Frequently Asked Questions

SDIS currently has students from over 50 different nationalities.

St. Dominic’s International School is located in São Domingos de Rana, in the municipality of Cascais, near Lisbon and Oeiras, Portugal. The school provides an international learning environment for students aged 3 to 18.

St. Dominic’s offers the full International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum, providing a connected learning journey from the Primary Years Programme (PYP) through the Middle Years Programme (MYP) to the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP).

St. Dominic’s welcomes students aged 3 to 18, with learning pathways spanning Early Years, the IB Primary Years Programme, IB Middle Years Programme and IB Diploma Programme.

Students learn in English and can explore language pathways in Portuguese, French, Spanish and Mandarin. Students also have opportunities to work towards bilingual certification as they progress through the school.

Families can start by completing an initial enquiry and speaking with the Admissions team. The process includes a school visit or online meeting, application review and, depending on the student’s age and previous education, an assessment and/or family meeting before acceptance and registration.

SDIS has a maximum of 20 students in each class.

Classes start at 8:20 am
During the morning, children have a morning snack and break time.
In the Early Years, lunch is at 11:30 am, in the school’s main refectory, followed by the lunch break in the playground.
After that, the Nursery students nap, whilst Kindergarten and Reception students return to their classrooms for activities.
Kindergarten and Reception students have a weekly swimming lesson in the afternoon.
Before dismissal, which is at 3:20pm, children have their afternoon snack.
Afterschool activities run from 3:30pm to 4:15pm.

Every child and every family are different. All children go through a period of adaptation when they start at a new school and the community at St Dominic’s, we is very experienced at integrating new students. The teachers, the  assistants and the students are very used to welcoming students from very different cultural backgrounds and contexts, making for a positive integration in the community.

Within our Learning Support Team, we have a Junior School counsellor who may also contribute to a successful adaptation.

All Early Years students have school lunch which is supplied by a certified catering company. Soup, fish, meat and vegetarian options, salad and fresh fruit. There are also options for children with dietary restrictions.

We ask parents to bring a healthy morning and afternoon snack, and a refillable water bottle.

Besides the expected termly meetings with the teachers and students, parents have other occasions to get to know more about their child’s learning, for example:

• Assemblies and Sharing Mornings
• The student’s learning journal
• Overviews at the beginning of each unit of learning
• An app where students’ portfolios are developed and that parents have access to
• Daily communication with the teacher at the time of dismissal
• Junior School Secretary

Yes! Students can try one session.

Yes! Students will have the opportunity to choose one or more activities. However, the spaces are limited.

Yes! We are pleased to offer the opportunity to participate in as many sports students want to.

However, the teams have limited places and students must attend training regularly and have their own Sport Kit.

All activities generally take place on the school campus, ensuring a convenient and safe environment. For SDIS Sports, students will play friendly matches and tournaments in other schools. This will be communicated to parents.

Please inform the respective coordinator if your child will not be attending a lesson or when you want to change or drop out of the activity/club/sport. For the extra-curricular activities, payment of the term must be done at the beginning of each term. In the event of a cancellation, no refunds will be made. For more information please contact:

Extra-curricular activities and co-curricular clubs - asa.clubs@dominics-int.org

SDIS Sports - Mr Guilherme Lopes

All activities and clubs have limited places and placement is decided on a first come first serve basis. The SDIS Sports Teams have limited places and students must attend training regularly and have their own official Sport Kit.

If your child is travelling on the School Bus, please contact the reception, Ms Elsa Lopes on elsa.lopes@dominics-int.org to arrange transport (late bus) to return home after training. Students must be collected at the end of their after-school activitiy: junior school by 16h30 and Senior school by 17h30.