reading - Rome International School

RIS
report
Issue 21, April 2013 - www.romeinternationalschool.it
Education for the
st
21 century
Book Week highlights:
Short story competitions,
library visits and more!
Spotlight on:
How we can “Think
globally and act locally”
Rome International School
And the
learning continues...
...at the ECIS Conference in Berlin The growth of a school goes hand-­‐in-­‐hand with the professional development of its staff, administrators and teachers. The format of learning forums such as the ECIS (European Council of Interna2onal Schools) conference take into account the various approaches used in a professional context. Therefore, the focus of these “classrooms” is on sharing and comparing our experiences under the guidance of external experts or peers, with the aim of iden2fying new trends, best prac2ces and benchmarks. At the beginning of April, some colleagues and I a>ended a conference organised by the ECIS in Berlin, together with hundreds of administrators, teachers and staff from interna2onal schools across Europe, the Middle East, and even a few from as far away as Australia and the US.
It was a great opportunity for gathering and assimila2ng current trends in educa2on, par2cularly important for independent schools such as RIS and discovering that subjects, which seem to us to be an excep2on, are in fact a common issue.
For those who consider learning as a process, this forum not only confirmed some choices already in place at RIS but provided sufficient s2muli for us to consider at home. One of the most significant messages I took away, as ar2culated by Dr. Yong Zhao (see his very interes2ng bio on zhaolearning.com), is that a world class educa2on should foster crea2ve and entrepreneurial students through an entrepreneurial oriented educa2on, in such a way that the curriculum follows the children, and not vice versa. Wouldn’t you agree that this is quite similar to the IB approach and that the word “entrepreneurial” evokes a part of the RIS mission statement? A second interes2ng message conveyed the relevance of social media, both for students and schools. The “socialnomics” scholars (and prac22oners such as Michaela Seeger, Director of Community at Zurich Interna2onal School) say that social media tools are a reality. We cannot avoid students using these tools therefore we must educate students on the use of them. Schools will need to consider their teaching methods to be>er integrate this reality: 90% of independent schools have a Facebook page (65% Twi>er, 43% LinkedIn). I would like to end with an impressive discovery. The worldwide growth of interna2onal schools is due to the drama2c increase of resident students that opt to a>end an interna2onal school in their own country. “Think globally,
act locally”
Some/mes global problems such as war, hunger, racism, poverty and environmental degrada/on can seem so overwhelming and unmanageable that we give up trying to solve them. But we must not be defeated. Collec/vely, our small steps make a big difference…
BY MARINA BRUNET
CAS COORDINATOR hink globally, act locally urges people to consider the health of the en2re planet and to take ac2on in their own communi2es and ci2es. T
Thanks to the generous support of Rome Interna2onal School’s PTA commi>ee and through the Crea2vity, Ac2on, Service (CAS) programme, part of the IB Diploma Programme, RIS has taken steps to focus on its community and networks in order to raise awareness and tackle global issues locally. ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Secondary students supported Travel Green Day by coming to school via environmentally friendly means of transporta2on. This helped us to reduce our carbon footprint. In addi2on, we held a ‘no school uniform day’ where each student had to give a small contribu2on. By doing this, we made it possible to raise money for Friends of the Earth, Italy. If all the schools in the world were d o i n g t h e s a m e t h i n g , t h e n environmental degrada2on could be significantly reduced. CLASSISM, SEXISM, and other unjust forms of DISCRIMINATION
Three Grade 13 students contributed to the Girl Effect project via Interna2onal Women’s Day celebra2ons. The Girl Effect Project aims to help empower adolescent girls in developing countries worldwide. Through a few local steps, such as dona2ons aXer the Middle/High School drama produc2on (€400) and a no-­‐school-­‐uniform day and jewellery stand (€100), the dona2ons from our community helped raise more than 500 euros!
Thank you Berlin!
Ivano Boragine
Head of School 2
Gr 13 students along with Elementary pupils after an informative assembly on the Girl Effect
project during International Womenʼs Day
It is incredible to know that 25 dollars will provide one girl in Kenya with school supplies for one year (including books, notebooks, handouts and pens). It is also encouraging to see what a difference we can make on the other side of the world, by taking small steps in our own community!
