Category: School life

“Avenor offered me the proper environment to develop as a person. Unlike normal schools, I met some amazing professors who made me enjoy studying their disciplines, I had the opportunity to become fluent in English, so much so that people ask me if I am actually Romanian, I was able to take globally recognized exams that opened many doors for me, and I had the pleasure to participate in a multitude of activities that shape your way of thinking and remain imprinted in your memory, such as the beautiful internships, one-day trips, volunteering activities, and famous guests that were invited.” Alex – Avenor alumnus, class of 2019. 

The first generation of the Avenor International High School graduates, Alex‘s generation, finished college and is already employed. Their story is the best guide for our current students who are looking into the future.

Avenor: Please tell us a few words about Alex Gheorghiță – newly hired employee.

Alex: In the beginning I felt immensely joyful and anxious at the same time, as it was my first serious, full-time job, showing me the reality of adulthood and both the responsibilities and perks that came with having a job. While personal time has decreased substantially from what it used to be during Faculty days, it also meant a huge increase in personal and technical skills development, representing a stage of maturing. As months passed, I overcame the shock that everybody experiences when they first start working for real, and slowly but surely gathered substantial amounts of knowledge and skills to, at some point, become a professional Full-Stack engineer.

Avenor: At this point in your life, how close is reality to the projection you made when you were a student?

Alex: Well, the funny thing is that when I was a student at Avenor I really wished to become a civil engineer. I even participated in some internships to two architecture studios and a construction site, an experience which I will never forget. However, in grade 11 or 12 my Computer Science professor, Mr. Ali, told my parents that I was really good at programming and that I should maybe consider it as a career for the future. I am more than glad to say that you were right Mr. Ali, it is a much more satisfying and creative career. Therefore, I thank you very much!

Avenor: How did Avenor help you to become the person you are today?

Alex: Avenor offered me the proper environment to develop as a person. Unlike normal schools, I met some amazing professors who made me enjoy studying their disciplines, I had the opportunity to become fluent in English, so much so that people ask me if I am actually Romanian, I was able to take globally recognized exams that opened many doors for me, and I had the pleasure to participate in a multitude of activities that shape your way of thinking and remain imprinted in your memory, such as the beautiful internships, one-day trips, volunteering activities, and famous guests that were invited.

Avenor: How difficult or easy was the transition from student at Avenor to student at the University?

Alex: In all honesty it was not a difficult transition, and that is because all the studying and preparation for Cambridge exams at Avenor prepared me mentally and gave me the necessary discipline to easily manage life at University. I can say that at moments, studying for Cambridge exams felt like being in University already. However, from a social standpoint, the aspect that changed at University is that I have met and befriended people from all around the globe, from the United States all the way to the Middle East and Asia, friends that I still talk to and go out with even today.

Avenor: What is your most vivid and cherished memory of Avenor?

Alex: There are many such instances of cherished memories. In spite of this, I have to say that the first few weeks at Avenor is the memory that is most alive to me. Why? Because until then, coming from a normal, public school where students would constantly be stuck in a survival mode, I had never thought that there could be such a wonderful school-experience. Besides the jaw-dropping building and hallways that I only saw in movies, the lessons that I attended those weeks left me speechless and craving for more.

120 beneficiary students, an experience of 13 years and a program of over 650.00 euros. This is the very brief description of the Avenor Scholarship Program. But what does this scholarship program mean beyond the numbers?

 

There are voices describing the program as a chance for excellence, others as an opportunity not to be missed. Some are motivated by the desire to succeed, encouraged by the results of an education system that proves its effectiveness every year, and others are captivated by the success stories of others, by the projects carried out and by the impact they have on the community.

Regardless of the goals that lead them to apply to the scholarship program, the candidates are definitely extraordinary students who want to help, to get involved, to make a difference – for themselves and for those around them.

Dana Papadima, Educational Director at Avenor and member of the Scholarship Committee provides a full description of the Avenor Scholar profile.

“The Avenor Scholar brings together a number of academic characteristics and moral traits that derive directly from the values ​​of our School and make the most of the Avenor Learner Profile, in general.

