Tag: Montessori School Lecce

I giorni 22 e 23 febbraio scorsi sono stati, per tutti i bambini della scuola dell’infanzia International House Oxford Group Lecce, due giorni pieni di emozioni, magia e letture.
I bambini e le bambine sono stati invitati a portare a scuola il proprio peluche del cuore per lasciargli passare una notte lì.

I piccoli sono stati accolti dalle loro docenti, che hanno consegnato ad ognuno una targhetta sulla quale scrivere il proprio nome e quello del peluche. I bambini, successivamente, sono stati accompagnati in biblioteca dove hanno trovato un posto davvero magico dove poter lasciare i loro teneri amici per fare uno straordinario pigiama party: una tenda dove poter riposare, un rilassante angolo dove fare piacevoli letture e un festoso angolo picnic dove divertirsi.

Ogni classe ha accompagnato i suoi peluche in questo magico posto, ha letto una divertente storia e poi ha messo a dormire i propri pupazzi, ma prima…..ogni bimbo ha dato un dolcissimo bacio della buonanotte.

I pupazzi si animano come per magia…

La sera i peluches si sono magicamente animati, si sono divertiti un sacco e ogni bimbo ha ricevuto le foto del proprio amico mentre faceva festa con i suoi compagni di pigiama party: chi strimpellava una canzone con la chitarra; chi condivideva uno spuntino di mezzanotte e chi andava in giro per la scuola.

Il mattino seguente i bambini e le bambine sono tornati a riprendere i loro peluche, che li aspettavano con un libro da leggere insieme……quanta gioia e felicità si respirava a scuola!
La notte dei peluches è stato davvero un evento magico e speciale per piccoli e grandi.
Un evento che ha voluto sensibilizzare i piccoli sull’importanza dell’amore per la lettura , anche quella condivisa con chi si ama.

Vi ricordate Chiara? La nostra alunna che, terminato il ciclo di primaria, si è trasferita in Perù con la famiglia?
Ecco, Chiara oggi è a Copenaghen e ci rende ancora una volta orgogliosi di averla avuta tra i nostri banchi, nella nostra scuola!

Chiara – ci hanno raccontato i suoi genitori – è nata a Napoli nel 2008 e si trasferì a Lecce nel 2012 dove intraprese il suo percorso scolastico nella scuola pubblica. Conclusa la 4^ elementare, mamma e papà avvertirono l’esigenza di dare una svolta al percorso educativo della bambina, abbracciando il progetto della scuola internazionale Oxford di Lecce.

L’interazione con il gruppo dirigente e il corpo docente, il metodo Montessori, unito al respiro internazionale, resero naturale e inderogabile il cambiamento. Chiara ha avuto, quindi, la possibilità di cimentarsi nella sua prima esperienza internazionale, riuscendo a dare un impulso alle proprie capacità relazionali e linguistiche, grazie agli studi in inglese e spagnolo.

Il volo in Perù

Nel 2019 le evoluzioni professionali del papà portarono Chiara a trasferirsi in Perù, dove ha vissuto per i successivi 4 anni. Nonostante il notevole cambiamento, le competenze acquisite in casa Oxford a Lecce consentirono a Chiara di esprimersi nel nuovo contesto con sicurezza, riuscendo a completare il ciclo delle scuole medie e il primo anno di Liceo a pieni voti, nella scuola internazionale di Lima, Antonio Raimondi.
Ma la vita è sempre piena di sorprese, soprattutto per chi sa osare il cambiamento ed aprirsi con coraggio alle nuove sfide.

Trasferirsi a Copenaghen…

Nel 2023 Chiara é chiamata ad una nuova svolta: direzione Nord Europa, e precisamente a Copenaghen in Danimarca. Qui ad attenderla c’è stato un rigoroso test di ingresso presso una delle scuole internazionali IB più prestigiose al Mondo: la Copenaghen International School.

L’eccellente curriculum scolastico, unitamente alla sua gioia di vivere, stanno aprendo a Chiara le porte di quello che può definirsi un sogno: poter ambire a conseguire un diploma capace di darle accesso alle migliori Università del Mondo.
Il primo semestre si è già concluso, ma l’entusiasmo e la curiosità di interagire con nuove culture non conosce pause.

Il progetto di Chiara, vulcano di vita e di idee

Chiara ora si sta cimentando in un progetto creativo ed entusiasmante, sviluppato in totale autonomia: ha già presentato alla nuova community un abito sartoriale per se stessa, utilizzando materiale riciclato, organizzando uno stand dove esporre il lavoro svolto a partire dalla pianificazione.

