Attempting to Explore Schools in Portugal

I had a chance to travel to Portugal for a week.  My husband had a conference on air pollution in Cascais, which is located a half an hour train drive from Lisbon. This was a good opportunity for me to explore the country and not to pay a fortune for the hotel room. Of course, I wanted this to be a “business trip”, so I attempted to explore Portuguese schools. 

Students waiting for the program to start at the park

The week I arrived to Portugal, was the last week for schools.  I contacted few elementary schools in Cascais to arrange visits and I was informed that all the schools were having “end of the year celebrations”.  I was invited to an all-day event, a recycling party, for all the elementary schools in the Southwestern region of Portugal.  The event was held in Marechal Carmona Park, which I reached with my rented bicycle in 30 minutes from my hotel. 

Getting ready to enter the park. 

A goodie bag for every child.  

There were about 2000 children from the municipalities of Cascais, Mafra, Oeiras and Sintra. The aim was to “inspire this young generation to Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle at the best Recycling Party in Portugal ever!”  The students formed groups and rotated from one event to another. They participated in theatrical and musical events and learned the ins and outs of recycling.  I met many teachers and event coordinators and had lovely discussions with them.  The schools do not differ from the Finnish schools; the same curriculum, the same timetable.  I was not able to film any of the activities, so here is a Facebook link to the highlights of the event.  

https://www.facebook.com/CMCascais/videos/10155538319342584/?t=64

Other school I wanted to visit was St. Julian that was located between Cascais and Lisbon. This is a private co-educational school that was founded in 1932. It’s mission and curriculum followed closely to that of Ramona’s. The school has all levels of education from ages 3 to 18: Primary School, the Portuguese Section, and the Secondary School. It has more than 1000 students from over 40 countries. The school has 4 semesters, so the summer semester was going on.  

I decided to pay a visit because the school’s website advertised:

 “St. Julian’s is an exceptional learning community and I would be delighted to welcome you for a visit.  

Dr. Nicola A Mason, Head of St. Julian's School
BSc (Hons), PhD, PGCE”

Photo taken through the front gate.  I assume this is the main building.

Poster outside the school by the parking space

School grounds

I decided to take my chances to be able to explore the facility and especially the curriculum.  I took a train from Cascais to Carcavelos. Once I reached the school grounds, the guard at the gate greeted me.  He asked if I had an appointment.  Well, I explained my situation and he made some phone calls.  The first person who came to meet me said no. Being stubborn, I explained my role again and he went back inside to talk to the administration. The answer was NO again.  He advised me to email the school and make an appointment. I did that immediately.  I waited for three days, no response.  I am still waiting, four days after I returned from Portugal to Finland.