Category

Uncategorized

VIII Educational Conference: those in the audience did their part!

By | Activities, Board, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

VIII Educational Conference: those in the audience did their part!

The morning of 8 June, a rainy Saturday, included in a long weekend, was intensely experienced by the 80 or so participants in the VIII EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL DAYS of the Aver-o-Mar School Group, with the general theme “And you, can you/do you want to change the world?”.

The musical opening was provided by Miro Couto, whose voice wasn’t taken away by the early hours of the morning – quite the opposite!

In his opening speech, Carlos Gomes de Sá, in his capacity as director of the grouping, had the opportunity to pay tribute to Dr Luís Diamantino, vice-president of Póvoa de Varzim City Council, as the municipality has always supported the grouping, highlighting its permanent stance and support.

Thanks were also given to the Quantal company and the CCR Group (seven will be presented at a later date), who are regular partners in many of the school’s activities, as part of the social responsibility they promote.

The speech by Paulo Azevedo, the first speaker, left no one indifferent, with tears flowing, either from the story or from the sense of humour imposed on his contagious communication. The final hugs, the words exchanged, the confidences… these are memories that will linger with everyone present.

The snack was the responsibility of the Health Club, under the guidance of Prof Isabel Campos and with the support of AO Fátima Silva.

Also noteworthy was the logistical support of the Communication Club, while the Arts and Robotics Club and the CAA also collaborated in the production and customising of the souvenirs.

In the second panel, after the viewing of Professor Carlos Neto’s TEDEx, who was unable to attend for health reasons, the moderator Carla Peixoto Melo de Carvalho Vila do Conde City Council’s Councillor for Education, promoted a discussion on digital projects involving teacher training, with the director of PVVC Teachers Training Centre, Luis Fernandes, focusing on international projects, and Marco Bento spoke about the naturalisation of digital, contrasting it, with incisive notes of humour, with the demonisation of technology.

The session ended with a presentation of the 7 previous editions by Andreia Teixeira, a social worker at the school, and the morning was rounded off with an infectious performance by David Freitas, who, together with Marco Paulo, got everyone singing! For those who dared to take part, we’re sure the time wasn’t wasted – on the contrary!

Thank you to everyone who took part and to all those who collaborated, in the certainty that everyone was willing to do their bit!

PLASTIC CAPS AND CORK STOPPERS COLLECTION CONTEST: RESULTS

By | Activities, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

PLASTIC CAPS AND CORK STOPPERS COLLECTION CONTEST: RESULTS

 

Now that the day has come to close the competitions to collect plastic bottle tops and cork stoppers, it’s time to publish and report the results.

Before that, the Eco-Schools Club and its coordinators would like to congratulate and thank everyone who took part in this activity, because more important than the prize is the cause we’ve joined and the fact that each of us is doing a little bit to protect the environment.

As of today, around 1,000 jugs of plastic caps have been delivered to Lipor and 950kg of cork to Continente as part of the ‘Green Cork 2023/2024 cork stopper collection campaign’ promoted by Quercus and Continente.

In terms of results, the big winners are: the NA3A class from the Navais Elementary School, in the plastic bottle cap collection competition, with 444 bottles collected, and the NA1A 1st grade class from the Navais Elementary School, in the cork stopper collection competition, with 300 bottles delivered.

Thus, on 14th June, during the Interculturality Festival – Escola Viva: Ciência em movimento, the students from these classes will receive a diploma recognising their fantastic work, and on 4th June they will receive the grand prize, a study visit to Lipor where they will be able to visit its facilities and enjoy the adventure park.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the operational assistants for their involvement and excellent collaboration in the logistics of these competitions, especially the assistants in Hall B, Mrs Delfina and Mrs Rosana.

Although the internal competition is over, this is no reason to give up. We’ll continue to collect and deliver the caps and corks to the school for the good of the environment and our future!

