Rome International School

RIS report Issue 25, November 2013 - www.romeinternationalschool.it

Encouraging Life-long learning

What’s inside:

Integrating technology & learning“Wolf Club 31”

Fibonacci & our new logo 2013 International Fair

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As  the  IB  community   increasingly   demands  more  evidence  about   the   impact   and   outcomes   of   an   IB   educa9on,   the  Research   department   con9nues   to   conduct   internal  research  and   to  collaborate  with  universi9es  and  research  organiza9ons  worldwide  to  produce  rigorous  studies  on  IB  programmes.

The   latest   key   findings   sheet   brings   together   a   mix   of  independent   and  IB-­‐commissioned  research  related   to  the  impact   of  the  PYP  from  a  variety   of  perspec9ves.  Here  are  some  of  the  headlines:

•  A  study  of  23,575  PYP  and  MYP  students  showed  that,  on      the  whole,  IB  students  outperformed  their  non-­‐IB  peers      across  four  subject  areas  in  a  majority  of  grade  levels—      Interna9onal  Schools’  Assessments  (ISA)

•  A  con9nuum  school  iden9fied  the  elements  that  were        cri9cal  to  crea9ng  a  successful  PYP  -­‐  MYP  transi9on  within      their  school—Colombia

•  Teachers  shared  their  views  on  the  strengths  and    weaknesses  of  the  PYP  with  regards  to  implementa9on        and  improvement—Turkey

•  When  making  the  transi9on  from  na9onal  curricula  to      the  PYP,  data  indicated  that  teachers  had  varying  levels  of      understanding  of  the  PYP  and  inquiry.  Some  felt  that  they      were  neither  implemen9ng  the  approach  well  enough      nor  prac9cing  cri9cal  reflec9on  as  much  as  they  should—      Hong  Kong

•    A  study,  including  an  online  survey  of  561  administrators      and  teachers  at  16  schools,  and  in-­‐depth  case  studies  at      three  schools,  inves9gated  the  PYP  authoriza9on  and      implementa9on  process—Georgia,  US

•  PYP  students  had  sta9s9cally  significant  higher  scores      than  their  peers  at  16  non-­‐IB  schools  in  English  Language      arts  tests  scores—South  Carolina,  US

•  Personal,  professional  and  environmental  factors  were      found  to  contribute  to  the  success  of  adop9ng  the  PYP’s      inquiry-­‐based  approach—Europe

Read  the  PYP  key  findings  sheet  or  the  complete  reports.

This article was originally published in the IB News Update, Volume 1, Issue 3 Visit www.ibo.org for more news from the IBO.

“Key research on the PYP published”

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At the recent IBO regional conference in the

Hague there was a key note speech by the well

known researcher, teacher and senior analyst at

the OECD, Bruno della Chiesa. The speech

focused on the importance of neuroscience in

terms of learning. He gave a robust and

challenging speech on the fundamental need for

greater understanding of brain research in the

field of education. We all now know some of the

basic findings of educational neuroscience, such

as students cannot learn effectively when under

heavy stress, however Mr della Chiesa explored

some wider and less well-documented areas of

the field. He also amusingly exploded some myths

associated with neuroscience, such as: -­‐ We only use 10 percent of our brain;-­‐ Some people are “left-brain”, others are “right-

brain”;-­‐ Gender differences in the brain can account for

different learning outcomes;-­‐ Younger children can only learn one language

at a time.

These ‘neuromyths’ as he called them are

dangerous, as they misrepresent the actual

findings of clinical studies and can lead to

mistaken educational policy and practices.

Breaking free from such myths allows us to instead

explore the vast potential of the brain and to

recognise and maximize learning opportunities. To

counter these common misunderstandings the

OECD has cooperated with schools to provide

workshops on neuroscience and learning to allow

teachers to explore the significance of these

studies in a theoretical and practical sense. This is

an interesting development.

Of course, we do not all have to become

neuroscientists in order to recognise that

understanding some of the basic brain functions

and how these relate to education will be hugely

beneficial to teachers and students alike.

