ISF's Monthly Newsletter - March 2016

eISF

The Newsletter of the International School of Florence

Technology @ ISF March 2016 - Volume 47

HEAD OF SCHOOL MESSAGE Dear Parents of ISF, This month’s newsletter focuses on some of the ways in which technology is used at ISF to impact student learning. In the field of education, our goal is to accentuate the benefits of technology as a teaching and learning support. We continue to ask ourselves, ‘what use of technology will deliver the most effective learning experience for which specific goal?’

The photos featured in this newsletter give some insight into the choices that teachers and students make in response to this question.

You will also see photos of the High School Student Forum, held earlier this month, which offered high school students the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of learning activities. The Forum, which was organized by our dynamic and dedicated Student Council, allowed students to delve into the dark question of anti-matter, debate whether violent video games contribute to violence or ask themselves where the limits of animal testing lie. Others had opportunities to create ceramics, learn modern dance steps, cook ethnic dishes, spruce up the garden or create art with recyclable objects. We are grateful to have so many active and enthusiastic teachers in our student body, as well as in our staff!

Another fantastic opportunity to see students working with their teachers towards a common goal was last weekend’s Junior School Sports Tournament. Students from the International School of Milan joined our fourth and fifth graders for two days of friendly competition and the opportunity to practice good sportsmanship and teamwork. Students, teacher and parents joined together in a culminating hot dog lunch on a brisk Saturday afternoon!

This week we welcomed visitors from the IB to the Junior School in the context of the five year PYP evaluation visit. The representatives are here to confirm the excellent progress that has been made over the past years in moving our school forward in relation to the goals of becoming a truly inquiry-based school and reaching for excellence at all levels of school life. We look forward to their feedback.

As usual, I would like to call your attention to our weekly Junior and Upper School communications, sent by email and posted on our website, so that we can ensure that you are up to date and aware of the myriad events that make up the day-to-day life of ISF! With best wishes, Debra Williams

News from the School Board The Board and the Administration are poised to begin the process of evaluating the Strategic Plan of 2013-2016. This will be the first step towards creating a new Strategic Plan to take us forward. The Strategic Planning Committee had the pleasure of meeting and brainstorming with two ISF parents, Marc Magistrali and Reza Sheikh, both of whom have extensive experience in strategic planning and governance. We thank them for their contribution of time, energy, and ideas.

Now it's your turn!

Be on the lookout for a survey from the Administration. It will take no more than ten minutes to complete but provides comparative data as well as your assessment of ISF's progress in the last three years. We need your input! As ISF is a constantly evolving community, we want to gather information about who we are now and how we envision our future. As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Are you following us? facebook.com/isf.florence - twitter.com/isf_florence - instagram.com/isf_florence - flickr.com/photos/isf-florence

Grade 6 - Science

My Grade 6 students are studying elements and compounds. I used an app, “goREACT,” to introduce the students to the periodic table of elements. The app allows students to learn about the elements and how they react with other elements to form compounds through an interactive periodic table. The students are able to react atoms and make compounds that they could not do in a laboratory (You should see how excited they get about making water!). goREACT utilizes multimedia to show the user what they have created and its uses in nature or industry. By the end of the lesson, the students have learned much more about chemistry from the app than I could have taught them in a lecture or lab activity. Josh Federwisch, Science Teacher

ICT @ the Junior School March is definitely a month rich with exciting projects happening in the Junior School computer lab!

While PreK and Kindergarten have been working on their basics, mainly typing and mouse skills, the older grades have been involved in lots of fun activities, using a variety of computer programs.

Students in Grade 1 started to work on their first Microsoft Word document. After practicing for months using the website ABCya! they were ready to create word processing documents and save them properly.

Congratulations Grade 1!

Students in Grade 2 have been working on the Unit of Inquiry “Homes” using the program Minecraft.

The main scope of the project is for the students to reproduce different types of houses located all around the world. No need to say that we have many little experts of Minecraft in Grade 2 this year! It is a pleasure to see them collaborating in pairs with those who are less familiar with the program.

Students in grade 3 have been working on Google Earth to create their virtual trip around the world.

For the Unit of Inquiry “Geographical Features” they have created a list of places where they have lived or been on vacation, and learned how to find them on Google Earth. The numerous places where our little citizens of the world have been will soon be collated into the program iMovie to produce a video enriched with text and background comments.