 Obviously, the standards of academic excellence are extremely high, but, along with these, we want our scholars to demonstrate a constant proactive attitude, to exemplarily respect the standards of behavior, to participate in all the School’s events, to be true role models for our entire school community. Along with these desirable criteria for all our students, the Avenor scholarship holder demonstrates his added value through an individual project (or a mini-team) that he proposes, leads and monitors during a school year, or over several years. Obviously, the project of each scholarship holder also circumscribes the Avenor Learner Profile, taking different forms (artistic, ecological, academic, creating events) that reflects work autonomy and emotional and moral engagement in community life.“

Meet the Avenor scholars from 2021-2022 school year

In the 2021 – 2022 school year, Avenor supported 14 scholars – 10 students continued their scholarship from the previous year (2020-2021) and 4 new students. 

We invite you to find out the reasons behind the decision of each of the new scholars to enroll in this race for excellence.

Tudor, grade 9

“For me, the scholarship status is an honor, but also an opportunity to develop and evolve. Coming from the national school system, I was looking for an education system that would encourage student development at all levels. I applied for a scholarship at Avenor because I identified with the school’s values ​​and because I wanted to develop and reach my full potential.”

 

Antonia, grade 11

”I applied for a scholarship here at Avenor because I admired the other scholarship students as well as their projects and I wanted to achieve the same thing. It was a way for me to take on more responsibilities, challenge myself and give back to the community. It has been a great journey so far and I am glad I get to be a part of it.”

Ada, grade 11

”When I first applied, my initial motivation was to take on a new challenge. I have always found I could balance all my subjects and extra-curricular activities rather easily, so I was excited to change things up.

Additionally, I acknowledged it as an opportunity to develop organizational and leadership skills. Looking at fellow scholarship students, I appreciated all the effort and ambition with which they worked to bring their projects to life. I was sure of the fact that there were long hours of work behind the scenes, but with those came the opportunity to learn and progress.

Lastly, I was convinced of the fact that it would have a long-term impact on my professional and personal life. It would give me endless opportunities to make connections, explore different topics and subjects, help my peers and my community and make a change in life at Avenor.”

Alexa, grade 9

”I chose to apply for my scholarship because, at the time, I firmly believed I met the criteria of a scholarship student. I had the grades necessary to apply, but that was not the main reason. I decided to apply because I wanted to bring a new perspective to the community with my project, Avenor Wellbeing, a project which focuses on the wellbeing of the students in Avenor. In addition, I wanted to be a role model to the other students and to motivate them to achieve their goals.”

The Avenor College Scholarship Programme offers High School students scholarships that cover between 25% and 100% of the annual tuition fee. The scholarships are awarded until the end of the current educational cycle, subject to compliance with the terms of the scholarship contract.

More information about the awarding of scholarships, criteria, registration and the programme schedule for the 2023-2024 school year can be found on the Avenor website.

Our passionate mathematicians from Math-ly News have decided to put together a little something for you to enjoy over these holidays! Please find out from these two articles published in the most recent Maths newsletter why you got or why you didn’t get your Christmas presents on time.

How can Santa visit all the children in the world in one midnight?

Written by Stefan O. (8 Delta)

A lot of people thought about this question, but nobody seemed to have a clear idea of how Santa manages to do this. In my opinion, Santa uses math to achieve delivering Presents. 

You now ask yourself how? Well the answer is pretty simple. We know that the surface area of the Earth is approximately 510 million square km and Santa travels for about 9-12 hours to almost 4 Billion people. This means that Santa and his reindeers need to travel at approximately 6000000 square kilometers per hour.

Another aspect that Santa considers is the time. With so many different hours around the globe he needs to prioritize. In order to do this, he should start at exactly at 12 am and start with the countries that have the hour most near to morning.

To sum up, Santa uses a lot of math to do this job every year.

 

How fast does Santa’s sleigh need to fly in order to deliver gifts to all children of this world?

Written by Maya and Tania (6 Delta)

As you all know, Santa Claus delivers gifts to children all over the world in just one night! We’re sure that most of you are wondering how he manages to do this. Well we can easily find out, using the power of Math’s.

We know for a fact that there are about 1.6 billion households in the world and since our planet has about 65 million square kilometers of habitable land, the distance between any two houses should be more or less 0.225 km. Santa is responsible for delivering presents to about 500 million households, since the rest of the people don’t believe in him.

Santa has around 42 hours to deliver presents due to different time zones around the world and because the night is longer in winter. During this time he has to travel a distance of about 0.33 km from each house, place the gifts under the Christmas tree, eat any snacks left for him and travel to the next house.

