PROJECTS

The ECOSCHOOLS Programme is an international project developed by ADEAC (Asociación De Educación Ambiental y del Consumidor) and the FEE (Foundation for the Environmental Education). Participation is completely voluntary and open to public, private and state-subsidised schools throughout Spain.
It aims to promote environmental education for sustainable development and the environmental management and certification of pre-school, primary and secondary schools at an international level. It encourages the involvement of the entire educational community (pupils, teachers and families) and municipal authorities, requiring their collaboration so that the ideas that arise in the centres are put into practice inside and outside the school environment.
The Programme encourages pupils to develop an active and participatory role in their schools and shows them how they can improve and benefit their local environment, especially in the basic areas of WATER, ENERGY, WASTE, RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION and FAIR TRADE. In this way, it stimulates in future generations the habit of participation in decision-making processes, as well as awareness of the importance of the environment in their daily family and social life.

OBJECTIVES

The vision and general aims described above can be specified in the following objectives:

• To promote environmental education for sustainable development and the management and certification of environmental quality in infant, primary and secondary schools.
• To increase cooperative work and the environmental awareness of the school community (pupils, teachers, parents, non-teaching staff, town council, local organisations, etc.), extending learning beyond the classroom.
• Raise awareness and involve local authorities, requiring their contribution and active participation. To create habits in the school community of active participation and integration of the environmental dimension in their decision making.
• To encourage citizen participation in the sustainable development of the municipality, in line with Local Agenda 21.
• To develop an International Network of Eco-Schools that favours the exchange of ideas, projects, materials, experiences, good educational and environmental practices, etc.

METHODOLOGY AND STAGES

Participation in the Programme by schools involves, apart from minor differences of a national or regional nature, some common elements or steps agreed at international level, which can be summarised in the following methodology:

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE

Each Environmental Committee coordinates the carrying out of an analysis of the initial situation of the school and its surroundings in environmental matters, using a questionnaire prepared by ADEAC, which is provided to the participating centres. This environmental audit makes it possible to detect and analyse the needs and consequent environmental priorities, so as to help in the subsequent preparation and determination of action plans.

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT

Each Environmental Committee coordinates the carrying out of an analysis of the initial situation of the school and its surroundings in environmental matters, using a questionnaire prepared by ADEAC, which is provided to the participating centres. This environmental audit makes it possible to detect and analyse the needs and consequent environmental priorities, so as to help in the subsequent preparation and determination of action plans.

ACTION PLAN

Following the evaluation of the results of the environmental audit, the Committee draws up an annual Action Plan, which addresses some of the three basic themes (WATER, WASTE and ENERGY), relating it to the school curriculum.
In the Action Plan, objectives, goals and dates are established for the implementation of actions and initiatives that will lead to an improvement of the school and the social and environmental surroundings of the school.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Parallel to the definition of the Action Plan, the Environmental Committee will define a Code of Conduct, based on the proposals of the different classes or groups, related to the Action Plan and the Basic Theme selected.
The Code of Conduct comprises an action or behaviour carried out by the pupils of the school, leading to the fulfilment of the objectives of the Action Plan, a kind of decalogue of the Eco-School.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

An adequate communication policy must ensure that the work and results in the different centres are known by the school and local community, as well as by other centres in the Eco-schools NETWORK.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

In parallel to the development of the Action Plan, students participate in the verification of their degree of compliance. Once the schools have developed their annual Action Plan, and if they are eligible for the award, they are evaluated by a Jury, convened and made up of members of ADEAC, with the collaboration of experts and technical staff from the Autonomous and Local Administrations, competent in Environmental Education and participants in the Programme.

GREEN FLAG

The participating centres will submit an annual report to ADEAC for evaluation. An evaluation of each centre is carried out periodically, through the analysis of the reports submitted by the centres and/or advisory visits. Participating schools that successfully complete the programme will be awarded a Diploma and a Green Flag for a period of three years. Our school obtained the Green Flag during the 2014/2015 academic year, which is a recognition of the environmental policy followed in the centre.

METHODOLOGY AND STAGES

There are three basic areas of work proposed by ADEAC as essential in any Eco-school project: “Water”, “Waste” and “Energy”. Optionally, in some schools, other additional topics are included: “Biodiversity”, “Responsible consumption”, “International Cooperation” and “Fair Trade”.

