Digital Chapel #67

NOVEMBER 2021

DIGITAL CHAPEL Versão em Português

LETTER EXCHANGE PROJECTS: ENTRE CULTURAS AND CHAPEL MAIL Discover the two projects that have 3rd grade students exchanging letters with peers from the same grade in a Brazilian school (written in Portuguese) and with 7th graders at Chapel (in English).

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION EMBRACES COMMUNITY HELPERS PROJECT A Pre I unit on the social importance of professionals who help the community. Over the course of two months, children experienced the functions in a playful way and met some of the professionals in person.

REOPENING OF THE SNACK BAR: THE BEST COOKIE IS BACK StuCo’s partnership with Chapel’s nutrition department is responsible for reopening the Snack Bar, with some new changes.

CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40

PORTFOLIOS PROMOTE STUDENT AUTONOMY Adopted by the Elementary and High School, the portfolio is a tool for monitoring student learning, created by the students themselves to promote greater ownership over the learning process.

Juliana Najm Global Business Development Coordinator at Natura.

NEW ARRIVALS

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ISSUE #67

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Community Helpers: who are the professionals who facilitate our lives The social importance of professionals who assist the community is the central theme of the “Community Helpers” unit, explored by Pre I students in October. In order to inspire an interest in their own community and broaden their perspectives, the unit focuses on some of the professionals who support everyday lives, as explained by the coordinator of Early Childhood Education, Emanoelli do Valle: “The teachers present different professionals and explain to the students their importance and function. By learning about different careers, children are able to identify the importance of these professionals inside and outside their school life, as well as their role: taking care of our health, safety, and wellbeing. During the unit, we emphasized the fact that no single job is more important than another; they are all essential to our lives.” She says that the learning starts from the students’ prior knowledge, and then expands on this: “There are some careers in the unit they already recognize, such as doctors and dentists, but we seek to introduce students to some professions they are not familiar with, such as mail couriers and chefs, for example, to expand their knowledge.”

The unit lasts two weeks, and each day the kids left the school dressed as one of the professionals they studied. “We began the unit with a game, allowing students to share their knowledge on the subject. We presented costumes and equipment to the group, and asked them whose uniforms and tools they were, and what each of these professionals do to help people. This enabled them to identify these professionals outside of school. After introducing the topic, each day we focus on a professional and, if we had the opportunity, we invited one to visit the school, introduce himself and interact with the students, making the unit of study richer,” explains Pre I teacher Ligia Buoro. She adds, “We present the professions in a playful way, stimulating the students’ curiosity. As part of the unit, teachers transformed their classrooms into specific environments such as offices, markets, and kitchens, among others, so that children can imagine and understand the professions.”

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According to Pre I teacher Mayar Del Dotto, the process of teaching and learning that took place during the unit were essential to bring the content to life: “The process by which students experience the content throughout the unit is what sets it apart. We involve children in a conversation so that they can share and expand their knowledge about a profession, moving on to a practical activity in which they create something related to the explored career, whether an instrument or garment, each in its own way. Finally, students are invited to use what they have created to play this role through symbolic play, in an environment carefully prepared and built with the help of the children. Playing is always present and is essential for children to learn.”

This year, students were exposed to eight professions: doctor, nurse, mail courier, veterinarian, chef, firefighter, police officer, and dentist. To familiarize them with the postal worker career, students wrote a letter to a classmate, addressing the correspondence to each one’s home. The groups were also visited by three professionals — a nurse, a chef and a police officer — having fun and learning while getting to know them personally.

Pre I teacher Emanoela Santo says, “On the day of the police officer’s visit, two vehicles came; the students heard the siren, the police showed the instruments they use, such as handcuffs and a communication radio, explaining to the children how to use them. Chapel's chef also visited the rooms. On that day, the students made an apron and a chef's hat, and everyone prepared delicious cookies.” The teacher added, “while at school, observing different professionals performing their roles in the daily lives of students, we took the opportunity to explain to them about the service providers essential to the school routine, such as cleaning and maintenance professionals, security guards, teachers, cooks, and nurses, and we reinforced the unit’s content, expanding their view of the world.” At the end of the unit, the children discussed what career they want to pursue in the future and how they want to contribute to their community.