This means that Santa must spend 300 microseconds (0.003) per house. It sounds impossible for any ordinary person, but we are sure that Santa gets a little bit of help from Christmas magic!

With a new team of coordinators, an ambitious goal and a consistent effort, the Avenor Christmas Charity Fair was the event that, just days before Christmas, brought the Avenor community together to enjoy and give in the same time.

We are proud of the 7th edition of the Christmas Fair and the team of high school organisers who once again managed to pleasantly surprise us with their professionalism, involvement and care for those around them.

The Avenor Christmas Charity Fair is the way we carry on the Christmas spirit every year, with generosity and the joy of being together. This year’s edition took place on December 20 and was an event that, after a long time, brought together students, teachers, parents, alumni and also guests from outside the Avenor community.

The work behind the event

The whole event is 100% student led! The team of Fair organisers was formed this year by 60 high school students who are enthusiastic, involved, innovative and with a genuine desire to produce a change for the better.

The organising team, under the coordination of Clara and Maria, two 11th grade students, worked for almost a month to plan, execute, communicate and implement this project so that the Christmas Fair will take place according to the tradition – involving everyone, with attention to detail, with surprises and good cheer and last but not least, safe for all participants.

The organising team issued an open invitation to the entire community in order to bring as many guests as possible to the campus to enjoy and at the same time help the less fortunate.

“We receive, but we want to give. We want to help those who don’t have the same opportunities or resources as us, or don’t have the love and support they so desperately need.

Our Christmas Fair is a place to meet friends, have fun and eat goodies, but also make a difference!” – Clara and Maria, coordinators of the Avenor Christmas Charity Fair.

 

The charitable cause of the event

A charitable cause mobilised the entire community – the cause of the ”Ajungem Mari” Association – an organisation nationally acclaimed for their immeasurable contribution towards bettering the lives and education of children from orphanages or disfavoured environments.

The amount of 40,000 lei that comes from the proceeds and donations from the Fair will be directed to the “Ajungem Mari” Association.

The Fair Day

On the day of the Fair, the high school students delighted their younger colleagues with cotton candy, pancakes, popcorn, hot chocolate, hot dogs, photos with Santa, photo booths, skill games, jumping games and video games. Every student in the school toured the Fair to see what surprise awaits at the next stand. Whether they participated with their schoolmates, or were accompanied by their parents or friends, all Avenor students felt the joy of this day.

The atmosphere was assured by the best carolers – the teachers’ choir, students from the Good Vibes club and Sara’s Band.

Congratulations to the student organisers and thanks to the entire community for keeping the Christmas spirit alive together!

Three 10th grade students – Brianna, Iarina and Andrada – are the founders of a project entirely student-led, through which they invite Avenor students to put themselves in the position of Santa’s elves and to prepare gifts for children who are less fortunate enjoy the holidays as they deserve. In the message below from the three organizers, you can find all the details that can transform you, if you want, into real elves.

 

The ‘Santa’s Little Helpers’ project started last year when we were discussing our experiences as volunteers at „Salvati Copii“ Romania. Many times we don’t realize how privileged we are, especially on Christmas morning when we wake up in the morning with presents arranged under the tree. This is how we came up with the idea of ​​the project, from our desire to bring joy to the less fortunate children during the winter holidays.

 

Last year we managed to collect 90 gifts for the little ones, this year we aim to collect 140. The goal is big, so we need as many elves as possible who want to help us.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN “SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS”

❄️Enter HERE and you will find the list of all the children who need our help. Choose who you want to give a gift to and write your full name, email address, phone number and class next to the child you chose.

❄️ Follow the gift suggestions from the chosen child (mentioned by him as he wishes) and try to include them in the package made by you. If no size is specified, then the child does not want the clothing.

❄️Pack the gift in a SEALED cardboard box! Don’t forget to decorate it in a packaging suitable for the Holidays.

❄️Put the label with the child’s name, age and the educational center for which you prepared the gift. Make sure this gift comes from SANTA and not you, so we don’t ruin the magic of Christmas for the little ones.

Since we want each child to enjoy similar gifts, we would be very happy if each was worth around 250 – 500 lei.

How many gifts can you give? Santa has no limits, so if you want to take on more children, we are more than happy for you to do so!