Students in grade 4 have been introduced to coding using the web-based program Scratch. They have been coding their first videogame, which will be used to reproduce the water cycle at the end of the current Unit of Inquiry.

Students in grade 5 have worked really hard to create their first website using Google Sites. Each group covered a topic related to Digital Citizenship, describing its main concepts and giving tips to overcome Internet Safety and Cyberbullying issues.

We are really looking forward to display our work in the Aula Magna during the annual ICT assembly in May! Ms Tosatti, ICT Teacher

Stay in the loop!

INTERNET SAFETY - Parent Coffee Morning

ISF organized a discussion between parents, students and researchers on the topic of IT and Safety. A small group of parents joined 20 high school students, two ISF teachers and two researchers in the field of youth and the internet, from the UNICEF research center in Florence. Below are extracts of student’s comments: "I agreed that teenagers and kids should be very responsible when going online, that is because on the internet you can find dangerous sites and inappropriate sites.

A law that allows you to go online without the permission of parents only at 16 years old is not concrete because everyone starts to go online before 16 without the permission of parents.”

Nikita Bezverkhniy “There has to be a lot of trust between parents and a child. Parents shouldn't invade a child's privacy and a child should not use the internet inappropriately, although in extreme cases they should intervene to help the child, for example in a case of cyber bullying.” Tancredi Iannizzotto Venezze "I agreed with the fact that its never a good idea to a put a limit on the amount of time children can stay on computers in their free time, as it is the child's responsibility to manage his time. A limit would only encourage him to spend as much time on the Internet as possible, whenever he could get away with it. If the Internet is influencing the child's social life however, then a limit can always be useful, however it is important for the child to not see this limit as a barrier, but as help to manage his time.” Luca Fagotti "I agree with the fact that it is better to not use a cellphone or a computer before going to bed because it makes you lose sleep. I agree because it also happened to me.” Beatrice Berni "The meeting that the students had with parents on the use of technology was definitely a positive experience for all the participants. I agreed with most of the statements that parents also have an addiction to computers, but there were some that I didn't agree with. For example many parents couldn't trust their kids with technology during their studies. Parents should trust their children, if they are mature enough.” Leo Consumi "I was really intrigued to learn from some of my friends that their parents spend a lot of time online.”

Daria Krasnikova "I disagreed with parents getting angry with their own kids because they can’t handle their internet usage.

Internet is for recreation and entertainment, but most of the parents think that internet makes you another person because you detach yourself from everyday life.” Matteo Lorenzi

"I disagree with the rule that you must be 16 and older to go on the internet without parent supervision. Many parents become very protective when it comes to internet exploration and I think this creates less trust and lack of communication between the two.” Vittoria Conforti "Our group talked more about how and when would be the best choice to let the children use electronics. The answer was that the children should respect parents' advice. And parents should also spend less time on electronics.” Federico Zheng "I was really intrigued to learn that people find their phones more addictive than their computers because for me, seeing as I am often at work on my computer, I have much greater ease of access when it comes to sites like Youtube and Facebook. Since they are right at my fingertips, I am often swayed by them and my mind is taken off the task at hand. However, people said that their phones were more distracting, despite the fact that they are never working on them.” Sebastian Culpepper "The idea that children until the age of 16 should request their parents permission before opening a website is pretty ridiculous considering all of the other things they can do that could be more dangerous than opening a website. I agree that, maybe, putting an age restriction on the internet would be a good thing if it started at age 12. Children should just be educated in what to do and not do when using the internet.” Kayla Middleton "A parent shared his personal story and the problems he had with his daughter. He said that everything depended on trust. And if parents trust their children then their children will trust their parents. An interesting topic that we discussed was the different ways people used their phones and how life was different before the invention of cell phones. I was really intrigued by the different points of view.” Giada Baroni “Trust between a parent and a child is the most important thing, because a parent needs to trust a child to use the internet appropriately and a child has to trust a parent not to spy or invade their privacy.” Sofia Gambetta "I was surprised to learn about a future UN law that a person under 16 years of age has to have the consent or at least awareness of their parents to use the internet. To actually make the person responsible on using the internet, one should show these limits at a young age such as 9 years old and with stricter restrictions so that the child understands how to use the internet responsibly.” Seba Arora "It was an interesting meeting and I liked how they incorporated the work with the adults and children. I agree with the fact that most teenagers spend too much time on the internet, but to increase the minimum age for children to be able to go on social websites by themselves is a bit too much.” Matteo Penlington "I agree with the fact that children spend too much time on electronics, enough to become addicted. But I disagree that parents should still supervise teenagers at the age of 16. An interesting topic that we discussed was that children are addicted to electronics and don't do homework or do it at the last second. I was really intrigued to learn that teenagers can become dependent on electronics.” Julia Antonioli "I think that parents have to be open-minded about the internet's evolution and about cellphones use. Trust is a fundamental aspect. I disagreed with the fact that people under 16 cannot have an account on some social medias. I was really intrigued to know that many of my classmates agree with my idea.” Francesca Cetta

