Middle School – Colégio Vértice

In Middle School, new layers are added, with more complex challenges and a varied interdisciplinary curriculum, including activities in different fields and sharper content.

Inside and outside the classroom, students are encouraged to practice citizenship, improve critical thinking and reflection, and focus on solving real problems in their relationship with the world and themselves, as well as individual and collective knowledge building, and experimentation. In this stage, students significantly broaden their repertoire of experiences, responsibility, and the need to manage time. Additionally, the Educational Guidance (OE) Department plays a fundamental role in ensuring a healthy, positive and welcoming environment, conducive to the cognitive and socioemotional development of each student.

The OE team also follows up students in an individualized way, helping them overcome any difficulties they may face in the teaching-learning process by creating specific study routines and using planning, organization and discipline, important habits and skills for goal achievement in any area of life.

Tutor sessions, study groups and educational assistance are also offered as support for greater academic achievement.

Starting in the 6^th grade and in line with its full development proposal, Vértice offers new experiences in the regular curriculum and greater convergence of school subjects (both traditional and diversified subjects), preparing students for life. Highlights:

Educational Guidance: in addition to individualized study guidance, students have biweekly classes that touch on important behavioral topics, such as respect, empathy, conflict mediation, healthy coexistence, responsibility, among others.

Social and Emotional Education: also held on a biweekly basis, students participate in activities and dynamics that tackle feelings, desires, issues, and anxieties relevant to this very important phase of transition from childhood to adolescence. It is an environment for plenty of exchange and reflection on themselves and the world.

English: with two classes per week, the English program focuses on understanding, listening and vocabulary, with methodologies combined with multimedia tools for hands-on learning. Teachers also organize activities in smaller groups for closer and more assertive monitoring. Students also have the possibility to use the language – in writing and speaking – in international interdisciplinary projects that have English as their major language. Traditionally, our students excel in these competitions.

Technology: in VérticeTEC laboratory, based on reflections on ethics and responsibility, students carry out projects in different languages, produce content, and use technological resources in other areas of knowledge. The curriculum also includes an initiative called LabMaker with programming, robotics and prototyping workshops, and the use of a 3D printer, a laser cutter, electric and manual tools, specific modeling programs, and other materials.

Arts: with different artistic and cultural languages, students work on expressiveness and creativity, building individual and collective narratives and productions. Vértice considers Art as an important human development tool.

Daily life: analytical classes on current local and global themes, based on concepts of Geography and History. A proper environment to deepen group discussions and debates.

Financial Education: students learn, in theory and in practice, notions of finance, the financial market, investments, entrepreneurship and the stock exchange market, so that they have a technical and ethical understanding to manage, plan and relate positively with money and consumption.

In curricular projects or elective experiences, students are challenged to articulate ideas, seek real problem-solving and follow paths based on their communication skills, investigative and collaborative spirit, research and experimentation. With comprehensive themes and proposals, the activities place students as leaders in the learning process and their development:

Iniciatives and Projects

“engaging in science” in a dynamic exhibition of works and experiments. The degree of complexity increases at each grade, covering topics such as the environment and the human body. elective activity with content production workshops for Vértice TV and the School’s Instagram profile. Students also visit universities, such as ESPM, and attend lectures given by field experts. in this external project, students learn about innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and technology, and apply these techniques in an app creation process. At the end, a Day Camp is held where projects are presented and awarded. this is an elective activity. In this contest sponsored by NASA, students are challenged to create a society that will live in orbit inside a huge spaceship. As their final assignment, students write a short essay in English, which is sent to the international agency. A Vértice team was awarded in the 2019/20 edition. to expand the academic repertoire of students and allow a deeper understanding of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, among others, Vértice encourages students to participate in the main scientific competitions in Brazil. The School sets up special study groups with teachers to help prepare students for the competitions. extracurricular German courses (PASCH initiative), with a wide program of scholarships, exchange programs to Germany and proficiency exams; and Spanish, with cultural immersion and preparation for a diploma of Spanish as a foreign language awarded by Miguel de Cervantes Institute. drama as a means to reflect on issues and exercise empathy to reduce personal relationship conflicts and solve them. Students in the 9th grade create scripts and perform at the Arts Festival, and write sketches about bullying, prejudice, violence, among other topics.

Iniciativas e projetos

“engaging in science” in a dynamic exhibition of works and experiments. The degree of complexity increases at each grade, covering topics such as the environment and the human body.

elective activity with content production workshops for Vértice TV and the School’s Instagram profile. Students also visit universities, such as ESPM, and attend lectures given by field experts.

- in this external project, students learn about innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and technology, and apply these techniques in an app creation process. At the end, a Day Camp is held where projects are presented and awarded.

- to expand the academic repertoire of students and allow a deeper understanding of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, among others, Vértice encourages students to participate in the main scientific competitions in Brazil. The School sets up special study groups with teachers to help prepare students for the competitions.

extracurricular German courses (PASCH initiative), with a wide program of scholarships, exchange programs to Germany and proficiency exams; and Spanish, with cultural immersion and preparation for a diploma of Spanish as a foreign language awarded by Miguel de Cervantes Institute.

- drama as a means to reflect on issues and exercise empathy to reduce personal relationship conflicts and solve them. Students in the 9th grade create scripts and perform at the Arts Festival, and write sketches about bullying, prejudice, violence, among other topics.