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ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL Chapel students build their own learning portfolios At the start of every semester, students from 2nd to 12th grade, under the guidance of their teachers, dedicate some class time to think about their academic and socioemotional development. From there, they start to build their Student Learning Portfolios, or SLPs. Elementary School students create portfolios for three areas: Math, Literacy (which includes reading and writing), and CARES (skills of cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control). In High School, students maintain portfolios for each of their classes. The structure of the document, which is revisited a few times throughout the semester, is basically composed of goals, skills, opportunities for growth, strategies to achieve goals, and learning evidence. “At the beginning, we discuss the main learning objectives to be achieved in the semester, always using student-friendly language. Then, each person thinks about their abilities in relation to the learning objectives, listing their perceived strengths.

Then they move on to reflect on the areas in which they need to improve, thinking about what makes them less confident.

Based on this, they formulate strategies and write which ones they will use to evolve in the areas in which they need to improve,” explains Maxine Rendtorff, who teaches English and Drama in the High School.

In the middle of the semester, the portfolios are revisited, allowing for a moment of reflection: “They assess how the process is going, as they need to check if they are on the right path to achieve their goals. On this occasion, students reread everything they wrote and assess, in a very autonomous way, if they understood what the goals were, if the goals they set for themselves are important, if they are actually working to achieve them and if they are asking for help when they need it,” explains Stella Santos, a second grade teacher. During student-parent-teacher conferences, these documents are shared with families: “Students participate in the meetings and, at many times, lead the conversation by presenting their

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portfolios,” affirms Ms. Santos. “The portfolio is a guide for the parent meetings; they lead the conversation,” adds High School visual arts teacher Sylvia Almeida.

According to her, this approach is very effective: “We always present the strengths first, then we discuss the challenges, and afterwards, we work towards a solution, involving the student in their own learning process.”

At the end of the semester, the students return once more to the portfolios: “At this moment, they again reflect to see if they've met the goals, or if they're still working to reach them. In addition to the teachers giving feedback to the students, students attach evidence of learning to the document. If it is a socioemotional skill that has been improved, the teacher's note or comment serves as evidence. For the rest, evidence consists of assignments, probing, and projects, among others. When parents receive the material, they see the feedback and evidence,” highlights Gabriela Pezoa, a second grade teacher. “It’s important for parents and especially for teachers, because everyone can easily see what the student is learning and even where he is facing difficulties,” says 4th grade teacher Corey Vogel. He added, “The portfolio is a representation of the student’s learning.” Ms Santos echoed her colleague’s sentiment: “It is an instrument that is very much in line with the school's mission, as it allows the student to take charge of their own learning process.”

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FRIENDSHIP BY MAIL Third grade classes lead letter-writing projects

Elementary students in 3rd grade are participating in two reading and writing programs that involve exchanging letters: Entre Culturas, in Portuguese, and Chapel Mail, in English. The first happens with students in the same grade at a Brazilian School — Escola Estadual Henrique Dumont Villares, located in the Western region of São Paulo —and the second involves students in 7th grade here at their own school.

Entre Culturas In the project Entre Culturas, the children from the Brazilian school initiated the exchange of letters, which arrived this October for Chapel students. According to 3rd grade Portuguese Teacher Flavia Tacchini, “the goal of these letters is love, and this exchange is very important for students to get to know the reality of other children of the same age.” She says that in this unit of study, students learn how to fill the envelope and how to make the greeting and salutation, among other aspects that make up the narrative structure of this textual genre. Together with the students, the teachers read the letters and support them in revision. “Since we are at the beginning of the school year, it is a spectacular tool for us to get to know the class in depth very quickly, and this is very important for us to get in touch with the qualities of our students,” comments Ms. Tacchini. According to her, the project is an excellent opportunity to quickly introduce foreign students to the classroom community, helping them to adapt to the Portuguese language.