The Eco-Schools coordinators

Filipe Santos and Sandra Pinheiro

AVER-O-MAR WINS ENERGY UP GRAND PRIZE: €20,000 IN SOLAR PANELS

By | Board, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

AVER-O-MAR WINS ENERGY UP GRAND PRIZE: €20,000 IN SOLAR PANELS

After learning on 14 May that we were one of the 10 national finalist schools in the Galp Energy Up 2024 project, we set off for Lisbon with renewed enthusiasm, having already won first prize twice.

We came with the certainty that we would be on the podium, but when we saw the three podium places awarded in each of the three categories, we were surprised… There was even some dismay among the students, as we didn’t go on stage, until the Galp Energy UP 2024 Grand Prize was announced and the name ‘Escola Básica de Aver-o-Mar’ was

announced!!! The joy was contagious and the shouts given in Lisbon, at the Pavilion of Knowledge, were heard in the Aver-o-Mar Grouping, throughout the city of Póvoa de Varzim!!!

We are the winners of the Grand Prize, awarded to the school that obtained the best score in all the competition criteria (prize not cumulative with the 1st place prizes per school level). In other words, the jury made up of Future Up partners (“ADENE – Agência para a Energia”, “APA – Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente”, “DGE – Direção Geral de Educação”), a media partner, a civil society representative from an NGO – Galp Solar (Galp group company) and the Galp Foundation, awarded our project the best score on all the criteria: the relationship and suitability of the solutions to the theme of efficiency in energy consumption.

(20 per cent); the relationship and appropriateness between the problems identified and the solutions applied with regard to energy efficiency (25 per cent); the innovation shown in the proposed solutions (10 per cent); the quality of the execution and implementation of the solutions (15 per cent); interdisciplinarity (including the ENEC domains) and transversality in the development of the project (10 per cent); the involvement of the community/partnerships (10 per cent); the conditions created for the continuity/sustainability of the solutions in the schools (5 per cent); the potential for replicability of the solutions (5 per cent).

The prize awarded corresponds to an installation of Galp solar panels, up to €20,000.00. It is estimated that this investment value allows for the installation of solar panels up to a maximum installed power of 30 kWp, a value that will be confirmed depending on the existing conditions, an investment that will be very important in terms of energy consumption in a school that has been committed to energy efficiency and sustainability in its projects, which are constantly being developed and updated.

The ceremony ended with a surprise, much to the delight of the hundreds of young people, with a performance by singer Diogo Piçarra. It was one of the most recorded and participated moments, not forgetting the morning visits to the exhibitions at the Pavilion of Knowledge and the direct action in experiments in the Chemistry Laboratory, where the students from Aver-o-Mar also proved to be good experts! Before returning, after a quick visit to the ‘Parque das Nações’ area, there was still time to taste the typical Belém custard tarts and enjoy an ice cream, not forgetting the dozens of photos and interviews given (to various reporters from the organisation, MegaHits, Observador, Jornal Económico…) so this was undoubtedly an unforgettable day for the students involved, who represented all their classmates.

 

Last but not least, Pedro Fernandes’ mention on RFM, shortly after 6pm and with the broadcast already being heard in the van on the way back, of the students from Aver-o-Mar Primary School, the big winners of EnergyUp 2024. On arrival, almost 16 hours after

leaving, and with parents already waiting, one last record, this time with a ‘mug’, 3D printed by António Cunha, was, after all, we have always won this challenge!

For the past five years, the Energy Up Prize has honoured schools that have developed exemplary projects in the areas of energy transition, sustainable mobility and more efficient energy consumption. This year, 80 applications were submitted, from schools all over the country, so this is an achievement that we believe fills the whole region with pride.

The Energy Up Award is an integral part of the Future Up Education Programme, which has the institutional support of the Directorate-General for Education (DGE), the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Energy Agency (ADENE), and for the 2022-2024 biennium will be co-financed by the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), as part of the Plan to Promote Efficiency in Energy Consumption. This Galp Foundation programme has already mobilised 21,000 schools across the country, mainland Portugal and the islands, impacting more than 2.2 million teachers and students.