🛎️DEADLINE 12 December – Office, Secondary building.

 

 

On the eve of December 1 and the celebration of Romania’s National Day, it gives us great joy to present to our entire community a family of Avenorians who have re-elected Romania after 20 years spent outside the country. We thank them for their honest testimony, for the joy and hope they manage to convey through this message.

 

Happy Anniversary Romania!

We are a family of 5 – the parents – Lili and Ionut – and the children – Vlad (21 years old), Maria (19 years old) and Luca (12 years old).

I left Romania in 2000, a young couple with good prospects in Romania: Lili, a doctor in medicine, Ionuț, a computer engineer, at the invitation of a Japanese medical software company. We planned to go for 2 years, during which time we would explore wonderful Japan and exotic Asia.

We did not imagine that the 2 years would turn into 22 and an extraordinary life journey, to which, by divine grace, our 3 children joined us along the way and they are extraordinary and wonderful as well.

Maybe we would have stayed longer, although the plan was to return after 20 years, to be with our parents, but last year the second grandfather left us and we came to be the support to our kind grandmothers, both of them caught up in countryside life, with chickens and gardens.

We missed home, although we came to visit every year and stayed as long as we could, which was very good for us and the children.

We love Romania and Romanians and the longer we stayed in Japan (12 years) and then in Singapore (10 years), the more we came to appreciate them.

In the country many things have changed for the better during this time. Romanians are open-minded and open-hearted, laborious and enterprising. We felt the change from year to year, so we ended up finding at home everything that was abroad.

At one point I even realised that people at home live better than foreigners and they don’t even realise it or unfortunately don’t appreciate it. Probably with some leaders truly dedicated to the community and its holistic development, Romania could become heaven on earth from all points of view, a heaven that we would all enjoy to the fullest.

We hope to be able to contribute now that we’re back, with a lot of ideas and enthusiasm. We feel the same as Adrian Păunescu writes in this poem full of soul and teachings, “Întoarcerea țăranului”, sung by Ștefan Hrușcă:

“Ai colindat ce-ai colindat

Prin lumea veşnic friguroasă, 

Acum bine-ai venit în sat,

Mai cald e totuşi pe acasă…“

…especially since joining the warm and welcoming community of Avenor College!

We feel very lucky and are very excited about everything we found here.

We really like the teachers and Luca integrated very well in the class. He has made friends, he is very motivated and we are happy to see him growing day by day in height and intelligence!

Now we are preparing for the holidays, and I hope to gather in December at the school, as many as possible – parents, children, colleagues with Luca – for a workshop on traditional bread yeast, to learn to enjoy the beautiful, growing culture and thriving like the yeast that makes our bread healthy.

And inspired by this magical process, let’s put the same spirit of communication, contribution and collective flourishing into practice in our culture, for an even better life, every day. God help!

Thank you for everything!

Lili, Ionuț, Maria, Vlad and Luca

We invite you to read one of the most interesting articles written by Maria B. (11 Alfa) for Issue 10 of 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗛-𝗟𝗬-𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦, the first Avenor mathematics magazine, initiated by Miss Mihaela Ancuța – Mathematics Teacher, and  coordinated by a team of students from middle school and high school.

Have you ever asked yourself why you can always find both McDonald’s and KFC on the same street? Why are there 5 coffee shops around the same corner, but none for the following 5 streets? How is that smart for the businesses? Game theory has the answer.

Game theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with the analysis of strategies for dealing with competitive situations where the outcome of a participant’s choice of action depends critically on the actions of other participants. So put shortly, the way in which people, businesses, governments, and more make decisions when they are interdependent.

Before John Nash developed Game Theory, an economic theory suggested that if everyone did what was best for themselves it would lead to the best possible outcome for society. Game theory refutes this idea and leads to a complete rethink of economics and a Nobel Prize for John Nash. There is actually a fantastic film about this called A Beautiful Mind starring Russel Crowe!

Let’s take the most popular scenario in which this idea comes into play: the Prisoner’s dilemma. Let’s consider two friends, Amy and Trefor, who were suspected of robbing a bank. They were taken for interrogation, into separate rooms and given two choices.

Either they confess and get 2 years in prison, or they deny and only get one year for different offenses in their past. That seems like a no-brainer, obviously both of them will choose to deny.

