Socio-emotional Intelligence consists of the set of skills related to how to deal with emotions as well as the establishment and maintenance of affective bonds, which allows us to increase the possibilities of proposing constructive solutions to adverse situations.
At Porto, we believe that these skills are at the heart of a full and satisfying life in all aspects. For this reason, we provide students with a true Socio-emotional Intelligence curriculum, which covers all grades, from Kindergarten to High School. Through this curriculum, students develop skills that help them deal with themselves and relate to others in a competent and ethical manner.
Self-awareness, social awareness, recognition of the feelings experienced by others, perception and control of one's own emotions, as well as building and valuing interpersonal relationships based on respect and cooperation are essential skills in our personal and professional lives.
In addition to the monitoring by teachers, we have the Educational Guidance Programme, with a team of class counsellors who accompany students in all grades. They are specialised professionals with training in the areas of Pedagogy and Psychology, who assist and guide students regarding the demands of daily school life. They also carry out, through fortnightly meetings, mentoring: a moment of dialogue, reflection, active listening, care and attention to important topics for the integral development of children and young people.
At all levels of education, we offer the Life Project and Coexistence programme, which covers different contemporary topics regarding physical and emotional well-being.
Furthermore, the Educational Guidance Programme operates daily in conjunction with the pedagogical directors in the following areas:
- Study guidance
- Alcohol and drug use prevention programme
- Antibullying programme
- Fortnightly mentoring to students
- Service to families
- Career counselling
The Literary Curriculum encourages the formation of a personal collection for each student. The proposal follows a list of books in each year/grade, in order to complete a reading path. In this pathway, we seek to ensure that students get to know certain classic authors and their works, which, due to their theme, are necessary to expand their worldview at all times, interpreting them and relating them to current issues, cherishing other cultures and their diversity.
This literary universe made up of books—written in Portuguese, German and English—will make Porto students read an average of 140 titles throughout their schooling, in addition to free-choice readings that they can do in the campus libraries or online environments.
- Great classics
- Current affairs
- Awarded and recommended books
- Various genres
- Works in Portuguese, German and English
The interdisciplinary project is part of the trajectory of all grades and consists of choosing a topic considered urgent and comprehensive, researching it and studying it in relation to global perspectives. Proper documentation of the process is carried out in personal portfolios and with collaborative work, following the proposal of creative and entrepreneurial solutions that have socioenvironmental relevance. Presentations of projects developed for the school community promote the ability to speak in public in different languages ??and become true interactive celebrations. Throughout the school year, students also carry out their individual projects by choosing their own topics in various areas of knowledge.
- Interdisciplinary research
- Use of technologies
- Collaborative actions
- Registration in portfolios
- Creative solutions for the world
- Communication in multiple languages
- Presentations to families
- Different assessments
Programmes by grade:
• Kindergarten 1: Let’s Play the Sensing Game!
• Kindergarten 2: What Can Be Told in a Song?
• Kindergarten 3: Good Old Playing
• Kindergarten 4: It’s an Animal! Which?
• Kindergarten 5: Thinking Outside the Box
• 1st grade: Little Citizens in Action
• 2nd grade: I Have History!
• 3rd grade: New Looks at the World
• 4th grade: Rummaging Through the Memory Chest
• 5th grade: Together, We Can Fix It
• 6th grade: Sustainable Ideas and Interventions
• 7th grade: Living with Differences
• 8th grade: Healthy Choices
• 9th grade: Breaking Down Barriers and Building Bridges
• 10th grade HS: Proposals for the Present Day
• 11th grade HS: Diplomatic Simulations
• 12th grade HS: Towards the Future
We believe that, from an early age, children can learn to make choices and improve habits aimed at a healthy life, making it possible to positively prevent anxiety, stress and other diseases in the contemporary world.
The ‘For a Better and Happier Life Programme offers students learning and individual reflections that lead to gradual changes in their attitudes, considering the personal search for a happy life.
The action is implemented in Physical Education classes, in which teachers discuss topics such as physical activity, habit assessment, nutrition, sleep, leisure, quality of life, respect, solidarity and happiness. In addition, conversation circles are held with educational advisors and master classes on the subjects discussed, taught by professionals from Porto and guest specialists.
