Activities

Aver-o-MarSchool Group joins schools from all over the world in Olympic Blue Schools

The Olympic Blue Schools programme, which is part of the Blue School education project, is being widely adopted by schools in different parts of the world. From Canada and the United States to Brazil and Argentina; from Honduras to Mexico;

from Panama to Uruguay; from Ireland to Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Germany; from Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Mozambique, East Timor to Australia, schools are joining forces in favour of the cause of the oceans.

The Blue Olympics came about as an exciting challenge, proposed by Spanish coordinating teacher Félix Rodríguez. On 8 May, an online meeting was held with the organisers of the more than 80 participating schools to outline the project. The aim is to involve schools from all continents and show the world that Blue Schools are united, highlighting the possibility of promoting ocean literacy at a global level.

During the week of 20 to 24 May, students from Agrupamento de Escolas de Aver-o-Mar carried out a series of activities related to protecting the oceans. These activities were compiled into a video, as required by the project, to commemorate World Oceans Day, celebrated by the United Nations (UN) on 8 June. The video demonstrated the commitment and active participation of our students in preserving the oceans and raising environmental awareness.

Graça Pinheiro

SuperTmatik Championship – Mental Calculation and Iberian Maths Quiz 2023/2024: results

As in previous years, the school’s students took part in the SuperTmatik Championship – Mental Calculation and Iberian Maths Quiz – 2023/2024. These games arouse great interest in the students because they combine mental stimulation with the fun of classic board games and their aims are to encourage interest in learning, contribute to the acquisition, consolidation and expansion of skills and knowledge, reinforce the playful component in the teaching-learning process and promote socialising between students and teachers.

The qualifying rounds of this competition, to determine the champions and runners-up in each class, took place on 28 February at the E.B. 2/3 school in Aver-o-Mar.

The champions and runners-up took part in the online grand final to determine the international winners in each category in May

Of particular note were the excellent classifications of the students who took part in the Iberian Maths Quiz, where three students stood on the podium in the TOP 10, Miguel Vieira – 2nd position from 8thE, Matilde Salgado – 7th position from 9thA and Gonçalo Moreira – 10th position from 9thA.

5th D – Catarina Pereira – 26th position (out of 3450 participants)

5th C – Maria Luíza Silva – 29th position (out of 3450 participants)

6th E – João Morim – 40th position (out of 4400 participants)

6th E – Isaac Souza – 74th position (out of 4400 participants)

8th A – Carolina Aldeias – 27th position (out of 1850 participants)

Also remarkable were the scores obtained in Mental Calculation.

1st CMRE Award of the Archdiocese of Braga

The 1st CMRE Award ceremony took place on 4th June 2024 at 9pm in the large auditorium of the Braga Forum. This initiative, unprecedented in Portugal within the scope of the subject of Catholic Moral and Religious Education, sought to give greater visibility to the work carried out in the subject in the various educational communities, which are the School Groups in the geographical area of the Archdiocese of Braga. The EMRC Service team, which promoted the event, wanted to dignify the subject of EMRC, value the students enrolled in the subject who reveal and demonstrate human values for the good of others and the common good, and at the same time recognise the commitment and close work of teachers and students, as well as pay tribute to teachers with 25 or more years of teaching career in EMRC, in addition to gratitude and recognition to students and EMRC teachers in general. The event featured three musical performances by students and teachers from the Articulated Music Education programme at AE Maximinos, a project resulting from a partnership with the Artistic School of the Calouste Gulbenkian Conservatory of Music. Guests at the 1st EMRC Gala included mayors and education councillors, headmasters and deputy headmasters of school groups, presidents of parents’ associations, presidents of the General Council, HSC coordinators, as well as one student per school, representing the students enrolled in EMRC, and all the EMRC teachers.

Representing the Aver-o-Mar School Group were: Sara Cortesão from 7th grade, elected by her peers as the Student Representative of the EMRC students, accompanied by her parents and brother, Deputy Principal Helena Costa, the

President of the school’s Parents’ Association, Carlos Pinheiro, and the EMRC teacher.

At the end there was cake, served by Bishop Delfim Gomes. Delfim Gomes, with sparkling wine or juice to toast. It was an incredible evening where good humour, fraternisation, gratitude and joy reigned.

Earthquake with epicentre detected by the seismograph

On 7th June, Portugal recorded an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.7 on the Richter scale, which was felt in the city of Castelo Branco.

The epicentre was located 20 kilometres east of Oleiros and was detected by the seismograph installed at the school, which is more than 200km from the site in a straight line. On the same day, on the island of Terceira, in the Azores, there was also an earthquake of magnitude 3.7, which was the sixth felt on the island in a seismovolcanic crisis that has been going on since June 2022, all events with no data to consider.

