Schools and Schedules!

Now that you’ve gotten some insight into how we happened upon this experience and you’ve seen our apartment, you might be wondering what we do all day?

A first grade classroom

When we left Connecticut, we knew that we would be tutoring English in middle and elementary schools in two different towns in Italy and working with two different teachers. We also knew that we would tutor no more than 15 hours a week and assumed that we would be working 3 hours a morning 5 days a week. The change in our schedule was our biggest surprise!

Our schedule is interesting and fluid. No two days are the same, and frankly, we like it that way! I work Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings with grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and with 2 different teachers, Anna and Angela. I finish on those days by 12:20 pm. On Wednesday, I begin classes at 11:20 and end at 4:20 pm. Roy is scheduled to work more mid-day with grades 6, 7 and 8 and he works with one teacher, Cinzia.

The school I teach at Cipressa Elementary School, Cipressa, Italy

On Tuesday and Thursday Roy begins his day at 11:45 am and ends at 1:30 pm. On Wednesday he begins a bit earlier, at 9:50 am and ends at 1:30 pm. Roy’s one long day is Monday. He begins at 11:45 am and ends at 4:15 pm. We have Tuesday and Thursday afternoons free together and neither of us have classes on Friday. That gives us plenty of time to travel and rest on the week-ends! We can leave on Thursday afternoon and return sometime Sunday for some nice excursions and explorations, or go away for an overnight and still have some rest time back at our apartment on Saturday and Sunday.

Roys middle school in San Lorenzo

I have included photos of the outside of both of our schools. The exteriors look rather plain but each classroom in both schools has the latest equipment including smartboards, a master computer and internet access. They use U-Tube to access many activities to supplement all of their lessons in English, Math, and Science.

In both schools it is the teachers who move from classroom to classroom rather than the students. So an elementary school teacher might teach English and Math to 1st, 3rd and 5th grades while another teacher teaches the students in those same grades Science. I’ve included a photo of Anna Ellia, the teacher I work with in our 1st, 5th and 3rd grade classrooms. The classes are small in Cipressa, with only 8 – 10 students in each class.

 The elementary school teacher I am working with Anna, in Cipressa

A total of about 50 students in the entire elementary school. The classes are inclusive so some of the classes have special needs students in which case an aide, Barbara, is in the class as well. In San Lorenzo, where Roy is tutoring, the classes are larger, with about 20 students per class and we understand that is the case in the elementary school as well.

The students in my school have classes from 8:20 am to 4:20 pm with a mid- morning (in class) snack break and a 90 minute lunch and playtime break mid-day.

Lunch in Cipressa Elemenary School is an event! There are 5 long tables, one for each class. The tables are set with china plates, cutlery and napkins for each child. The teachers sit with the children at the head of the tables. There are two women who cook the meals. A Chef and her assistant. The food is wheeled into the cafeteria on a metal serving cart by the Chef and her assistant. The teachers take the children’s plates to the serving cart, the food is put on the plates by the Chef or her assistant and the teachers then serve the children their food at the table.

The food is delicious! It includes a first course, second course and dessert. I eat with the children on Wednesdays. Last Wednesday our meal consisted of a first course of Minestra (Vegetable Soup), with a thin slice of pork and french fries for the second course and fresh fruit (an apple or banana) for dessert. The children raise their hands if they would like seconds and the teachers take their plates and replenish the food for them. The young first grader that I was sitting next to had seconds of soup, meat and potatoes!  He’s a VERY active little boy and I’m sure he burns up all those calories before he heads home at the end of the day.

Outside play area in the elementary school

I’ve included a photo of the play area. Again, it looks quite plain because all of the sports activities take place off site after school and on week-ends.

The children and teachers we are working with are a delight! The young children are anxious to give me hugs and in some cases small gifts, like 2 of their prize stickers, a hand-made heart-shaped card with I love you written inside, and a tiny green plastic seal .

Carol B. if you are reading this, Roy says one of his student’s looks, acts and plays cards just like Freddie! He finds his middle school students to be alternately interested and out of control. One afternoon, in the middle of his lesson, Roy turned to the teacher and said, “They’ve all gone crazy!” She laughed and then got the students to settle down.

It is difficult to believe that we have just ended our first week here. There is so much more to tell. I will do a reflection of our first week’s surprises and challenges in the next post. Stay tuned!
Ciao! Ciao!