Seriously working
on a dream.
The focus of education and the role
of schools are changing. Twentyfirst century learning is about providing children with opportunities to experiment with their surroundings as a form of problem solving.
Knowledge alone doesn’t motivate children anymore — and it won’t get them practical skills, internships, or jobs. Today, mastery is about creativity and collaboration, motivation and self-direction.
It is about improvisation and discovery, and interacting with meaningful tools that expand one’s mental capacities. This is why we have chosen to work with international partners, like The LEGO Foundation, and educational consultants, like Olimpia Mesa, to implement a playful learning framework in our school.
Next week the school celebrates its 12th school year, and a part of the celebration will be the news of the expansion from Kindergarten to Primary level with more learners over the next number of years. Additionally, we are launching the school with a new name and visual identity, plus, two development centres: Atplay® Teacher Center and Atplay® Parenting Center.
For many schools, core values are nothing more than window dressing. When we embarked on developing our own values, we reflected on our daily behaviors and the way we were making decisions and creating learning.
Our mission statement is a great way to summarise what our school is about and is serving as our guiding star when considering long term school priorities and new initiatives.
By facilitating meaningful playful experiences and learning opportunities, we promote holistic development, school and international study readiness, and we stimulate every child’s natural desire to learn.
What children do on a daily basis is who they are. This is why we have chosen a holistic approach to learning. A solid understanding of abstract concepts and facts, and knowing how to read, write, and do mathematics are still important. But, at the same time, it’s vital to take a holistic approach to children’s learning and development, building a broader set of skills that will underpin their learning for life.
All employers today are looking at the social, emotional and creative skills of the people they hire, and they will continue to do so, because new research into human development highlights how they are interconnected and influence performance and mastery building. High quality playful experiences help children develop cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and creative skills, which are essential for shaping their future.
Schools play a key role in influencing healthy eating habits, as learners can consume, on average, 76% of their energy intake for the day during school hours alone. The way a child’s brain functions — as well as their ability to focus, remember and learn — can be significantly affected by what they eat. When it comes to their cognitive abilities, their ability to focus, concentrate and remember, the food they eat matters.
This is why the Atplay® Canteen plays a major role in our learners’ lives. Our canteen provides a variety of nutritious and attractively presented food and drinks that reinforce classroom learning. It is also an essential source of nutrition education that supports what our children learn in the classroom and builds a whole – school approach to healthy eating through the school’s produce garden.
We view gardening as a study of life. The simple act of caring for living soil and plants gives children a foundation for understanding the principles of birth, growth, maturity, death, competition, cooperation, and many other lessons that transfer to human lives. A garden also provides the perfect place for children to learn about boundaries and responsibility by practicing new activities in a safe space. Our garden makes our children smarter!
It is now more clear than ever before that a healthy amount of sleep yields more productive, intelligent and thriving children and teenagers. Conversely, a lack of sleep can lead to bad moods and takes a toll on their cognitive development and emotional intelligence. Experts have recently been able to demonstrate that sleep allows brain cells to “take out the trash” each time we snooze, flushing out disease-causing toxins. At our school, we take the time to explain and help children and teenagers understand some of this science. In this way, sleep and rest takes on more meaning and doesn’t just feel like a frustrating end to playtime. Plus, sleep and rest routines can also be playful!
For almost 100 years, educators and the world in general believed that “school uniforms are good because wearing them makes children think of more unique and different ways to express themselves”. Time has shown that the opposite is true. In an era where diversity is on the rise and schools and society are attempting to teach tolerance and positive awareness of differences, requiring schoolchildren to wear uniforms emphasises sameness and conformity. It encourages tribalism and the idea that having independent thought is not a good thing. It sends the message that being the same is positive and something we must strive for rather than the message that differences and independent thought and action should be valued.
At the same time, studies show that having a school uniform may decrease violence and theft, prevent gang members from wearing gang colours and insignia at school, help children concentrate on their schoolwork, and, most importantly, enable school ofcials to recognise school intruders. Instead of going black or white on this matter, we propose a “grey” solution. More precisely, we have created a line of clothing and necessary everyday objects that create the feeling of alignment with Atplay International School’s mission and values; offer enough diversity to prevent a lot of comparison if you have a plus-size body, a thinner body,
a very tall body, or a very short body; create
a feeling of focus, safety and security, all
of which are absolutely necessary for healthy learning and development.
With its location in the heart of the northern area of Bucharest, near the mall, the forest and the Băneasa zoo, but also with easy access to the campus, the Atplay® International School has become an integral part of the local community, bringing together international and local families. The schools’s well-maintained buildings are purpose-built and redesigned following the most recent research findings around learning environments conducted by the University of Helsinki. We have a wellequipped outdoor area where children are encouraged by design to explore and contribute. In addition, we have access to the school’s facilities, such as the sports hall, outdoor sports area, library, canteen, and our famous vegetables garden.
Adress: Șoseaua Gheorghe Ionescu Sisești 40,
Bucharest 013822, Romania
Telephone: +40 748 288 899
mail: contact@atplayschool.ro
