Q.E.S. designation

Q.E.S. is a Portuguese kindergarten and primary teaching establishment, which is held under license nš 723, belonging to Denise Lester Foundation, a Trust, that runs and administers it.

In the spirit of the pedagogic parallelism which it was granted, together with the participation of all the intervening parties in the educational process, such as, students, parents, teachers, Board of Governors of the Denise Lester Foundation, its own Educational Project was established, based on Miss Denise Lesterīs fundamental educational principles when founding this school on 3rd November, 1935.
OBSERVATION OF ENGLISH CLASSES IN PROGRESS
 Q.E.S. is a school with its own traditions, identity and values, aiming to provide its students with a solid base for acquiring the skills and aptitudes needed in adult social life. Special relevance is given to the process of learning English as a second language, and the development of multi-linguistic and inter-cultural skills, in an increasingly globalized society.

The educational action of Q.E.S. is based on Catholic values and principles, as a fundamental moral influence in the formation of character and in education for citizenship through the understanding of self behavioural values in society and respect for the child as an individual.

General Objectives:

 

-         To educate responsible citizens with solid moral values as well as a critical, and creative sense.

-         To make them aware of their own personal and social identity, and to the linguistic and cultural differences of other peoples, ethnic groups and religions.

-         To contribute to the global developmernt of the child, physically, socially, morally, emotionally and interlectually, respecting the pupilīs individuality.

-         To centre the teaching/learning process on the pupil, valuing the different forms of knowledge, communication and expression.

-         To achieve adequate educational answers so as to awaken a natural curiosity for knowledge applicable in learning.

-         To develop autonomous thought in making judgement, taking a stand and facing everyday situations related to student life.

-         To create a favourable environment for the personal development of each child so that they may be able to express themselves with confidence, self-esteem and motivation.

-         To involve the family in school life and encourage participation and personal identification with the adopted educational policy.

-         To collaborate with the family in the development of the childīs personality with priority to cooperation and constructive dialogue.

-         To promote health education and quality of life for the child, guaranteeing the necessary actions to make them aware of the importance of ecological balance.




The school and its ideals (a reference to the Founder )

a)      Queen Elizabethīs School is a Portuguese school for Portuguese children, whose parents or tutors expect an English guidance together with the Portuguese curriculum.

b)      Native English teachers should always be included on the staff board.

c)      The fundamental concepts of Christian moral should play a fundamental role in the personal and social development of the pupils.

d)      The compulsory use of the school uniform and the recreational/educational games help the child to become part of the school community.

e)      Childrenīs talents should be identified, supported and their development stimulated in discovering aptitudes and vocational interests for adult life.

f)        The school, as a social phenomenon, should encourage its students to collaborate voluntarily in this educational action.

 



The Q.E.S. Hymn

The School has its own hymn for festivities which expresses its philosophy, based on the consolidation of Anglo- Portuguese ancestral cultural ties.

 Click here to play it.

The Rose
The logotype is a rose. Symbol of the house of Lancaster from whose family D.Filipa descended, wife of D.João I, first king of the 2nd dynasty of Portugal and mother of Infante D.Henrique, pioneer of the Portuguese discoveries and its cultural expansion throughout the world.

 



English

 In Kindergarten, English as a second language, is taught much like the mother tongue through continual exposure and individual learning based on the development of  aural/oral skills, giving importance to drama and music as learning tools.
The aim is to encourage and stimulate basic communication skills in the child with emphasis on educating listening and speaking skills, bearing in mind future teaching of reading and writing.

Emphasis is given to oral communication and, consequently written communication, in order to acquire the ability to express thoughts in an adequate and grammatically correct manner.
The fundamental oral interaction in the classroom promotes lexical comprehension, fluency and pronunciation.

The child is only introduced to reading and writing in the Primary, after becoming familiarized with the language in an oral context.

The 8/9 year old age group is marked by a cognitive and social development in the child, as well as an increase in their ability for abstraction. It is an ideal moment to develop their writing skills.Having  consciously reflected upon the world
around them and having attained a better understanding of their surroundings they can now put their personal experience into writing.

At Q.E.S. the programme and materials adopted are the same as those in the  Cambridge University Programme for Teaching English as a foreign language, therefore, the pupils of Q.E.S. can sit the Cambridge University Young Learners Tests, 
if their parents wish them to do so.







European Educational Project
"CITIZENS OF EUROPE"

Three schools from three countries were involved in this Project: Portugal,Italy, and The United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth's School, a Kindergarten and Junior School in Lisbon, was the Coordinator.

Research work to find social and cultural similarities among the three countries involved took place, aiming at drawing the pupils'attention to the existance of a European identity.
All the pupils from the three schools took part in the Project using the Portuguese, Italian and English languages; with English as the one in common.

For three years, besides work done by the pupils, pedagogical practices were exchanged through reports made at the end of every year. Electronic mail, video-conferences, the Post and the Internet were the technologies used.

The subject of the project was included in the school curriculum throughout these three years.