Category: School life

Passion for Learning

Posted on by Avenor College

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.”

Excellent results at Cambridge exams

Posted on by Sandra Barbu

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.”

A new school year at Avenor College

Posted on by Avenor College

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!”

A new concept of the Avenor’s Summer School

Posted on by Andreea Ferent

What do inventions, music, nature, fashion, hospitality and tourism have in common? At Avenor Summer Expeditions, each of these concepts becomes a theme that children can explore for a week through activities that will stimulate them to make decisions, have initiative, find solutions, but also self-assess and adapt to change. We invite you to learn more about the new concept of Avenor’s Summer School, designed by more than 20 teachers, from the text written by Cristina Farcaș, the project coordinator.

The Avenor Summer Expeditions resulted from the desire of the people who are part of the Avenor community and wish to provide educational activities that are relevant to children’s future. We have created this unique program by combining present-day themes and methods with a transdisciplinary impact with non-formal activities to ensure children an interactive educational environment all throughout the summer.

The specific themes are points of interest suitable for all learning styles. Each of them presents an equivalent in the lives of children, being relevant and useful for their future: SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), music, fashion, survival in nature, hospitality and tourism.

The learning methods used during the summer school programme stimulate children to think critically, to make decisions, to explore their point of interest, to organise themselves in teams, to lead, to evaluate their work, to find solutions, to communicate their learning outcomes and to adapt permanently.

The Project-Based Learning approach will help them acquire all these abilities while having fun working on all kinds of projects that will be presented at the end of each week, during Assembly sessions. The contact with real life will not be experienced in classes, but in real life, during carefully planned trips, or while interacting with various specialists invited among them.

Avenor Summer Expeditions is a unique educational programme designed by over 20 Avenor teachers and whose continuous check with reality is ensured by its most relevant beneficiaries: children – we start the planning process taking into account their ideas and interests in order to create the greatest learning expedition.

You can find all the details regarding the types of programmes, activities and fees included in the Avenor Summer Expeditions Presentation.

Cristina FARCAȘ
Summer School Coordinator

Avenor Scouting Summer School – a learning experience based on the scout values

Posted on by Sandra Barbu

For over 100 years the scout movement has been the largest and most relevant movement for children and teenagers because it is based on two factors that inspire those who wish to create an impact in the society through education: an educational method and values. Avenor College has incorporated this educational system for over 10 years in order to create ‘The Best Future’ for its community: students, parents, teachers, staff, and partners.

From this “Character Match”, four years ago we created the “Avenor Scouting Summer School” concept. We have let ourselves be enthused and inspired by learning in and around nature and planned weekly trips and educational activities in order to raise an appetite for exploration and knowledge among children. We primarily use the symbolic scouts’ framework “The Jungle Book”, by Rudyard Kipling, to guide children about friendship, courage, the beauty of small things, the importance of rules, and creativity during the personal development sessions. We are inspired by the scouts’ laws and the very well known scout promise to communicate to children the ideas of ‘making everything possible’, ‘to leave the world better than they found it’, to ‘always be prepared’ for action and to fulfil all of the aforementioned, not forgetting ‘One for all and all for one’. We have adopted‚ the ’learning through action’ principle in order to discover and educate future abilities in society: leadership, public speaking and teamwork.

The children who attend Avenor Scouting Summer School live a learning experience inspired by the scout movement, but they will not become scouts. Looking towards the future, we imagine that they will let themselves be inspired and will choose to contribute to a better world with the help of the scouting movement.

Avenor travels on its own path and when it encounters other travellers who aim for their best possible future, it feels even more confident that co-creation is always the best direction.

This year, Avenor Scouting Summer School will take place between July 9th  and August 10th at the nursery location. Find out more about registration, types of programme and activities by accessing this link.

