The history of the Josias José de Souza School

Since we stablished ourselves in the Region we perceived a poor education for the kids and the major reason of it was one class room for all the grades of a grammar school with only one teacher inspiate of the effort of the teacher, it was a lost cause.
From 2010, AROS partners began pressuring the local authorities to build a school with the facilties adequate to a good education.
In 2015 in partnership with the Town a beautiful school was built: Escola Municipal Josias Jose de Souza.
Aros influenced in the design of the building and in the educational program aiming to create Model School for the region: one room for each grade from kindergarden to 5th grade, Vegetable Patch, Sport Courts, Soccer Field, Library and Games Room called Tia Alba.
This beautiful enterprise was name after my father Josias Jose de Souza almost an illiterated man but elevated education as major wealth he could leave to his hears.

The Josias José de Souza Municipal School was ready at the end of 2016

Overview of the School Josias José de Souza

Vegetable Patch Project

The vegetable garden was a fundamental request for AROS involvement. It was designed to:

Teaching Planting, Caring and Harvesting.
Change children’s eating habits, all of them children of local small farmers who have no knowledge of planting any vegetables or fruits for their own use.
Integrate school lunch to balance proteins and carbohydrates with vegetables in the diet of students who now could attend full-time.
Change the eating habit of families since when children could take surpluses home.

Josias School Impact Actions as the basic element of AROS’ Educational and social investment: the Vegetable Pacth

The Vegetable Patch and the way it is managed attracted the attention of some celebrities

The project attracted attention from people such as actress and producer Ursula Corona, appointed in 2019 as UN Ambassador against Hunger.
With her inauguration in 2020, several new projects linked to Family Agriculture will become a reality as she is strongly committed to help both the Josias José de Souza Municipal School and expand this successful experiment to the other school units of Jaguaripe’s county.
The Presenter Bela Gil also became aware of Horta, valuing organic products and committed in 2020 and give a course to the cooks and train them in using exclusively local products.

Josias School "THE GAMES & FUN"

Josias School the Soccer Field

AROS leveled the area, put gravel, sand the soccer field is waiting for further investments from de Town … But things go slow in Bahia… meanwhile, the game has already started…

Josias School : the Brinquedoteca Aunt Alba (Library and games room)

AROS donated everything necessary, tatami, cabinets, toys and books.
It was the first major incentive to read while playing that the children ever saw

AROS hired Maestro Professor Josafá Freitas to create Coral Josias José de Souza.

The Coral has been presenting itself at public events and events at the School.

The Tell Me Project

José School Impact Actions as the basic element of AROS' social investment: the Conte pra Mim Project (the Tell Me Project)

This project aims to stimulate reading, analytical, critical and synthesis skills in children.
It was created at the Josias School and today is a municipal project. The intention is for young people to read and produce a written report read in class describing the content and the content and the meaning of each book red.
The synthesis is presented to the class and the best presentations are voted according to various criteria of clarity, understanding, completeness, etc. AROS was finally able to rewards top performers. In 2019 a 12-year-old read 22 books and revealed extraordinary synthesis skills and great cognitive content. The previous year she barely read the class books!

José School Impact Actions as the basic element of AROS’ social investment: the presentation of prices of the winner of the Projeto Conte pra Mim

Conte Project Award for Me in 2019, with Dona Alba in full proud armor

José School Impact Actions as the basic element of AROS’ social investment: the Coral on Comemorative days

Presentation of the Choir at the headquarters of the Peralba farm, accompanied by lunch and gifts for the children of the School

José School Impact Actions as the basic element of AROS’ social investment: the OSBA presentation

The objective was to present the instruments used by musicians playing classical and modern pieces.
The OSBA group, which was doing a job in the schools of Salvador, was invited by AROS to present children with a different musical perspective, have contact with unknown sounds and instruments, question and talk to musicians, and break the paradigm that an Afro-descent child only plays drums and atabaque.

The Results

José School Impact Actions as the basic element of AROS' social investment: The Results

AROS’ social investment initially focused on establishing a decent and efficient education in an healthy, clean and orderly environment.
The involvement of the partners and their representatives from the farm, in particular Dona Alba, were fundamental in the refinement of the standard educational programs provided by the state.
Alba demanded that first-class teaching would be available at her school and encouraged the school principal and his team to high standards.
It is difficult to gauge the social and intellectual gains obtained by students, parents and families, but it certainly reached positively many young people that otherwise would have not a chance.
In 2019 the School’s IDEB is better than the Jaguaripe municipality: with a municipal average of 4.3, the Josia School received a score of 6.8, while the state media is 6.3.

Josias José de Souza Municipal School is the crown jewel of the Jaguaripe municipality and a particular source of pride for AROS

2020 investments in the Josias José de Souza

Coral The Maintenance of the Choir became difficult, due to the displacement of the conductor from Nazaré to the school. The Maestro Josafá will not be able to continue with the classes, but indicated a replacement, Maestro Agenencio Barbosa, that AROS will hire to start in March 2020.
Horta Continue with the Horta Project, granting the means to improve cultural treatment and double the productivity of Horta.

Cantinho Digital (Digital Corner)We aim to include the Josias School in internet. The project includes:

Request donation from Ministerio da Agriculture of five microcomputers with related work stations.
Include in the School curriculum for children from the third year primary, an Office Package course (Word, Excel and Power Point). Such matters has to be approved by the state school authority so that appropriate certified instructors can be hired for the job.
Dona Alba intends to take the lead of this initiative together with the director of the School in negotiations with the Secretary of Education of the Sate and of the Municipality.
The goal is to bring an external instructor to the first half of 2020.

Curso de Horticultura para Crianças Again there will be a lot of red tape to cut but we expect to have an external instructor by the first 2020 semester