The data from the seismograph installed at Aver-o-Mar School is available online and can be accessed via its website, as can the IPMA seismicity map.

Earthquakes – Aver o Mar School Group (aeaveromar.pt)

IPMA – Earthquake map

Inter-city final of the solar cart races

On Energy Day, 29th May, Polis de Gondomar hosted the Intermunicipal Final of the solar cart races, part of the “At the Speed of the Sun 2024” project. This event brought together several schools from the municipality of Porto, highlighting the importance of renewable energy and technological innovation among young people.

The Aver-o-Mar School took part with the “Wally” trolley, built with commitment and dedication by the 8ºC students under the guidance of their Physics and Chemistry teacher. Although they didn’t manage to reach the podium, the experience was extremely enriching. The project offered an excellent educational opportunity, promoting knowledge of renewable energies and encouraging teamwork and creativity.

The support of Póvoa de Varzim City Council, represented by Dr Silvana Pontes, was fundamental. The Municipality provided transport, ensuring that the students could take part in both the Municipal Race in Matosinhos and the Intermunicipal Final in Gondomar. This support was crucial to the school’s presence in the competition.

The students’ dedication to building the solar carts not only highlighted the potential of renewable energies, but also emphasised the importance of educational projects that integrate theory and practice. These projects enrich the school curriculum and develop essential skills for the students’ future.

AveRobot School Championship

The 1st “AveRobot” Robotics Competition of the Aver-o-Mar School Group took place on 14 June. This competition was organised by the IT teachers who teach ICT and STEAM to the eighth and ninth grades.

The STEAM subject was a fortnightly one-hour supplementary course created this school year for the eighth and ninth grade classes. This subject is made up of five areas: Science; Technology; Engineering; Art and Maths. These five areas should not be seen as watertight, but as working spaces that intersect and which, together, contribute to the development of the areas of competence set out in the Student Profile. The prevailing logic was to develop challenges, problems or projects, working together and simultaneously on learning in different areas, emphasising interdisciplinarity, the creative use of materials and collaboration with school services and projects.

Throughout this “AveRobot” project, various stages were developed with the participation and coordination of the members of the IT group: Helena Nogueira, David Pires and Carlos Mendonça. The students from the 8th grade classes created the tracks, with each class developing a part of the track using various materials, from models of buildings to representations of the beach. Each track simulated a street around the school and/or Póvoa de Varzim.

To create the Robot Cars, the 8th and 9th graders began by drawing 3D models of the chassis/wheels for the competition, integrating the necessary components, with some groups of students also exploring the creation of chassis using recycled products (cardboard, boxes, wheels, etc.). The cars were then assembled, something that really captivated the students. In this process, motors were soldered, the necessary 3D prints were made, components were connected, sensors and batteries were installed, among other things. Finally, the students carried out research and created the “programme” in “Arduino IDE” for the car to work, calibrating the sensors and testing the components on a test track. On the day of the race, the students readjusted the robot to the conditions of the official track and carried out the competition with great enthusiasm.

It was a difficult course, with many constraints, but the IT group from Aver-o-Mar insisted, persisted and “when a man dreams, a work is born!”

Congratulations to all the students who took part, for their originality and persistence. Congratulations to all the teams that took part and especially to the three winning teams, two from the 9th grade and one from the 9th grade!

Photos and vídeos available.

Portuguese 2nd cycle SuperTmatik and English 1st cycle and 2nd cycle SuperTmatik

At the end of the year, we’re sharing the results of the Portuguese SuperTmatik, for the 2nd cycle, and the English SuperTmatik, for the 1st and 2nd cycles.

All the participating students showed enthusiasm, determination and the will to win, although many of them couldn’t disguise the emotion and nervousness that surrounded them. Each of the students did their best, concentrating and trying to finish the race in the shortest time possible.

The students from Aver-o-Mar are to be congratulated, as they achieved excellent results at national level.

Portuguese 2nd cycle – out of a total of 9050 participants:

Afonso Martins – 5th F – 22nd place

Bruno Lima – 5th D – 73rd place

Patrícia Fonseca – 6th A – 73rd place

Martim Graça – 6th D – 133rd place

English 1st cycle

3rd year out of a total of 6850 students

Leticia Parente (EB Refojos) – 54th place

João Areias (EB Navais) – 62nd place

Dalila Torres (EB Agro Velho) – 69th place

4th year out of a total of 9900 participants:

Fernando Lima (EB Teso) – 16th place

Mohammed Allah – (EB Fieiro) – 24th place

Cecília Braga – (EB Refojos) – 29th place

English 2nd cycle – out of 10900 participants

Catarina Pereira – 5th D – 17th place

Maria Luíza Silva – 5th C – 49th place

Mariana Dias – 6th C – 85th place

David Silva – 6th F – 130th place