By Cristina FARCAȘ

Avenor Summer School Coordinator

Deputy Educational Coordinator & Nursery Green Teacher

Our high school students have started their Cambridge exams session

Posted on by Sandra Barbu

Avenor High School students will sit more than 70 Cambridge exams this year. Our high school students started this week the written exams session, six intense weeks with tests and individual study.

At Avenor College, we have started this week the written Cambridge exams session. Students in Grades 8, 9, 10 and 11 will sit the following exams:

  • Cambridge Checkpoint

This is the evaluation exam at the end of Grade 8 for students following the Cambridge line at Avenor College. These tests highlight students’ strengths and areas where they can develop their skills further during high school. This year, there are 16 students from Avenor College taking part in the Checkpoint examinations in Mathematics and English as a Second Language.

  • Cambridge IGCSE

This is the most popular international certification for pupils aged 14-16. It is recognised by major universities around the world, employers worldwide, and it represents an international passport for development and success.

IGCSE exams are taken this year by 14 Grade 10 students, 18 Grade 9 students and one student from Grade 8. In total, our students will sit 42 IGCSE written examinations on 17 syllabuses:

Biology, Computer Science, Coordinated Sciences, English as a Second Language (Speaking Endorsement), Enterprise, First Language English, Foreign Language German, Foreign Language Italian, Foreign Language Spanish, Global Perspectives, History, Literature, Mathematics (Without Coursework), Music, Physics, Art and Design.

Another 7 oral examinations were held in March and April: IGCSE Speaking and IGCSE Art and Design.

  • Cambridge Advanced

This is designed for students aged between 16 and 19 who need advanced studies to prepare for university. It includes two stages: Cambridge International AS and A2 Level. Universities around the world appreciate and recognise the Cambridge International AS and A Level certificates.

Avenor International High School is hosting for the first time an AS Level Exam session. This year, 16 Grade 11 students sit the AS Level exams on the following subjects:

Computer Science, Economics, History, Literature in English, Mathematics, Media Studies, Physics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Art and Design.

Also this week, the AS Level Speaking exam will be held.

At last year’s IGCSE exams, 80% of our students received scores ranging from A * to C, achieving a 100% pass rate. You can find more information about our students’ results can be found here.

Skills or results? Both

Posted on by Dana Papadima

Over the last 20 years or so, in global pedagogy acquiring skills is considered the ultimate goal of learning. And rightly so. What is the use of knowledge, information, definitions, specialised terminology if not to help develop general and specific skills? It is common sense. This shift of attention from “knowledge” to “learn to do” to “learn to be” completely transformed different educational systems, even the Romanian system, with all its awkwardness and inconsistencies.

It is also a fact that insinuated itself gradually, despicably, unobserved and not only into the highly competitive world of Romanian education but also in larger American, English, even Nordic communities and became the (unwritten) rule of the game for the evaluation process in schools, ranking graduates only by results. In theory, we are referring to the pedagogy of happiness, learning by discovery, the pleasure to come and stay in school. In practice, we construct and deconstruct rankings for performant schools, prestigious universities, maybe even for nursery schools that promise Harvard candidates and have waiting lists composed before the future students were even planned to be born. We live in a paradox, are we not?

Avenor College has been making its way in this paradoxical world for 10 years. Because we really believe and put into practice a system of learning directed towards competencies, learning with joy and love, enquiry and discovery are considered essential steps in shaping future adults. However, since our first grade 8 students graduated and many families started to aspire to Avenor for any type of class, the situation of the results comes up quite often in the conversations that are part of the admission process: “We have been following you. You are always in the top 10 schools in Bucharest. We care about our child’s happiness, but it is no secret that we are also interested in the results at the end of this cycle of continuous happiness”.

I think it is a very honest point of view, without any type of hypocrisy. The situation is not limited to strictly monitoring the results of our students at the National Evaluation exams but involves also monitoring every year the scores for the Cambridge Checkpoint exams, mandatory for the admission at Avenor International High School.