"I agree that there are many applications, like ask.fm, that are dangerous, as anybody could ask you personal information. Some people just don't think about it. I don’t like the fact that today little kids already use the iphone/ipad.” Vivia Guarducci

ISF Student Forum 2016 The second annual ISF High School Student Forum, led by the high school student council, in conjunction with massive support from the school administration and faculty, took place on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. The Student Forum is a one-day educational experience which all ISF High School students attend.

The day consists of debates, lectures, arts and crafts, cooking classes and film watching.

As the slogan of the Forum states, it aims at providing a “walk on the other side of education,” where students can experience different types of lessons not typically taught in the school curriculum. Activities range from international cooking to self-defence and modern dance classes. There were even lectures by students from the Polimoda International Institute of Design, presenting their fashion projects. With a total of eight activities running simultaneously at all time, and a total number of 39, the ISF Student Forum required massive organization, and progress is being made from year to year.

The High School Student Council would like to express its gratitude towards all the individuals who helped out. It’s been a great journey and it’s only the beginning of a long voyage.

Michael Chen, Grade 11

The Perfect Epitome of Fashion (Polimoda) & The Scariest Makeup

Tuscan Self Defence

The defence class led by Christina and Charles Hellawell is a good way for both parents and teenagers to learn how to defend themselves should they be caught in an invasive or dangerous situation.

I took part in this class and got the opportunity to see and to find out first hand how I would react in case I had to defend myself. Seven teenage girls participated and we were put into real life situations. We had the possibility to defend ourselves against Mr. Hellawell without being scared of hurting him.

The most fun part was when we defended ourselves against the mugger for two hours straight. The scariest part was thinking that there are people who would just freeze in fear and end up getting harmed if they got caught in a threatening situation.

I am grateful for this opportunity as I feel more aware and alert now. Hopefully I will have learned how to avoid certain situations in the first place. And hopefully more teenagers and parents will use the opportunity to learn from the Hellawells.

Julia Antonioli, Grade 9

https://www.facebook.com/TuscanSelfDefence/

CAS - Angeli per un Giorno meets with the Junior School On the 28th of February, the International School of Florence brought forward a new interesting project from the Junior School, together with the “Angeli per un Giorno” association and students from the Upper School. Grade 5 students were first introduced to the project along with Mrs Runge, Mr Bailey, Mrs Vieillard, a member of the Association and student Carlo Frescobaldi.

The project is called “Share the Planet”, and one of its aims is to integrate children of the same age in the same community, to make them play together and to forget about any kind of discrimination. It was an opportunity to meet children of the same age who come from a different reality, and make them and us realize that there’s no difference and that friendships can arise with people you’ve never met before...for children this could be intimidating but with some “pushes” and motivation, they actually had a lot of fun and enjoyed the initiative.

The day was spent at the Junior School filled with fun activities: ball games and art and craft activities, thanks to the Art teacher from the Junior School. We were all divided into mixed teams so that they had another opportunity to collaborate together and share the spirit of the game, with children that they had never met before. We could feel the excitement in every room we walked in, as the children of the Junior School showed a lot of enthusiasm and were happy to be in charge. They showed their involvement in bringing food for the guests, which they were happy to share during the break. We all left with big smiles on our faces and the hope to do this again soon. Erica Berlot, Grade 11

European College Consortium A consortium of European colleges came to school to give a workshop to students in Grade 11 and to present an abbreviated college fair.

UK University Fair - Milan

Many High School students spent their Saturday in Milan to visit a college fair to find out about studying in the UK.

