MINEHAVA SCHOOL

Our goal is to open a private democratic school for Prague and its surroundings. We are planning to create a respectful environment and offer self-directed education for students 11–18 years old. The school will be organised as a secondary school (2. stupeň ZŠ) and a grammar school (gymnázium). The total capacity should not exceed 160 students which creates the opportunity to work in small classes. Please do not hesitate to send us an email or call on +420 776 094 568 for more information.

Democratic schools and our education

Democratic schools have their specifics and completely different organisation compared to mainstream schools. Let's look at the common elements.

In democratic schools all members of the community are equal. It doesn't matter if it's a new student or a bearded teacher. Everyone has an equal right to participate in the school's processes and decision-making.

Another significant element of democratic schools is the freedom to make decisions, to create personal boundaries and the ability to defend them. Everyone has the right to decide where, when, with whom and what to do, as long as it does not violate the rights and integrity of another member of the community. This means that pupils do not have to participate in classes. Lessons are only considered as an offer and one of the options for spending time at school. Other activities can be just as valuable if they make sense to the student.

The last essential common element of democratic schools is the shared responsibility for the existence and quality of the school community. The behaviour of individuals is corrected, if necessary, by the community or by elected representatives with clearly defined power. Such councils are always staffed by teachers and pupils who help to find a solution to the problem and, if necessary, have the right to decide on sanctions or measures to remedy the situation.

In Minehava, we will fulfil all of the above principles. We are proudly joining the tradition of democratic schools around the world, such as the Summerhill School and the SANDS School in England.

Our education

Students will have the opportunity to participate in decision-making and choose their educational goals. We want to provide the best possible range of educational disciplines rooted in an international environment, where English will be part of everyday communication. Although we are not an international school and we offer a Czech curriculum and qualification.

Teaching will be organised in interdisciplinary blocks with integrated principles of Projects based Learning (PBL). Important part will be regular trips and residential stays in the Czech Republic and abroad. The goal is to offer the opportunity for developing a range of life skills.

 

Our principles and values

People: The school is a strong and functioning community of people who are involved in its life of their own free will and influence its direction.

  • The core of the school community consists of students, teachers, and other employees. Parents also belong to the wider community.
  • All processes in the organisation, and management of the school, are based on democratic voting and election. In the school community, everyone is respected and has an equal voice. 
  • Most school activities are voluntary, and everyone may or may not participate in them in accordance with their own needs, ambitions, and talents. 
  • All the school documents, processes and activities must reflect the current needs of the community and therefore are a subject for regular discussion and revisions. 

Education: The aim of the school is to use self-directed education and create a well-rounded person who will shape and contribute to the world around them.

  • A satisfied person recognizes their own needs, ambitions, and talents, establishes and maintains good interpersonal relationships, and takes a positive approach to life, society and the world. 
  • The content of the lessons is an offer that students may or may not join. We believe that education takes place anywhere and anytime. It also means that everyone can be a teacher and a learner.
  • A student has the right to receive support and assistance whenever they need it and ask for it. The support should help to meet the student’s goals and develop all student’s competencies.  
  • An integral part of learning is cooperation between teachers and students on forms of teaching. The aim is to strengthen personal responsibility and develop skills of all parties involved.

Environment: The school creates a harmonious climate that builds on international contacts, the values of sustainability and environmental development.

  • The school offers a stimulating environment that aims to satisfy the needs and wishes of all members of the school community towards a balanced development of their competencies.
  • Caring for the environment and a sustainable relationship with the world is considered in all school activities.
  • School activities take place in the school neighbourhood and in the wider region with the involvement of parents and related organisations. As part of these activities, we develop international cooperation and build a network of connected schools.
  • We welcome the involvement of students with a foreign background and aiming to create a multilingual environment that naturally uses English as a second language for communication.

Application and admission process

In Minehava, we will welcome children who are entering the Year 6 in September 2024 (i.e. the transfer to the secondary school). We also include children who would like to transfer to a higher year of secondary school. If you are interested in our school, please fill out this pre-registration form. 

Upon receiving the form we will invite you and your children for an interview to get to know each other. Here you will also receive a formal application form, which you can fill in and send back. After discussion within the team, we will formally confirm the transfer and welcome you to the school community at the beginning of the new school year.

Home for Minehava school

The home of the Minehava school will be the historic school building on Havlíčkovo Square in Žižkov, Praha 3. We have negotiated the lease of the first floor. It is important for all parents to know that this place is not final, and the school will be moving within two to four years. 

This fact is given by the terms of the lease agreement, but it is also part of our strategic decision. Within four years, we would like to find or build a place that would better correspond with our philosophy of a democratic school and support modern teaching methods than a traditional school building.

However, the current location will also allow us to create a school space with a great deal of freedom, and we expect that our pupils will also be part of this experience. Of course, we also welcome help from parents and friends of Minehava with the modification and improvement of the premises. We will let you know when and how you can help us during the preparations.

We understand that the relocation of the school is a major limiting factor for families, so we are publishing this information now to avoid any confusion later on. On the other hand, it will also be an opportunity for everyone involved to have an influence on the planning and building of the future school so that it meets our common dreams and ideas. We are very much looking forward to this in Minehava.

School fees

We have closed our pre-registration window. However, we are still open to enroll more children to our school. Please do not hesitate to fill in the pre-registration form.

Minehava is a private school, so we are forced to collect fees to help us run and meet the needs of the school. However, it should be mentioned that the state also contributes to teaching and pedagogical activities, thus reducing the overall costs for the parents of enrolled pupils. We are happy about that, because it allows us to offer education to a wider range of interested people. We have set the basic school fee at CZK 9000 per month. It can be paid quarterly (in three instalments) or annually. Tuition fees are paid only for the 10 months when school teaching takes place, i.e. CZK 90,000 per year.

This amount covers some of the school's operating costs and also provides the child with:

  • Daily attendance at school and the possibility of using the premises
  • Costs of some trips and teaching activities outside the school building
  • Teaching Aids and Equipment

It is likely that in the case of school events outside of school, we will collect additional fees to cover the costs associated.

We also think of larger families, so we will provide a discount for families with more children. Every second and subsequent child will pay school fees of only CZK 7500 per month. The discount does not apply to discounted pre-registration tuition.

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Telefon: +420 776 094 568

Bankovní spojení: 6544933359/0800

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