Insomma, la nostra Chiara è un vulcano. Osiamo definirla “nostra” perché la sentiamo davvero figlia della grande famiglia Oxford.

Sì, Chiara – come ci spiegano i suoi genitori – ama l’Italia e le sue origini, ma desidera sentirsi cittadina del Mondo. La sua famiglia ci scrive con emozione “non possiamo mai dimenticare da dove tutto questo ha avuto origine e la scuola Oxford resterà per sempre nei nostri cuori”.

E tutto lo staff, dirigenti e docenti con tutto il personale dell’ International House Oxford Group è davvero felice di aver contribuito a mettere un tassello sul sentiero della crescita personale e professionale di Chiara. A lei e alla sua famiglia va il nostro grande abbraccio virtuale!

Un sorriso che convince e un fare da piccolo gentleman, insieme ad una naturale apertura al dialogo e ad un programma elettorale centrato sull’inclusione dei meno fortunati, hanno portato il nostro alunno di prima media, Pierluigi Salomi, ad essere eletto sindaco del Consiglio Comunale dei Ragazzi e della Ragazze della città di Lecce.

La cerimonia si è tenuta a Palazzo Carafa lo scorso 19 gennaio quando nella prima seduta che si è tenuta nell’aula consiliare, alla presenza del sindaco Carlo Salvemini e del presidente del Consiglio Carlo Mignone, Pierluigi è stato proclamato il numero uno dell’assise consigliare dei più giovani.

Come si legge tra le carte del Comune di Lecce, “il CCRR coinvolge gli studenti e le studentesse delle scuole di Lecce e ha tra le sue finalità l’educazione ai valori della rappresentanza democratica, della partecipazione, della legalità, con l’obiettivo di accrescere il rispetto della pluralità di punti di vista ed opinioni, l’esercizio della negoziazione, il senso di appartenenza alla comunità e lo spirito di cittadinanza attiva e responsabile. Il Consiglio Comunale dei Ragazzi e Ragazze di Lecce è composto da 33 alunni e alunne delle scuole del primo ciclo della città: 32 consigliere e consiglieri oltre al sindaco o la sindaca designati“.

Studente del primo anno della Scuola secondaria di Primo Grado dell’istituto International House Oxford Group di Lecce, Pierluigi viene descritto dai suoi insegnanti come un alunno curioso, attento, amante delle lingue e delle materie scientifiche, oltre ad avere una passione per la musica e la recitazione.

Pierluigi Salomi, who arrived at the school in Via Adriatica in Lecce in the fourth year of primary school, found his second family at Oxford House and felt free to express himself here.

L’abbraccio dei compagni

In una piccola cerimonia di presentazione del nuovo Sindaco sono state invitate le famiglie per condividere questa grande soddisfazione.

“Ci tengo a sottolineare che a rappresentare i ragazzi di tutte le scuole di Lecce, è stata eletta come consigliere anche la nostra alunna Vittoria Mercurio frequentante la I A della scuola secondaria di I grado del nostro Istituto Scolastico. Un grosso in bocca al lupo a tutti e due i nostri ragazzi – ha affermato la direttrice Anna Grazia Buttazzo – L’esperienza del Consiglio Comunale delle ragazze e dei ragazzi ha l’obiettivo di coinvolgere i bambini e i ragazzi alla vita pubblica della nostra comunità. Allo stesso tempo, si tratta di un’esperienza che coinvolge adulti e ragazzi e richiede una confluenza, sempre possibile, di energie messe a disposizione da realtà diverse: la scuola, le amministrazioni pubbliche e il territorio nelle sue diverse connotazioni. I nostri ragazzi, diventeranno cittadini attivi, promotori di iniziative volte a migliorare il nostro territorio. Saranno i portavoce di tutte le ragazze e i ragazzi, cittadini di oggi!”. “Un ringraziamento sentito per la cura e la dedizione profusi per il progetto, va alla nostra referente, la docente Fabia Vetrugno, che insieme a tutti i colleghi ha seguito Pierluigi in questa grande impresa”.

La parola a Pierluigi

“Il mio non è un riconoscimento alla persona, ma ad una squadra: quella che ha creduto in me fin dall’inizio – ha dichiarato Pierluigi alla presenza dei suoi compagni di scuola e delle docenti – un grazie va a tutti voi compagni e docenti per avermi sostenuto e aiutato. Ho seriamente l’intenzione di dare attuazione a tutti i punti della nostra agenda elettorale che presta particolare attenzione ai disabili, ai ragazzi in difficoltà, anche coloro che, ahimè, sono vittime di bullismo! Vogliamo realizzare un giornale dove dare voce a noi ragazzi e ragazze, nell’ambito di tutte le iniziative che il Comune vorrà mettere in atto. Sono felice per quest’incarico e mi rende orgoglioso poter rappresentare in sede istituzionale i giovani di questa città”.