Understanding how we think, learn and create will

become more and more fundamental in the

learning process. In the future it may change the

way we organize our classrooms, our timetables,

our use of technology and even, of course, our

assessments. Perhaps it will also signify a move

from simply ‘brain friendly learning’ to ‘brain

partnership learning’, a significant shift in

emphasis.

Sources:Understanding the Brain: The Birth of a Learning Science is

partially available, free of charge, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). See: http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/

understandingthebrainthebirthofalearningscience.htmBeginning in the Brain: Pioneering the Field of Educational

Neuroscience By Eva Chen.http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/tag/bruno-della-chiesa/

Bruno della Chiesa, speech at IBO regional conference, 27,

October 2013.

BY DR WILLIAM IRELAND MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL & DEPUTY HEAD

Brain Power

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Her cold, engulfing, iron-grey eyes shimmered in the moonlight, tears glistened like diamonds on her pale

cheeks. Hair, dark as ebony, flowed down either side of her face like ink waterfalls as she crept into the

cloak of night. She moved close to the walls concealing her body in the shadows but as silent as her

pace was she couldn’t get herself to stop the crying. Her mouth was dry and for once she wished she

had not gone, she longed for the warmth of her covers, the ticking of the dormitory clock, she might

have even been nostalgic for the snoring in the bunk beside her. She had to be brave, she thought and

with this idea she pulled herself back together, turning the final corner. A plaza opened before her, a

huge marble statue in the middle showed a wolf climbing what looked like a pile of fallen rock: the

entrance to club 31. A shiver crossed her spine and she felt her teeth start to chatter together, she was

sweating cold. She put her hand in her pocket and felt for the ticket before pulling it out: “wolf club 31” it

read, could she be right? Now her heart was pounding in her chest but curiosity took hold of her body,

leading her through the moonlit plaza, to the wolf. What she would have done next no one can tell but in

that moment a shadow towered over her. She scampered backwards but a crack in the pavement

hooked her foot and she fell helplessly into darkness.

Whether she fell or flew she couldn’t tell she just felt the gush of cold air brushing against her skin,

like thunder in her ears. Something told her to keep her eyes shut tight as she clenched her fists, just to feel

something familiar. That is when she felt like she had been struck by lightning. Energy flowed through her

body like water pours from storm clouds and she shook violently, like a tree in a gale. Finally she was

dumped on firm ground and lay terrorized, arms and legs tucked in a fetal position for what seemed like

hours until the whispering started. At first very distant but slowly growing louder, there were three people:

one unmistakably male with deep and majestic tones which echoed through the apparently huge

space; the other two sounded less sure of themselves, more afraid but with a kind of fake bravery in their

voices. When they were just above her she uncurled, hesitating before opening her eyes and was

astonished by how bright the hall was. It was so large she couldn’t see the walls, the ground looked like a

massive checker-board for gods, whilst the ceiling was completely constellated by realistic stars, of all

shapes and colours. The most impressive thing were the millions of enormous cages, all hanging above

their heads. And the animals were no ordinary cats and dogs, there were Pegasi, Unicorns, Phoenixes,

Chimeras, animals no man had ever recorded or even named. Greatest of all though in the middle was a

larger cage and in it a wolverine creature bared it’s ivory-white fangs, it’s jet-black fur distinct amongst

the others. An elderly man spoke with his deep vocals, he looked sinister and would have terrorized her if

it wasn’t for the warmth in his words, and the way his skin crinkled with every letter. Her jaw fell and she

couldn’t recall how much time passed before she realised he’d asked her a question. She mumbled

something but sooner than she could say more a second man, younger and more athletic, stretched his

arm out and helped her to her feet, “She’s in our club now” he grinned. And that is exactly how

Anastasia Waterpearl joined the most secretive organisation our solar system has ever known.

Wolf Club 31

BY FLAVIA UNGARELLIGRADE 8

To be continued in the December edition...

