Domingos Rebelo Secondary School is situated in Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal, and provides general education and some professional courses. It has over 2000 students aged 12-18 years old and about 240 teachers. The school receives students from urban and rural areas and although it isn’t situated in a very poor socio-economical area, there’s a high number of students coming from families with serious financial problems and/or low levels of education (4/6 years).
As we live in an outermost region of Europe, we are highly penalized by our insularity. That’s one of the reasons why we’d like to participate in this European programme – to encourage co-operation among nations and intellectual exchange, as well as teachers´ and students’ mobilities, thus reinforcing the European dimension of education and intercultural awareness among students.
Moreover, this partnership will motivate students and teachers to use English as working language, improving their level of proficiency; it will also improve the quality of education professionals and, ultimately, that of education itself. We hope this project will help us achieve the main goal of our school – to increase the rate of academic success among all students.
In addition, we believe education is not limited to school or the local community – it should be part of a greater community as The European Union. The contact established among teachers and students of different cultures and languages will allow the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences, making us better professionals, better citizens and human beings. By comparing our reality with the reality of others, teachers and students will be more aware not only of their own reality, but also of their European citizenship, sometimes forgotten due to living on a remote island.
Our school has an ERASMUS+ core team with a permanent teaching position. If by any chance one or more members of the core team leave, the other members will ensure that everything will go as planned.
Domingos Rebelo School has experienced and trained teachers, with expertise in teaching and pedagogical methodologies. They have experience in the implementation of innovative teaching methods and interdisciplinary approaches using new technologies. History, Geography and English teachers will participate in the project with their 8th and/or 9th graders (13-14 years old, mostly), since the topic and subtopics of the project are part of their syllabuses. ICT teachers can also contribute greatly to this project.
Domingos Rebelo School is also a very dynamic school and has always been involved in all kinds of projects, national and international. We speak English and have digital competences, essential to achieve the goals of this project. Teachers are highly motivated and eager to work and share their experiences with their European colleagues.