The school submitted the Apolo Up project to the competition (an evolution of previous projects, which were developed using funds won in previous editions), in an application drawn up by the headmaster, Carlos Gomes de Sá, the social worker, Andreia Teixeira, with António Cunha as head of the Robotics Club, as well as the involvement of dozens of students and teachers directly involved in the project, in particular teachers Filipe Santos and Fátima Morais, who coordinate two other IoT projects that were national finalists in a Synopsis competition.

The school thanks all its partners and especially Póvoa de Varzim City Council for the support it has always given to the different activities and, in particular, for travelling to this award, believing that we represent the entire municipality in an exemplary way

The final video can be seen at the following link: Apolo UP AE Aver o Mar – YouTube

A video with records of this memorable day will be published soon, but we’ll leave you with a few records for now!

Aver-o-Mar School celebrates “Blue School Day”

By | Activities, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

Aver-o-Mar School celebrates “Blue School Day”

Aver-o-Mar School celebrated Blue School Day on 20 May with a series of activities dedicated to sustainability and environmental preservation. The celebration was attended by 121 students and 12 teachers, who came together for a beach clean-up with the support of the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN) and the Circular Seas project. Together, they managed to collect around 50kg of waste, contributing to the conservation of the local coastline.

As well as cleaning the beach, the school organised the exhibition ‘The Sargasso: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’, with the support of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Marine and Envi

information on the historical and ecological importance of sargassum, highlighting its relevance to the marine ecosystem.

To mark the date in an even more special way, a commemorative mural was created. The students used the Canva platform to create posters depicting their memories of the projects and activities developed over the three years that the school has been part of the Blue School programme. The initiative not only celebrated past achievements, but also encouraged the continuation of sustainable practices for the future.

The event was a success, reinforcing the Aver-o-Mar Primary School’s commitment to environmental education and the training of citizens who are aware of and active in protecting the oceans.

Graça Pinheiro

THANKS POLICE FORCE-SAFE SCHOOL

By | Activities, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

THANKS POLICE FORCE-SAFE SCHOOL

The Aver-o-Mar School Group took part in SprinFest24, which took place in the City Park on 15 May. According to the press release, this year 182 pupils from the 3rd cycle, 14 teachers and the school psychologist travelled on foot to the venue (around 3km), and this walk to and from the event has been accompanied by the PSP-Safe School.

The organisers of the activity, which involved almost 200 people from the main school, under the responsibility of teacher Margarida Salazar, sent a thank you note to the Board of Directors, which we would like to share and also send to the security forces involved, as the success of the activity is the result of these partnerships:

‘I’d like to let you know how the security forces played their part in accompanying Spring Fest’24. Both in the morning and in the afternoon, the officers were elegant, careful and extremely professional. They were extremely careful with the whole group and very friendly. For this they deserve praise and my personal thanks.’

We would like to thank the Police Officers of Póvoa de Varzim, mainly the Safe School Segura officers involved, ‘Thank you very much!’

MEETING WITH PARENTS: “THE TRANSITION BETWEEN CYCLES”

By | Activities, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

MEETING WITH PARENTS: “THE TRANSITION BETWEEN CYCLES”

 

This was a meeting highlighted by the presence, attitude, interest and respect that, once again, the Parents/Guardians of the students in this school group showed when they took part, on 23 April, at the Head School, with the EMAEI (Multidisciplinary Support Team for Inclusive Education) and the SPO (Psychology and Guidance Service) in promoting and raising awareness of the change that involves students from pre-school education to the 3rd cycle.

EMAEI’s goals are to stimulate and share practices, thoughts and information in order to promote, in a single and specific direction, more and better actions among educational agents, in this particular case, Parents/Guardians. It will be between the school structures and others responsible for the teaching-learning process, in what is known as collaborative work, that the most hoped-for results will be achieved.

So, with a booked room, we tackled some of the issues that most concern parents/SENs, summarising the intervention in one main question – how to deal with children/students in the face of change? Almost all parents/EEs anticipate, along with their children, the embarrassment and discomfort of finding themselves in a different space, with different agents and different models of action. There is also the uncertainty of the decision to be made in the face of choices of schools, subjects, timetables, etc., and in some cases, the lack of legal knowledge of actions, with difficult choices to be made, but which will be their final decision.

