Lorna at Vicenza

Statale o comune? I reckon in most places it only depends on which school the parents prefer and which is closer to home.

The only real difference I can think of is that the statale school is funded by state money and run on a state curriculum. The teachers are from the state 'graduatoria' so some will be fixed forever and some teachers will swap and change every year.

Some comune schools are good and some are not because it depends on how much money the comune itself puts into it.

As you say, most kids from the state materna will move onto state primary school together.

LivingHere

Were we live the comunale school is completely free. My nearest school is statale and I chose it simply because it was the closest.
Just choose the one that gave you the best feeling

Lorna at Vicenza

I went to pick up the kids' school reports yesterday evening.
Alex got better marks than I was expecting considering that his Italian teacher made him sound like a bit of a dunce at parents' evening.
He got 6 in Italian and history - which I was expecting and his other marks were 7 or 8. The English teacher gave him a 10 which thrilled him to bits. With some help from me there is time for his Italian school work to get better before the end of year report.
There was a "piccola assemblea" in Alex's classroom before the handing out of the reports. I deliberately turned up too late for that because I didn't want to listen to all the negative blah blah blah that the teachers generally spout every year.

No worries with Chloe. Just got to sign her up for middle school before the
12th.

indiebird

Well that's good Lorna. Does it depend on the teachers whether their blurb is positive or negative do you think?? Julia's are a bit on the tough side I guess but mostly I find it to be positive. It is about the kids not being so 'mummied' and the need for them to be able to do their coats up themselves and use a knife and fork etc.... maybe it's negative if your kid can't do those things but Julia's teachers are real role models to the kids which really pleases me a lot. They advocate social responsibility. Don't know when her pagella day is but must be in the next week or so....

I went to get H's last night at the scuola media. He is doing better than any of us dared to hope at the start of the year when things were a bit rocky. He's still getting 5s in History and Italian but all the rest are 6 or above. He even got a 7 for comportamento which really pleased us. The italian teacher was much more open with me and said that he is making a real effort with studying his grammar and if he keeps it up he could get up to a 6 or 7 by the end of the year. She says he thinks he is a polizotto sometimes which gets him picked on from some of the more violent kids which I kinda knew as sometimes here I have a go at him for being my 'parrot' when I'm trying to get Julia to do something.... and he's not perfect. She told me he has a real talent for reading out loud though and said that, considering Italian is his second language and neither of his parents are Italian, he is doing much better than some of the actual Italian kids. I had to wait an age to see the English teacher. She gave him a ten. I wanted to talk to her because I was worried he might be disruptive and I wondered if she would like me to find him some harder things to do as, obviously, he can pass all the verifica that he needs to. She knew who I was and immediately switched to speaking in English with me, which I actually thought was not necessary but nice of her. She told me that he always behaves for her and he is an absolute pleasure to know and have. She wants me to encourage him to help her out by speaking more in class in his accent and not his Anglo-Italian accent that he uses to speak to the other kids and told me that she's found loads of third year and superiore verifica for him to do as he needs 'stretching' a bit. I was more than happy with that.

I purposefully missed his assemblea because I knew that one of my 'friends' was going to have a go as there has been a certain amount of trouble in the first year as a whole over the last week or so (she already had a very public slanging match with the dad of one of H's classmates outside the school in front of everyone after school yesterday I was told). There has been a knife incident in the other first year class when a boy brought a knife in to stab another boy after he said something about his mum. The same boy also broke into a car at the weekend and stole an iphone and a wallet before setting the car alight. Some other boys in H's class witnessed it and told the deputy head who called in the Caribinieri to the school, I presume, to put the fear of god into all the kids. H, I can tell, is distancing himself from these kids. He hates fighting and this seems to be what they are doing more and more to solve things. I feel a bit disquiet about it myself but the school have had a few public attacks in the local press this year from 'whistle-blowing' parents and are highly sensitive to it all so I hope it will spur them into showing it's not acceptable and therefore protecting all the kids before something serious happens.

37100

Well done H. And well done you for believing in what you are doing - and him, of course.

indiebird

what a difference a set of teachers makes eh?? I'm not sure I would still be here if it hadn't been from the words of encouragement I've had too from members of this forum. You'll be pleased to know my Italian seems to be picking up a bit too.

