Our St. Paul’s School PTA is proud to announce that International Day Season has begun! International Day is a yearly event that brings us together to celebrate the variety of cultures in our community. The pre-events are already being launched, there are amazing initiatives taking place and still a lot more coming soon.

During the months of May and June, keep an eye on what’s going on through our International Day Instagram www.instagram.com/stpaulsinternationalday. There will be different events taking place such as the wonderful @internationaldaysale, a Tennis & Beach Tennis championship, an Art guided tour with Claudia Moreira Salles and so much more!

Make sure you are tuned so that you do not miss out on amazing opportunities to have fun, learn and make new friends.

This May, our Lower 6 pupil, Leon, competed at the national and international rounds in the ESU International Public Speaking Competition! He got to represent the state of São Paulo and beat 5 other finalists from across Brazil.

At the national finals, Leon delivered a brilliant speech on one of the possible reasons why we find so few young girls and women choosing to pursue higher studies and careers in STEM.

On 13th May, Leon then got to represent Brazil at the World Finals, which normally take place in London every May, but was conducted online for the second time running due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He faced stiff competition from Canada, Romania, The Netherlands, The People’s Republic of China, and Hong Kong

In the end, the candidate from China emerged as the 2022 ESU IPSC winner, but this does not, in any way, diminish the magnitude of Leon’s achievements and successes. Our St. Paul’s community congratulates his performance and hard work, as a true Paulean! 

St. Paul’s Foundation welcomed dozens of members of our community on 9th May for the Gift-a-Girl Evening. The event sought to highlight the importance of providing opportunities in Education and raising funds for the scholarship programme.

The foundation hosted a dinner and a debate with the participation of special guests: the foundation scholar Ana Claudia, currently in Lower 6th, and congresswoman and former scholarship holder Tabata Amaral. With Deputy Head Zeba Clarke as the master of ceremonies, they shared their personal and academic journeys. They discussed the impact that unique educational opportunities can have on a young person’s life and their family.

Sixth Former Ana Claudia shared the lessons learned from the evening and the experience of interviewing a woman who joined a scholarship programme and had her trajectory transformed – just like her. “Interviewing Tabata was inspiring; I realised how many opportunities opened up in her life due to a scholarship. My experience as a scholar at St. Paul’s has opened up a world that made me see my biggest dreams as real possibilities”, said Ana.

We are delighted to resume the swimming pool after school activities as of this week, after months with no swimming lessons due to the pandemic restrictions. 

Cesar Cielo Swimming Programme is the new partner in this endeavour and, this week, we were happy to welcome Cesar on Monday, 19th, to launch the project.  

During a presentation to parents and pupils who already signed up to the programme, the olympic champion and record breaker swimmer inspired us all with his trajectory and plans for the swimming programme. Our Lower 6th pupil and also Olympic swimmer, Stephanie, also joined the session sharing her relationship with the sport and encouraging everyone to ask questions to our special guest.  

Cesar also engaged in our Senior School house assemblies, inviting all to join a future St. Paul’s swimming team.  

With this partnership, our pupils will have specialists as coaches with an Olympic champion’s signature and methodology. 

Our Junior Varsity pupils just came back from an amazing sports tournament, Little 8, where they received outstanding results, truly proving our Paulean spirit.

St. Paul’s competed against several of the top international schools from all over Brazil throughout a tough week. These combined results put us as the leading international school for Sport.

Our Junior Varsity Boys beat a very strong team from Campinas in the basketball final and our girls beat an equally solid British school from Rio in their final. That placed our school as Little 8 national champions in basketball!

Our Junior Varsity Girls also did an outstanding job in volleyball and didn’t lose a set all tournament! We also congratulate our Junior Varsity Boys who got a bronze medal in volleyball.

We also congratulate our PE Staff for accompanying pupils during the tournament, encouraging them and giving them the skills to success! Well done, lions!

During May, we celebrate Mental Health Awareness month and our St. Paul’s Counselling Team prepared numerous activities throughout the week, for staff, parents, and pupils, to remind us about the importance of looking after ourselves mentally and physically, connecting with others and having fun.  

St. Paul’s aim is to look at Mental Health as a social net, as something we can promote collectively, that brings our community together – supporting each other. 10% of global population had a diagnosed mental health disorder in 2017, these numbers will certainly increase post pandemic. Under the “We Care Programme”, we understand that we all have a responsibility in each other’s well-being, that by being kind to each other we create a supportive environment that promotes good mental health.  

Promoting mental health awareness is also important to reduce stigma. The more we talk about it, and more knowledge we gain, we help to reduce stigma. Stigma around mental health still exists and reduces the chances of treatment. We all, as a community, need to work intentionally to reduce stigma around Mental Health diseases.  

Pupils enjoyed receiving treats at the school’s entrance, as gentle reminders they were able to take throughout their day. Our Pre-Prep pupils designed their own cards with inspiring messages that were given to pupils and staff.  

Staff members enjoyed a special treat: a 15-minute massage! They also had special activities, such as arts and crafts workshops, games, gardening workshops and even a special themed lunch! 

Lastly, parents were invited to participate in a talk with Dr. Guilherme V. Polanczyk, hosted by Dr Laura Mack, discussing the challenges of the post-pandemic world and children’s mental health. 

We were delighted to see the community coming together for such a special cause. We also congratulate the Counselling Team for putting these events together, making this month extra special.