Dear Team,

In this week's newsletter, please find our latest updates and important information, including:

A Message from the Principal
Special Shout-out
Update on Staff, Recruitment and reminders
Practical Information
- Action Research Programme
- Halloween is Coming to Aprendizes!
Upcoming Events
- First Book Club Session
- Nordic Approach to Education Workshop
- 3-Way Conferences
Section Stories
- The Dreamers and the Art of Making Friends
- Discover LERFLIX
- Sustainable Schools: Students Investigate our School
- 12th grade Math Project: The Rise of Plastic Production
Act Together
- New Partnership: Jiu-Jitsu for the Aprendizes Community
- Volunteering with Family or Friends: December Weekends
- Aprendizes in the Press
- News from the Kitchen

Reading the World - and Learning to Change It

There are few things I believe in more strongly than the importance of reading.

Not only because reading helps us learn languages, understand stories and succeed academically, but because it helps us make sense of the world. To question what we are told. To connect ideas. To explore the world. To understand different realities. To understand different perspectives. To become curious.

This makes the latest PISA results particularly relevant. PISA assesses how well 15-year-olds apply their knowledge to real-world situations, including reading, mathematics and science. The results show a worrying decline in reading performance, with Portugal also performing below the level seen when it first participated in PISA in 2000.

This is one of the reasons why, last year, we introduced daily reading in Primary. We also continue to place a strong focus on reading throughout the school. Reading is not just something we do in language lessons - it is a foundation for learning in every subject.

And now we are taking another step: we are starting the Aprendizes Book Club, initially in Portuguese, bringing together students, parents and staff around books and good conversations.

Interestingly, this week we have a high school English teacher from Denmark visiting us for job shadowing. She is the same teacher who welcomed one of our English teachers in Denmark earlier this year. She was surprised by how analogue we are compared with many Danish high schools.

For a long time, this might have been seen as a disadvantage. But perhaps we are beginning to understand that it can also be a strength. Across the Nordic countries, there is now growing reflection about the role of technology in schools, as distraction and excessive screen use are increasingly seen as part of the explanation for declining student performance.

Sometimes, books, paper, conversation and being fully present with one another are not old-fashioned. They are exactly what we need.

And I am equally proud of our 12th-grade students, who recently used Mathematics to investigate the growth of plastic production in the USA and Europe. They analysed exponential growth, created mathematical models and visualised their findings through posters - even predicting what production could look like by 2050.

Because learning Maths also means learning to read - and question - the world around us.

Making the A-level curriculum come alive like this is not easy. So, a big shout-out to our Maths teacher for making it happen.

Rikke

ABOUT THIS SPACE

This space is for colleagues, by colleagues — it’s not from the management, it’s from the team, for the team. It’s about valuing what we are together, recognizing the effort, care, and presence. If you’d like to thank a colleague, this is the place. It will be published in the next newsletter.

SHOUT OUT

A huge thank you to Liz Nash and the Languages Department for all the wonderful activities they prepared for Languages Day. Your creativity and enthusiasm made it a truly special celebration of the many languages and cultures in our community. (From TfD)

A big thank you to The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Team (Liz Nash, Diogo Santos, Laura Cercas and Joana Xardoné) for all their dedication and hard work in supporting our students throughout the programme. (From TfD)

We're very grateful to Vanessa Fevereiro and Lorena Hungria for organising such a lovely event for journalists and opinion leaders. (From TfD)

A huge thank you to Bárbara Portugal, Silvana Silva, Claudia Branco, Afonso Olvidio, Ruben Gouveia, Ana Fernandes, Sofia Marques, Janet Ferreira, Rita Cruz, Salomé Caeiro, Maria Teixeira, Berta Pereira, Diana Figueiredo, Inês Ramos, Inês Farrusco, Filipa Rodrigues and Nicoly Mendes for all their hard work supporting our students at the end of the day, throughout the year and especially at the start of this school year and the extra-curricular activities. Your support is essential to keeping everything running smoothly and to making sure our students feel safe and cared for every day. (From Diogo Santos)

RECRUIT

WE’RE LOOKING FOR A NEW:

IT, ICT & Computer Science Teacher for Middle and Secondary
Head Teacher for Primary

Great things happen when the right people come together. If someone comes to mind, please send them our way!

ACTION RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for this year's Action Research Programme! Our first face-to-face meeting will take place on 6–7 November (Friday afternoon and Saturday morning), with Phil and Helen Whitehead guiding our researchers once again.

Please remember that attendance at all sessions, both face-to-face and online, is mandatory.

We're excited to see where your research takes us this year!

HALLOWEEN IS COMING TO APRENDIZES!

On the morning of 23/10, Pre-School, Primary and Middle School will be celebrating with our Trunk or Treat, and in the afternoon Middle School will keep the fun going with a party in the Refectory. Throughout the week, our Secondary students will be taking part in Spirit Week, with a different theme each day.

We're counting on everyone to make these days special, so get your costumes ready and join in the fun!

