A Teen's Life In Luanda

Hi Patricia

We are in the same predicament with our 15 year old and LIS. We are moving to Luanda on the 1st of July.

What a great idea you have.  I will have access to the recreation center with sporting facilities in our residential complex close to LIS and the Belas shopping center which would be suitable for schooling purposes. 

I am able to supply lunches and arrange extra curriculum activities.

It would be great to find more participants and a teacher/tutor asap.

Kind regards
Maryna Hohls

Hi PatriciaBush and welcome to Expat.com!

I invite you to post an advert in the section Jobs in Luanda. It may help.

Harmonie.

Thanks Harmonie,

I've placed a classified on this site's job section looking for a teacher. Any other sites you might suggest?

And Marnya,
We should definitely hook up! Share a teacher even. Is youre 15-yr-old male or female; entering yr10 or 11? Have you looked at online private schools? I've been most impressed so far with K12's international school. - k12.com/. If there are only a couple of kids, I'm happy to also have them do their schooling in our house - at least half the week. We're also in a residential complex in the same area. Look forward to exploring the possibilities...

Hi Patricia

My son will be entering Gr10.  I will have a look at K12.com.  And your son's grade?

Looks like all can work out for the good!

Grade 9, but I don't think it matters too much. They'll be following their own individual curriculum but being together will provide a social element and the 'hire' would be there to help keep them on course, maybe doing the same topics at the same time. K12 is a great one because there's a lot of online interaction with teachers there too. There may be others that are as good or better, but this is the best I've found so far. And ultimately, it doesn't matter if they're "attending" different online schools. I'm just excited at the prospect this could work! Be great to find one or two more kids but 2 is better than 1. So great to e-meet you. Now our challenge is finding a teacher!

Perfect.  I will also put some effort into finding a teacher from my side.

You can also mail me on Maryna [at] fnbconnect.co.za

Hi Patricia & Maryna

I feel for you both. I taught at LIS for 2 years and waiting lists was a way of life then also. The school simply can't grow fast enough - it does not have either the physical space or the teaching staff to do so. However, if you are on a wait list, the turnover of students seemed to me to be much higher there than at other international schools I've taught at. Nature of the oil industry maybe? So an opening could appear during the school year. And of course there is no other international school, although some students (maybe mostly Brazilians?) go to the Portuguese school.

I doubt you'll find a teacher - all teachers at LIS are recruited and bought in from overseas, and most mums with teaching qualifications end up teaching at LIS as well. Although you may strike it lucky with a recently arrived mum. There is not a local base of qualified people for you to choose from - the locals all speak Portuguese & often very little English is spoken. Expats get very well paid to live in Luanda, so there is no incentive to do part-time work apart from boredom.

Social life for kids revolves around school (like everywhere else) but also the compounds where they live. Most kids never leave their compounds after school hours - there isn't public transport, they can't drive, and unless they have a driver/parent to transport them, they are effectively grounded. The good news for your children is that if you are also living on a compound, they'll quite quickly meet other kids & make friends even though they are not going to school.

I suspect you'll be home-schooling with little support. Considering the age of your children, I have to ask if you have considered boarding school - you can't do adequate y10 or y11 science labs at home, & the rest of the curriculum is probably quite challenging to teach effectively as well. Of course it can be done, but it is a significant task you are considering. Another thing to consider is college applications & verification of the course the kids are following - most colleges require kids to have attended an accredited school that is inspected regularly to ensure standards are maintained. However, I know almost nothing about how homeschooling works so maybe you have already sorted those issues out.

If you want the kids to go to LIS if an opening appears, you should also be aware that the school teaches IB MYP (up to y11) and DP (y12 & 13) - I imagine it would be very difficult for a student to join part way through y12 without being a direct transfer from another DP school.

I hope this doesn't sound too negative - you may strike it lucky & find yourself a suitable tutor, but probably not until after you have arrived. Luanda is a big adventure for a family - we enjoyed our 2 years there and I hope you also have a wonderful time too.

best wishes
Sue

My neighbour  ,Canadian using following:
http://www.time4learning.com/www.teachitprimary.co.uk

Thank you both AngolSue and dantrinca for the valuable info.  a Daunting task ahead but I am positive that all will work out well.