The attentive and motivated audience asked questions, clarified doubts, put forward proposals and participated in the suggestive discourse to support work and routines, both at home and at school, embarking on more than an hour of sharing that pleased and enriched the meeting!

A big congratulations to all those who took part and collaborated in making this dynamic a reality, which fosters the rooting and growth of an active, responsible and inclusive school culture

EMAEI and SPO are delighted with this meeting and remain available to continue collaborating with all those involved in the teaching-learning process of each student.

Thank you

Aver-o-world outer doors: students showcase their countries at the Aver-o-Mar Occupational Centre

By | Activities, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

Aver-o-world outer doors: students showcase their countries at the Aver-o-Mar Occupational Centre

 

The foreign student integration plan at Agrupamento de Escolas de Aver-o-Mar includes, in some cases, introducing their country to their classmates. The activity, supervised by Social Worker Andreia Teixeira, has been much appreciated by the immigrant students’ classmates, providing additional knowledge of cultural, gastronomic and linguistic aspects, as well as being an excellent lever for interpersonal relationships.

As a result of this extremely positive experience, and with the permission of the parents, who have positively registered this rapprochement and involvement of the students with the local community, this initiative moved from the school to the community, with the first session taking place yesterday, 29 April, out of doors! The venue chosen was the Aver-o-Mar Occupational Centre, already a partner in other events, and two students from Aver-o-Mar Primary School came along: Akeelah Augusto Mendes, an 8th grader from Mozambique, and Ritika Mahato, a 6th grader from Nepal.

In addition to a geographical presentation of the countries, supported by maps and images and some iconic places in their native countries, there was also a presentation of cultural and gastronomic aspects, which was a source of great curiosity. The dress worn by Ritika was also a source of attention, allowing the dozens of elderly people present to come into contact with this new reality, as they were surprised by the 25 national costumes.

Many of the users still remember the expression “Namastê”, because this intergenerational meeting also encourages people to learn words from other languages, so that they can say hello and goodbye, for example.

In the end, as well as lots of hugs, there was a promise to return in a fortnight’s time to explore other aspects, such as dance and music, in this effective process of interculturality, which will be extended to other institutions in the school’s catchment area.

 

We share some of José Carlos Marques |CMPV’s photos with students Akeelah Mendes, Ritika Mahato, social worker Andreia Teixeira and dozens of users of the Aver-o-Mar Occupational Centre and their carers, whom we thank for their willingness to receive us.

SOLD OUT  THE PLAY “THE TURNBACK PRINCE”

By | Activities, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

SOLD OUT  THE PLAY “THE TURNBACK PRINCE”

The AverTeatro group performed Ilse Rosa’s play “The Turnip Prince”, adapted by Andreia Teixeira, in the school auditorium on Friday 12 April. The show was very well attended and completely filled the auditorium, nearby corridors and outside windows!!! Three more shows are planned, two on Friday 19th for the students and the final one on April 24th at 2.30pm for the community, with the participation of users from the Aver-o-Mar Occupational Centre and the Aguçadoura Parish Social Centre, in this inter-operational work that has guided many of the Group’s activities, from pre-school education to the 3rd cycle.

Congratulations to everyone who helped out, with special thanks to the props provided, which gave the performance an even more special atmosphere, especially the coordination of the wardrobe by Mrs Ana Cândida, using clothes belonging to the school (work by the History Club). The poster is the responsibility of Fátima Cunha and the adaptation and staging of the multifaceted social worker, Andreia Teixeira, who also plays, along with this very worthy group of students: Diana Dias, 6F; Letícia rigor 6F; Diana Rigor 8D; Sara Santos 9C; Gabriela Dias 9E; Inês Loureiro 9B; Matilde Eusébio 6C; Leonardo Rodrigues 9A; Matilde Salgado 9A; Catarina Pereira 5D; Bruna David 6C; Francisca Neves 6C; Mariana Silva 9B; Marta Silva 9B; Inês Santos 9B; Marisa Gonçalves 5B; Giovanna Valier 6D; Diana Eusébio 6F; Cristiana Moreira 6B; Diana Neves 6B; Ângela Neves, 6th C; David Marcelo 7B; Lucas Silva 6A; Daminik Butsen 9A; Tatiana Fernandes 5F; Laura Costa 5E; Gonçalo Pinheiro 8D; Rodrigo Silva 5B; Margarida Carreira 5E; Inês Canelas 5E; Anna Oliveira 6D; Luna Medeiros 5C; Lara Moça 5F; Samuel Cavalheira 5D; Lia Malta 5F; Matilde Valentim 9A.

