(ages 16-17)
Baccalaureate, “The Flight”
It is the first major choice in our lives. A choice made as (almost) adults that will begin to shape our professional future. While some decide easily because they have known for some time what they want to do, for others it is a moment of great stress and indecision. Also, although adolescents at this stage begin to approach physical and emotional stability, many questions still linger. Therefore, at Arimunani, we focus intensely on closely and individually supporting this stage, with very low student-to-teacher ratios, to prepare the flight of this beautiful and colorful hummingbird.
Our work in this stage is to prepare access to their next educational or professional plan, whatever it may be. We work closely with students to empower them and reflect their extraordinary selves. We have worked together for years to prepare them for life — to be capable of decision-making, self-knowledge, expressing feelings, organizing ideas, making proposals, and reaching conclusions… We only need to make them believe in themselves as we have believed since they first walked through our doors. We will prepare your flight for two years to ensure success. And success for us is no less than you reaching your goals and being happy.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
Between 16 and 18 years, the brain undergoes significant maturation, especially in the prefrontal lobe, meaning decision-making, impulse control, and logical thinking are still developing. This stage is marked by high brain plasticity, facilitating new skills acquisition and adaptation to diverse learning environments.
The dopaminergic reward system is hyperactive, driving the search for new experiences and learning based on immediate rewards. Executive functions such as attention, working memory, and emotional self-regulation progressively improve but are not fully consolidated.
Since adolescents learn best through social and interactive experiences, it is essential to implement active pedagogical strategies involving collaborative learning, critical thinking, and metacognitive reflection.
STAGE OBJECTIVES
Foster confidence, security, and emotional well-being.
Create a safe, respectful environment amid growth and change.
Promote artistic expression valuing creativity and process.
Encourage healthy, conscious eating.
Prepare together, in a personalized way, for their next academic or professional step (Vocational Training, University Entrance Exams, etc.).
Ability to interact fluently and naturally in a conversation in English.
How we work?
In baccalaureate, we work with a methodology similar to traditional education regarding operation and objectives. What changes is our characteristic approach focused on care and emotional support for adolescents.
We have a specialist tutor for each high school program who guides the process individually toward university entrance exams, higher education, vocational training, or any chosen next academic/professional step.
Our low student-to-teacher ratios make this approach possible.
We offer the following high school tracks:
- General
- Scientific
- Social-Humanistic
Assembly
Just like in the preschool, primary and secondary stages, it continues to exist as a space for cohesion and for taking the emotional temperature of the group. It remains a place for decision-making, conflict resolution, and ultimately, for sharing emotions. However, it no longer takes place daily, as our responsibilities at this stage are greater and more demanding, and we now have the ability to self-regulate without needing to rely on this space as frequently.
Environment
The environments disappear to become TI (Independent Work Workshops). These are spaces led by a specialist mentor. Students attending, for example, chemistry or math TI, work autonomously with the mentor’s support to resolve doubts and complete tasks and projects. TIs are fewer in high school because schedules focus on more specialized subjects.
Workshops
The TDs, on the other hand, continue to be the workshops they are already familiar with from previous stages at school. They are a guided educational proposal focused on a specific activity designed to work on particular curricular content, carried out in a way that encourages the whole group to work together. These workshops cover all curricular subjects (science, mathematics, language, history, physical education, etc.) and are complemented by a variety of more diverse content areas. These touch on different fields of learning in an enriching way, always aiming to spark the curiosity and thirst for knowledge that young people naturally possess.
Evaluation
We conduct continuous evaluation of each student’s development. The main tool is the platform, designed to reflect each student’s individuality in social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions, alongside curricular content acquisition through workshops, projects, and environments.
All data is itemized, recorded, and stored in the platform, allowing us to know each student’s learning and development status anytime. It also generates percentage graphs of learning acquisition per subject, helping us evaluate individuals, groups, cycles, and the educational center.
In baccalaureate, exams align with those from other educational centers or institutes and are designed to integrate with traditional education for continuing higher studies after leaving Arimunani.