POVERTY, HUNGER, HOMELESSNESS
By organising different stalls at the recent Interna2onal and Winter Fairs, the PTA made it possible to raise more than €5,000 which was donated to two of the school’s charity partners. SOS Villaggi dei Bambini were able to purchase five new computers and a heater for their educa2onal centre in Rome and the South African Themba Development Project used the funds to purchase general school supplies, construct sanitary facili2es and buy football kits for the en2re village in Nqiningana.
All of this was possible thanks to the generous contribu2ons of the school community who acted locally and thought globally!
Other CAS local ini2a2ves such as organising a toy collec2on for Hai2an children, selling fair trade jewellery to help provide an income to single mothers in South Africa, bake sales to raise money to help reduce hunger, and helping out at soup-­‐kitchens, are great examples of how individual and small communi2es can take local steps to tackle global issues!
WHAT CAN YOU DO? It does not take that much 2me or effort to act locally. We encourage RIS students, who are interested in raising awareness about a global issue, to set up a campaign in school, followed by fundraising in2a2ves in order to sustain your cause. It takes empathy, generosity, sensi2vity, humility and imagina2on to engage in the ‘Think globally, act locally’ spirit. SAVE THE DATE! We encourage our community to con2nue to support this spirit at the following school events:
May Fair -­‐ 18 May 2013
This is a wonderful day for the whole family. There will be lots of stalls selling food and drinks; face pain2ng; used books and toys; henna stalls; a n d f o o t b a l l a n d d o d g e b a l l tournaments! The funds raised from the Fair will be donated to one of the school’s charity partners, Kisedet, a Tanzania NGO that helps to provide educa2on for disabled children, orphans or children from underprivileged families.
Charity Evening -­‐ 10 June 2013
The 2013 Charity Evening will fundraise for a project that provides life-­‐saving surgeries for children at St Damien’s Hospital in Port-­‐au-­‐Prince, Hai2. Since 2010, RIS has been suppor2ng the well-­‐known Francesca Rava Founda2on to re-­‐build schools in Port-­‐au-­‐Prince aXer the devasta2ng earthquake of 2010. Gr 13 CAS students help raise funds for the
Themba Development Project by selling
fairtrade bracelets at the Winter Fair,
organised by the schoolʼs PTA
Technology in
the classroom
Please contact Tania Esposito -­‐ [email protected] if you are interested in a>ending. Thomas Edison famously said in 1913 that ‘books will soon be obsolete in schools…’1. This never happened of course and in fact the history of technology in schools is one of great expecta2ons...but also false starts and periods of stasis. Perhaps it is inevitable that we can never fully use all the technology that is available, but many of the innova2ons of the last 40 or 50 years or so have not changed the way we teach and learn in a truly fundamental way. At a recent educa2onal conference I a>ended a seminar on the ‘classroom of the future’. This turned out to be pre>y much an empty space with some laptops. Not exactly the stuff of science fic2on. Of course mobile and tablet technology is something really new and where many schools are inves2ng heavily. But the real change is really one of approach and artude -­‐ not focusing on the technology itself but how we use it, not on hardware but on the learning opportuni2es that the hardware provides. So for example, exploring how students and teachers can use social communica2on soXware to collaborate, share and produce is a very important area for development. Or using technology to record progress and achievements in gamifica2on scenarios is another example. Gamifica2on allows students to learn in a compe22ve context – compe2ng against others and more importantly against themselves. 2 It creates a learning framework that many students are very (overly?) familiar with through computer games. There are posi2ve and nega2ves to ‘gameifying’ educa2on and encouraging the use of social networking of course, but the point is that we can use technology crea2vely to interest, engage and encourage students. A further step is to allow students themselves to help create the learning environment, by using their skills in technology and c o m m u n i c a 2 o n s t o i n fl u e n c e h o w informa2on is presented, ideas shared and even work assessed. So even if we are all wearing iWatches or spor2ng ‘Google Glasses’ in the classroom in the next five years, the principles will remain the same...it is how imagina2vely we can work and learn together that ma>ers, not the hardware itself.