As a warm-up for the project, the students read the book O carteiro chegou, by Allan Ahlberg, which narrates the journey of a postman in charge of delivering mail to fairy-tale characters. “The kids loved the book. They were very excited to see the addresses, the senders and recipients of the letters,” says Carolina Amaral, 3rd grade Portuguese teacher. Her colleague Paula Busso agrees: “Our third grade classes are always involved in the activities we propose, and this time will be no different. In fact, it will be even more exciting because the letters they will write are intended for real people, which makes learning much more meaningful.” The Entre Culturas project involves the exchange of two or three letters over the course of the semester, and it will conclude with the sending of a Christmas card.

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Within the American curriculum, as part of the “Being a Writer” program, a letter exchange happens between younger and older students at the school, through the project called Chapel Mail. It is the 3rd grade students who take the initiative, writing a letter to a 7th grade student, who only knows the child’s first name. “They start by telling them about themselves, who they are, and what they like to do. Then, they ask their older colleague questions to learn more about him and the 7th grade routine, among other curiosities,” explains 3rd grade teacher Carolina Cimino. She says that students get really excited about the possibility of learning more about the 7th graders, who also share their own memories of Elementary School and even specific 3rd grade experiences. “Something that we value a lot at Chapel is the community, and this project works to expand the classroom community, encompassing students from another division,” she adds.

“Within a project like this, with an authentic audience, we are able to bring many learning objectives: in addition to learning the textual conventions of a letter, we exercise the development of questions, notably interview questions, and other elements such as the paragraph organization,” explains 3rd grade teacher Melissa Kassner. “In addition,” Ms. Kassner added, “we work on various elements of the socio-emotional curriculum, such as empathy for others, assertiveness in asking questions, the responsibility to read and respond, and even cooperation between divisions.” She highlights that the project, in many ways, is reminiscent of the pen pal projects of past generations. Seventh grade English teacher Maxine Rendtorff agrees with her colleague and adds that exchanging letters is a great way to create bonds between students from different grades: “the seventh graders loved receiving letters and getting to know the kids in 3rd grade, which is a very outgoing and friendly group,” she concludes.

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Chapel Mail

RELAUNCH Snack Bar reopens with delicious new treats After resuming classes on campus and gradually resuming normal activities, High School students were still missing the chance to share moments over snacks during breaks between classes at the school. Chapel’s nutrition department, in partnership with the student council (StuCo), reopened the Snack Bar in October. “We did some test-runs in September, and at the beginning of October, the Snack Bar officially reopened,” shares Marcia Berkowitz, chief nutritionist at Chapel. “For the moment,” she went on to elaborate, “we are open for two periods: in the morning break, between 9:40 and 10:00 a.m. and in the afternoon, between 3:40 and 4:00 p.m., to serve students on campus for after-school activities.” Following social distancing protocols, the snack bar attends two grade levels per day, to avoid agglomeration and to be able to serve all the students.

According to 12th grader Pedro Loureiro, student council president, reopening the Snack Bar was one of the first requests students made at the start of the school year. “In our meetings, we brainstorm and try to respond to student requests, since the goal of StuCo is to make student voices heard,” he states. It always works out. “We made some adaptations to please students and maintain all safety protocols, and everyone is loving it. There is a lot of traffic, and the Snack Bar is never empty,” comments 12th grader Carolina Versolato, who is vice-president of the organization.

