Quick summary of key school information
All the details about this school in their own words
Nationalities
| Number of students |
270 |
| Number of nationalities represented in the school |
Around 8 |
| Most common nationality |
Brazilian |
| Ratio of local students to international students |
Nowadays it is around 10% international students |
Languages
| Native English and Portuguese speaking teachers |
Not all of the teachers are native speakers, but they all have, at least a C1, English certification. Most of them are from Brasil and we also have teachers from different nationalities. |
| Language support for students not fluent in English and Portuguese |
Yes we promote ELL classes when students with no english knowledge enroll in elementary school. |
| Additional language classes offered by the school |
We offer spanish lessons starting from Year 3 |
Classroom
| Max. number of students per class |
Be.Living chooses to work with small groups:
|
| Average number of students per class |
Yellow Orange- 12
|
| Does the school employ teaching assistants? |
We have teacher assistants in most of the groups.
|
| Use of technology in the classroom |
We use technology to enrichen our project based program. |
| Is the school ready to use virtual classrooms when needed? (e.g. teaching lessons online if the school is closed, e.g. during COVID-19 closures) |
Yes, the school has quickly organized a new way of teaching and interacting with students. Our remote program is based on synchronous and asynchronous activities, always promoting interaction and meaningful learning. |
| Do students practice religion at the school? What religion? |
No, be.Living is a non-religious school |
Academics
| External examinations or assessments available |
They go through some of the Cambridge exames. |
| Results in these examinations |
They have been achieving very good results . |
| Do teachers assign homework to their students? |
Teachers from the Elementary Program do assign homework occasionally . It isn't an everyday task. |
| Approximate hours of homework given |
Around 30 minutes plus suggested reading. |
| Percentage of students who pursue further education post-graduation |
be.Living focus on working with younger students, considering not only their academic, but also social and emotional development. We consider that a smaller environment is very important for young kids. For this reason our curriculum goes up to Year 5, (10-11 year olds) |
Student support
| Dedicated staff/programs for students with special learning needs |
Yes, being a small school helps us keep track of each and every student. We build special programes for different needs. |
| Learning support offered |
Close partnership with parents and specialists. Usually we build a "tailor made" programe in order to meet the student's need. |
| The school supports gifted, able and talented students |
The work with differentiation is very alive inside the school environment. Our goal is to keep students interested and challenged throught their school experience. |
| Student access to education psychologist |
No, the school doesn´t have an educational psychologist who is part of the team; however we have some close partners to suggest whenever we feel it is necessary. |
Admissions
| Entry evaluation for students |
We usually assess students who are enrolling in elementary school. |
| Brief description of entry evaluation required |
Students are invited to spend a day at the school. This gives the school educators, the family and the child the opportunity to get to know each other, before committing to the school year. |
| Waiting list |
It depends on the grade level |
| Deadline for registration (new academic year) |
Enrollments are usually done by october. |
| Students can join after academic year begins |
Yes, we do allow if there is still availability. |
School day
| School start time |
Pre-school- 8 am or 1 pm
|
| School finish time |
Pre-school- 12 pm or 5pm
|
| Supervised care before/after school |
Yes we do |
| School bus service available |
Yes |
| School provided lunches |
Yes |
| Food alternatives for special dietary needs (ie. vegan, kosher, halal etc) |
Yes, we adapt our menu whenever there is a special need. |
| Uniform required |
We do have uniform and most of the students wear them; however the use is not mandatory. |
Extracurricular activities
| Extracurricular activities or clubs offered |
We offer ballet, tennis, judo, capoeira, music, yoga, soccer and guitar lessons |
| Sports activities included |
Physical Education and Yoga |
| Sports teams or sport competitions available for students |
They compete only within the school environment and with other OEBi (Organização das Escolas Biliningues) schools. |
Facilities
| Sports facilities at the school |
There is a court, in each one of the schools |
About the school
| Qualities and characteristics best defining the school |
Being a small school, be.Living promotes the opportunity for its students to interact with different age groups, learning to understand, respect and look after each other. We consider there is no effective work without a close partnership with the families. For this reason we are very open to having the whole community being part of our school project. We believe there is no education without investigation, interaction, collaboration and love. |
| Teaching approach of the school |
We work based on the Social- Constructivism conception of teaching and learning. The school works with the intention of facilitating the students process of building knowledge, independence, critical thinking, curiosity and protagonism. Although we aim to build very strong academic achievement, we consider buiding moral and social skill as important as learning content. What student's learn, is equaly important to how they learn, for this reason, the process of learning acquisition is very well taken care of throughout the 11 years boys and girls spend with us. |