Congratulations to the AverTeatro Group, who will dedicate themselves after this play to preparing their end-of-year work, a staging alluding to the 25th of April.

Some photos from the session on 12 April.

 

VIII Educational and Social Days – 8th June

By | Board, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

VIII Educational and Social Days – 8th June

 

The Aver-o-Mar School Group will be holding its 8th Social and Educational Conference on 8 June at the Póvoa de Varzim Municipal Auditorium.

The meeting, which has the collaboration of the Póvoa de Varzim Municipality and the Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde Schools Training Centre, is supported by the companies Grupo CCR and Quantal SA, entities with a strong social responsibility in the environment where they are based, and its main motto is: Can you / do you want to change the world

The doors open at 8.30am and the session begins 15 minutes later with a musical performance by the musician and singer Mira Couto. Carlos Gomes de Sá, director of the school, and Luís Diamantino, vice-president of Póvoa de Varzim City Council, will be responsible for the opening session, in a day that is expected to be well attended by teachers and non-teachers, as the session is open to the community, although prior registration (free of charge) is mandatory, via the links below, and depending on the capacity of the space.

Over the course of the morning, a debate will be organised around three panels, two of which will ask a new question: “Can we overcome the barriers of the world?” In this context, we will learn about Paulo Azevedo’s certainly impactful presentation, “Difficult does not mean impossible”, as well as David Freitas’ impactful journey, with the project “On the route of the Peoples”.

Andreia Teixeira, a social worker at the Aver-o-Mar School Group, will invite those present to take a journey through the seven previous sessions at these Days which, when they began, were far from imagining that one day they would go out of doors! But the range of speakers led the organisation to believe that their auditorium would be insufficient, as it is believed that the panel “Technologies at school: ignoring, integrating, making responsible” will provide a very interesting debate on the subject. Moderating this panel will be Vila do Conde City Council’s Councillor for Education, Carla Peixoto, with the following speeches as a starting point: “Digital in teacher training”, by Luís Fernandes, director of CFAE Póvoa de Varzim/ Vila do Conde; “Technologies in school: naturalisation vs demonisation” will be discussed by Professor Marco Bento; Professor Carlos Neto, well known for his advocacy of physical activity in schools, will present a paper on “Play in the digital age”.

Who knows if the first requirement for changing the world isn’t the will?

Don’t miss out on this discussion. Register now, as places are limited.

Poster and Programme: VIII Conference_final_poster 17.04

Registration (using the QrCode on the poster or the links below:

Teachers (STC): Article (webprodesign.pt

General public: Article (webprodesign.pt)

Aver-o-Mar school group at the Póvoa de Varzim at Global Action Days | – Eco-Schools

By | Activities, Highlights, Uncategorized | No Comments

Aver-o-Mar school group at the Póvoa de Varzim at Global Action Days | – Eco-Schools

Aver-o-Mar School Group is taking part in the Global Action Days | Eco-Schools, taking place from 22 April to 3 May, and is the only school in the municipality taking part.

The FEE’s Global Action Days (GAD), which involve 44 municipalities, are a stimulus to demonstrate how individual actions, however small they may seem, can have a big impact. The actions that the schools will carry out, in association with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will be published on the globalactiondays.abaae.pt page. This sharing of good practice is very important, as it demonstrates how Eco-Schools work with the 17 SDGs on a daily basis, which is one of the focuses of the action carried out in our Grouping.

Help-Desk