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A Hanbok, a Friendship, and a Cultural Connection
I am grateful to be part of a community where our daughter comes home from school, inspired by her friends and teachers, eager to celebrate Lunar New Year. Yesterday, she reminded us of its importance and asked us to wear the beautiful hanbok her Korean classmate gifted her last year—a heartwarming reminder of the connections…
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Serendipitous Connections
We all experience those days when our schedules seem to demand more of our time than hours are available in the day. It is often these same days when we feel most focused, effective, and efficient, especially in terms of completing our “to do” lists. It is also common during these times to engage in…
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Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Salgado: Genesis Project I was grateful for today’s opportunity to visit Sebastião Salgado’s Genesis exhibition at Centro Cultural Banco de Brasil (CCCB). The legendary Brazilian photographer worked on the Genesis project from 2004 to 2011, engaging with the most remote locations on Earth. He describes his project as “my love letter to the planet,”…
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The Promise of Life
To commemorate the September 7 Independence of Brazil, EAB held a celebratory assembly today with teachers, parents, and all of EAB’s students, ranging from 3 to 18 years of age. The auditorium was abuzz with anticipation and the attendees were not disappointed by the presentations, which were mostly led by students. It was an impressive…
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Trapeze Bars
The end of each school year is marked by a series of celebrations designed to highlight and appreciate individual and collective achievements while also honoring the unique nature of our communities. The end-of-year celebrations also represent a period of key student celebrations and transitions, such as kindergarten to Lower School, Grade 5 students to Middle…
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Our Cultural Mosaic
Brazil’s Carnival commemorations not only represent a time for celebration, rest, and travel, but also highlight an important feature of Brazil’s rich cultural heritage. It is this heritage, framed within the context of a greater global perspective, that reminds us of the importance of culture and its correspondingly distinct and seemingly immeasurable variations. The privilege…
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Importance of Play
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” It is not clear if Plato was applying these words to education but they are, nevertheless, apropos to our contemporary work in schools. With the focus on grades, curriculum coverage, and standardized testing in schools, there is…
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Kindness (Revisited)
GENTILEZA GERA GENTILEZA Last week’s ‘Kindness’ post generated a substantial number of responses, which has led to this follow up post focusing on two subjects: José Datrino and a colleague’s letter. Part I: José Datrino (Caveat: I am not an expert regarding José Datrino’s story and apologize in advance if there are any errors in…
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The Importance of Arts Education
Anyone entering EAB’s auditorium on Friday morning was greeted by a resounding rush of energy and exhilaration, generated by students singing and dancing in their aisles to the music of a live New Orleans brass band. This was the scene last week when, through a series of serendipitous events, The Hot 8 Brass Band found its…
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Brasilia Night Tour
This week, the American School of Brasilia’s faculty and staff toured Brasilia’s Lago Paranoá. It was an important evening in terms of the newest members of the school community getting to know the veteran faculty and staff. In terms of school culture, it is important to not only structure time for community members to build relationships…