Poi sulle note dell’inno nazionale e tra scrosci di applausi Pieluigi Salomi ha abbracciato amici, compagni e insegnanti, pronto ad affrontare l’entusiasmante sfida che l’aspetta.

A doubly important meeting took place in recent days at the’International House Oxford Group Auditorium, Lecce and who saw the middle school students, along with the headteacher Anna Grazia Buttazzo and some teachers, spend the morning in the company of a special guest, Ornella Della Libera. Double, because she is at the same time a writer and a police officer, And so the boys had the opportunity to listen to his stories and his advice, which he dispensed in both capacities.
At the centre of the morning was first and foremost one of the many books written by Ornella Della Libera, “Florian of the bin“..., around which the students, guided by teachers Anna Paola Carluccio and Teresa Romano, had previously carried out a specific educational project, particularly on the themes of inclusion and families born from a simple encounter.

The history

Florian, the protagonist of the story, is A newborn baby found in a dustbin, taken in as a son by a young Gypsy woman, Violeta, and living in a Roma camp on the outskirts of a large city with his Roma “brothers,” feeling like one of them, yet comparing his own circumstances to those of other children his age, those who go to school, have a home, a hot meal, and many books that he does not.

A conversation with the author

Starting from the book, the comparison with the writer developed around the themes of welcome, love, respect, addressed through the numerous and interesting questions prepared by the children, following an accurate physical, psychological and sociological analysis of the characters. These characters, in fact, were placed in relation to the setting which, in the various stages of the “plot curve”, is both background and mirror of the inner evolution of each protagonist. All these ideas and questions were answered by the author, who explained and added numerous details drawn from the many true stories she has dealt with throughout her many years of professional experience.

Ornella Della Libera is a senior inspector in the State Police in Naples. And in her work, she focuses particularly on combating paedophilia, crimes against minors, violence against women, and all forms of family distress. Students also expressed their curiosity on these topics, adding new questions to those previously prepared about the book and listening with interest, and sometimes even a little emotion, to the writer's accounts.

The meeting, however, concluded in the most joyous fashion when Ornella Della Libera involved the classes in A game of fantasy and “literary” skill”, a real race with a sack overflowing with “junk food,” as she herself had called it, but which was actually tasty sweets.
Furthermore, some pupils gifted the author with proposals for book covers they had created, a portrait done on the spot, thoughts, and sheets with text analysis.
In the end, the photos and the “copy firm” with a dedication in the books the children have read. And we’ll see you next time, with Ornella Della Libera and another of her stories.

Ornella Della Libera's message the day after her meeting with the school students

Following our meeting, I feel the need to write to you some reflections, which have become necessary as the experience I had has left an indelible mark on my soul – the author wrote to the referring teacher Teresa Romano a few days later – Let me explain further.
For almost 20 years, I have participated in events everywhere, organised with passion and professionalism, following the adoption and reading of my books, which have won international awards and become recommended texts at the best Italian universities, translated abroad, and used in active citizenship and legality education projects.

I have received paintings, dolls, billboards, videos, songs, theatrical performances, installations, works of art... and yet... no encounter had ever “destabilised” me like the one I participated in with the Oxford students. The young people surprised me, amazed me, filled me with wonder and moved me with their careful and meticulous analysis of my text *Florian del Cassonetto*, Rizzoli BUR, which “forced” me to re-evaluate the novel and look at it from an anthropological, sociological, and psychological perspective, thanks to their interpretation of the physiological aspects and bodily structures of the characters, analysing every single physical detail, even considering posture, character and temperament, with a staggering, original result that could be compared to higher-level, university-level scientific research, I mean.

And all this has been achieved, with your skilled guidance, by Very young, well-mannered, extremely kind lads of different ethnicities who live harmoniously in a serene, respectful, modern, welcoming environment.
Young people who speak Italian without particular dialectal inflections, who use the informal “She“with excellent command of language, who have shown great interest in the topics covered in my book, discussing the condition of women, school dropout rates, the importance of education, the abuse and violence against children, respect for others, adoption, foster care, human rights, and the family, in its sacredness.
They ran me over with Smart questions who desired adequate, satisfying, competent answers; they moved me with artistic reproductions of the book cover, with a quick portrait by a foreign boy, few words, immense talent, and then the concise profiles of each character, with an analysis of their past, present, thoughts, dreams, and future.
Future.
What a beautiful future you are building, my dear teacher, my dear teachers, deputy headteacher and headteachers.
I must compliment you on the exceptional quality of the work carried out.
And I must confess that I also tried a creative writing exercise, rolling dice with images and being asked to produce a piece in a few minutes, to gauge artistic abilities as well as moral and study capabilities.
Well, as I wrote to you in another message… I found some comfort, during the journey home, in reading all the work produced, and I genuinely found it difficult to award just one prize, given that (apart from three particularly exceptional pieces, created by pupils with very high IQs), I judged over thirty worthy of praise.