However, let’s see what happens when their decisions become interdependent. The interrogator adds a new condition: If Amy confesses and snitches on Trefor then she will be given immunity and serve no time in prison, whereas Trefor will serve 3 years if he continues to deny the crime. The same offer is given to Trefor. Considering they do not know what the other will answer, they both confess, avoiding the risk of 3 years in prison.

 

If Amy assumes Trefor is going to deny the crime, it is better for Amy to confess. If Amy assumes Trefor is going to confess then it is also better for her to confess. Therefore her best choice is always to confess. The same is true of Trefor and both people end up confessing even though it would have been better for them both to deny.

See how their plea changes completely when their decisions become interdependent?. Interesting isn’t it? But how does any of this apply to Economics?

Imagine the following scenario. You sell ice cream on a beach which has no other ice cream shops. Where would you place your cart to attract the most customers? At the center. But one day another ice cream cart appears on the beach. Luckily the owners agree to split the beach in half so both shops are set in the middle of the separated sections.

 

However, the next day, the competition decides to move right between the two territories, at the center of the beach as that will not only attract the customers on his half of the beach, but also a quarter of the ones on your territory.

The next day, you both set your ice cream carts back-to-back at the center of the beach and realize there is no other place either one can move to gain more customers. This way, neither of you can improve your position without losing customers-this is known as Nash Equilibrium. Nash equilibrium is the position in which nothing is gained if any of the players change their strategy if all other players maintain theirs. The first position of the ice cream carts, although better for the customers, as they had to walk much less, couldn’t last as it did not create a Nash equilibrium.

The same theory will apply to real life. Although many other aspects come into play, marketing strategies, quality of services, price differences and more, at the heart of their strategies, you will always find the principles of Game Theory.

 

My name is Gillian Carroll, I am the Senior Student Counsellor at Avenor. I am ably assisted by Louisa Dăscălescu – History Teacher, Luminița Susanu – Student Programmes Manager and Examination Officer and Boyana Dragomir – Student Support Coordinator. Together we are the careers counselling team here at Avenor and all our work lies in a student-centred framework.  Louisa and myself are both teachers who know the education system really well and have been helping students access universities for many years. Luminița and Boyana are support staff and our job would be impossible without their professionalism, organisational skills and wonderful personalities. 

It can be argued that the main focus of school education is to get pupils into the best universities with the best possible grades. Whilst this is a good focus, I would argue that Avenor goes much deeper than this. We want our students to be self-assured, ambitious and ‘future ready’ and this means that our focus is far more on each individual student; getting to know them really well and getting them know and be honest about themselves, developing bespoke pathways to increase their potential and confidence.  From this student-centred approach, we know students will get to the top universities and that they will have the best possible grades.

With the background information provided, I will now tell you what we do in High School.  Week by week, we work closely with the LOTC team from grades 9-12. The programme in LOTC is designed to focus on the Avenor learner profile and lies at the heart of what we stand for.  Students develop their community involvement and awareness, their confidence and willingness to become independent learners in projects beyond the core curriculum. There is also a strong focus on careers and profile matching so that students learn about and develop their strengths and talents.  Beyond LOTC, we publicise externally organised events like university fairs and summer schools. The primary work of the career’s team depends on the time of year.

Currently (October) our focus is on grade 12. We are interviewing all students regularly and monitoring their progress as they apply to universities. We are there for support, we are there for data like transcripts and predicted grades, we are there to write references, we are there to help with the application process. We are there to speak to parents if they have concerns. We are there for the students; guiding with the writing of personal statements and motivational letters and making sure they get access to the best possible support. For many students, this may involve access to an outside agency which specialises in university applications to certain countries. We aim to work with those agencies to make sure the support is coordinated and professional.

After the January mock examinations, most of the grade 12s will have completed their university applications so our focus turns to grade 11.  We start with helping them to write CVs and to objectively see their skills and talents and to collect evidence of the same. We assist, where needed in guiding them to choose relevant Internships.  Here I must add that the Internships provided at Avenor are ‘second to none’, they are impressive and definitely strike the right note with university application panels. 

The fruit of our labours is now four cohorts of Avenor graduates all finding places at universities of their choice on courses that match their talents and interests. As the school grows in size, we will continue to provide the same level of care for each individual student. Our team will undoubtedly grow also.