Skills or test scores? This year, all of our Grade eight graduates have achieved exceptional results either at the Cambridge Checkpoint exam – 5.8 at Maths and 5.9 at English on a scale of maximum 6.0 points – or at the National Evaluation: 10 in Romanian, 9.85 in Mathematics. Skills, therefore results!

The joy of the Winter shows

Posted on by Ana-Caterina Ciușcă

by Ana-Caterina Ciușcă and Natalia Maria Dan

Tuesday, December 9th, everyone had a great time: we all enjoyed seeing Avenor students showing their talents, singing, playing instruments and dancing.

There were lots of performances: every class came up with a special Christmas moment for us to enjoy. Mostly, we sang carols, because Christmas was on its way.

We had plenty of moments: each class had its own song or songs, but there were also solo parts, when children who take singing classes filled our hearts with joy. The percussion club also had a special moment and the barrel’s beats cheered up the audience.

Moreover, this day was very special because it was the first time when Avenor College was live on Facebook, so the parents, the siblings, everyone could watch us perform and listen to us from work, from home, from wherever they were.

Overall, we had an amazing time at Avenor Winter Show. We had the opportunity to appreciate each and every talent from our school, to support and help our students to follow their dreams.

We are already looking forward to Avenor Winter Shows 2017.

Science teacher Gareth is the new Grade 9 Form Tutor

Posted on by Avenor College

Starting in September, our Science teacher Gareth will be the Grade 9 form tutor at Avenor International High School. He is very excited to make students feel part of a well-knit team and be like a third parent, demanding but also very supportive. He will continue to teach Science in a way that will allow students to understand the world they live in and how they can change it. He is also going back to school, to improve his Romanian.

You will be the Form Tutor for Grade 9 next year and many of the students who know you are very excited about that. What should they expect from you?

Form tutors are an important figure in the development of the student, they are like the third parent based at the school. They create links and harmony between the parents at home, the management of the school and the academic life of both the students and the subject teachers who deliver their education. The role of the tutor is to facilitate and support the students in their social and emotional development so that they are best equipped to deal with their job of learning. They are the ones that students turn to first when they need help, someone who they can trust and someone they know will support them. The form tutor must set very high expectations for the students both morally and academically.

I have a very close relationship with the students that finished Grade 8. I worked to prepare them for chemistry and physics in the Romanian system, as well as in applied science in the Cambridge system. I taught them more hours per week than other teachers and developed a mutual respect. They helped me and I helped them.

It is important that new students and existing students all feel a part of the Grade 9 team. This will not be difficult since the atmosphere at Avenor is very welcoming and community focused. I’ve always developed very close-knit tutor groups that can rely on each other as well as on me for support. I also have a lot of experience in helping students with the difficulties of growing up and finding their place in the world. It’s a challenging time in the student’s life and the expectations of today are very different. The world is changing so fast sometimes students are unsure of their place in it. There are also the same issues that all teenagers face regardless of school or country like boyfriends/girlfriends, what’s cool, how others perceive their image etc. I will be there for all students any time they need help. My door is always open.

Science is one of the classes Avenor students enjoy the most. How would you describe your Science classes to our new and prospective high school students?

The science programme for the students is fun and develops the key skills of scientific enquiry but also teaches areas that are fun and relevant to students. In addition to the topics covered in the Romanian system, students also learn about renewable energy for the future, drugs, alcohol, and health, as well as new materials that can be used to fabricate the technology of the future.

The science classes at Avenor are based on the Cambridge system of scientific enquiry and problem solving, whereas the Romanian system is based on memory recall. I’ve talked a lot in the past about the differences in the educational systems, but it boils down to a few main points.