Grade 6 Play - A Mountain of Confusion Two families are forced to meet on a mountain top after the world is flooded. One family, the Nats (Naturals) live modestly and naturally; the other family, the Mods (Moderns), depend on technology. Little do they know that a third family has been living on the mountain top for ages. They are the Prims (Primitives), but as it turns out, have more culture than the other two. Eventually, the women will have to run things on the mountain, as the men have made a mess of the world. .

Grade 7 - Trip to Rome

The students visited the Pantheon and the Cinecittà film studio in Rome. They studied Ancient Rome in Social Studies and the architecture and history of the Pantheon in Art. Cinecittà is a large film studio that is considered the hub of Italian cinema. They toured the sets of The Hateful 8, Gangs of New York and Everest, which are some of the films filmed here.

IB #itsgettingserious 10th Graders chose their future IB courses.

SOCCER SEASON HAS STARTED

First home game against Aviano on March 19th, 9 am.

Via Paisiello 15/r, 50144 Florence Come cheer us on!

COLLOQUI FIORENTINI 11th Grade students Giuditta Parri, Lorenzo Papini, Sveva Venerosi Pesciolini, Sophie Culpepper and Riccardo Talini participated in a 3-day conference to learn about the poet Guiseppe Ungaretti.

Over 3000 students from all over Italy enjoyed lectures from university professors in the morning and seminar-style settings in the afternoon.

Upper School Library Corner February was a busy month in the Library! The high point was the Harry Potter event with ISF’s Masters of Potion-Making - Professors Boscherini and Federwisch!

But March is off to an awesome start as well!

Dr. Seuss’s daily words of wisdom (you’re never too old for Dr. Seuss!)

The International Women’s Day & Women’s History Month display of 50+ books on women across the globe, and their inspirational achievements:

and….

Math-lovers united on March 14th for Pi Day in the Library!

Games were played, contests won (well done Matthias and Ruby!!), and most importantly, a lovable, but irrational, number was honored!

Coming soon: Art@The Library: Book Plate Competition and Poetry Month!

A Magical time was had by all…..

The Harry Potter Book Night was enjoyed by dozens of very enthusiastic witches, wizards and muggles on February 25th at the Upper School Library!

While Huffelpuff won the House Cup award, the real prize was watching ISF’s Masters of Potion-making!

Many thanks to Mr. Boscherini and Mr. Federwisch for their time, effort and awe-inspiring creations!

A very special thank you for the Hellawell family’s contribution of decorations; Leonardo Giardi’s assistance with the atmospheric effects; Ms. Yosania’s beautiful potions, Ms. Honsberg photography, and all of the teachers and students who contributed, in so many ways, to this event’s success!!

“It was better than pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows!” l.v.

“Wizards and Muggles from all around come to be part of Harry Potter Book Night! It’s one thing worth coming to!” t.b.

“Harry Potter Night is the best school event in the world.

I loved it…

Thank you! ♥ ” n.s.

“Harry Potter Night was magically awesome!” m.v.

FIRST AID Teachers and administrative staff refreshed their first aid knowledge to be prepared in case of an emergency.

PA Shed Students were wondering about the mysterious shed being built at the Upper School.

The shed contains all Parent Association event decorations and will surely be put to good use.

5th Grade Students welcomed four representatives of the American International League of Florence ONLUS (AILO), a charitable organization based in Florence.

AILO’s mission is to contribute to community well-being through programs of social assistance and fundraising for charity.

ISF vs ISM Tournament

The annual Sports Tournament versus the International School of Milan was a huge success.

ISF won the games 104:100. Go Boars Go!

Grade 3 - Pre History Workshops Uncovering the Iceman!

One morning in January Grade 3 discovered a crime scene in their classroom! The strange remains of a frozen body that had been found in the Alps was revealed, which was surrounded by peculiar objects. Using their detective skills, and armed with their knowledge of prehistory, the class began uncovering what might have happened to this Iceman.

They quickly realised that some of the objects, such as the stone tools, were very old, maybe even from thousands of years ago! Could the Iceman have come from the Stone Age? Or maybe he was a Neanderthal or Homo Erectus? One student spotted there was also a copper axe and thought maybe he was more modern. Other observant members of the class noticed there was damage to the skeleton and a copy of an xray showed a small sharp object lodged in the shoulder. Was the Iceman murdered? Did he fall?

