Category: School life

What are the advantages of bringing a young child to the nursery school? How do children learn at a very young age and why is early emotional development important? These are just a few of the questions we’ve asked Ioana Botez, counsellor and systemic psychotherapist in charge of children’s emotional development at Avenor Nursery. Ioana has 12 years of experience in working with children, following the British Curriculum, designing educational training materials for disadvantaged groups and mediating communication with foreign childcare professionals. 

Avenor College: How can nursery activities help very young children develop self-confidence?

Ioana Botez: Nursery schools help children experiment with all kinds of activities that they have never done before or they wanted to do but they never had the opportunity. Here, children become aware of what they are capable of by: jumping, rolling, practising fine motor skills, role-playing and looking at books. In fact, we start looking at books and developing our passion for books from a very early age.

Role-playing builds language, critical thinking, and social skills as children take on roles and develop their own ideas and stories. This is why it is important for toddlers to be guided in all the new activities they are beginning to experience.

A.C.: How do you approach emotional regulation with children as young as 2 years old?

I.B.: Feelings and behaviour are quite a challenging subject at this age, but that’s why we have togetherness and stories. We are looking at the characters and we are discovering that they have similar feelings to ours, such as: happiness, sadness, anger or fear. Moreover, we learn in an experiential manner that it’s absolutely natural to express the way you feel as long as your emotional self-expression does not hurt others. We learn about rules, ways to follow them, but also to break them, because as you may know, at two and three years old, it’s quite fun and useful testing rules as an expression of independence.

A.C.: Why are relationships important at this young age?

I.B.: It’s been well known that relationships help children make progress in all areas of development. If you are looking at children playing in different areas of experience, such as the Maths Area, Small World Area, and so on, you will find out that they build on each other’s knowledge with facilitation from an adult. It’s very important to let children socialise with peers for an extended period of time in order to enable environments for them to spend time away from their main carers, develop physically in both fine and gross motor skills, use and perfect language, as well as build positive relationships with confidence. 

Is your child 2 or 3 years old? Are you considering bringing your child to the Nursery this autumn? Learn more about what the important aspects to be taken into consideration are when starting Nursery. Our Nursery Educational Coordinator, Tania Răduță, explains in an open letter to parents how the environment built by our team helps every child to learn and develop. 

“Dear Parents,

Creating an Enabling Environment in which each child feels safe, plays, explores, and learns is a key aspect in the Early Years Curriculum. This, together with a carefully prepared induction period for each child, according to own interests and needs, smoothens the first days of nursery for children and also for parents who are sometimes more excited than their toddlers.

Our curriculum which provides activities taught in English, are engaging, meaningful, fun, and is built around four major principles. They can be ‘felt’ immediately one enters our setting.

An Enabling Environment supports a child’s development in all of the seven areas of learning. It is child-centred and has three major parts: the emotional environment meaning the atmosphere of the setting, the indoor environment with its available resources which promotes activities initiated by children and teachers, and the outdoor environment which stimulates movement, creativity and exploration.

Providing an enabling environment for each unique child might be challenging but at the same time rewarding for teachers and for children as they benefit from differentiated activities designed or initiated in accordance to their own interests. It needs rigorous background planning and a lot of attention to detail.

We make sure that each child feels welcomed into the setting and we give them time to form an emotional bond with their teachers.

We welcome and value the uniqueness of each child in the Nursery. We understand and we respect what each child brings into the setting in terms of own culture, language, type of family, or beliefs. We also see that each child learns in different ways every day. We see different schemas in their play and what we do is provide opportunities for them to engage in active learning through hands on experiences. We also transform mistakes into opportunities for learning, we encourage them to recognise their own unique qualities, and we support them to make friends, to form and to maintain Positive Relationships.

Only through positive relationships do children learn to be strong and independent. We make sure that each child feels welcomed into the setting and we give them time to form an emotional bond with their teachers. At the same time, the teachers build positive relationships with parents through feedback and effective communication. We listen to parents and children, we take into consideration their feedback and this is what helps all of us become motivated to constantly improve and become better learners.

Learning and Development is what we know that each child is entitled to. This will only result from the interaction of the other three principles described above. In Avenor Nursery, the teaching and non-teaching teams learn from each other and work hard and with great passion to ensure children’s wellbeing and progress. We have the prime areas of learning in mind when planning for toddlers (Personal Social & Emotional Development, Communication & Language, and Physical Development) in order to lay the foundation for the specific areas of learning (Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, and Expressive Arts and Design) for pre-schoolers.

