Dear parents, guardians, and students,
In this week's newsletter, please find our latest updates and important information, including:
Senior Car Wash
Middle School Art Exhibition
Summer Pre-University Info Session
As You Like It | Middle School Play
Career Day | We Need You!
Hosting German Erasmus+ Students
Wait Until Later pledge
News from the Library
News from the Kitchen
From ME to WE
Dear Parents,
At Aprendizes, we often talk about helping children move from ME behaviour - focused on their own wants - to WE behaviour - acting with responsibility, autonomy and care for the community.
Feeling that they matter and contribute is one of the strongest protective factors for children’s mental health, according to the World Health Organization. When children know others rely on them, their sense of belonging and resilience grows.
At school, this happens through small daily responsibilities. Our preschool and primary students have weekly classroom tasks, and older students are increasingly involved in volunteering and helping around the school. They also contribute beyond campus - fundraising for the dog shelter, supporting victims of the storms near Leiria, and singing Christmas carols at the Retirement Home.
Our recent Regeneration Festival was another beautiful example of this spirit. A big thank you to all the staff, parents, students and visitors who made the three days such a wonderful experience. Events like this remind us that education is not only about learning for ourselves, but about caring for each other and the world we share.
During the festival, our psychologist Luísa Heitor led a workshop on belonging, and today many parents joined psychologist Silja Litvin for the conversation “Wait Until Later” about postponing smartphones and social media. Both conversations point to the same goal: helping children grow strong relationships, responsibility and real-world connection.
Thank you for working with us - at school and at home.
Rikke
13 MAR | Senior Car Wash | Parking | 09:00-10:40
13 MAR | DofE Expedition | 16:00-19:00
16 MAR | Exploradores | Field Trip | Vitamimos | 09:15-12:30
16 MAR | Middle | Art Exhibition Opening Ceremony | 16:00-17:00
16-20 MAR | Middle Art Exhibition | Main Building
16-17 MAR | For Students | LASA Tournament – Girls Basketball/Boys Football | Off-Campus
18 MAR | Grade 1A | Field Trip | Biblioteca de Cascais | 08:30-16:30
18 MAR | Middle School House Meeting Assembly | Library | 11:30-12:30
19 MAR | Secondary students | Pre-University Summer Courses & Other Summer Opps | Library | 16:00-18:00
20 MAR | Investigadores | Field Trip | Palácio da Ajuda | 09:00-14:00
20 MAR | Grade 12 | Pizza (and crepes) Night | Tent | 16:00-18:00
20 MAR | School community | Middle School Play | As You Like It | SMUP | 18:00
23 MAR | Primary | Drama, Music & Art Presentation | Library | 11:00-15:30
24 MAR | Open Day for Teachers | Library | 16:30-17:30
25 MAR | Grade 1C | Field Trip | Biblioteca de Cascais | 08:30-16:30
26 MAR | Secondary | Career Day | Village 2 | 14:00-16:00
27 MAR | Preschool | Egg Hunting | Vegetable Garden | 08:45-11:45
27 MAR | School Community | End of 2nd Term | 12:00
30 MAR-10 APR | School Community | Easter Holidays
13 APR | School Community | Start of 3rd Term
21 APR | Primary Students and Parents | Student-Led Conferences (Students, Teachers & Parents) | in-person in School
22 APR | DofE Award Ceremony | Library | 17:00
All parents
SENIOR CAR WASH
Tomorrow, 13 March, from 09:00 to 10:40, final-year students will host a Car Wash in the Parking area to raise funds for their graduation trip. Bring your car, support the seniors, and help them reach their goal. Reserve your slot here.
All community
MIDDLE SCHOOL ART EXHIBITION
We are delighted to invite you to our Middle School Art Exhibition featuring work by our 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, created throughout the school year.
Opens next Monday, 16 March, from 4 to 5 pm, with a special performance by the Middle School Choir. It will be open for one week only!
Secondary students and parents
SUMMER PRE-UNIVERSITY INFO SESSION
Join us on 19 March at 16:00 in the Library for an information session for secondary students and parents, in partnership with IEC.