Community of learners

Becoming part of the IB worldwide community has heightened our interest in developing partnerships to enrich the curriculum and provide motivating student learning experiences. Our partnership with our families is strengthened by our class representatives and the PTA who have nominated charity partners to receive the proceeds of our fundraising events. Money raised in this yearʼs International Fair for example, will be donated to SOS Villaggi dei Bambini and a new charity partner, Operation Smile. Many of our school activities are provided by external partners such as CUS Roma. We have a partnership with the Confucius Institute to p rov i de Ch inese l essons t o ou r Elementary and Middle School students. We are also creating partnerships with York University in the UK and Miami University in the USA to provide student teacher training opportunities. In the near future, once we have moved to our new premises, we will be increasingly turning to partnerships to provide expanded learning opportunities before, after, and during traditional school hours, as well as on weekends and during the summer period. In many ways, our new school building is like a shiny new iPad, brimming with state of the art technology and presenting endless possibilities. Once the “apps” are in place, ( in this case Addit ional Programmes and Partner Support), students, parents, educators and the local community will be able to benefit from an extended range of learning possibilities. Our challenge will be to have all our community members working together to determine which “apps” will meet our needs, and identify partners who, by sharing their expertise, can provide opportunities to enrich the life-long learning experiences provided at RIS. “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”- Albert Einstein.

PATRICIA MARTIN-SMITHEARLY YEARS & ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL

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The  school  Halloween  party  took  place   on   the   Friday   before   the  midterm  break  and  it  didn't  start  until   two   o'clock.   After   break-­‐time   we   went   upstairs   to   the  third  floor  and  the  fun  started!  In  Ms   Mirsky's   room,   there   was  bobbing   for   apples,   which   was  fun   because   you   had   to   duck  your  head  totally  underwater  just  to   get   an   apple.   Mr   Parker’s  r oom   had   a   g ame   c a l l ed    'monster  murderer'  and  it  was  so  much  fun  that  most  people  went  two  or  three   times!  Ms   Pollard's  game   was   pumpkin   bowling.   It  was   really   popular!   Then   there  was   Mr   Crase's   room,   where   he  had   set  up   two   games.   One  was  called   'dungeon   defenders',   and  the   other   was   called   'splat   the  b a t ' .   I   p l a y e d   ' d u n g e o n  

defenders'   a   lot,   but   'splat   the  bat'  was  played  in  the  last  period  of  time  only,  and  only  some  lucky  people   who   were   accepted    made   the   game.   The   staff   room  was   run   by   Mrs   Martin-­‐Smith,  and   she   had   created   'mummy  memory'    but  only  the  winner  got  the  prize.   My   favourite   costume  was   my   little   sister   Betsy's  costume.    She  was  dressed  up  as  a  bat.  There  is  a  difference  I  have  noticed   {between   American   and  Italian  Halloween}  and  it  is  that  in  America   you   go   trick   or   treating  around   houses,   but   in   Rome  there  are  mostly  apartments.  It  is  a   popular   American   holiday,  which   falls   almost   one   month  before  Thanksgiving  Day.  

Halloween

BY MAGGIE NARDINIGRADE 5

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‘Educational technology’

In  October  I  a`ended  an  educa9onal  technology  event  at  the   Interna9onal   School   of   Turin,   which   had   been  organised  as  part  of  their  50th   anniversary   celebra9ons.  The  event  focused  on  using   technology  for  crea9ng  and  collabora9ve  learning,  and  the  use  of  iPads  as  a  learning  tool.

Jeff   Utecht,   a   technology   integra9on   expert,   was   the  guest  speaker.  He  spoke  about  the  most   important  skills  that   we   need   to   give   students  nowadays  to  help  them  make  the  most  of  the  technology  and  informa9on  that  is  given  to  them.  He  focused  par9cularly  on  how  to  search  correctly   because   of   the   fact   that   informa9on   is   now  being  produced  at   a  rate  so  fast   that   it   is  impossible   to  read  everything.  