It is not hard to follow or adapt a curriculum; what is the most important thing is to be committed to creating a culture of learning in which the principles are embedded. Then, children, parents and teachers can celebrate the success and continue the learning journey.”

Kind regards,

Tania RĂDUȚĂ, Avenor Nursery Educational Coordinator

Dana Papadima, our Educational Director, talks about the bilingual profile of our school and about celebrating the national identity, an essential element in the profile of the Avenor College graduate.

The bilingual profile of Avenor College makes elements of British language and civilisation coexist harmoniously and balanced with those of Romanian language and culture. Speaking of the Romanian language, the cultural knowledge and skills are not only found within the classes established by the national curriculum of Romanian language and literature for primary and middle school, but at the level of most of the activities and events carried out in and outside the school.

We refer thus to elements of Romanian heritage, cultural, geographical, written or unwritten, to knowledge about Bucharest’s heritage and the surroundings of the Capital, to the feeling of belonging to a socio-cultural community. The Romanian language classes, lessons of geography, history, leadership, arts, trips, cultural events, and school competitions are multiple opportunities to awaken our students’ identity awareness and pride.

The knowledge of Romanian heritage is taken further during the high school Romanian language classes, for which we built a specific programme, based on the national curriculum. The Romanian language course for high school is finalised at the end of each year of study with a graduation activity in front of the public: group project, debate, essay and, in Grade 12, a speech on a given topic.

Celebrating national identity is an essential component of building a reflective, confident, informed high school graduate profile. Linguistic-cultural identity represents the essential and necessary ferment to help create beautiful characters, governed by a system of values and perennial moral principles. The fact that our first generation of graduates found their way to remarkable universities, both from abroad and from Romania, that they “easily” move and develop in and between different systems, different cultures are also due to the school’s care to grow in them and protect their identity culture. Conscious and honoured to have Romanian roots, our students, our graduates naturally become European citizens, citizens of the contemporary world.

Tania Răduță, Avenor Nursery Educational Coordinator, talks about the emotion and challenges of new beginnings and also about the “power of learning” guiding children, parents and the nursery team on their educational journey.

“New beginnings in the nursery school always come with intense emotion and challenges for all the co-creators of our early years learning journey: children, parents and teachers.

Little ‘big minds’ will step into our settings for the first time, some of them feeling more ready than others to meet new colleagues, to trust new adults and to actually live in a new environment that will sooner or later turn into their ‘second home’. We will learn from parents about each individual’s particularities, in order to carefully prepare a flexible adjustment period for each unique child. There are, of course, the inquisitive children who will be happy to continue their learning journey, share their new thoughts, interests and experiences with their friends, and form new friendships with colleagues; they will be ready to ‘have a go’.

And so, parents and teachers will continue their partnership in order to plan authentic activities and relevant experiences for each child. All these moments will enable them to show what they already know and to continue expressing initiative and developing new ideas.

The Avenor Nursery team who work with and for children is ready to take on the upcoming challenges, driven by passion and with a great willingness to learn from each other and to co-create meaningful experiences together with the children.

We keep on growing and changing just like the children and one of the things we believe in the most is ‘the power of learning’.

We benefit from a safe learning environment that plays an important role in developing children’s confidence, self-esteem, autonomy, and stimulates their sense of wonder.
The indoor spaces have been refreshed and the outdoor area is in the process of being improved, in order to better support child-initiated learning.
The daily timetable for Reception and Year 1 groups has been adjusted to enable more outdoor learning and more opportunities for children to play.

Looking forward to feeling ‘the vibe’, as people who visit our nursery like to say, of our 2019 – 2020 journey together!”

Mirela Voicu, Upper Primary Coordinator, explains the role of the game in the process the children go through when they make the transition from nursery to school in the Pregatitoare grade.

“To ensure a good start for the students from Pregatitoare, we, the teachers, adhere to Edouard Claparède’s statement – “The game is the best introduction to the art of working”. Thus, the full development of the young school-age student requires an integrated way of approaching teaching-learning-assessment activities through play.

Through play, the child discovers the world, manipulates objects, and acquires knowledge and self-confidence. The game provides children with a pleasant environment in which to express their curiosity and spontaneity, in which creativity and personal experience are the main element. The child’s development depends on the opportunities offered by the daily routine in school, the interaction with others, the organisation of the school environment or the specially designed learning activities and situations.