Learn about short summer courses for ages 14–17, explore study areas linked to future careers, and discover ways to strengthen your university profile during the summer.
All community
AS YOU LIKE IT | MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAY
On Friday 20th March, students from Grades 5–7 will take to the stage with a modern reworking of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
There will be two performances at SMUP, Parede - Sociedade Musical União Paredense
14:30 – for all Middle School students
18:00 – for the wider school community, parents, family and friends
Tickets are free and available from the front desk until Wednesday 18th March.
Parents
CAREER DAY | WE NEED YOU!
Dear Parents, On 26 March, we will host our Career Day and warmly invite you to share your professional journey with our secondary students.
We will only need about 30 minutes to one hour of your time during the afternoon, and we hope you can inspire our students by sharing your experiences and stories and by being available to answer their questions.
Interested in taking part? Please send an email to claudiameireles@aprendizes.pt.
HOSTING GERMAN ERASMUS+ STUDENTS
Dear Families, from 19–25 April, we will welcome German Grade 8 and 9 students through the Erasmus+ programme. We are looking for families willing to host one or two students for six nights, offering them a true cultural experience. If you are interested, please email erasmus@aprendizes.pt during next week.
PRESCHOOL
A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC AND LEARNING
Our preschool students presented a special music performance for their parents, showcasing the songs and pieces they have been practising since last term.
PRIMARY
PRIMARY STUDENT COUNCIL: IDEAS AT WORK
The Primary Student Council has been actively representing classmates and contributing ideas to improve school life at Aprendizes.
Throughout the term, they made several suggestions and successfully implemented some of them, such as introducing two new soups to the menu, chosen by the students.
MIDDLE
LIVING MUSEUM KICKS OFF HUMANITIES WEEK
On the first day of Humanities Week, our 5th and 6th Grade students transformed the school entrance into a vibrant Living Museum. Bringing significant figures from world history to life, they shared their research through interactive presentations and conversations with visitors.
MIDDLE & SECONDARY
STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES: CELEBRATING LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Middle and Secondary students held in-person Student-Led Conferences with their parents and teachers.
By taking ownership of the discussion, students strengthened their confidence, communication skills, and sense of responsibility, reinforcing the partnership between school and home in supporting their continued growth.
REGENERATION FESTIVAL: LEARNING, CREATING, ACTING FOR A BETTER WORLD
For three inspiring days, the Regeneration Festival brought the Aprendizes community together to explore the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through creativity, action, and collaboration.
They discovered the power of circular systems, biodiversity protection, responsible water use, and zero-waste practices, while developing projects to improve their communities. Alongside these activities, solidarity campaigns encouraged giving and collective responsibility.
WAIT UNTIL LATER PLEDGE
The Parents Digital Wellbeing Committee recently launched the Wait Until Later pledge, to give parents the confidence, sense of community to delay giving personal devices to their kids. Research shows that the earlier a child has their own phone, the higher the likelihood of mental health problems later on. Not to say anything about the risk of addition to games and social media, the distraction from notifications and more. Dr Silja Litvin came to the school to talk all about this on March 12.
The pledge calls parents to commit to not giving a phone to their kids until age 14, and ban social media until 16, and connects like-minded parents so they can support each other (day-to-day and in sleepovers, playdates, etc).
As of this writing, we have over 85 pledges – join us here.
NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY
As George R. R. Martin said, reading allows us to live many lives. Inspired by this idea, the library is launching a project this month, with the help of Father Allan Nascimento, to encourage reading, featuring books selected for all year groups.
Visit the library and discover our suggestions. You can also use the Reader Support Service: tell us what you enjoy reading or what you are curious to explore, and we will recommend the ideal book for you. Contact: library@aprendizes.pt.
NEWS FROM THE KITCHEN
NEW STUDENT-CREATED SALAD
During the Regeneration Festival, students created and voted for a new salad to join our menu.
The winning choice is a delicious chickpea, roasted red pepper and feta salad — fresh, colourful and full of flavour which will already be available on next week’s menu.
