Therefore, the methodology is focused on the student’s comprehensive training. The teachers prepare their own specialised material and so the students feel prepared and safe to face the challenges that adult life will require of them. In short, a school that combines avant-garde with tradition.

• The student is always the protagonist

• We train to develop vital skills and competencies

• the school offers teaching that respects individuality

• the school encourages respect for diversity and ethical values

The school is located, in the Olhos D’Água neighborhood in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. The CPP Campus has 20,000m² with 4 buildings, a large sports area, restaurant, theater, science and technology laboratories, all surrounded by lots of green space.

It is a fully functional campus, that is, it is complete with comfort and safety for the best development of pedagogical practices.

site (in Portuguese)

http://colegiopequenoprincipe.com.br

They normally sell chicken “coxinha”, cheese or minced meat “pastel” , hot dogs (our favorite) and ham and cheese “enroladinho”.

The sweets on the other hand are not that different, being pretty much chocolate or mixed sweets such as TicTac and Mentos.

There is also a very traditional Brazilian soda called Guaraná, made from a fruit with the same name.

Made by: Valentina Falcone, Helena Camacho, Francisco Augusto

Saci Pererê

This is the most well-known character from Brazilian folklore. A child wearing a red hat (much like Santa's, but without the pompoms) and red shorts who only has one of his legs, lives in the woods and sometimes appears in farms, seeking victims. He is known for being a prankster, often making a mess everywhere he goes (spoiling milk is a popular example, but some pranks may be much more harmful than that). Saci travels using whirlwinds to carry him, therefore he is able to flee very quickly whenever someone attempts to trap him, which can be done by placing a sift on top of his head and pushing it down. This will shrink the prankster, enabling his capturer to trap him inside a bottle.

Mula sem Cabeça

"Mula sem Cabeça" translates to "headless horse" or "headless donkey". Legends say a woman who becomes the lover of a priest will transform into a mysterious headless horse on Friday nights and disappear into the forest, so travelers must be careful while exploring the woods at that time or they will get killed. Instead of a head, Mula sem Cabeça has fire coming from the inside of it's neck. There are many versions on the ways of reversing the transformation.

Curupira

The Curupira is yet another popular myth about an indigenous creature who roams the Amazon forest. The creature is similar to a dirty human with messy hair, but it's feet are turned backwards. Some legends say, if it's far from you, you'll be able to listen to it's footsteps as if it was close by. But if you stop hearing it's footsteps, it means it's getting closer and you're in danger. Although this might terrify some, the creature is actually benevolent, since it's goal is to protect the Amazon forest from whoever attempts to destroy it.

Boto Cor-de-Rosa

"Boto Cor-de-Rosa" translates to Pink Freshwater Dolphin. It lives in rivers, but transforms into a handsome man at night and seduces it's victims, luring them into the waters and killing them, much like a siren. Brazilian folklore's most famous siren is named Iara, her myth being very similar to Boto Cor-de-Rosa's, except from the fact she sings instead of flirting to attract her victims.

Those are some of Brazil's most well-known folklore characters. I hope you enjoyed reading this short introduction to our legends.

By: Gabriela Toledo

Championships are played all throughout the year, motivating us to train hard!

Made by: Valentina Falcone, Helena Camacho and Francisco Augusto

We have literature class with our teacher Vanessa. She teaches us mostly about Brazilian and Portuguese authors who made an impact in literature worldwide. The ones we talk abou the most are Machado de Assis (who wrote Captains of the Sands, a book about a group of boys who live in the streets and lost their childhood), Luiz de Camões (author of The Lusiads, an epic that tells the story about Portugal during the maritime expansion), and Fernando Pessoa (Brazil’s most famous poet, who created the reflective poem “Stones on the Path”). Another important point are what we call literary schools, which are the different types of writing that were popular throughout the years; right now we are studying Quinhenismo, which is the descriptive writing used in Brazil during 1500.

English:

English language here in CPP is divided into two different groups: Basic English, taught by Marcia, and Advanced English taught by Andy (which we are a part of). We only have English classes on Wednesday mornings, when we get to explore various cultural topics (religion, music industry, ecology pop culture, etc.), learn grammar and talk (practice the language).

