazil — for 10 years, working as a 6th grade teacher. Recently, after finishing a Masters in Educational Leadership at the University of Toronto, he decided to change roles. “I know all of the students and I want to be a part of their success through High School,” he affirms. He is excited to apply restorative justice practices when dealing with disciplinary issues. These practices are based on the principle that relationships can be restored based on the values of inclusion, belonging, solidarity, and active listening. It is about imprinting a new perspective on relationships, which are now guided by reciprocity, commitment, and co-responsibility. “If somebody does something bad, the goal is to learn from the mistake. For this to happen, the solution should not be punishment, but rather correcting the problem, working to repair the damages done by the action. The student is not the problem, he is part of the solution, and he should understand the harm he has done to his colleague or community,” Mr. Weaver explains.

The new Dean says that he has already experimented with restorative practices in the classroom as a teacher, and he believes that his new position will be a perfect chance to expand this type of education. “My relationship with the students has always been good, and part of what I like most is being able to interact with them every day, establishing positive connections beyond academic matters,” he said proudly

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RESTORATIVE PRACTICES

Thalita Thomé spent her childhood in her hometown, Foz do Iguaçu (PR), before moving to the United States at the age of 15, where she studied at a High School in California. Even back then she served as an intern for the school’s guidance counselor, taking her first steps towards her current role.

Once back in Brazil, she moved to Curitiba (PR), where she studied Psychology at Universidade Positivo. Upon graduation, she assumed the role of educational advisor at Colégio Positivo Internacional, where she remained for two years.

At Chapel since May, this is her first time in São Paulo, a city that she is still getting used to. “The pace of São Paulo is quite different, so I’m still getting adjusted. But, overall, the city is really great, and I like this rhythm because I also have a lot of energy. My friends used to say that I belong in São Paulo,” she comments.

At Chapel, the new Counselor is highly satisfied. “It is such an engaged community, one which cares for the well-being of everyone and is very receptive,” she says. In her free time, Ms. Thomé enjoys cultural and athletic activities: “I like watching movies and TV shows when I’m at home, but I also love traveling and physical activities, as I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” she concludes.

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RECEPTIVE COMMUNITY Thalita Thomé | High School Counselor

With a bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from Faculdade de Belas Artes de São Paulo and a postgraduate degree in Strategic Administration, Andrea Mary Carpenter de Campos spent several years in publishing as a designer before becoming a teacher. She says that she decided to dedicate herself to teaching after the birth of her first child. To do so, she studied Pedagogy and began teaching Kindergarten at PACA (Pan American Christian Academy), her alma mater. “I have been familiar with Chapel since my grade school days, and when looking for job opportunities, I saw an opening,” she recalls.

After her first two months as a language support teacher for 1st and 2nd grade, Ms. Campos is really enjoying the experience. “I love to read, so I’m in the area I most admire, which is literacy,” she comments. In addition she said that she is very satisfied to be involved with the literacy process for children in two grade levels and also for the opportunity to work together with the classroom teachers, which provides a rich exchange of ideas: “It's a more collaborative type of work; after all, it's always better to have more professionals in the classroom.”

A mother of two children, ages 3 and 6, Ms. Campos loves sports and has played them since she was young. Currently, she enjoys surfing in Riviera de São Lourenço, in Bertioga (SP). She is also taking tennis lessons — beach tennis — and she enjoys Pilates classes at the gym. “I am always doing some activity, and I love to be outside, in the sun, breathing fresh air. I don’t like to be stuck inside,” she concludes.

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A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT Andrea Mary Carpenter de Campos | 1st and 2nd grade ES Reading Support

When she embarked on a yearlong Christian mission aboard a ship that visited 16 countries, Audrey Quir never imagined how much it would change her life. Along the way, Audrey, who is Filipina, met a Brazilian man, leading her to move to Brazil in 2018 and then marry him in July of this year. With a specialty in education for children with special needs, the young teacher taught in international schools for autistic, blind and deaf children in the Philippines. Once she moved to Brazil, she worked for three years at PACA (Pan American Christian Academy) as a 6th grade teacher. In search of new challenges, and knowing Chapel's good reputation, she applied for a position.

Acting as a 3rd and 4th grade reading support teacher since August, Ms. Quir says that her adaptation to the school has been very smooth: “The fact that I am familiar with the international school environment certainly helped, but the receptivity and support from the team have been remarkable.”

When asked about her adaptation to Brazil, Ms. Quir affirms that this has also gone well, but with one caveat: “I have adapted really well to Brazil, but the traffic is one thing I still haven’t gotten used to,” she comments. In her free time, the new teacher likes to cook and sing karaoke. And, of course, she loves to read; her preferred genre is fantasy.