The objective of the Snack Bar has always been to offer more quality than quantity, and one of the concerns of the school was offering fruit, foods that are baked instead of fried, whole-wheat and vegetarian products, fruit and chocolate ice cream, and some sweets, in 20-30 gram portions. “We always listen to students and offer healthy food. Now they wanted açaí and the request was granted,” comments Marcia Berkowitz, announcing the most recent novelty. However, the foods prepared by Chapel's kitchen remain the most popular, especially pão de queijo and cookies, which are in even higher demand. “Imagine the best thing in the world — that’s the Chapel cookie,” celebrates Pedro Loureiro. His classmate Carolina Versolato agrees, adding that “even though the Snack Bar offers industrialized food, the best sellers are those made by the school’s nutritional team, since we all know that Chapel has the best food among all the schools.”

In this new phase, StuCo members are working outside the Snack Bar, keeping the line organized and helping manage payments, and only one employee at the school handles the food, which is all individually packaged. All proceeds from the Snack Bar are directed back to the student council: “All the money spent by students at the Snack Bar always returns to them through StuCo projects,” concludes Pedro Loureiro.

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MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE Maria Fernanda Pagani | 5th grade Portuguese Teacher Influenced by her parents and inspired by the excellent teachers she had, Maria Fernanda Pagani always knew she wanted to be a teacher. While in high school, she served as a monitor, helping younger students at Consa (Colégio Franciscano Nossa Senhora Aparecida), where she studied. At the beginning of her undergraduate program studying languages (Portuguese-Spanish), she started her internship at her old high school and was sure of the career she would follow. “I had the privilege of interning with the Linguistics teachers who had taught me, and I was convinced that this would be my profession,” says the new 5th grade Portuguese teacher.

With a bachelor’s degree and a teaching license from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, she began working in the department of Spanish and Portuguese for Foreigners at the university, teaching both languages. At Mackenzie Language Center, Ms. Pagani welcomed new students, supporting and tutoring both Brazilians and foreigners. “I am passionate about learning new cultures and the process of language acquisition; bilingual education has always attracted me,” says the teacher, who also has a degree in Pedagogy. Driven by this passion, she completed her Master's Degree in Linguistics and Discourse Analysis — also at Mackenzie — and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Language Acquisition at the University of Montreal, in Canada.

At Chapel since the beginning of the semester, Ms. Pagani is loving the experience, “I am having the opportunity to live the very multicultural experience that had appealed to me so much, in addition to applying new methods that I had only studied theoretically,” she reveals. The thing that stands out the most about day-to-day life at Chapel is the sense of cordiality. In love with sports, the new teacher enjoys running, biking, and playing tennis in her free time. In terms of reading, her favorite genre is the journalistic essay, which she appreciates for its ability to capture daily cultural life.

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COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY Ana Flávia Souza | 1st grade Portuguese Teacher Ana Flávia Souza's life has always been surrounded by children. Since adolescence, when she was the one who took care of the little ones at family gatherings, volunteering at shelters — a practice she continues to this day — teaching yoga classes and mindfulness workshops for children and teenagers, culminating with her academic training, early childhood education, and motherhood. While studying Pedagogy at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Chapel’s new 1st grade Portuguese teacher participated in a two-and-a-half-year exchange program in Washington D.C., where she took courses in Psychology, focusing on human and child development, at George Mason University. Back in Brazil, she finished her undergraduate degree, specializing in Special Education. Soon after, she began her postgraduate work, studying Socioemotional Education at the Instituto Brasileiro de Formação de Educadores, and starting teaching in bilingual and international schools. Working in Early Childhood Education and Elementary School, Ms. Souza taught at Red House International School, Maple Bear, Camino School, and Escola Concept in São Paulo. When invited to participate in the selection process at Chapel, she really liked the school and the teaching philosophy, but what impressed her most was the socio-emotional curriculum: “We have to keep in mind the importance of emotional education, knowing that we can make a big difference by adopting a positive attitude. Knowing that Chapel invests in emotional education was fundamental for me,” she says. What’s more, Chapel's collaborative community and Christian values also caught her attention. “Here, people are very willing to help, regardless of the sector in which each one works,” she comments.

