Welcome and welcome back to all our families
We sincerely hope all of our families had a lovely summer, full of sunshine and fun.
It has been incredible to see how much the students have grown over the 3 months summer holiday!
Students and teachers alike are back into full swing after the first full week of school.
It was wonderful to see students helping each other and working as a team on our team-building day last week. Mr Alberto and the teaching team organised a fun-filled morning for the primary classes, where students worked in mixed-age teams to complete art, music and sports activities.
Since returning each class has been working hard on getting back into the routine and rhythm of the school day. It has been lovely to see students working so hard and so enthusiastically already after only a week.
In primary, students are currently focusing on revising what was learnt last year, and teachers are busy observing and assessing each child’s starting level. Watch REGEL at the end of September when revision grades will be published.
Our 2 big topics this year are plastic and water.
Plastic is a very current and relevant issue that all international schools in Rome have decided to address. We will be sensitising students to the problems of plastic pollution and encouraging them to think of solutions. Please support this vital initiative by using as little plastic as possible. Please send your child to school with a reusable drinking bottle and help your child make conscious decisions about plastic. (Only 9% of all plastic produced since 2015 has been recycled. A plastic bottle can last for up to 500 years!)
Our whole school topic ‘Water’ links to the problem of plastic pollution, but also aims at looking at the importance of water in our lives and the lives of wildlife. In April we will have our cultural day based on water, all families will be asked to get creative and think of a costume for their child to represent water!
- Our whole school push this year is focusing on promoting reading both at school and at home. Children are requested to read daily in order to develop their reading skills.
The benefits of reading are enormous and include: - The more you read the better you get at this life-long essential skill – practice makes perfect
- Children who read find it easier to write and have more imagination
- Reading develops language skills in both Italian and English. Whilst reading children are subconsciously absorbing sentence structure and learning new vocabulary and meaning.
- Reading helps develop concentration due to the fact that they sit qiuetly to read
- Reading helps children relax before bed far better than watching TV. It helps them wind down and relax after their very busy day of learning and playing
- Children who read achieve better in school. Reading is a skill used across all subjects and supports learning in all subjects
- By reading children learn about the world around them. It helps them learn the feelings of others and how to solve problems
- Reading is fun whether you do it alone or with someone else
We wish you all a wonderful academic year, and wish the students a year of individual achievement and a continued positive approach to their learning and school.
Emma Mantripp
Primary School
English Department Coordinator