Not a week goes by when I don't hear a concern from a parent about student use of alcohol and the parties that happen at private homes many weekends.  Though all evidence is anecdotal, the basic story from party to party is the same: excessive student drinking in an unsupervised setting, students passing out, engaging in various types of risky behavior, and in the worst situations students being taken to the hospital due to alcohol poisoning.  Though most of the parties are at the homes of high school students, middle school students attend with some frequency and we have many examples, once again all anecdotal, of MS students being excessively drunk.  Marijuana use is apparently also prevalent.  

Next week's Jeans Day on Friday, October 27th is a special one - BCS and Habitat are partnering up for a wonderful cause. In February 15 of our HS students will travel to Recife to build 5 houses for people in need. 

In response to many requests, the Family & School Partnership is looking into organizing English conversation classes at the school. We are thinking about organizing it as a one-hour session per week, but are open to ideas for the time and format. If you are interested in participating to improve your English, please get in touch with FSP@eabdf.br so we can include you in the planning. Also, we are looking for native speakers among the English speaking community in the school, to help lead the weekly sessions.

With EAB in the online news last weekend, it seems timely to write to you about the actual bathroom designations at the school and our commitment to abiding by relevant legislation and best safety practices. We met with our school attorney this week to revisit EAB's  approach to this issue relative to the local law. Reviewing our campus locations of "student only" bathrooms and "adult only" bathrooms, he confirmed that EAB obeys all legislation in this domain including article 14 of the 1999 district decree 20.769, which addresses early childhood students (ages 3-6). 

Halloween - October 28th 7pm to 10pm Come and join us for a spooky night of Halloween fun! Our next Sábado Legal will be on October 28th at 7pm to 10pm. The entrance fee is R$10 and activity tickets are sold at the door.