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The new areas to be developed in the Barra Unit will be built throughout the next few years in a very planned and organized way.
Please see details on the concepts and architectural details in this presentation.
On the beautiful sunny day of October 1st, The British
School had its Open Day at the new Barra unit to be open for
classes in February 2006.
Over 300 people visited our new school in Barra, a site still
under construction but with a great vision. During five hours
there was a constant in-and-out of adults and children.
While current and prospective parents checked each buidling
and went to the staff for questions and doubts, the children
wandered around the courts, played in the classroom with
toys, books and computers and enjoyed the day.
When parents had to leave, children were heard complaining
at the door, asking to stay a little bit more...
Lots of staff members were present and helped to organize
the day. To them we give our thanks for making it all run so
smoothly.
The Open Day at The British School Barra Unit was one of
those special days to remember!
New British School Barra Unit to open in February 2006
A excellent site for The British School in Barra, a dream
nurtured by the Board of Governors for more than two
decades, is now a reality! This has been an amazing
achievement for the school and a real teamwork effort by
people who firmly believe that this development will benefit
the whole school and will better serve our community. Many
Board Members and parents have voluntarily contributed
towards the fulfilment of this dream, especially over the past
five years. All have actively participated in the process that
led to the opening of the Recreio Unit in 2003 and now, to
securing a fabulous site under very good conditions for the
school.
The new site is located in a prime residential area at the
heart of Barra da Tijuca and has around 26.000m² of land.
Existing buildings will be refurbished and adapted to school
use as shown in the artist’s view below. All children currently
at Recreio will be transferred to the site in February 2006
and a new year group, Class 3, will be opened.
Many thanks to the various Board members and parents
who have helped the school achieve this development.
Special thanks are due to the two Chairs of the Board who
led the efforts, Mr Simon Clayton and Mr Stephen Rimmer,
and to the two Chairs of the Development Committee, Mr
Philip Healey and Mrs Merche Clarke. Lastly, thanks to the
amazing negotiating skills of Mr David Richardson (Honorary
Treasurer), Mr Fred Luz (Board member and Recreio parent)
and Mr Carlos Eduardo Palmier (PTA representative for
Recreio), for having so successfully overcome the final
hurdles of the deal.
We wish all current and future Barra pupils a
happy and successful time at the new site!
Applications to the new Barra Unit are open for
children ages 2 to 9 (Pre-Nursery to Class 3)
Please contact the Admissions Secretary, Denise Pinna,
at Botafogo (2539-2717) the Brazilian Deputy Director, Sonia Salgado (3329-2854) for further information.
Dear Parents,
We are delighted to report that The British School has now acquired a property adjacent to the condominium of Santa Mônica in Barra. The school is exceedingly fortunate to have secured such a prime location where the new Barra Unit will be developed gradually over the next ten years. This will be especially joyful news for those families who have committed to our unit in Recreio since its opening in 2003. It is very much due to the confidence, trust and support of those parents that we have achieved this historic landmark in the history of our school.
There are now 140 children in Recreio, and they will all move to the new site in February 2006. Two new year groups will be opened and the unit will cater for children ages 2 to 9 - from Pre-Nursery to Class 3. Should any parents who currently have children from Nursery to Class 2 at Botafogo wish to apply for a transfer to the new Barra school in February 2006, they are very welcome to contact Mrs Denise Pinna, the Admissions Secretary at Botafogo. Places will be very limited in some year groups and parents who are keen to take up this opportunity are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
In addition to its prime location, the new site has the added advantage of having a developed infrastructure with buildings that will be easily adapted for school use. This has allowed the school to plan for such a quick opening and also means that initial investments are low. In fact, the Barra purchase has been extremely well negotiated, it is carefully staged and set on very good terms. The Recreio, and now the Barra developments, have been planned as self-financed projects. As the school grows it will generate development funds to finance itself.
As you may already know, all school development projects are financed by the Development Fund and fundraising. The long-term finances of the school have been very carefully planned to include both the Matriz and Barra Projects without jeopardising the financial stability of the school. The biggest investment in Barra will happen only after the Matriz Project is complete. Fundraising efforts will continue for the Matriz Project and we hope that the Barra Project will also benefit from fundraising efforts within the Barra community. Such support from the community allows the school to achieve new developments and improvements at a quicker pace.
We would like to also take this opportunity to inform you of significant decisions that have already been taken with regard to the school's management.
- At Barra, Mrs Sonia Salgado, who is currently Coordinator at Recreio, is to be promoted to the post of Brazilian Vice-Director in Barra in recognition of her tremendous achievements.
- Mrs Lesley Dimmock will be returning to Brazil in January 2006 to assume the role of Head of Primary at Barra. Mrs Lesley was previously Headteacher at our school in 2003 and has spent her last two years establishing a new and thriving school in Norway. We are thrilled that she applied, and has now been appointed to lead the development of the new school in Barra.
Work has now begun on preparing the Barra site for opening in February 2006. We are planning to host an "Open House" event during a Saturday in October so that the whole of our community can visit. Meanwhile, Paul Wiseman and Susan Malpas will be making presentations on the project to parents at Recreio and Botafogo in August. Recreio parents and new applicants to Barra will be given guided tours during August and September.
In conclusion, we hope you will share our joy in this great achievement in the life of our school. Our objective is to make the whole of The British School a better school and we firmly believe that these new and exciting developments will make our school an even stronger community and institution that will continue to successfully serve families across the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Rimmer
Chairman of the Board of Governors
Paul Wiseman
Director
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