Our Philosophy

Innovation

Our school culture is built on a mindset of constant and responsible innovation. We are adaptable to change, which gives us the flexibility and resilience to face new challenges and learn from them. Innovation permeates every aspect of our curriculum and culture from the early learning years through to the end of Senior school. Our community can thrive on uncertainty and is always ready to experiment with new concepts and ideas.

We listen to our students, to parents, to teachers and all our staff. All of us embrace creativity, imagination and empathy and learn from one another. We are extremely collaborative, from project work inside the classroom to collaboration with other schools and organisations in Portugal and abroad. We seek ideas from experts in different fields and get inspiration from other schools and organisations to adapt our teaching and learning practices. We are committed to questioning our processes and bringing new perspectives to the table every day. We work hard to adapt and improve our curriculum with our students and mission always in mind.

We pay attention to changes in the world and do our best to adapt to them. This mindset is key for our students to grow into individuals who spot change, adapt to change and make change in a fast-paced world.

Happiness

We care about designing experiences of happiness for our students and our teachers. Happiness is not an afterthought - it is the first step of what we do. Happiness is the basis of all our teaching and learning because it gives students and staff confidence, creativity, curiosity and motivation. When people are happy, learning and exploration come naturally.

At PaRK IS, happiness is a lot about feeling safe. We want our students and teachers to be comfortable with experimentation. If they feel safe, they can give their best at everything they do.

Happiness is also about feeling fulfilled. We respect our students and teachers’ individual journeys and passions. We make an effort to learn about their unique interests and are committed to the personal, academic and professional growth of each member of our school community.

Lastly, happiness is about feeling useful in the world. This is why we include kindness through ‘Responsibility’ as one of the pillars of our school.

Responsibility

Responsibility at PaRK IS is defined as helping others, taking charge of our decisions and understanding the consequences of our actions. We constantly seek to improve ourselves and our school community. We teach our students to be kind and respect others. This is why we have a unique fellowship programme, which focuses on students understanding and practising community service inside and outside our school, in Portugal and abroad.

We guide our students to get involved with their communities and understand that impacting the world can mean carrying out a small action in a local neighbourhood or getting involved in a global movement. Remember, “The smallest deed is greater than the greatest intention”- Burroughs.

With these experiences and guidance, our students develop important life skills and responsibilities that will be valuable in their lives beyond school. Being a responsible citizen will not only impact the world for the better but will make a difference in the lives of our students, who will gain invaluable life skills from participating in these challenges.

Glocalisation

We think globally and act locally. We prepare our students to thrive in different cultures and adapt to change. At the same time, we understand our local environment and are eager to act to make it better.