At Northlands, the holistic development of our children is a top priority. In our ongoing commitment to the psychophysical, social, and spiritual well-being of every student, we have created a framework for our Personal and Social Development Program (PSE), which will guide our path in the pursuit of wellbeing and the development of each child’s maximum potential.
We want Northlands to be a place where students experience an enriching and supportive environment that helps them develop self-esteem, overcome adversity, and thus discover and consolidate their life project.
As a school, we aim to accompany and guide students in reflecting on who they are, how they want to connect with others, what they want to achieve and how, and what drives them in their existence. The commitment ties the four dimensions together, where we will seek for our children to actively engage in their learning, relationships and activities, connecting mind, body, spirit and heart.
Being Transcendent
is the first dimension, where we will work for our children to explore their identity and personal purpose, discovering their passions, interests, and values.
Being with oneself
will focus on self-awareness and self-care, promoting healthy skills and habits, and encouraging treating oneself with kindness and care.
Being with others in community
aims for the children to value diversity, promote empathy, build healthy relationships, and contribute to the wellbeing of the community by being sensitive to the needs of others
Being in action
where we will develop skills and strategies to plan, lead and execute projects that contribute to fulfilling personal life projects, as well as the implementation of innovative and service projects that positively impact the construction of a more equitable and just world.
Personal and Social Education Programme
As a central part of their comprehensive education and through a well-defined programme, our students develop integrity based on high moral standards enabling them to freely choose what is right. Our Personal and Social Education Programme crosses our curricular design from Kindergarten to Secondary.
It prepares our students to become actively involved in ensuring a sustainable balance in our social and civic environment as well as in our natural one. To be able to promote this learning, NORTHLANDS has developed 9 axes which drive student learning in both personal and social aspects. These are perhaps the most difficult to teach, but yet perhaps the most important to learn.
Our expectation is that all of our community: students, staff, parents and former pupils will model these attitudes in order to make a difference in and to the world. Be who you want them to be!
Every year we select one or two axes to focus and grow as a learning community.
SERVICE LEARNING
We combine social responsibility with learning of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. We encourage students to be actively involved with those who offer a service.
Friendship and Service were two qualities highly valued by the founders, so much so that in 1935 they chose them as motto and inspiration of the School spirit. Service learning is the result of turning a service action into a learning experience.
We aim to educate children and adolescents with a sense of social responsibility that:
- Develop their initiative and personal autonomy focusing on the needs of others, through the application of their curricular competencies.
- Develop values and attitudes that motivate effort, responsibility and commitment to service.
- Strengthen their psychosocial skills and ability to participate positively in social life.
- Through meaningful learning experiences, improve their drive and academic results, promoting their personal and social development.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHOICES
Our goal is to emphasise the close links there are between healthy lifestyle habits, ethical behaviour, and high performance standards.
We actively promote the development of healthy living habits: better food choices, through awareness of what healthy nutrition implies; more rigorousness in rest / study routines that will help students achieve better academic results; and targeted campaigns to alert our community about the danger of alcohol and drug abuse.
We aim to educate responsible and committed children and adolescents who:
- Understand that a balanced diet benefits brain activity and gives our bodies, energy and protection from fatigue and disease.
- Understand how reckless behaviour threatens their physical and mental health.
- Can freely say NO to harmful social trends and take responsibility for a healthy lifestyle, today and in the future.
- Are aware that alcohol and drug abuse have lifelong consequences.
- Understand that there is an intrinsic danger in substance abuse and that, based on strong beliefs, learn to develop a more responsible attitude about self-care and well-being.
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
One of our institutional objectives is to strengthen and align our whole school programme of sustainability. We believe that the awareness of the shared responsibility and the contribution towards a more sustainable world is central too of being a global citizen. In this frame we develop a programme that every year focuses on one “gear” being conscious that working in each one affects the others.
The gears of the ESD Programme are:
- Energy and transport
- Waste
- Biodiversity
- Service
GRADUATES IN SERVICE ACTION
As our Mission expresses, “graduates are individuals whose integrity and moral values lead them to choose freely what is right”. Many of the ON work actively in NGOs to serve others.
