Old Terms & Conditions | raizesbrasileiras

TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND AGREEMENTS

Project Raizes Brasileiras addresses the need for a heritage language program for the Brazilian community in Brisbane, Gold Coast on the Sunshine Coast. The project delivers community-based activities for promoting bilingualism and Brazilian culture among children, families, educators, and the wide community. For more information watch our video & browse our website.

ABRASSO’s membership and insurance

Raizes Brasileiras is a project member of ABRASSO, which grants the project access to be covered by ABRASSO's public liability coverage for:
- volunteers,
- ABRASSO’s members and director & coordinator of Raizes Brasileiras;
Raizes Brasileiras is a project affiliated to ABRASSO, and as such, the project is granted access through ABRASSO to
- manage the community finances at ABRASSO,
- apply for grants at ABRASSO,
- be covered by ABRASSO’s public liability,
By being an affiliated project, Raizes Brasileiras commits to interact with other community projects affiliated to ABRASSO, participate in ABRASSO’s events, and register all students as an ABRASSO’s member.

Enrolment

Enrolments must be done online, www.raizesbrasileiras.org, by filling out a form, and paying the fees with direct deposit.
If you are a new student, you can choose to have a trial (not available in 2021) before paying full annual and term fee. This trial is only charged if the student decides to continue;
If the student wants to switch group classes for private classes, s/he must request it through Raizes Brasileiras’ email, and accept the change of fees if applied.

Placement

We have the information on the form filled out by the children's legal carer as a placement assessment;
If children are enrolled in the wrong group, they will be relocated and fees will be corrected in the next invoice.

Payment and fees

At enrolment, a single annual fee is charged for each student (in 2021, this fee is AU$95). This fee guarantees the course continuity throughout the whole year, supports classroom material acquisition, and registers the children as an ABRASSO’s member, granting them insurance coverage. (Note, in the Gold Coast and on the Sunshine Coast no annual fee will be charged for 2021)
2021 Term-fees for each group are:
- Playgroup Educativo (1 - 4 years-old) AU$100
- Universo Brincar (4 - 8 years-old) AU$110
- Universo do Escrever (8+ years-old) AU$140
- Bilingual Drama – AU$140 or if the child(ren) is already enrolled in an Universo, the fee drops to AU$45
- Hora da Leitura & Hora da Escrita – AU$ 70 (each) or if the child(ren) is already enrolled in an Universo or in Bilingual Drama, the fee drops to AU$15.
You must pay the term fee in a direct debit to the bank account described in your invoice. Enrollment is only confirmed once invoice is paid;
You will receive a receipt of payments after payment is confirmed.
The receipt shows the balance, indicating if you have some debit or credit with Raizes. In case you do, it will be compensated in the next invoice.
An invoice will ONLY be issued:
- Once, right after filling in the enrolment form;
- If you have at least 1 child enrolled;
- If your previous balance indicates a debit or credit with Raizes Brasileiras.
If you have children enrolled, has no debit or credits with Raizes, the payments for term-fees are responsibility of the carer to remember and deposit the right amount:
- Payments made after the due date imply a fee increase of 10% over total term fees.

Reimbursement

The annual fee is not refundable after the classes started. In case you want to request the annual fee reimbursement before school starts, you will need to request it in writing at least one week before the year starts.
As a community school, we commit to deliver a community language school program for at least one whole year to the enrolled children/families. To book rooms, hire teachers, and prepare material etc, the project needs a minimum amount of paying students. Therefore, we strongly discourage term-fees reimbursement. We can only refund the remaining classes in case of an accident or an unforeseen severe medical condition. In this case, parents need to provide the school with a 2-weeks’ notice and a medical certificate.

Makeup classes

We do not have makeup classes, but we are happy to send you the content studied in class and the homework for the day.
If the teacher needs to be absent, Raizes Brasileiras will arrange a substitute teacher. In case it is not possible, the class will be refunded as a proportional discount of the next fee.