Given that, for me, it is highly illuminating and unsettling. I am truly happy to have been your guest..
I wish you all the very best, in the hope of seeing you again, so that we may continue together, through my other writings, on an ongoing educational journey towards a culture of legality, fostering a healthy and constructive dialogue with teachers and parents, and working together to develop strategies to protect children from the dangers of the internet and from new forms of crime – which, unfortunately, are unfamiliar to adults but are spreading rapidly amongst young people. With warm regards.

We are sharing the initiatives put in place to celebrate women with the students' work from Fifth Year Primary School, coordinated by the teacher Angela Pane.

The teacher writes

As March is Women's History Month – commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in the world, in 5th class we decided to create an interdisciplinary inquiry-based project for Global Perspectives with the title ”Bold women who changed the world”.

This project covered aspects of English, Science, Technology, as well as history, culture and human rights. The students worked in groups and conducted their research in order to produce a ‘body figure biography’ about four famous women in history.

The 14 March Our School celebrated the Pi, a celebration for maths lovers it is an opportunity to be reminded of how this number permeates our everyday lives. On March 14th, around the world, we celebrate Pi Day, the most famous of the mathematical constants indicated by the Greek letter (pi).

On the occasion of Pi Day The primary school classes and those of the first-level secondary school Oxford, showing great interest and participation, they were keen to celebrate the world's most famous irrational number, ‘honouring’ it both from a culinary perspective with the creation of themed cakes and pastries, and from a more strictly mathematical one by carrying out tasks and crafts that in some way involved pi with its many decimal places.

Primary school pupils' time travel.

In particular, the children at Oxford International House primary school celebrated the day with a “A little trip back in time“the chosen destination was the City of Syracuse more than 2,200 years ago when it was a flourishing Magna Graecia colony. Why Syracuse? Because it is the city where the father of pi, the greatest genius of classical antiquity, Archimedes, lived.

Through this little journey proposed on the wings of the book of Anna Cerasoli “Everyone celebrating with Pi” - along with their wonderful curiosity, the children delved deeper into the knowledge of the great genius, his discoveries, his inventions, and some fun anecdotes; focusing in particular on how he managed to solve the most ”problematic” problem of antiquity: finding the measurement of the circumference.

The children in Year 5, in particular, having studied the circle for the first time, also through the telling of fascinating legends such as that of the Phoenician princess Dido and the founding of Carthage, discovered many things about it and became passionate about this magical number, Archimedes' constant. All the classes at Oxford Primary School, like many little scientists for a day, to celebrate that likeable, irrational number with infinite value: 3.14.

Activities of junior high school students

Among the initiatives carried out, the lower secondary school pupils, on the other hand, have been involved in Drafting a coherent sentence where each word had to contain, in order, a number of letters corresponding to the first twenty decimal places of pi.

The author of the most beautiful sentence was awarded a medal reporting the digits of pi arranged along an Archimedean spiral, discoverer of the number, attached to a pearl necklace strung with a very precise chromatic criterion in compliance with the ‘magic’ numbers of pi.

The following clip, with a melody based on the union of notes and the digits of pi,’To summarise with images, this wonderful initiative has undoubtedly contributed to increasing pupils‘ interest in mathematics and its ’mysteries'.’.

Pi

Pi is the initial of the Greek terms“outskirts “e“ perimeter”but also the initial of Pythagoras; with terminology that may appear evocative to those outside the field, mathematics defines Pi as a real, irrational, and transcendental number. Pi is the constant value that defines the ratio between the length of any circumference and its diameter; it repeats itself continuously in nature and is the means by which, for example, the height of an elephant from the ground to its shoulder can be calculated.

In reality, then, a mystery, a millennia-old quest, a number that governs our entire lives. It has a multitude of practical applications encompassing mathematics and physics, from probability calculations to aerodynamics. We find it in wave motion, planetary and particle motion, but also in stars and rivers.