1 h>p://www.indiana.edu/~idt/shortpapers/documents/
ITduring20.html
2 h>p://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-­‐things-­‐you-­‐should-­‐
know-­‐about-­‐gamifica2on
William Ireland
Principal, Middle and High School
3
BOOK WEEK HIGHLIGHTS Grade 6 visit Kant Library
Book Week celebra2ons took place from 4 -­‐ 8 March. All kinds of ac2vi2es were organised such as author visits, an illustrator visit, a short-­‐story compe22on, paired-­‐reading involving primary and secondary students and a ‘dress up as your favourite book character’ day to help celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 7 March. Below is an ar2cle about a Grade 6 visit to the Middle and High School library. World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebra2on of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. Now in its 16th year, World Book Day aims to ensure as many children as possible explore the pleasures of books and reading.
y now the Rome Interna2onal School Book Week has its tradi2ons and one of these is the Grade 6 visit to the Immanuel Kant Library, the library for Middle and High School students. This year, Grade 6, accompanied by Ms. La Guardia, the Elementary School librarian, were able to explore and discover the library that they will use frequently next year, from grade 7 onwards.
B
The visit started with a brief introduc2on by the secondary librarian, on how the library is organised, the different resources available and how the library is used by students. This visit gave Grade 6 pupils an opportunity to ask ques2ons and to reflect on the differences between this library, which was new to them, and the Elementary School library that they know so well. The discovery that all students in the library can access internet freely without having to produce an ICT pass is always met with great enthusiasm!
Then came the library challenge in which the students collaborated together using their research skills and the catalogue to find specific books. This was a fun way for the students to learn more about the I. Kant library and its resources and the groups were able to successfully complete all phases of the game.
Well done grade 6! You are ready to use the Immanuel Kant library! I look forward to seeing you next year.
BY FEDERICA OLIVOTTO
MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIAN 4
BOOK WEEK HIGHLIGHTS Dress up as your favourite book character
Thomas (G 5M) – The Cat in the Hat
“The Cat in the Hat is my favourite book because it is the first book I could read. I then con<nued by reading the rest of the Dr. Seuss series.”
Gaia (G 3T) – Pippi Longstocking “I dressed up as Pippi Longstocking because it is a fantas<c book.”
Margaret (G 4R) – Laura Ingalls Wilder
“I dressed up as Laura Ingalls Wilder because she is very wild and loves moving around. Personally, I think we are very alike.”
Claudio (G 3T) – The Gruffalo
“I dressed up as the Gruffalo because it is my favourite book and I like it.”
The Little Prince turns
70 this month!
First published in New York in April 1943, Le Pe%t Prince, a novel by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, sold over 150 million copies worldwide. The Li-le Prince characterises the sharp contrast between the respec2ve ways grown-­‐ups and children view the world.
Saint Exupéry depicts children as imagina2ve and sensi2ve to the mystery and beauty of the world. The Li>le Prince represents the open-­‐mindedness of children. He is a traveler who constantly asks ques2ons to unlock the secret mysteries of the universe. The novel suggests that such inquisi2veness is the key to understanding and happiness.
Grown-­‐ups, on the other hand are seen as unimagina2ve, superficial and prone to quick judgments which lead to the development of dangerous stereotypes and prejudices. They are sure that their limited perspec2ve is the only one possible and aim to crush the restless ques2oning, open-­‐mindedness and imagina2on of children. We see this in the opening pages of the book.
“The grown-­‐ups' response, this %me, was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithme%c and grammar. That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing N u m b e r T w o . G r o w n -­‐ u p s n e v e r understand anything by themselves, and it is %resome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”
Saint-­‐Exupéry shows that personal growth must also involve ac2ve explora2on. Through a combina2on of exploring the world and exploring their own feelings, the narrator and the Li>le Prince, though stranded in the desert, come to a be>er understanding of their own natures and their places in the world. In re-­‐reading this novel aXer many years I am struck by the number of its themes – open mindedness, inquiry, risk-­‐ taking, caring, reflec2ng, thinking, being p r i n c i p l e d a n d k n o w l e d g e a b l e , communica2ng – which are all part of the holis2c educa2on provided by the IB PYP at RIS.
We cannot tell what our children’s future will hold, but like the Li>le Prince, if they are able to display the a>ributes of the IB Learner Profile, they too can reach for the stars.