Pregatitoare grade removes the brutal transition from nursery to school, having the role of getting the children used to socialising in an organised environment, which contributes to the development of their personality. This will ensure the gradual transition from the interactive nursery programme to the school environment, with a fixed schedule representing for the 6-year-old a universe of stories, learning through play, and not a rigid space of knowledge, of constraint. The child learns by playing and at the same time becomes familiar with the atmosphere in school.

Children have a new, age-appropriate curriculum, and the classroom is tailored to their age, so that it allows them to learn through play and to prepare for Grade 1 using modern learning resources. Children will develop their ability to communicate, strengthen contacts with the world of numbers and letters, learn to observe the environment and interact with other children and adults through teaching games, team activities, discovery activities, drawing or music.”

Ramona Mucenic, Upper Primary Coordinator at Avenor College, talks about preparing students for the transition between school cycles, about school themes and Project-Based Learning (PBL).

“Welcome back dear parents and students,

The school year that, with a little nostalgia, we left behind remains a memorable year for our entire community: intense and marked by pleasant moments, memorable events and exceptional results obtained by our students.
The evaluation of the fundamental competences at the end of Grades 2 and 4 by administering the specific tests of National Evaluation confirmed again the ability of the children to apply, analyse and interpret the accumulated knowledge. Moreover, we pride ourselves on the individual study skills that we develop early on, to grow independent, curious, open-minded students, able to work in collaboration with each other.
One of our constant concerns is to ensure a smooth transition between learning cycles. Regardless of whether you go to Pregatitoare grade, Upper Primary, Middle School or High School, the Avenor student is gradually prepared for change through carefully planned activities. During Grade 4, the children were acquainted throughout the year with the realities of the middle school and the 5th grade, in particular. They met some of the future teachers, participated in lessons of the older colleagues, carried out projects with them. In the second term, part of the grades specific to the primary cycle were doubled by grades/scores used in middle school, so that the future middle school students gradually got used to the new marking system. Teachers and form tutors meet regularly to monitor students’ progress and to think together about the most effective strategies to ensure their evolution, from an academic, emotional or behavioural point of view.

Since last year, the school’s themes have become more visible by transforming the weekly Assembly time into PBL (Project-Based Learning) module. The main objective is to extend the learning by planning, organising and carrying out group projects with an applied character, anchored in the day-to-day life. Through this multidisciplinary learning programme, we practice soft skills competences through which students naturally and authentically appeal to critical and creative thinking, demonstrating empathy and the ability to make group decisions.
This year we move to the second phase of the Project-Based Learning Programme – PBL, being guided by David Taylor, a specialist in cross-curricular approach to learning. The three hours of PBL will cover different curricular areas, including elements of Drama. We aim for our students to practice expressing their emotions, to better relate to each other, to develop their artistic side. We also expect them to be able to make more connections between school disciplines and to propose solutions to real life problems.

We like to look to the future, to prepare our children for scenarios, realities or jobs that do not exist yet. Therefore, it is important for them to acquire those qualities that will help them adapt to any situation. We want them to be confident, creative, involved, responsible, and innovative.

Georgiana Socoliu, Middle School Coordinator and Form Tutor at Avenor College talks about the key role of the Form Tutor in the learning process, about Form Time and the school day routine.

“Dear students and parents,

Seven years ago, when I joined the Avenor community, I was impressed by the dynamics of the school, the shared values, and also by the desire to be the best. Avenor students are challenged to go beyond their limits, develop their intellectual curiosity and discover their own path.

In the 2019-2020 school year, we celebrate the achievement of excellent results both at the National Evaluation exam and at the Cambridge Checkpoint. We enjoyed the seriousness and responsibility with which the Avenor students and teachers have prepared for these exams and we congratulate them for their determination.

At Avenor College, the form tutor plays a key role in the learning process, as an intermediary in the teacher-student-parent relationship, being also the first person to whom students go when they need guidance and counselling.

In the schedule of the day, from 2 pm to 2.15 pm we have Form time or time spent with the form tutor. Depending on the day of the week, we discuss issues related to routine and behaviour, punctuality, we discuss how to set our goals and learning methods. During Form time, projects are presented that relate to the passions of the students, class problems, national and international news are discussed, or events are organised (charitable, sporting, artistic, trips).

I wish for us in the current school year to enjoy happy moments, to be fascinated by knowledge, to be inventive and authentic, enthusiastic and daring.

We continue the series dedicated to the beginning of the school year with Darren Hugill, Director of Learning at Avenor College, who talks about the family atmosphere, the passion for learning, the caring attitude of our teachers towards students, and the constant growth of our school.