Whilst our focus is on grade 11 and 12, we are available for any student or parent in the school who wishes to talk with us. Please feel free to contact us at any time and we are happy to speak with you. If you want to know about university applications, gap years, possible alternatives to university, internships, anything at all related to careers, please get in touch, we will be delighted to hear from you.

All the rumours are true! On November 5, at Teatrul Țăndărică, 19 Avenor students organise  the first TEDxYouth@AvenorCollege. Tickets are available HERE.

TEDxYouth@AvenorCollege is the most awaited event in November because it bring in front of the public a group of experts, thinkers and doers across a wide range of fields to talk about failures and mistakes, reunited under the “CTRL + ALT + DEL. Reset and Start over.” conversation theme.

What is a TEDx event? 

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x means ”independently organised TED event”. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised (subject to certain rules and regulations).

What was our inspiration?

It all started back in 2018, when Avenor was hosting the Avenor Mentorship Programme. Special guests, invited by students, would come over and give a talk to different groups of children inspiring them with their stories. The presentations as well as the followup Q&A sessions provided students with a lot of knowledge and ideas. Some of our speakers included Pavel Bartoș, Ana Consulea and Alex Găvan. 

The pandemic unfortunately forced the project into stand-by, but 4 years later, Avenor applied for a TEDx licence, and to our delight we were granted one. 

Why a TED event? 

TED events have the purpose to educate, raise awareness and inform our community as well as the global audience. We wish to tackle topics that are not often given a platform, and facilitate the project in an accessible way. 

Our motto this year is ‘Inform, Incentivise, Inspire’, and we wish to positively impact as many people as possible through this initiative, with the great support of our speakers and sponsors. 

Event details 

A TEDx event theme is a general subject that our activity will revolve around. This year’s theme is “CTRL + ALT + DEL. Reset and Start over.” This command simply restarts a PC. Given our current global context that forced most of us to adapt, and the very modern world we live in, we decided this theme would be perfect. 

On the road to success, there will always be obstacles along the way. Instead of hiding from failure, sometimes it’s best to embrace and maybe even cherish mistakes. CTRL + ALT + DEL suggests acknowledging these mishaps, and exploring ways of overcoming them. Finally, reaching the peak of the mountain stronger than ever.

One of our goals is to offer variety. Therefore, the audience will benefit from a broad range of speakers from varied backgrounds of interest. Here they are:

• Cristina Bâtlan – Founder and CEO Musette
• Elisabeta Moraru – Country Manager of Google Romania
• Ionuț Budișteanu – VisionBot Inventor
• Ciprian Lupu – Rally Driver
• Francisc Doboș – Parish Priest
• Oana Gheorghiu – Founder Asociația Dăruiește Viață
• Dana Papadima – Educational Director at Avenor College
• Christiana Budică –  Kickboxing World Champion 

TEDxYouth@AvenorCollege is a public event and you can find more details about the organising team, the event and the speakers on:

Our TED website      Instagram        Facebook

Dr. Daniela Vasile, Director of Learning and Teacher of Mathematics at Avenor College, talks in this interview about learning, but from a different perspective – the continuous learning of the teacher and the impact of this lifelong learning process on students and on school.

 

You have over 20 years experience in international education, you have a PhD in mathematics, you have extensive experience in teaching&learning, in many school systems around the world. Even so, you enrolled in the QTS course (Qualified Teacher Status), the first qualification for a teacher in the UK. What was your motivation?

In none of the schools where I worked before I needed this particular qualification and I do not need it here as well. However, in the Avenor teaching body we have a significant number of Brits and I decided that, due to respect for them, I want an UK qualification.

There were times in international education when qualifications were not too important – it was very important to cater for the students’ cognitive, emotional and social developments. Now these are equally important, but qualifications matter as well. Additionally, I really wanted some of my younger colleagues to follow my example – QTS will give everyone a time of reflection into their own practice to become better for themselves and, as a result, for us to become an even stronger organisation.

 

You are the Chair of Evaluation Teams for CIS (Council of International Schools) – you have inspected many schools around the world so far. How does this experience of working help you as Director of Learning?

Once or twice a year, depending on how busy my schedule is, I lead a team of 6-10 evaluators with the aim of evaluating a school on the following domains: Purpose and Direction, Governance, Leadership and Ownership, the Curriculum, Teaching and Assessing for Learning, The students’ Learning and Wellbeing, Staffing, Premises and Physical Accomodation, Community and Home Partnerships, Boarding (when there is one), practically, all areas that a school needs to cover.