Lorna at Vicenza

That's great news about H Indie, especially after your concerns about him and school here.
Knives, theft and whatnot - not great. Hope it gets knocked on the head soon before other kids think it's cool to break into a car or go around with a knife.

As for negative teachers .... mostly at school meetings it's the same old same old. Kids don't always sit still, some disturb, some fidget too much, some constantly forget a book or never do homework, some ask to go to the toilet too many times etc. etc. I've been hearing it for 5 years and I'm sick of it.

Chloe had a couple of teachers that she and most of the other kids really liked and respected. They were older ladies who were firm but also understood the importance of praise and a compliment. Unfortunately they both retired at the end of second year. I wouldn't honestly say any of the others are role models ........ so much so that we are seriously thinking of enrolling Chloe in the middle school in the next village. And the preside here in my village is a little twit who said some right twaddle at the meeting about scuola media and pissed off more than a few parents.

I have yet to see Alex's Italian teacher crack a smile!

indiebird

Yes I do know what you mean Lorna. You get bored by hearing the same old shite don't you.... this is why I avoid a lot of the meetings tbh if I can. I figured a while ago that they repeat themselves a lot. Julia's teachers are both older and are the firm but fair kind. The one that I always think is maybe a bit too firm the kids all adore, because they all know where they are with her and they want to please her and when they do she lets them know. I know a few of the mummies don't like her so much as they feel criticised by her but the bidelli all sing her praises too as she has made the kids so well-mannered towards them too.

I dunno about this scuola media business. I must admit we sent H to the one along the road and there is a real mix of kids to be honest. I don't rate the Presida much, as you know, but the Vice Presida who is permanently stationed at the school I have a lot of respect for. She is the sort of woman who will wade in and break up a fight and sort it if need be not just flap around on the sidelines. Sometimes here it's just such a bleeding lottery as to which teachers you get and no Preside can sort the crappy ones. I wasn't really sure about H's italian teacher at the media. I thought she got on his case a bit quick at the beginning but she came out of her way on Monday to stop me and H in town to tell me that she's been really impressed with him recently and to keep up the good work. I respect that a lot more as she is willing to hand out praise as well as complaint even in the middle of the street. At least she doesn't try to avoid me at all costs like Miss Sparkly still does....

Lorna at Vicenza

Do you remember back in September when I went to see the headmaster about the amount of holiday homework and to ask who, if anybody regulates it and I left itching to slap his smarmy little face?

At the 'media' meeting, after blahing on for a full 45 minutes about the "musicale" places in the school programme he said,

"By the way, some of you already complain about homework so let me warn you now that it will only get worse in media. There is a lot of homework and a lot of holiday work. I am fully in favour of all of it, in fact more of it, so I don't want to see any of you at my office complaining about this like one very verbal mother did."

Twat!

At least one dad stood up and said "for 45 minutes you have spoken about the 'indirizzo musicale' and the school has 24 places for this. What about all the other kids?"

indiebird

I hope you stood up and said: 'It was me. I said something!'

They seem to think they've got to sell the school to you but they don't really have anything great or hugely different to offer in my opinion... for most kids. The homework thing hasn't been as hefty as we thought this year so far but there is still time. Tbh, after full-time elementare + homework overkill, this year with two short days H probably has more time to get the work done... don't know what your ratio will be though hours wise as to whether you will notice a difference...

indiebird

Been to get Julia's pagella. She, naturally, is perfect (well a bit disorganised but the teachers have noticed that if they sit with her she is more organised and they think it's because she likes company whilst she works) They also wanted to congratulate me on being such a well-educated and supportive parent who trusts in their teaching skills and trusts in Julia. I was a bit gobsmacked to be honest.... but I like it!

Lorna at Vicenza

Yoohoo ! Finally !

Thumbs up to you and Julia.

Bet you didn't let on what you really think of their teaching skills

indiebird

I must admit, these two aren't too bad as Italian teachers go. At least Julia is encouraged to use her English Accent in English lessons here. Julia adores them and that's the main thing...

Lorna at Vicenza

Are you going to get her a 'good report present' ?

indiebird

A what??? I just rewarded her by letting her read in bed for fifteen minutes...