”Dear Avenor family members,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome your all back to the Avenor family for the academic year 2019-2020. I am sure that this year will be an even better learning experience than the one before; I believe this because Avenor is College with Learning at its heart. We learn as an organisation, with each passing minute, how to get better and do things even better than they were.

For your children, this means that the learning experience that they will have this year is now the sum of 12 years of solid synergistic development. We believe that the experience and the individualisation of the learning journey for each and every child at Avenor College is what sets Avenor apart and makes it a very special place where your children will be co-nurtured with you into the young people that they truly want to become.

I would like to reflect on the last three years I have known the College, and I will start by saying that the main attraction for me to Avenor is still here, and still growing. That is the real family atmosphere, the caring attitude of our teachers towards the young people, the growth mind-set of the College and most significantly our Executive Director who provides a very clear role model and pathway into the future for Avenor College.

We have now our “Avenorian Graduates” and we are so proud of their results and the results of their younger colleagues, even if a school does not live and die by its results. It thrives when its young people are motivated, challenged, participatory, and develop those very special skills of intuition, insight, entrepreneurial ship, team working, leadership and critical thinking. I am proud to be the Director of Learning in a college which puts as much emphasis on the development of the holistic young person, as it does on the exam results.”

Andrew Sutton, High School Coordinator, talks about our students’ results at IGCSE and A level exams and about the news of the year for 6th form students (grades 11 and 12).

“Dear students and parents,

It is my great pleasure to congratulate you all on the amazing exam results that you achieved this summer – Avenor’s best ever.

I was so pleased and so proud for Romania to see Simona Halep triumph at Wimbledon this year.  It even coincided with some warm weather in the UK! Her victory immediately struck me as an analogy for the challenge our students face with their exams each year.  With the right aptitude, the right training, focus and preparation great results can materialise. 

The challenges of A level are an even closer analogy – the difficulty and complexity of those A levels are such, that even with hard work and preparation students don’t always end up with the result they hoped for. Simona can’t always expect to be the Wimbledon Champion. 

Indeed, A grades at A level are what get you in to Oxford and Cambridge university – such are the challenge they pose. With this in mind it was particularly significant that this year, Avenor students managed to achieve a full set of A grades at IGCSE, AS and A2 level. These are wonderful and rare achievements.  

I am looking forward to the significant developments this year. 
 
One of them will bring our older students the privilege of using the facilities of our new 6th form centre. 
 
Moving to A level requires an even greater sense of maturity, responsibility and self-discipline. To reflect this, we have converted the clubs building in to a 6th form centre with a common room, classrooms and two study rooms. 
 
We aim to provide the environment in which they will flourish and develop in to young adults, supported in their aims, plans and ambitions.

Finally, I wish to emphasise that as well as academic success that opens doors to the next stage in a student’s academic career, I am pleased that we have developed an LOTC (Learning Outside Of the Classroom) programme to provide experiences beyond the study of IGCSE or A level and support building wider characteristics that will be equally important in these young people’s lives.

I look forward to working with you all this coming year.”

At the beginning of the new school year, the 13th in our history, we invite you to learn more about 2019-2020 from members of our Leadership Team.

Our Executive Director, Diana Segărceanu, speaks with pride about our first high school graduates, about alumni and the excellent results of the students, and also about a new beginning.

“This year I feel like I’m 18 again, I have the energy and the enthusiasm of a young student finishing high school. It is an extraordinary feeling to actually go through 12 years of school (from Pregatitoare to Grade 12). I am proud that I graduated (again) from high school – it’s the same excitement and fulfilment of feeling like a grown-up.

Avenor has reached maturity; we turned 12 in the same moment when the graduation diplomas were awarded to the first Avenor College graduates. They are the Class of 2019!

It was an intense summer, when we waited with excitement for the Cambridge exam results. I was very happy to see the best results so far and that the students received the passport to attend the desired universities, both abroad (UK, Holland) and in Romania.

We celebrated with our graduates – now Avenor Alumni – on August 27th, when they were invited to school together with our first Grade 8 graduates (Class of 2015) – back when we weren’t even thinking about continuing with a high school.

Our reunion was accompanied by tasty food in Avenor Living, our new modernised Cafeteria.

On September 2nd, 600 balloons were released by our students who started together a new school year, the 13th in our existence. This year, our balloons were biodegradable and carried with them to the sky the hopes and promises for the new year.

At the Nursery from Arcul de Triumf, an arcade of coloured balloons will greet the young Avenorians.

On behalf of more than 100 teachers, I wish you all the best from all my Avenor graduate heart: Welcome back to School!”