The Árula Solidarity group was created to consolidate voluntary initiatives that have always existed, regardless of the people who develop them. We are committed to involving more and more students and families, as we believe in the great potential of each one of them.
Our aim is to develop the ideas we already have; to create the environment for new initiatives to emerge and to work so that in the future we can achieve greater goals.
As we do every year, we continue collaborating with several prestigious NGOs:

• UNICEF (“Solidarity Cross” event).
• CÁRITAS (Event “Operation Kilo”).
• SAVE THE CHILDREN (“Galárula” event).
• VICENTE FERRER (Event “Solidarity Book Market”).

Although we also promote aid campaigns for different purposes such as:

• “Collection of bottle tops” for a person in need.
• “Collection of school supplies” for schools in Colombia.
• “Collection of toys” in collaboration with the group Vecinos por Algete; “Sponsorship of schoolchildren in the school financed by our school in the Congo” in collaboration with the NGO Asociación Kivuvu.
• “Sports awareness days” for pupils of the school with APADIS.
• “Clothes collection” with SOS Africa.

And of course, without being less important than the other collaborations, we continue to participate in important days such as Peace Day and Women’s Day.
Thank you for your collaboration
Árula Solidarity

In an increasingly globalised world, we are aware of the need to master languages and the importance of professional and academic preparation in other countries. For this reason Árula School, in addition to promoting bilingualism, through the CBC project in English (Cooperative Bilingual Schools), also provides students with the opportunity to study languages abroad through an exchange programme with schools in the United States, Germany and Poland. These exchanges are organised during the school year and are aimed at Secondary and Baccalaureate students.

United States

Árula School is pleased to offer its students the opportunity to spend a few days in the United States and to forge friendships with American students. The American school with which we are doing the exchange is located in Miami, Florida. In this way, the students have had a fantastic experience and have put into practice everything they have learnt in English class.

Germany

The Foreign Language Department of Árula School has been organising an annual school exchange with the IGS in Langenhagen (Hannover) for the last 4 years. Our students, from 2nd and 3rd ESO, first host a German student in their homes for a week and then fly to Hannover at the end of the school year. During these days the young people take part in excursions, attend classes in a country different from their own and discover a new culture, thus enjoying an unforgettable experience.

Italy

The teachers of the Language Department have organised for three consecutive years a twinning with several schools in Italy (Florence and Rome).
During this school year we will carry out various activities to achieve a friendly relationship between the pupils and to get to know each other better (video calls, letters, Italian lessons…).
At the end of this course, the Spanish students will host their Italian friends for a week, and several weeks later we will get to know them. During these weeks we carry out different activities; excursions, visits to museums, games…

It aims to be a novel and accessible project for all students and their families. The proposal for action with students aims to be complementary to cognitive enrichment, taking into account that curricular enrichment can be implemented in several areas, such as:

• • Curricular extensions and/or adaptations. This consists of adding content to the ordinary curriculum, establishing links between the different topics.
  • Metacognitive training. It is used to teach how to manage one’s own cognitive and behavioral resources.
  • Random enrichment: Topics and activities are planned that include curriculum and extracurricular content, but are linked.

Ingenium was created as a proposal by the Guidance Department. The initial approach is that within school hours, the counselors try to respond to the concerns of these students in order to guarantee a personal and social balance in the school and family environment. It is offered free of charge to all those who meet the required characteristics and participation is completely voluntary since it does not take up class hours that can be of great importance for the student’s academic career.

The school considers it absolutely essential for its students to obtain a solid language training; it does not mean only learning to speak, write and understand but to immerse themselves in their culture and contexts.
This includes:

• Proficiency in basic skills: speaking, writing, reading and listening.
• Cultural understanding: knowledge of the culture, customs, history and literature associated with the language.
• Regular practice: Constant use of the language in real and academic situations.
• Formal education: structuring learning at the competency level.
• Certifications: obtaining certificates that endorse the level of competence of study

Our pedagogical action in Árula is aimed at achieving the following levels in the official Cambridge test certificates:

• Primary 2: Starters.
• 4th grade: movers.
• 5th grade: flyers.
• 6th grade: KET.

Árula’s goal is that our students use the language as a means of communication as well as a tool that allows them to better understand and access other cultures, creating the appropriate environment and guiding the student in their learning.

The Árula school participates in the 4th ESO+Business Programme, which is launched every year by the Education Department of the Community of Madrid. This programme, which has the status of complementary activity, is carried out on a voluntary basis, with the aim of bringing the educational system and the world of work closer together, facilitating through educational stays in companies and institutions that our students are better prepared to make decisions about their academic and professional future, motivating them and equipping them with the necessary skills.