Facilities

Raizes Brasileiras Brisbane operates at Paddington Hall from Communify, at 10 Moreton St, Paddington.
Raizes Brasileiras Gold Coast operates at Mermaid Beach Community Centre, at 2439 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach.
Raizes Brasileiras Sunshine Coast operates at St Teresa’s Catholic College, at 45 Sea Eagle Dr, Noosaville.
Any use of those spaces has to be issued to Lilian Fleuri OR the executive commission of ABRASSO.
Students, teachers and the school directors are responsible for returning the original furniture to its place, cleaning up the classroom, and turning out the lights and air conditioning before exiting and locking the hall.

Use of images

We might take photographs or videos for parent information & educational, promotional, research, or organization purposes. If you do not allow us to take images of your child(ren), you must inform us at the enrolment form.
In case of the use of images for promotional purposes distributed on social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube):
- parents will be contacted by email,
- final promotional content will be sent, and
- written authorization will have to be granted by the child’s carer.
In case of use of images for promotional purposes is distributed in print material, parents will be notified by email. If the carers or the child doesn’t approve it, a written notification must be sent 5 days after the promotional material was sent to your email.
Images or videos used in Raizes Brasileiras website can be removed at any time. Check the website and if some picture of you or your child needs to be removed, send a request to littlebrazil.brisbane@gmail.com.
In case of classes & meetings recordings, they will be used strictly for research, educational or organizational purposes. In these cases, the content will be kept safely and anonymously at Raizes Brasileiras’ files. Parts of these images can be used for marketing purposes under parental consultation and authorization, as described above.

Meetings

As a community language school, decisions are made in group during Raizes’ community meetings. These decisions must be approved by the majority of members present at the meeting and by the management team, composed by the project director of Raizes Brasileiras and members of the Educational committee at ABRASSO. Decisions concerning the local Brazilian community must also be approved by the executive committee of ABRASSO;
Parents and students must keep informed about school decisions through emails, WhatsApp, community meetings, and social media (Youtube, Instagram and Facebook group & page). It is the carer's responsibility to stay informed.

Communication

The teacher is responsible to respond to any issue concerning course material, content explanation, assessments, homework, and any other thing related to classes. If you need to talk about any of this matter, please report directly to the teacher or the pedagogical coordinator;
The school board director (Lilian Fleury) is responsible for any issue concerning the classes’ schedule, teaching facilities, makeup classes, fees and payment, students (and teacher) conflicts, enrolments, reimbursement, school material and facilities, pedagogical material and any other administrative or coordination matter. If you have issues of this matter, you must report directly to your school board director through Raizes’ email;
Emails are to be used to take administrative decisions, teacher or school complaints, photo or video sharing, or school material sent;
Whatsapp is to be used to give last minute announcements, send reminders and make questions that concern the whole group. Messages that don’t concern the group are subjected to be removed with no prior notice.
Any suggestion or request for changes in this Terms and Conditions must be done in the teachers and parents’ meetings of Raizes Brasileiras.

Pick up and drop off

Every parent must sign in and sign out at drop off and pick up time.
Teachers are only responsible for the children during the classes' time. Parents must drop off and pick-up children at the classroom door.
If someone else will pick up the children, indicate this person's full name and phone number in the sign-in sheet and sign authorizing pick up.
Raizes Brasileiras, ABRASSO, teachers and coordinators ARE NOT LIABLE for unsupervised children during events and classes. Please, ensure your children are attended by an adult over 18 years old during transition of one class to another. Put a note in the sign in and sign out sheet and leave a written note to the teacher indicating who will be responsible for your children at the school, provide the adult full name, and phone number.

Conditions for course to exist

Groups must have a minimum of 8 paying students enrolled, or have this number compensated by another larger group;
If the group has less than 8 paying students enroled:

This group can be joint to another group;
Timetables can be changed;
This course can be shut down;
Fees can increase;
Parents will have to volunteer to work as teachers & teaching assistants

These changes might happen at any time. It will be communicated by the administration of Raizes Brasileiras, at least one week before the next class.

