- Message from the Board of Governors – The Falcon, December 2011
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 10, December 2011
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 9, June 2011
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 8, December 2010
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 7, June 2010
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 6, December 2009
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 5, June 2009
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 4, December 2008
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 3, October/November 2008
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 2, September 2008
- Newsletter from the Board of Governors and the Director - Number 1, June 2008
Number 1, June 2008
In our efforts to improve communications within the school, we felt that a regular newsletter from the Board and Director would be useful in keeping the community informed of important issues and decisions being made by senior management and the governing body. We have six Board Meetings each year and we plan to send out a newsletter following each meeting. As this is our first trial newsletter, we would welcome any comments from parents or teachers as to how it may be improved. We intend, for Number 2, to send also a version in Portuguese.
Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Associação Britânica de Educação (ABE)
This term we held the Annual General Meeting of the A.B.E. in April. The A.B.E is the group of fee-paying parents who have British and Commonwealth nationality and represents the ultimate authority of the school. The A.B.E elects annually six of their members to serve as the core of the Board of Governors. The AGM included:
- Review and approval of the annual external audit
- Presentation and approval of the Ten-Year Strategic Plan
- Presentation of the major development projects (Mackenzie Building in Botafogo; Barra development
- Director’s annual report which covered the achievement of the Main Goals for 2007 and a review of significant developments. The presentation also focussed on: IGCSE, IB and ENEM results; the university destinations of our students; the CIS Re-Accreditation Report; Staff Development and Curriculum Development; Goals for 2008; and significant challenges and plans for the future.
Board Self-Evaluation and Training
As part of the strategy to improve the functioning and efficiency of the Board we received a Board training workshop last term. Two of the outcomes were:
- the establishment of a Board Self-Evaluation procedure
- the setting up of an ad hoc committee to review key aspects of governance and management.
Both have been enacted and the Board is now planning improvements based on the findings.
Development Projects and Financial Planning
- Currently the Board has been giving great attention to long-term financial planning, updating of the 10-Year Financial Model and monitoring the major building projects at Barra and in Botafogo.
- A working party was established to set up the Pre-Payment scheme, which to date has proved to be very successful.
- A decision was taken to open a limited Pre-Nursery in 2009 at Botafogo. Within 24 hours of this announcement, all places were filled! The Board also approved the possibility of more flexible hours for Nursery at Botafogo.
- The Board oversaw the sale of Sítio Pedra Negra in Jacarépagua
- The Board gave approval for the renting of an additional house in Avenida Pasteur for the future use of the Senior School in Urca.
Board Goal: One School Policy
The Board Goal this year is: “To review the ‘One School Policy’ and identify practical measures through which it can be expressed and achieved”. Board and committee debate therefore involves the issue of how we can maintain quality and standards and ensure equal opportunities across the school’s three sites.
The Board of Governors delegates executive authority to myself, the Director, and Da Therezinha, the Brazilian Director. As Director, I report directly to the Board and chair the school’s School Management Team (SMT) which consists of the three Heads of Site, the Brazilian Director and the Administrative and Finance Manager.
Strategic Planning
Much of the work of the SMT this term has been in the initial development of 5-Year Plans in support of the Ten-Year Strategic Plan. These plans fall into four categories: Curriculum and Evaluation of School Performance; Human Resources; Facilities; and Finance.
Another element of SMT work is planning for the further development of the Barra site beyond 2009 and the development of the Botafogo site once the Mackenzie Building is completed next year. Classes 4 and 5 will be housed in the new Mackenzie Building when it is ready. Class 6 will remain at Urca.
CIS Re-Accreditation Report Recommendations
The SMT is currently compiling the required ‘Report on Progress and Planning’ which must be submitted to the Council of International Schools (CIS) at the end of 2008. The key recommendations come under the following broad areas:
- Vision and Mission – review, evaluation and full adoption across school
- Curriculum – horizontal and vertical articulation and documentation of the school-wide curriculum, including provision for Class 5 Botafogo
- Pupil learning – more work needed to meet the range of pupils’ abilities, diverse learning styles and provision for the gifted and talented (the Curriculum Model with the pupil at the centre)
- Assessment – further development of assessment strategies to improve learning and to review the curriculum
- Facilities – review class ceilings in the light of classroom size
- Communications and decision-making – Board and SMT to communicate decisions better and involve parents, teachers and students more in decision-making
- Management structure review and clarification of roles and responsibilities, especially in light of the three site school
- Health and safety issues raised in the report.
All these areas are being attended to and the Progress Report will be submitted to the CIS in December. The SMT discussion of the area of communications has included:
- Designing a new website and updating the content
- Establishing the Extranet to provide access to information, systems for parents, students and teachers via areas restricted by secure login access
One School Policy
There is a real need to develop the community’s understanding of the “One School Policy” with appropriate structures to ensure we achieve it. SMT is working on a strategy.
University Preparation Programme
A team comprising myself, Da Therezinha, Chris Blanch, Richard Hughes, Garry Nash, Rose Peixoto and Carlos Lima has spent many hours developing and monitoring the reinforced strategy to both improve specific preparation for university entrance. This is a complex area in that we need to maintain a clear focus on the IB while, at the same time, fully meeting Brazilian university (ENEM and vestibular) expectations.
Budget and Staffing 2009
Finally, the SMT has been making initial preparations for the 2009 Budget. This is a highly complex process and involves staffing provision and all other planned expenses. A major area of expenditure in the school’s educational budget is ICT. This year the SMT, EMT and Board Education Committee are undertaking a specific review of the established ICT ‘Vision and Strategy’, including analysis of resources, curriculum provision and staff training.
We hope that this first Newsletter has been helpful and look forward to further communication following the Board meeting next September.
Adam Reid Paul Wiseman
Chairman Director |