Patricia MarOn-­‐Smith
Principal, Early Years & Elementary
5
BOOK WEEK HIGHLIGHTS Short story compeBBon As part of the Elementary Book Week celebrations, pupils from grade 3 to 6
were invited to take part in a short story competition. The entries followed the
theme ʻcommunicationʼ or the ʻpower of wordsʼ. The winner of the competition,
Chiara Imponente in Grade 4, received a fantastic book to help her continue
to write her own stories!
An Impossible Dream
nya was bored of the boring life she had. She
absolutely hated being the staff of Chicago mini-
“You will have a test, who ever wins will have the
opportunity to work as an actress in Rome’s Globe
theatre. She was new there and she chose that
Theatre,” she said. Just then Anya’s eyes shot up to the
job because she thought that by working there she
would learn how to be an actress. But it was an
sky. If only she could win that contest!
As soon as she got home, she began to study and
impossible dream for a girl of seventeen who couldn’t
speak English!
study. Soon, she studied morning, night and sometimes
even at work! The test was December 20th and today
She watched the actors perform a beautiful act of “A
was the 13th of December!
Midsummer Night’s Dream”. She wanted so badly to act
in it because her mother who was far away read her
She couldn’t wait! She noticed that the new girl, whose
name was Natasha was having trouble with Mrs
that story when she was little.
She was behind the stage doors reading a book when...
Goodman so she invited her to study together. Days
passed and soon it was the day of the test. That
“Hey! We need you!” her boss yelled. “Go feed my dog!”
morning Natasha told her that she needed to win the
“Eh?” Anya said. She couldn’t understand!
“Dog, woof” Gnam, Gnam.” She now knew she had to
test otherwise she couldn’t get a job. Then Anya
realised she didn’t need to work there: it was just her
feed the dog!
She felt so stupid when someone talked to her, so she
dream! At the test she thought about it and didn’t try
her best, on purpose.
decided to go and learn English.
Two weeks later the teacher announced, “As you know,
At 5:00 she went to the city centre. She found a little
English school and she signed up. It was a free school.
there can only be one winner: Natasha Karkiankova!”
Anya felt sick. The teacher continued, “But one other
A few weeks later, she could speak English perfectly.
Then, a new girl came to learn English with her. She had
person can also be a winner: Anya Robblets!”
Anya was very happy and excited. She could work with
inky hair and two sapphire eyes. When she entered the
her friend!
room she carried a blue book with her. The strict
teacher looked at her with dark, firm eyes. Then she
And so, it wasn’t an impossible dream after all...
A
continued teaching. Later, the class was full.
6
Los Roques:
Solo incidentes o
tragedias planificadas?
En los ùltimos quince años, se han verificado incidentes y episodios muy raros relacionados al
transporte de pasajeros en avión. Por supuesto, esto es lo que occurriò el mese pasado con un
avión que transportaba turistas desde Los Roques, hacia el Areopuerto Internacionál de
Maiquetìa, en Caracas, provocando seis muertos (italianos inclusos).
BY RAUL COHEN
GRADE 13
E
n la mañana del 4 de Enero del 2013, un avión
desapareció con sus pasajeros. No es la
cambiar la ruta en un otro paìs americano por vender
drogas. Según la policia, despuès del sabotaje, los
primera vez que pequeños aviones desaparecen de
los radares despuès ser salido de lʼ Archipiélago de
Los Roques, un conjunto de islas y cayos cerca de
Venezuela.
Hay muchas opiniones al respecto de este evento.
pasajeros serían lanzados a la selva tropical de la
Amazionia, y sería muy difícil recuperar los cuerpos
de las victimas. A pesar de eso, muchos
investigadores empezaron a buscar los cadáveres en
estos territorios, pero sin resultados. Lograron a
Generalmente, se cree que estos incidentes son
bastante normales porqué occurren a menudo por las
corrientes del aire y por la poca seguridad de los
antiguos aviónes. Por otro lado, el pueblo
Venezolano piensa que dar culpa a coincidencias por
encontrar un cuerpo en los dias pasados, pero sus
condiciones eran tan mal que fue imposible
reconocer si era alguien de los perdidos. Ahora, la
policía esta aumentando los controles en todos los
paises que se cree sean la verdadera destinacion de
la desapareciòn de treinta aviones es superficial. Por
eso, algunos tienen sospechas que narcotraficantes
podrian estar involucrados en alguna manera en
estas tragedias. De hecho, sus opinion es rispetable
porqué la posición crítica de estas islas sobre el
la ruta, con el intento de terminar estas tragedias.