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SMOOTH TRANSITION Audrey Quir | 3rd and 4th grade ES Reading Support

Matthew Kane, who hails from England, first came to Brazil in 2005, on a five week vacation. This was enough time to decide it would be his new home, and he decided to move here in 2018. With a degree in Chemistry from the University of Durham, in the north of England, and another in Natural Sciences from Lancaster University, Mr. Kane became a teacher in 2013, in the midst of the global economic crisis, influenced by an aunt, who is a teacher. Once he began teaching High School, he found himself really enjoying the job and never left. In London, alongside his activities, he did voluntary work in Elementary Schools, helping teachers teach Chemistry to children. Once in Brazil, he worked at St. Francis College, in São Paulo, for three years, where he taught High School Chemistry. “I liked bringing first graders down to the science labs to watch High School students conduct experiments, and they loved it,” he shares.

In search of new professional challenges, he sent his resume to Chapel. Everything worked out, and since the beginning of the school year, Mr. Kane has been the new 9th and 10th grade Science teacher here at Chapel. “I’m really liking the school. I like the campus, the students, all the people, the infrastructure - everything; my colleagues are also great,” he affirms enthusiastically.

Extremely active, the new teacher likes scuba diving, mountain climbing, and hiking. Among his favorite destinations are Paraty, Búzios, Cabo Frio (RJ), Ubatuba (SP), and Maceió (AL). Although he hasn’t been able to travel since 2019, he was able to visit Chile, Mexico, and Peru in his first year and a half before the pandemic. Missing his family back home in England, he adopted a dog, Pepper, in July of this year.

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DISCOVERING A CALLING Matthew Kane | High School Science Teacher (9th and 10th)

A little over a year ago, Emanuela Rodrigues do Espírito Santo joined Chapel to cover the maternity leave of a teacher in Pre II. After six months, she moved on to serve as a substitute teacher for the ECEC, and in August of this year, she assumed the role of full-time classroom teacher in Pre I. A graduate of Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, in São Paulo, she studied Literature (English and Portuguese), earning a masters degree in Literature before also graduating with a degree in Pedagogy. “Since I started to outline my professional career, I always thought about being a teacher,” she says. She realized that she liked to teach children while still at university, serving as an intern in a Kindergarten classroom at a Brazilian school. In addition, she also accumulated experience in elementary education, in state and private schools, and in bilingual schools.

Upon arrival at Chapel, she was enamoured with the campus: “it really doesn’t feel like we’re in São Paulo. The ECEC classrooms, the organization, the resourses, all of it caught my attention. I thought it was fantastic,” she says. Now that she has taken over her own class, Ms. Espírito Santo says she is feeling quite accomplished, praising the teamwork and the reception given by the most experienced teachers. “It's been the best experience; I was welcomed with open arms and I know I can always rely on my colleagues,” she comments. When she is not teaching, the new Pre I teacher likes to stay active, especially with dance; in fact, she has been practicing ballet since she was three years old. In university, she was part of the school’s cheerleading team and she even represented Brazil in a world cheerleading championship back in 2017.

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A FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT Emanuela Rodrigues do Espírito Santo | Pre I Teacher

CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40: Caroline Kurzweil, 27 years old

Where she lives: São Paulo

When she studied at Chapel: Kindergarten (2000) until 12th grade (2012)

What is your academic background?

I studied at Boston University, where I majored in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing and Finance, and a minor in Economics.

Briefly describe your professional life.

Currently, I work in Strategic Planning for Natura & Co (Natura, Avon, The Body Shop, and Aesop) Latin America, where I am responsible for market intelligence. Before this, I worked in Consumer Insights at Nestlé and as a market researcher for Euromonitor International.

Your biggest goal in life is?

Leave a positive mark on the world.

Describe your best memory from Chapel.

One of the best days I had at Chapel didn’t actually happen at Chapel: Senior Skip Day. The entire class of 2012 gathered at my house for the day, we played soap soccer, and we spent time just hanging out. It was there that I realized that these friendships I had built over the years would really last my whole life. And we are still close to this day!

How has Chapel influenced your life Besides the friendships, I believe that one important way that Chapel influenced my life was by introducing me to skills that I use to this day in my career. Whether it was through soccer games, Model UN conferences, StuCo activities, plays for Drama Club, World is Our Classroom trips…..all of this contributed to my being a team player. I like to speak and present in front of others, I find it easy to organize diverse demands, and I also have experience connecting with other cultures. And of course, the critical and analytical thinking that the IB develops (especially IB History), which helps me analyze and solve problems to this day.

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