After the detectives had weighed up all the evidence and had given their final verdicts, they discovered they had found Ötzi the Iceman! Ötzi died in the Alps over 5,000 years ago during the Copper Age after being shot in the shoulder by an arrow! A series of fortunate events ensured that Ötzi and all of his belongings became preserved in the ice until hikers discovered him in 1991. Recently archaeologists and scientists at South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology have reconstructed what Ötzi may have looked like, so we asked the students to create their own facial reconstructions. What do you think?

We ended the morning by imagining what it would have been like to live thousands of years ago. The students recreated their prehistoric lives in cave art and drawings. Kerry Nickels, ISF Archaeologist

Grade 4 - Abetone Ski Trip On Friday I woke up so excited, we rushed to Piazza Bacci and hopped on the bus. When we arrived we got our gear, my ski boots were the strangest looking ski boots I have ever seen and my poles were a funny shape. Then we had a snack and got divided into groups, in my group there were Ale, Vincent, Niels, Victoria, Tamara, Tais, me, my dad and Mr. Bailey. Let’s get skiing! My group did a lot of runs and slopes that were both steep and flat with a ski instructor, parts of the snow were incredibly icy and slippery and some were nice and soft. After 2-3 hours we had sausage with chips for lunch. The chips were great but the sausage could have been improved. It was fun sitting down and chatting with my friends. Afterwards we played in the snow and then got into groups for our free ski. The free ski lasted 2 hours and I skied with Tais and my dad. The free ski was the best part of the trip for me. After that was done we handed back our gear and went riding on a skimobile. The skimobile was super fast. Finally we got back on the bus and headed home (well, to Piazza Bacci). My dad said I did the best skiing I have ever done! It was an extremely fantastic and wonderful trip! Angelina Hellawell, Grade 4

Grade 5 - Andalo Ski and Snowboard Trip

Junior School Student Council Bake Sale

Grade 4 - Trekking for Water A round trip of 5 kilometers to collect water to use for the day. We were reflecting on how some people need to do this everyday in order to survive. We filled up our water bottles and imagined this would be the only water we would be able to drink all day.

Alessia Busoni - Kindergarten Teacher In which grade did you enter the International School of Florence and how has the school changed since then?

In 1979 I was admitted to ISF for Kindergarten. However, I did not really attend because we lived in Prato and the long drive was very difficult for my family. In January of that year my parents decided I would begin attending fulltime the following year for 1st grade. Back then ISF was very small, and it felt like we were one big family. All grades (Kindergarten through grade 12) were here at what is now the Junior School Campus.

Are you still in contact with other ISF alumni?

Yes, I am still in contact with the alumni. Thanks to Facebook we are able to keep in touch. We consider Florence as our home even if we are spread all throughout the world. Elisa Bussetti came back this year to Florence and her child is now in the KG class. Elisa and I were in the school together from first grade through twelfth grade.

What is your sweetest ISF memory as a student?

I remember when, after one month of crying every morning in first grade because I didn’t understand English; I finally stopped crying and told my mom that this was the school I loved. From that day on I was so happy to go to school, and I cried when I was sick and couldn’t go to school. I also remember the runs in the rain and mud with Mr. Cook, and the incredible performance of "Macbeth "with Mr. Pitonzo.

And the funniest one?

I remember the year we got stuck in school because of the snow and the whole school had to walk down the hill.

What is your favorite part of teaching?

My favorite part of teaching is when I am able to understand what the children’s needs are and am able to help them.

Which living person do you admire most? My mother.

What is your motto? “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” W.E.H If you could take one year off, what would you do?

I would take trips around the world to experience different cultures.

Which music do you listen to? I love all kinds of music from hip hop to classical.

Which book are you reading right now? Chirù, by Michela Murgia What is your most marked characteristic? I'm always positive and enthusiastic.

Which talent would you like to have? I would love to be able to play a musical instrument.

Your favorite hobby?

Sports Triathlon and long runs!!!

What advice would you have for all ISF students? Make the most of every opportunity life gives you!

What's your insider tip for Florence?

Never eat in a restaurant full of tourists, try to mingle with the locals. Search for Florence's hidden gems.

Check out our Masquerade Gala Website for information about the event, our goals, the auction, our sponsors, the location, and picture galleries of the last years.

www.isfgala.org

Thank you for your support!