Electives:

The school also offers electives classes during Wednesday mornings and during the afternoon all throughout the week. We need to choose at least one per period and they change every two months. This year, we have had: administration, scientific illustrations, microbiology, human evolution, the physics behind cars, entrepreneurship, architecture, marketing, poetry, podcasts on Brazilian popular music, hydroelectric industries, microscopy, English debate, ecology, photography, hematology, advanced math and psychology. We particularly like this methodology a lot, since it helps us discover the areas we would like to work in and guide our college choice.

CPP’s curriculum has many other common subjects, such as chemistry, mathematics, Portuguese, biology and history.

By: Francisco Augusto and Leo Lon Ann Chen

A little bit about Feijoada's history: legend has it that the dish was created by the black slaves from Africa. Back in the 18th century, the plantation owner would give the slaves leftovers (beans and pork) to nourish them during the exhaustive day of work. Consequently, the slaves would mix all those scraps and make a more pleasant and delicious meal.

By: Valentina and Helena

Carnival is an enormous celebration that happens every year in Brazil, at the beginning of the year. Crowds gather on the streets for a parade and everyone dresses up in exuberant costumes, dancing to upbeat samba music and enjoying a large variety of typical foods and drinks. Floats and marching bands are organized by Samba schools to entertain the people and the pavement is covered in confetti. In this post, we will delve into the origins of this curious commemoration.

Though it is speculated that it began in South Europe and arrived in Brazil through the Portuguese, who would organize a slightly different (and more violent) version of the Carnival we know today called entrudo, where slaves would engage in playful fights throwing flour or water on each other and white families would entertain themselves pranking passersby, it's actually believed to have derived from Dionysiac celebrations back in Ancient Greece. In those festivities, the people would honor Dionysus, the god of wine and parties, with long parades. Similarly to Carnival, people would dance, sing, drink wine and enjoy themselves.

It began as a pagan commemoration, but soon became a Christian holiday that marked the period before the lent. During this specific period, christians could enjoy themselves in parties without having to worry about going against their religion's teachings for a couple of days, and during Lent repent for their sins by committing to fasting and giving up eating meat.

Later on, Carnival was influenced by African tradition and Samba music and dances became a huge and important part of the celebrations. Nowadays, Samba schools compete by performing (with dancers, singers and musicians) and organizing floats and parades.

Although Carnival is celebrated similarly in all of Brazil, some regions have their own fascinating ways of expressing themselves. For example, in Olinda, Recife, along with the colorful parades, gigantic dolls known as "Olinda Dolls", often made to represent important characters or figures are crafted and join the party, being carried around. A dancing style deriving from folklore named Frevo is also a huge attraction during these festivities. In some places, famous DJs are invited to perform and private parties are also held.

Today, Carnival is not only a culturally very important part of Brazil, it also attracts lots of tourists and hotels and restaurants tend to make a pretty penny during this time of the year. With its curious origins and intriguing traditions, Carnival's become a symbol of our country and it is valued all around the globe.

I hope you enjoyed reading and understanding more about Carnival, and would like to ask readers which festivity or holiday is their personal favorite and why.

She’s getting old and almost blind but she is still very excitable, always wanting attention and wanting to play.

In this picture, it was the World Cup 2022, and she was ready for the barbecue. It was a good moment with her, I miss the time that she wasn’t blind.

I actually love cooking in my free time, and one of my specialities is baking bread. Sometimes I even sell my homemade bread to friends and family as it is a good way to show my work to others.

I don’t make only bread, I also like to cook other things, just like helping my father to made gyoza to sell (he is Taiwanese from Taipei).

In the picture we can see two phases of the baking process, the first is when it is baking in the oven, and the last is when it is ready.

I learnt during the pandemic, and I taught myself from the internet, and over the years I have improved my work, selling just in the holidays and earning my own money.

Sadly, three weeks ago Acapulco was overtaken by a Tornado that devastated the city. Hopefully, I will get to enjoy a bit of what is left of the city this year.

Thank you for your messages, they were so nice to read. Your English is all excellent and we enjoyed reading about your hobbies, your school lives (it certainly seems a lot harder than here) and the things you like.

There are too many messages to answer individually but we read all of them with interest.

We are finishing the school year now and evreyone is getting ready for the summer holidays, but I sincerely hope we can continue the conversation next year.

Best wishes

Teacher Andy

Francisco

Leo Lon Ann Chen