Pre-School

Primary

Middle

Secondary

Whole Community

Staff

13 OCT | Nordic Education: Learning from Erasmus | Library | 17:30–19:00
23 OCT | House Sport – Any Sport | 13:30–14:10
06 NOV | Action Research Programme | Library | 16:30–18:00
07 NOV | Action Research Programme | Library | 09:00–12:00

FIRST BOOK CLUB SESSION

Join us for the opening session of the Aprendizes Book Club 2026/27, on 13 October, from 18:30 to 20:00, in the Library. We begin with Debaixo de Água, by Tara Menon, in a conversation facilitated by Cristina Rodriguez and Ana Luísa Carneiro. An evening to read together, exchange perspectives and discover where a book can take a conversation. Free to staff.

More information here: https://www.aprendizes.pt/clube-de-leitura-dos-aprendizes-2627

NORDIC APPROACH TO EDUCATION WORKSHOP

As part of Erasmus Days, we invite our entire school community to join us for a workshop on the Nordic Approach to Education, on 13 October, from 17:00 to 18:30, in our Library.

The Nordic approach is an important pillar of our educational philosophy, reflected in principles such as equality and inclusion, wellbeing and care, autonomy and trust, holistic and project-based learning, cooperation rather than competition, and connection with nature.

Over the past year, several of our teachers visited Northern European countries through Erasmus+ exchanges, while we also welcomed Swedish colleagues and German students to share experiences and best practices.

This workshop is an opportunity to bring those learnings together and share them with our community. To register: Workshop: Nordic Education - Learning from Erasmus + for Schools – Fill in form

3-WAY CONFERENCES

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, 11 November

Our 3-Way Conference Day is coming! This is a moment for our students to take charge of their learning. Each student will share their own reflection on how they are doing, both academically and beyond the classroom, and set the goals they want to achieve in the coming months.

It is a time to reflect together, with parents and head teachers by their side, because learning is a shared journey.

Please note there will be no lessons on this day. Parents will receive more information by email.

THE DREAMERS AND THE ART OF MAKING FRIENDS

The “Sonhadores” class listened to Meesha Makes Friends by Tom Percival, the story of a girl who shares how she makes friends and builds her own handmade toys. Inspired by her, the children created a class mural sharing their own ideas about friendship. Then, just like the girl in the story, they made toys with their own hands.

A lovely reminder that friendships, like toys, are built together.

DISCOVER LERFLIX

Reading is about more than learning. It sparks curiosity, stimulates imagination and helps children discover the joy of a good story. LERFLIX is a new Primary project created to encourage children to discover new books and develop a love of reading. Every month, teachers come together to curate new recommendations, organised by grade and available in English and Portuguese as an additional language.

The LERFLIX mural can be found at the school reception. Next time you’re at school, stop by, explore the latest suggestions and discover the books that could become part of your child’s reading journey.

SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS: STUDENTS INVESTIGATE OUR SCHOOL

In their Global Perspectives lessons with Ms Luci Freitas, students are working on the Sustainable Schools project. To get started, they welcomed representatives from different school departments involved in sustainability, who explained how Aprendizes works day to day.

Using this information, students will now look closely at how the school operates and develop their own projects to help make it even more sustainable.

12TH GRADE MATH PROJECT: THE RISE OF PLASTIC PRODUCTION

In Mr Matteo Pisano's Maths class, Year 12 students investigated plastic production in the US and EU, from 1950 to 2015. Using logarithmic linearisation, they calculated exponential growth and projected figures for 2050. Mathematical analysis, graphs and posters.

NEW PARTNERSHIP: JIU-JITSU FOR THE APRENDIZES COMMUNITY

Aprendizes has a new partnership with Five Elements Jiu Jitsu Cascais, with classes held at Mujō, in the centre of Cascais.

As part of the partnership, Aprendizes staff receive 50% off their first month of jiu-jitsu, with no joining fee.

VOLUNTEERING WITH FAMILY OR FRIENDS: DECEMBER WEEKENDS

Refood Cascais, one of the school's partners, is a social organisation that collects surplus food and distributes it to families in need. On 5, 6, 12 and 13 December (Saturdays and Sundays), Refood is looking for volunteers to wrap gifts at Continente in CascaiShopping.

Shifts last just 2 hours and make a real difference. It's a fun activity for families with children aged 10 to 14, or for groups of friends aged 15 and over.

To take part, please fill in the form by 5 November.

APRENDIZES IN THE PRESS

Over the past few months, Aprendizes has been in the news, and we couldn't be prouder of our pupils.

The ReLIEable Museum (Museu da Mentira), created by our pupils to help us think more carefully before believing everything we see, read or hear, was featured in Expressinho.

Our participation in Cidade do Zero, in Lisbon, where we brought zero-waste cooking and a reflection on the school of the future, reached publications such as Sábado, Correio da Manhã, Green Savers, Sustainable Living and A Cidadina.

Thank you to all the pupils, team members and families who make these projects possible. You can also find all the articles in the "In Press" highlight on our Instagram.

NEWS FROM THE KITCHEN

INTERNATIONAL DAYS IN THE KITCHEN:
15 OCT | Mexico

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