Teacher’s duties & responsibilities:

Teachers are responsible for planning classes following the program defined and guided by the pedagogical coordinator. The teacher is an independent professional (a contractor with his/her own public liability), whose services are hired by Raizes Brasileiras and remunerated according to the number of class hours given. The teacher must be responsible for the classes:

participating in pedagogical meetings;
planning classes
evaluating students
reporting to the teacher coordinator
taking care of the well-being of children during school hours;
guiding the teaching assistant of the day;
organizing the course material before and after class;
collecting the sign in & sign out sheet;
speaking in Portuguese to the children (exceptions may apply)

Teaching assistant’s duties & responsibilities:

Teaching assistants, guided by the teacher, are responsible for providing assistance to the teacher and students during classes. Teaching assistance can be a paid or a voluntary job. If paid, the teaching assistant has the same duties with the documentation as the teacher, including Bluecard Paid and ABN, and participate in training and meetings. If paid, s/he also needs to hold her/his own public liability. It is important that you do not, under any circumstances, speak English to any child, that you are not exclusively at the mercy of your own child, and that you are present and participating in class at all times.

The tasks provided for in teaching assistance include, but are not limited to:

Tidy up the room before and after class;
Follow the teacher's instructions;
Take care of class materials and children, returning to the place after the end of the activity;
Assist children in need of more attention;
Ensure that the attendance list is signed by all parents, all classes, on entry and exit;
Take pictures and videos during classes;

Parents’ duties & responsibilities:

The greatest motivation for heritage language learners to continue learning comes from the family. Therefore, it is important that parents follow the guidelines below:

Participate in parents' meetings at Raízes Brasileiras;
Volunteer twice a year to be a teaching assistant (talk to your teacher about this rule, it might not apply in your group);
Participate and / or volunteer in cultural events promoted by Raízes Brasileiras and ABRASSO;
Pay the fees and on time (add due dates to your calendar). Remember that committed and qualified jobs represent a cost and time for coordination and management. Delays and forgetfulness harm those who are caring and thinking fondly about your child's bilingual education;
Organize family meetings with other Raizes Brasileiras whenever possible.
To start seeing results parents must, for at least one whole year, commit to bring the student to every class, and embrace Raizes as a ‘village’ raising children.
Speaking Portuguese is mandatory on school grounds, and teachers are advised to remind them whenever they hear English being spoken,
Bring children 2 minutes before class starts;
If needed, talk to the teacher after class, talking before class starts disrupts the class;
Help set up and tidy up the room. Example: spreading / stacking chairs, moving tables, loading boxes to the car, sweeping the floor if necessary, collecting material from children, etc.
Parents from Playgroup Educativo must be in the classroom with their children at all times. Parents from Universo do Brincar and Universo do Escrever must leave the classroom at the scheduled time for the class to begin. If absence from the classroom is impossible, we advise parents to go through a time of transition and to be absent little by little (do not take more than 2 terms for this transition). If staying in class, the father or mother should perform a task advised by the teacher (i.e. binding books, making lesson material, or laminating flashcards, etc.). Parents in the classroom should address the children (including her own) exclusively in Portuguese.
If the child asks, help with the homework; If this is not working, we strongly suggest that you enrol your child in Hora da Leitura or Hora da Escrita online.

Children’s duties & responsibilities:

Check students’ belongings before and after the class;
Come to class with no mouth obstructions (i.e. pacifier, gum).
Always bring his/her backpack with class material, healthy snacks, water bottle, hat and have sunscreen on;
Have their homework done before every class;
Do not miss more than 20% of classes (four lessons per year);
Be respectful to colleagues and teachers.

I confirm that I have read and understood the Terms & Conditions above.

Full name ______________________________________________________

Signature ________________________________ Date _____/_______/ 20___