Day(s) of Tolerance in Aver-O-Mar school, Portugal

This year’s Day of Tolerance was the beginning of a series of activities, thoughts and actions that should occur naturally in every single day of our lives. Students and teachers prepared several activities that were meant to call attention to different types of (in)tolerance through literature, handcrafts, exhibitions, actions or solidarity campaigns.

All started on the 16^th November!

First a different Christmas Pine was built, day by day, exclusively by SEN students, by associating words related to the spirit of the holiday season like Faith, Peace, Love, Health, Forgiveness, Joy, Gratitude, Wisdom, Happiness, Success, Togetherness!

The activity also provided for the development of skills related to fine motor skills, organizational power, association, serialization, aesthetic sense and vocabulary enrichment. Every day a piece was put in the tree, with guidance from teachers, therapists, operating assistants, and so the tree grew until it was displayed in a place where all school students pass and stop to read and better understand the meaning of the coming time. .

The feeling of solidarity, respect, love for others, socialization and inclusion was shared at school in the comments made on the final product.

To all sincere wishes of Faith, Peace, Love, Health, Forgiveness, Joy, Gratitude, Wisdom, Happiness, Success, Togetherness!

Then, school organized activities to promote the development of the Sustainable Development Goals created by the UN, through solidarity campaigns, which promote Poverty Eradication, namely raise funds for the distribution of Christmas hampers to the most deprived families in the school cluster, the decoration of a Sharing Tree and a Human Rights clothesline with clothes and baby items that will be distributed by the county institutions.

In addition to these activities a solidarity campaign for the NGO “Bistúri Humanitário”, with the collection of school material for seven schools of Guinea Bissau. Associated with this activity, a lecture was also held by the president of the same Association plus a pencil case workshop which products were delivered to the same Organization. Because education is not only within walls, but in people's hearts.

The 7th and 8th grade students collaborated in the creation of the “Clothes line”;  the children's own photo mural, displayed children’s rights, read and researched books which stories fomented values such as  Tolerance, Respect, Care, Affection and Equality. This work was developed in the scope of Citizenship, with collaboration of the School Library and the disciplines of Visual Education, Technological Education and ICT.

By working on this subject, students could better understand that unfortunately there are still children around the world who do not have these rights and who live in inhumane conditions.

Even though awareness of these rights has already changed the lives of many children around the world, there is still so much to do.

We must keep on fighting for Tolerance, Peace and Respect!

Peace!

Students and families created works of art that mirrored their view of Peace. The exhibition was held in school but also in the city of Póvoa de Varzim.

Tolerance: the ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behaviours that one dislikes or disagrees with.

In 2019, Aver-O-Mar believed that our practices can be different and make the difference; this was our way to act, to raise people’s consciousness to TOLERANCE, SYMPATHY, INDULGENCY; to fight PAIN and  HARDSHIP; to HELP and FOSTER SMILES!!