Para luchar contra este problema, las autoridades
internacionáles están ayudando a Venezuela para
aumentar los controles sobre todos los aviones de
Sur América, incluyendo los pequeños y privados. Es
Ecuador no permite que los radares tengan un
control general sobre todos los aviones, y esto podria
ayudar el logro de actividad ilegales.
Esta ultima teoria se basa en el hecho que todos los
aviones desparecidos son siempre privados, antiguos
algo bastante costoso,pero necesario, para la
seguridad de muchos turistas.
Los efectos sociales y economicos de estas
tragedias son los siguientes: la reducción del turismo
en un paìs ya en dificultad de desarollo, y, en fin,
y pequeños. Desafortunadamente, la policia no tiene
bastante control sobre ellos. La situacion facilitaría el
transporte de drogas y otras sustancias ilegales, asì
que los criminales podrian sabotear el equipaje y
pero no menos importante, el dolor provocado a los
familiares y amigos de las victimas, que incluyen un
gran numero de Italianos.
7
RIS CLASS REPRESENTATIVES
RIS
Continuing
the journey
report
RIS report is a monthly publication by
Rome International School.
Registration
Registrazione n. 476 del 31/12/10
Direttore Responsabile
Maria Corbi
Editor-in-Chief
Tania Gobena
[email protected]
Rome International School
Via Panama 25
00198, Rome
+39 06 84482650/1
[email protected]
www.romeinternationalschool.it
RIS will move to its new campus designed for 21st century educa%on in September 2014. The new building and campus reflect the school’s focus on cri%cal thinking, inquiry based approaches and a passion for learning. n early March, the school
organised two site-visits to the new
RIS campus located in Via Pecori
Giraldi, for staff members and class
representatives. A 1:200 scale
architectural model of the campus was
set-up in the school foyer in early
December. As impressive as this model is,
the groups who participated in the visit
agreed that it does not do enough to
capture how the expansive and lush
surroundings (after-all the campus is
beautifully set among three and a half
acres of natural parkland) and the
cutting-edge design of the building
blend together naturally.
I
Holly Grosetta Nardini, RIS mother of four
and class representative for Transition
and grade 4 said: "The Class
Representatives have just toured the new
RIS campus and we were all
impressed. It's a large, luminous building
in a lovely green setting. The students will
be divided by age and each block of
classrooms has its own lunchroom, library,
art and music room. My favourite
feature? Tiny toilets in every Early Years
classroom!"
The building has a covered surface area
of around 9,000 square metres and is fully
air conditioned and cabled. Key features
include a 225-seat auditorium, two gyms,
a cross-country running track, external
sports grounds, recreational areas, and
ample parking. There are separate
entrances for the primary school (south
side, first floor) and secondary school
(north side, third floor).
8
The ground floor will contain the ICT lab,
music room, art room and library for the
primary school and a canteen for the
high school. The first floor will comprise of
a reception area and a bar in addition
to classrooms and a canteen for our
Early Years pupils. The second floor will
house the remaining primary classrooms
and canteen, with one wing dedicated
to the library/learning centre, art room,
music room and three laboratories for
the middle and high school. Secondary
classrooms will be split across the third
and fourth floors.
Denise Mylonas, parent representative
for grades 2 and 7 said, “I was impressed
by the generous internal spaces that the
school will offer to the students and the
whole school community. This will inspire
and affect the whole working
environment and help students to study
in a more efficient and fun way. The
various laboratories will stimulate and
allow for creativity and important
scientific experimentation.”
Complete wireless coverage will allow
the continued use of innovative ICT tools
in the learning and teaching process
(iPads, interactive white boards, laptop
trolleys and portable charging stations).
Always with an eye to the future, solar
panels will ensure maximum selfsufficiency in relation to the production
of sanitary water!
We are confident that our new campus
will continue to provide the ideal
environment for our students and
teachers to develop their ambitions
together.
Keep up-to-date on developments
related to the move to the new campus
through regular reports in the magazine.
BY
TANIA GOBENA
EDITOR