Programme by grade:
• Kindergarten 1 to 4: Body, Playing and their Possibilities
• Kindergarten 5 and 1st grade: Playing is a Good Thing!
• 2nd grade: Cooperation: at Home and at School
• 3rd grade: Healthy Break
• 4th grade: Healthy Living Game
• 5th grade: Practising Sports Beyond the School Walls
• 6th grade: The World of Sport and its Possibilities
• 7th grade: Sedentary Lifestyle and Obesity: in Search of Quality of Life
• 8th grade: Dietary Regimen vs. Physical Activity
• 9th grade: Physical Assessment: What is it for?
• 10th grade (HS): Physical Activity Plan; Alcohol and Drugs
• 11th grade (HS): Supplements and Anabolic Steroids; Alcohol and Drugs
• 12th grade (HS): Physical and Mental Preparation for University Applicants; Mindfulness and the Importance of Sleep
Porto is the first school to offer weekly Digital Education classes during the regular period, which have specialist teachers and the use of Lego, tablets, electronic whiteboards and various digital resources.
Digital Education encourages student autonomy and creativity, as well as equips them for the future. Students delve deeper into the digital process and its endless possibilities. As they advance, students from all grades learn to program and are constantly updated following the most diverse digital innovations.
This curriculum also covers studies, practices and learning about digital citizenship and security, prevention of cyberbullying and awareness of the environmental challenges related to electronic waste.
In 2016, our School won the license to host the first TEDxKids in Brazil. TEDx is a non-profit local speaking program that aims to share ideas and experiences on a global platform. As of 2020, we received authorization to hold more TEDx events with students and teachers.
Porto Seguro was also certified by Apple with the Distinguished School seal, awarded to educational institutions for continuous innovation in learning, teaching and school environment, as well as for encouraging creativity, collaboration and critical thinking among students, and it is among the nine schools in Brazil to receive the recognition.
In 2019, Porto won the global Showcase School certification from Microsoft Education, which recognizes institutions that lead educational transformations. Currently, only 15 schools have this certification in Brazil.
In 2020, we were the only school in Brazil to hold the Online Scratch Day, an event dedicated to creative learning using MIT Lab’s Scratch programming language.
Financial Education is part of the daily life of students at Porto since the beginning of Elementary School, through activities that work on solving mathematical problems involving the economic and financial reality of a citizen. Exercises in Mathematics classes lead children and young people to reflect on currencies, units of measurement, as well as on the financial capacity of an individual or a company to carry out a certain operation of buying or selling a product or service. In addition, they learn how to plan and organize their personal finances.
In classes from 1st to 9th grade, the key-concepts of Earning, Spending, Investing and Donating are also explored, as well as notions of conscious consumption, economics, financial mathematics, reading and analysis of data, and entrepreneurship –the latter not only with the goal of developing startups, but also for students to learn how to undertake their own financial affairs and, thus, their own lives.
• Earning, spending, investing and donating
• Conscious consumption
• Economics
• Financial mathematics
• Data reading and analysis
• Entrepreneurship
The Solidarity Curriculum gives students the opportunity to develop activities involving awareness of socioenvironmental problems as well as actions to promote sustainable behavior regarding the planet and the care of children, young people and adults in vulnerable situations. The topics are organized by series in order to help students to know various issues that need humanitarian aid.
- Kindergarten 4 – Animal Protection
- Kindergarten 5 – Paper collectors
- 1st Grade – Homeless people
- 2nd Grade – Solidarity at school and towards vulnerable children
- 3rd Grade – Cultural Diversity
- 4th Grade – Seniors
- 5th Grade – Actions to fix the world
- 6th Grade – Sustainability: The issue of electronic waste
- 7th Grade – Bullying and inclusion
- 8th Grade – Self-care
- 9th Grade – Committees for life
- 10th Grade – Solidarity trails
- 11th Grade – Dialogues to solve humanity's problems
- 12th Grade – Studying together
The goal is to provide the students with an opportunity to learn about social or environmental issues, analyse data and collaborate with solutions to issues regarding this topic, by awakening empathy, generosity and entrepreneurship.