  • Very few students will actually use science knowledge directly in their future and it’s a waste of time to just remember endless pages of facts (although very good for winning a pub-quiz). It’s the scientific skills that are valued.
  • The scientific method of observing something that happened, deciding why it might have happened, researching and testing to see if you were correct and readjusting your ideas/theories based on observable evidence are very important in all areas of employment. For example, many of our students want to work in enterprise and business and the ability to analyse what products have sold, why they sold and develop strategies to increase sales are a form of the scientific method. In short, our science programme teaches students how to observe the world around them and what they can do to change it. This is a very powerful tool to have.
  • Finally, having practical experiments for students makes the learning more real and fun. It allows students to relate to content that might not always be clear from a book. As humans, we learn best by interacting with our environment. You could always teach a baby to walk by showing them a formula for balance and explaining where they need to generate force by pushing against the ground, but they will learn best by trying, failing, and trying again.

You are also going to school for Romanian classes. What made you decide to learn Romanian and how is that going so far?

From a practical perspective, it makes sense to learn Romanian to make life easier. However, for me it’s more than this. I am not an international teacher that just happened to come to Romania because there was a job here. I specifically chose to come here.  It’s my first international position. I had many Romanian friends at university and visited the country often, eight times in five years, before working here. In order to understand a culture, it’s important to get an understanding of the language. Culture and arts are what make life worth living. I want to be able to have a conversation with an old person about what life use to be like, to read some poetry, or express my views on current political trends or a piece of art. I know it’s said never make politics or religion a topic of conversation, but sometimes it’s nice to break the mould.

I’ve not developed as fast as I wanted to over the last year. I therefore made a decision to improve this over the summer holidays. I’ve attended a two-week intensive course for beginners. Studying in a classroom for three hours each day was quite enlightening since it’s been a few years since I was on the receiving end of education. I also have a better understanding of what people mean when they talk about the didactic teaching methods used in the Romanian state system. You really have to be at the top of the class or risk falling behind very quickly!

The course was aimed at beginners and had a strong focus on grammar, which is actually what I needed. I passed the A1 course with high in each section (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) and I am now looking to take the A2 course.

Avenor College Cafeteria becomes Stradale Avenor

Posted on by Avenor College

Flavours Catering is the new partner providing the school meals for Avenor students. Starting in the academic year 2016-2017, Avenor College Cafeteria becomes Stradale Avenor, a place where the Flavours team will cook and serve lunch and snack for our students.

We have always been concerned with the children’s nutrition, over the years we have worked with several catering companies in search of better solutions. The feedback we constantly received from students and parents encouraged us to make an important change: having our own kitchen, in order to make sure that the meals are fresh and served at optimal temperature.

The dishes will be prepared with carefully selected ingredients from providers that are visited and verified by the Flavours team. The meals will be cooked according to recipes specially created for Stradale Avenor by Chef Foa, one of the creators of Flavours. Also, the new kitchen will have a dedicated staff, provided by our partners: head chef, pastry chef, assistants and cafeteria manager.

“We are always careful to keep a perfect balance between taste and health, so we can adapt our menus according to the needs of every child”, Stradale Avenor manager Daniel Obretin explains. “We are prepared to offer children and teenagers nutritional information and are open to suggestions regarding their favourite dishes. Chef Foa will also be present in the cafeteria, whenever possible, to speak to students about healthy eating and teach them how to enjoy tasty and healthy food cooked correctly.”

The daily menu for students will take into account the Avenor nutritional policy and will include:

Lunch

  • 2 types of soup (meat / vegetarian)
  • 3 main courses (white meat / red meat / vegetarian) with side dish and salad

Snack (sweet or salty) and a fruit

To be able to make all these changes, we needed to reorganise the space in the Cafeteria. We have also created a coffee shop for parents, a place where they can have snacks, coffee and tea.

The investment necessary for setting up the new kitchen stands at more than 130.000 euro, an amount covered in partnership by Flavours Catering and Avenor Foundation.

Flavours Food & Catering is a concept created in 2002, based on the following principles: a love for food, the authenticity of the recipes and the respect for high standards. You can find more details about the company here.

We are confident that the partnership with Flavours Catering, a company with excellent references, that also has a similar project at the American International School of Bucharest, will be successful.