“All cultures are valid and existence is built on difference”. Malinowski
The Santo António School Group is located in Portugal, in Barreiro city, and has 7 educational establishments, with different levels from pre-school education to adult education and training. It‘s a ETPI School (Educational Territory of Priority Intervention), with a high number of cases of extreme poverty and low socioeconomic levels that are detected in this community of 25 different nationalities, the majority coming from immigrant families from African countries, and a large number of gipsy children. Therefore, the school group intends to be a reference, for the students and their families, and a promoter of academic and professional success and the student’s integral training, supported by the competences of the 21st century, demonstrating that, in this scenario of difference, it’s possible to work having as priority the school for all and with all.
Digital Manifesto
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the school group felt the need to organize a technological plan, in order to build a good communication bridge between School and Family, recognizing its importance as a key element for the success of children educational process. It has been developing a project called “From the family to the School – a window to the future”. This project aims, at first, to train teachers in digital literacy, not only to give them more qualifications to work with children, but also so that, later on, they can teach families and make them able to use various digital resources that allow them to closely monitor their children’s educational life, and maintain a close relationship with their School, promoting digital skills in all sectors of the educational community.
How we work
In the Communication process, between school and families, we developed some intervention strategies: The construction of training modules for teachers to empower them in the digital literacy field; The construction of training modules for families using digital tools; The use of different digital resources to communicate with families and others elements from he educational community by the Educator; The construction of Digital Ateliers for children, developed in challenging environments, where pedagogy combined with technology was privileged.
Our partners
In the field of personal and social development, we participated in several projects with different partners: the Ministry of Education; the High Commission for Migration, the “choices” Project; European Blue Flag Association (Eco-Schools programme); Vulnerable Neighborhoods Project, the local City Council and the Parish Council; the Training Center for Teachers in the cities of Barreiro and Moita, the GISP (Social and Psychological Intervention Office) and the Parents Association, which plays a fundamental role in the relationship between the school and the Families.
INCLUD-ED
Learning Communities – INCLUD-ED Project This project is based on the principle of dialogical learning through equality dialogue and aims to build a school with everyone and for everyone, from a perspective of inclusion and articulation with the family and the community, based on Success Educational Actions, which promote social and educational transformation. Its main goal is to achieve academic success and also coexistence and social cohesion. In teaching@Distance, Family Training and Dialogical, Artistic, Literary and Musical Gatherings were developed, aiming to improve the skills and awareness of adults who live with children on a daily basis, having a relevant impact on their children’s learning. These Dialogical Gatherings (Artistic, Literary and Musical) allowed children to contact, observe, listen and debate the most different themes and feelings. This contact with art allows them not only (and obviously) expanding artistic knowledge, as well as understanding and reflecting on crucial issues of Humanity, at the same time that it strengthens bonds, generates empathy and favors social coexistence.
REEI
The REEI Program – Network of Schools for Intercultural Education is an initiative of the High Commission for Migration, the Ministry of Education through the Directorate-General for Education (DGE) and the Aga Khan Portugal Foundation (AKF). Its purpose is to promote the reception, integration and educational success of all children and young people from pre-school education to secondary education, as well as to develop respect for differences and the establishment of positive relationships and interactions between students and other members of the educational community from different cultures. Inside this project, we aimed to encourage interaction between all, ensuring the development of educational practices that value culture and diversity. To achieve it in the kindergarten we promoted the use of the Stop Motion digital tool. Being an accessible digital tool, which can be used easily by the children, Stop Motion allows the development of actions that involves everyone in the learning process since it allows them to make films online or offline, alone or together with their family, giving these ones skills to reflect on their practices at home, developing skills and self-esteem of families in the area of digital literacy, increasing communication and collaboration between schools and families.
Where to find us:
School Adress: EB 2/3 Com Secundário de Santo António Rua António Aleixo 2835- 511 Santo António da Charneca
Phone number: +351 212150072
E-mail address: info@escolasdestantonio.edu.pt