The Avenor Summer Expeditions School begins a new stage which is the result of its development around the options of children and parents in our community, from nursery and school. We invite you to find out the story of this project, written by the Summer School Coordinator, Cristina Farcaș.

This year, our summer school is developing in two directions. On the one hand, we launched the programme with a total of six weeks. This year, children with ages between 6 – 9, have the opportunity to participate, for two weeks, in educational activities in the Greenfield campus, an attractive location in terms of its proximity with the Băneasa forest, as well as in terms of its sports facilities. On the other hand, the educational content will focus mainly on outdoor learning and movement; topics such as ‘Survival Tips and Tricks’ and ‘Nature is Trendy’ will provide the optimal framework for exploring nature in all its meanings.

Main focus on outdoor activities

To summarise, a day of summer school at Avenor means 20% indoor vs 80% outdoor, Project-Based Learning (PBL), sports, expeditions in the forest near the school, or in parks near the nursery, fun and plenty of “social closeness”, respecting the physical distance requirements.


A day of summer school at Avenor means 20% indoor vs 80% outdoor.

The safety measures set by the authorities for this summer are within our reach  and therefore, we can easily comply with all of them. The number of available places was the only aspect that needed to be adjusted, being limited to 38 children for each location. The limited number of children allows us to comply with the regulations for social distance both indoors and outdoors. In addition, based on our recent experience of reopening the nursery at the end of the school year, for the summer school programme, we are relying on  functional protocols that have been piloted and revised.

Children choose what they want to learn

Avenor Summer School focuses on the Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach, which offers children the opportunity to choose what they want to investigate or what skills they want to develop, and therefore the outcome of the process is tailored around children’s needs and interests. This year, taking into account the unprecedented situation we have all been experiencing, we adapted in such a way that this valuable aspect of differentiated learning to not be affected.


Children will have the opportunity to practise their English .

At the same time, children explore other activities that they have missed during the lockdown period, like sports or fun games with friends in the middle of nature. Moreover, children will have the opportunity to practise their English and many of those who participate for the first time will have the possibility to meet their future colleagues and some of their teachers.

Working on group projects

At the end of a big PBL theme, the children will present the result of their project. The emotion for sharing projects during assemblies is invaluable and creates unforgettable memories for both children and teachers. I still remember how children prepared a big concert last year, at the end of the “Expedition through Music” theme. They organised tables and chairs, created entrance tickets and had fun sweeping the nursery playground on their own. One of the boys even made a demonstration of how to be a concert DJ. The assembly turned out to be a great party, with dozens of children singing “Hai dă-i bătaie DJ Vasile” that we all remember to this day.


Some of our team members are volunteering, which says a lot about their passion for education.

The team has grown with the programme

When this new summer school concept was launched, I was writing how more than 20 teachers were involved for an entire year in making the educational design of the programme. This year, the team grew even bigger, because our school colleagues have also joined.

What is truly special is that some of our team members are volunteering, which says a lot about their passion for education. These people live their teaching vocations every day, beyond the limitations of ”just doing their job”. Although the educational content was ready in the autumn of 2019, in practice we had two weeks to make all the necessary arrangements, as we did not know until the last minute if it would be possible to meet the children face-to-face. This challenging situation allowed me to  discover team resources beyond my imagination and expectations. We are almost ready and I am already confident that everything is going to be alright.

The whole team is looking forward to welcoming you to our Summer School. To find out more about the types of programmes, fees and activities, please feel free to access the news section on our website.