First 3 days of such an evaluation visit reminds me of a giant puzzle, with all pieces mentioned that my team needs to put together to form a common understanding of the school’s strengths and needs with respect to the direction that they define for themselves. Next days are about zooming in in areas that are either outstanding or that require improvement.

The Chair’s role is to bring the team of evaluators that never worked together to coherence and to writing a report of evaluation that helps the school move forward in its development. I meet new colleagues (from the team and from the school evaluated).

Every time I bring back home ideas and more experience. It is recommended to look outside in order to get better inside and this is what it is all about.

 

At Avenor you have decided to sign up for Titularizare, an exam in the national education system. What was the reason behind this decision and how will you help the school, in the medium and long term, having this qualification?

One of the metrics that schools are assessed against with regards to the ARACIP accreditation is the number of teachers with the status of “titular”. I am grateful to be a member of the Avenor community, so it is my duty to give back to the organisation. With this in mind, I decided to sign up for “titularizare”.

It does not really help me at all, but helps the school and this makes me feel better. The process also helps me understand the challenges of my colleagues that are exposed to the same.

It is time-consuming, one needs to fill out lots of paperwork – not a joy.

The written examination is 4 hours long – I see this as an opportunity to remember how our students feel during the high-stake exams. I guess that I am just trying to find some positives.

If we must do something, let’s do it with grace even if we don’t like it.

 

Of the many courses you attended this year, which one did you find most interesting?

Each of the courses that I took were interesting and useful – this must be the case, when our Professional Learning programme is based on choice. It was my choice of what to do.

I am half-way through the UK National Qualification for Headship, an 18 months long course based on independent study, getting up-to-date with the latest research in education, group discussions and reflection on challenges of leading a school. It ends with an 8 days long assessment – we will be given a scenario of a school and we need to evaluate it and write suggestions and recommendations. In a way, the final assessment is similar to my work for CIS.

I learned a lot from a one week intensive course on Curriculum Leadership that I completed last summer.

Even though courses are nowadays online, they are structured in such a way that allows collaboration between participants from various schools. Learning together is always better!

 

What courses did the Avenor teachers attend this year?

Each Avenor teacher signed up for one of the four choices, offered as an one year long learning experience:

• Teaching Enhanced by Technology

• The Art and Craft of Teaching

• Teaching with Love and Logic

• A personalised pathway

Except for this, teachers signed up for various conferences and courses, some leading to qualifications, such as: definitivat, QTS, CRED courses, grade didactice, trainer, Google Certified Teacher.

This year, about ⅓ of the staff followed a course that finalised with a qualification – I am so proud of our teachers, who are modelling longlife learning. If we want students to be enthusiastic about and engaged with their learning, we need to model this for them.

Addittionaly, we had a team of leaders that went to London for the COBIS conference, one collegue went to BETT, the global community for education technology, some leaders joined The Inquiry Education Summit (Toddle) and many others taking part in various workshops.

We subscribed to three platforms: The National College, The National Safety Online and The PSHE Association, and teachers access workshops according to the subjects that they teach or according to the projects that they run.

 

What is the impact of teacher continuous learning on Avenor’s development as a school?

Firstly, every learning experience makes us better professionals. It is what I always tell my students – opportunities come and go, you need to keep your eyes wide open and grab them.

It is not easy, given the very busy schedule of a teacher and I was amazed and so happy this year to see how my colleagues embraced learning. Only think about the use of technology two years ago and now – what a steep learning curve it was!

We know that we are outstanding when our expertise transcends the walls of our school – one such example is our collaboration with Aspire teachers, an NGO that helps the state schools in Romania.

We are organising workshops for them and I want to thank here to all my colleagues involved. We have quite a number of Avenor teachers who are qualified to deliver adult training and we hope that opportunities to do that will only grow towards what is in our strategic plan as “Avenor Professional Centre”.

We learn from each other, we learn from research, from the books that we read and discuss, from courses, workshops, webinars – this learning is translated in the class, for students’ benefits.

Additionally, professional learning brings joy and energy that again translate in the enthusiasm with which we enter the class. Research says that one of the biggest motivators for students is the energy and enthusiasm that the teacher brings to class – it goes back to modelling it for them and with them.