The Markgraflerland 12th grade project in Portugal

12 June 2020

This school year was very special for our school, the “Escola Waldorf a Oliveira” (The Olive tree) in the Algarve – Portugal. After much thought and planning we decided to expand from grades 1 to 6, to grades 1 to 8. In this process we had to rent an old hospital and remake this old unused building into a school. We had a builder doing some of the initial works putting walls down and giving it a new shape.

And so, it came that we had the special opportunity to embrace and welcome the Markgraflerland 12th grade social project in our school! We had a building with grey old walls that didn’t transpire much light and we asked this class to paint the whole building according to their own feeling of how the school should be.

It was very interesting to see how these young men and women took this responsibility so seriously. In the beginning, they asked us if we trusted them to decide how the new school building should look and we told them that we fully trusted their feeling and capacity. From this moment on, their eyes sparkled and their hands were so focused on the work with a sense of motivation and will, that it was unique to witness!

They worked everyday from 8am to 3pm and were always trying to make sure they were doing the best possible job. Sometimes they even decided to do the extra work of repairing some of the walls before painting as they wanted that it would look perfect. In this moment when their teacher Helmut asked if they would have time for this extra work, they responded that they would stay working till midnight, if needed. Their impulse to do well and with a sense of continuous improvement was a very inspirational experience for any teacher.

They worked as a big team, organized and coordinated in smaller groups and between songs, dances and laughs, they showed an incredible connection with each other, which was always open to be extended to our teachers in our school.
With their eager eye-to-eye environment and gentle smile, they painted the whole new school and even found time and energy to also install the new wood floors!

All this work was of a great impact to our school as it completely changed the new building and more, beyond a physical change, these young people were able to change an old hospital building into a whole new feeling, where we now have the opportunity to have a school that looks and feels artistic, warm and beautiful!

We thank Freunde der Erziehungskunst Rudolf Steiners for sponsoring the Markgraflerland 12th grade project. We thank our colleague teachers in Markgraflerland and very specially to all the 12th grade students that worked so hard and showed great responsibility and care!

Pedro Miguel
On behalf of Escola Waldorf a Oliveira