During her free time, Ms. Souza likes to spend time with her three children — Pedro Luiz, 10; Ana Luiza, 6; and Maria Fernanda, 18 months old. The family often travels to the interior of São Paulo, where they have a summer house. She also enjoys camping, hiking, and practicing yoga. “I also love to cook. It’s a way to calm my mind and focus my thoughts,” says the new teacher, who is responsible for the family’s birthday cakes and her famous apple and pumpkin pies, which she loves to prepare.

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AN EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Francis Koolman | High School English Teacher Born on the island of Curação and raised in Miami, Francis Koolman has a bachelor’s degree in English with a specialty in English Literature from Florida International University. The new High School English teacher reveals that his inspiration for a career in education came from his fifth grade teacher: “The first time I thought about becoming a teacher was taking classes with Mr. Phillips.” Much of his professional experience came in his birth country, teaching high school at the International School of Curaçao and for college students at the University of Curaçao.

In addition to teaching, Mr. Koolman has worked as a freelance journalist and also had a Jiu-jitsu academy. He has practiced jiu-jitsu since he was young — he currently holds a purple belt — which was responsible for his move to Brazil in 2017. At the time, he chose to live in Rio de Janeiro to follow the Brazilian form of the sport, developed by the Gracie family, some of whom he has met. While living there, he taught at Rio International School. During a ballroom dance class, he met the pediatrician Bruna, who he recently married.

Before the birth of Vicente, the couple's first child, Mr. Koolman and his wife decided to move to São Paulo in search of better quality of life. At Chapel since the end of July, the teacher is quite satisfied: “Chapel is very organized. When we think of an international school, it is the best representation of it,” he states. He praised the professional attitude of his colleagues and the quality of instruction.

“When I came to see the school and saw the infrastructure, I was very impressed, especially with ECEC,” he says.

In his leisure time, in addition to practicing jiu-jitsu, Mr. Koolman likes to dance to Latin rhythms like forró, samba, zouk, salsa, and bachata. His favorite dance partner is Bruna, who has been doing ballroom dancing for more than a decade. Currently, the couple is enjoying their new baby and, in their few free moments, taking the opportunity to get to know some of the sights of the new city. “I loved the Municipal Market. I feel safe in São Paulo,” he concludes.

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Your main goal in life is: My ambition is not to be remembered for making some big impact on the world, but to be remembered by every person I meet throughout my life, making a positive difference in their world.

Recall your best memory from Chapel.

There are so many….I don’t even know where to start.

When you ask about Chapel, every memory that comes to mind involves my friends. This week I had dinner with my friends from Chapel, and we spent the whole time recalling all the fun (and even pranks, hehe) that we had in the classroom. One of my best memories was our school trip to Paraty (RJ) in 8th grade. Getting the whole group together for a week in a hotel, taking boat rides, going to each other's rooms and talking until the sun came up….Even today when we talk about this trip, we discover new things that happened. My best memory is having them for the rest of my life.

How has Chapel influenced your life Chapel was my home for 15 years. It gave me lifelong friends, happy years, and taught me many things that are now the moral basis of many of my decisions. The lessons, experiences, and friendships I made during this time taught me about companionship, loyalty, character and, most importantly, about how to live with levity. I’ll always love and cherish those 15 years.

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CHAPEL’S BEST UNDER 40: Juliana Najm, age 25

Where she lives: São Paulo

When she studied at Chapel: from Pre I (1999) until 12th grade (2014)

What is your academic background?

I studied Business Administration at Boston University and graduated in 2018.

Briefly describe your professional life.

After graduating from college, I moved to New York, where I worked for the cosmetics company The Body Shop, where I was on the Public Relations and Marketing team. It’s been two years since I returned to Brazil to work at Natura, where I am part of the brand’s international expansion team, opening new stores around the world. Today, I am responsible for the retail, wholesale, and direct sales communications channels for our businesses outside of Latin America.