Mr  Utecht   gave  a  presenta9on  to  the   students  who  will  graduate  this  year  about  their  digital  footprint.  He  spoke  about  the  problems  that   you  can  encounter  on  the  web  but   focused   primarily   on   the   benefits   of   using   social  networks,   YouTube,   blogs   and   other   sites   such   as  about.me   for   sharing   your   achievements   online.   He  asked   students   to   google   their   names  and   look   at   the  results.  He  wanted  them  to  think  about  their  career  and  

university  prospects  and  imagine   they  were   a  professor  or   employer   doing   a   search   of   their   name   before  deciding   whether  or  not   to   employ   or   enrol  them.  Mr  Utecht  stressed  how  important  it  was  for  the  students  to  create  a  posi9ve  digital  footprint  and  use  the  technology  available   to   them   to   promote   themselves.   Otherwise  they  'don't  exist'.

Aeer   Mr   Utecht's   presenta9ons   there   were   breakout-­‐sessions,   where   different   teachers   presented   different  ways   of   integra9ng   technology   in   the   classroom.   I  a`ended   Mr   Utecht's   Google   app   keynote,   which  showed,   in  par9cular,   how  Google   docs  can  be   used   to  help   students   work   collabora9vely.   The   last   session   I  a`ended   was   given   by   Liz   Macdonald,   a   humani9es  teacher  at  IST,  on  how  to  use  iPads  in  the  classroom.  

My   visit   gave   me   a   lot   of   ideas   about   integra9ng  technology   in   the   classroom   to   help   enhance   and  transform   the   children's   learning.   I  hope   to   share   their  achievements  with  you  in  future   issues  of  the  magazine  and  school  newsle`ers!

BY WESTLEY YOUNG GRADE 3 TEACHER / ELEMENTARY IPAD COORDINATOR

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The Fibonacci Sequence

Aeer  we  were  shown  our  new   logo,  we   started   to   think   about   its  origins  in  the  Fibonacci  sequence.  We  got  it  because  of  Leonardo  of  Pisa,   or   Leonardo   Pisano   also   known   as   "Fibonacci".   He   was   a  mathema9cian   from   the   13th   century,   and   he   is   famous   for   a  sequence  called  "The  Fibonacci  Sequence":  0,1,1,2,3,5,8...  etc.  The  sequence  works  like  this:  the  sum  of  the  two  last  numbers  gives  the  next  number  in  the  sequence.

We  mapped  the  sequence  first  with  squares,  then  we  arranged  the  squares  so  we  could  draw  a  spiral  similar  to  our  logo.

We  also  found  out  that  you  can  find  the  spirals   in  nature  -­‐  in   leaves  and  seeds  -­‐  and  also  on  columns  in  buildings.

Fibonacci   is   known   worldwide   for   revolu9onising   mathema9cs.  Without  him  we  would  s9ll  be  using  Roman  numerals!

When  I  first  saw  the  new  logo,  I  didn't  fully  understand   it,  but  now  that  I  know  about  the  origins,  I  like  it  a  lot  more!

The inspiration behind our new logo

Note from the editorEarlier this month, the new RIS logo was presented to our students, staff and parents. The new logo will be launched to coincide with our upcoming move to our new campus near via della Camilluccia. If you would like to learn more about our rebranding journey please write to Tania - tgobena@romeinternationalschool.it.

BY FERRANTE PIO DI SAVOIA GRADE 6

Celebrate diversity Learn about the right to education Explore different cultures Try food from around the world Proceeds donated to charity

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RIS report is a monthly publication by Rome International School.

RegistrationRegistrazione n. 476 del 31/12/10

Direttore ResponsabileMaria Corbi

Editor-in-ChiefTania Gobenatgobena@romeinternationalschool.it

Rome International SchoolVia Panama 2500198, Rome +39 06 84482650/1 office@romeinternationalschool.it www.romeinternationalschool.it facebook.com/romeinternationalschool

Join us on:Friday 6 December

13.30 - 15.40

RIS report

This community event is organised by the school’s PTA.

Rome International Schoolʼs