All year long our school offers a variety of activities, in

which students are encouraged to participate.

These activities range from sporting events to

contests and competitions. They are related to the different

subjects students take at school, so all of them, according to

their preferences, can have fun. Moreover these activities

help them grow, listen and develop different skills and

competences such as tolerance and team spirit, and, above

all, make new friends.

In December, for example, students from

the 5th and 6th grades had the opportunity to take

part in a Spelling Bee, which is a competition

where contestants are asked to spell words.

Also all students grades 5th through 9th could

participate in our annual school cross country race. Luckily

this year it wasn’t raining!

Two 9th graders from each class were selected to

represent their classes in the Who wants to be a Millionaire

contest English teachers hold every year. In this contest all

the questions are about American and English culture.

This year on 14th February we celebrated both St

Valentine’s Day and International Book Giving Day. 5th and

6th graders were asked to make St Valentine’s bookmarks

whereas 7th graders had to make Valentine’s cards. How did

we celebrate International Book Giving Day? By giving a new

or used book! Then on the 18th

March we officially donated 136

books to a local shelter for

children ,“ A Causa da

Criança”, which is an

institution which provides

recreational and social

activities in addition to food,

clothing and shelter.

Maia Junior High School

OUR SCHOOL IN ACTION!

On March 14th students celebrated Pi Day - a

tribute to the mathematical constant - with a math

trivia quiz and doing pi-related activities.

Before Easter holidays, our physical education teachers

always organise football, basketball and volleyball

tournaments aimed to 6th, 7th and 9th graders respectively.

At the end of the school year we always commemorate

a day called “Grouping Day”. On this day there are a lot of

activities going on at school in

different rooms and in the

playground. There are also

exhibitions of the work

done by students during

the school year. On this

special day our school is

opened to anyone who

wants to visit us. The day

usually ends with a small

Achievement Award Ceremony, in which our school

distinguishes students with the best academic results.

As our school is concerned about

students’ eating habits, we also hold activities

for promoting healthy eating at school.

In October there is a special day called

Soup Day, in which different types of soups are

served. It is always a smashing success!

From 25th February to 1st March our school held a

“Healthy Snack Week”. In exchange of thirty cents, students

were served a healthy and delicious snack consisting of three

essential foods: fruit, cereals and dairy products: fruit kebabs,

walnut, soya or raisin bread rolls, yoghurt and milkshakes.

Of course these are only two examples of the many projects

our school runs to develop a healthy lifestyle among teenagers

and prevent obesity, poor diet or smoking.

Our school is also committed to providing support to

needy students and their families, which explains

the existence of The Solidarity Basket.

Each month, and not only at

Christmas - hunger knows no season - baskets

full of food donated by students and teachers

are distributed to needy families in the area.

Green is everywhere these days

and our school is no exception, that is

why our school has an Environmental

Club where both students and

teachers work together to make

our school more eco-friendly:

spread green ideals, raise

environmental awareness and promote

environmental sustainability.

Having this in mind, the Environmental Club runs a

number of activities such as games, research work and

exhibitions, organises workshops and lectures, sets

competitions school wide with prizes and develops a series

of programs, including a food waste prevention program to

reduce food waste in our canteen, a composting program

as well as a biological vegetable garden program to

encourage both teachers and students to grow their own

vegetables organically.

We also collect recyclable materials, so around the

school you can see a number of recycling bins to put paper,

plactic, glass, oil, batteries and small electrical appliances.

Besides, our Art and Craft teachers are also

committed to this cause and teach their students to use

recyclable materials to make sculptures, Christmas trees,

decorations, masks…

Our school is an Eco-School, too, which means it has enrolled in the Eco-School Programme, an international initiative promoted by the Foundation for Environmental Education.

Last year for the sixteenth consecutive year our

school was awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag! The Green

Flag is the award that distinguishes good environmental

practices of schools.

And last but not least, we are proud of,

once again, being involved in the Comenius

Project, a Project financed by the European Union.

This time our partners are Estonia,

Hungary, Poland, Italy and Spain. And the project we have been

carrying out together since last year is about breaking

stereotypes and getting to know each other.

So far the experience has been enriching and worthwhile.

To know more about this project, visit our blog:

http://comeniusmaia.blogspot.pt/. We will be pleased to hear

your opinion about all the work completed so far. You are also

invited to visit the webpage created by Estonia:

http://comenius-bs.slipknotee.com/ and the one created by

Spain: http://www.comeniusmercerodoreda.eu/home/our-high-

school.

Regards, Marli Antunes