Pi seems to peek out everywhere, from the strings of a vibrating guitar, The electromagnetic wave which spreads, a scent that expands in the air, as well as an influenza virus, the temperature that rises in a metal object. In short, it is no coincidence that it has been defined the “most beautiful mathematical formula” and that it deserves a special day to be celebrated.

The choice of the 14th of March is not a coincidence but it reflects the Anglo-Saxon numbering of the calendar, 3/14 or 3.14, in homage to the most used value of Pi (3.14). On this same day… Albert Einstein was born (in 1879: 140 years ago) and Stephen Hawking died (in 2018). On this day dedicated to celebrating the magical number, the children will be involved in educational activities aimed at stimulating their curiosity. For the occasion, they can bring a special snack to school: cakes, biscuits or muffins inspired by the mathematical constant, as per the instructions provided by Prof. Papa directly to the children.

With thanks to teachers Anna Maria Rosato (Primary) and Salvatore Papa (Lower Secondary)

As we used to do... yes, right today, in the digital age, when paper seems to be falling out of use, the small pupils of Montessori Nursery Oxford, they took a trip down memory lane.

Within the scope of activities planned for the project of the year: “The Library amongst the School Desks”The children took part in the educational outing at the Museum of Printing in Merine.

The very young pupils were involved in an interesting Laboratory activities during which they were able to make recycled paper sheets and, using ancient presses from the 1800s, print a postcard depicting Lecce Cathedral and a famous character from fantasy novels for children, to be coloured in at school.

It was an exciting experience for the children attending Oxford Nursery School, grappling with parchment sheets and the printing press, fascinated by the stories of those who welcomed them.

The little ones, well accustomed to laboratory activities within the Institute where the Montessori method is applied, proved to be attentive and collaborative, before returning home with an extra piece of knowledge in their possession.

An important event and a moving meeting were held at the’ Hotel Tiziano e dei Congressi, Lecce.

The students of Years 7, 8, and 9 of the lower secondary school of the institute International House Oxford Group Lecce, On 7th March, they had the opportunity to meet the senator, former President of the Senate and writer Pietro Grasso, in dialogue on the themes of legality and the fight against the mafia.

The meeting began at 15:00 in the Donatello room of the Grand Hotel Tiziano in Lecce with a welcome from the director Anna Grazia Buttazzo and the headteacher Carmen Indirli, where the students were accompanied by their teachers. The pupils' families, who are always attentive and interested in the numerous proposals that enrich the Montessori International School's educational offering, were also invited and attended in large numbers.

‘My friend Giovanni’

At the end of the meeting, the students had the opportunity to receive an autograph on their “My Friend Giovanni” book”, already widely discussed and explored during lesson hours, with the support of the teachers who oversaw the project, Teresa Romano, Anna Paola Carluccio, and Elena Carluccio. In particular, teacher Teresa Romano, a member of the Demea association which made the event possible, played a fundamental role in the organisation, actively collaborating in the creation of the programme.

“There are stories that do not end, stories that cannot end because the journey is too important and the purpose is fundamental. My friend Giovanni tells a story that cannot end because it is, first and foremost, the story of a friendship. But it is also the story of a professional relationship built on sharing: time and spaces, intense study, immense fears, great joys, small steps forward and bitter frustrations. The book you hold in your hands is very precious because it is the story of a friendship and a professional relationship intertwined, and it is a story that concerns us. What this book recounts has a beginning but does not end with the death of Giovanni Falcone, because, thirty years after the Capaci massacre, Pietro Grasso's gaze is fixed on the future, a future that opens up to all that has yet to be done and which could be realised.”

In the 30th anniversary of the Capaci massacre, Pietro Grasso tells the young people about Giovanni Falcone, their friendship and the many battles fought alongside the symbolic judge. fight against the mafia.

The Falcone Tree

Furthermore, the event was enhanced by the presentation to the school, from the hands of Pietro Grasso, of the’ “Falcone Tree”, a cutting from the tree that grows in Palermo under the magistrate's house. The Carabinieri of the Environmental Unit oversaw the handing over of the shrub.

During the meeting, moderated by journalist Marco Renna, the young people presented the former magistrate with Picture books prepared in the past few days, one made by Years 7 and 8 (they summarised and translated into images the book they had read) and the other one made by the first-year middle school students, who interviewed parents, grandparents and other adults, asking them if they remembered where they were when the news of the Capaci and Via D'Amelio massacres was announced.

The boys of First Media They also built a tree, on whose leaves they had written their thoughts on legality. Another group wrote a newsletter on the themes of the mafia and those who fought it at the cost of their lives.

The pupils asked their questions and made a commitment to be “young Falcones” to contribute every day to the fight against illegality.