Rome International School - www.romeschools.org

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ROME INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

RIS opened its doors to its first elementary school students in September 1988. We offer an international education to children aged 2 to 18.  The Middle School opened in September 2001 and the High School in 2007. The school is located in a fully equipped campus comprised of classrooms, ample sports facilities, science labs, music rooms, libraries and computer labs, next to several acres of a public park, Villa Ada.  The school is situated in a large purpose built campus in the Parioli area of Rome, a pleasant residential area in close proximity to most Embassies with easy access to the City Centre.  Excellent bus and tramway services pass near to the school entrance (tram n.19 and 30; bus n.360), and school buses run a door to door service covering most areas of the city.

Teaching Staff – All RIS teachers are carefully selected from highly qualified candidates, many of whom have come to us from the international school circuit where they lived and worked in a variety of foreign cultures. 

Curriculum - RIS has now chosen to link with what we believe is the most prestigious of all educational systems, the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).  We are undergoing a gradual transition away from the English National Curriculum towards the programmes offered by the IBO.  As part of the exciting growth of our new High School, which is now an IB World school, we shall be offering our first IBDP programme in September 2009 with our first cohort completing their diploma in 2011.  We are now implementing the Primary Years Programme (PYP) in our Elementary School and the Middle Years Programme (MYP) in our Middle School.  These will provide the final links of an international education continuum from Kindergarten to IBDP graduation from High School at the end of Grade 13.  The Rome International High School journey is one of four years (Grades 10-13, ages 14-18) with British GCSE exams taken at the end of Grade 11 and the IB Diploma Programme beginning with Grade 12.  Both programmes are two year courses. Although we firmly consider ourselves an international school, we never forget the language and culture of our host country and appreciate that many of our families still require the guarantee of an excellent preparation for the Italian state exam at the end of Grade 9 (Terza media).  For this reason, students receive ample time for Italian lessons in Language, Literature, History, Geography, Maths and Science throughout the Middle School years, with additional hours in Grade 9 for the preparation of the Italian Licenza Media exam.  The school takes responsibility of entering its students for this exam with a collaborating local Italian school.  Non-Italian students will study and learn to appreciate the Italian language and culture through a parallel course of instruction with our IAL teacher.  Students taking a third foreign language may have the opportunity to sit external exams in the secondary school.

Music - The school boasts two well equipped music rooms, one for Elementary School students and one for Middle & High School students.  Here students are given opportunities to sing, play, listen and talk about music.  The department is well resourced and uses the latest modern technology as well as more traditional instruments.  The school has recently acquired a set of African drums for more complicated rhythm work and has a complement of electronic keyboards. The school is also able to offer instrumental lessons in Guitar/Bass Guitar, Drums and Piano. 

Sports - On site we have an open air gymnasium with a roof which we use for a variety of sporting activities and school events, including after school activities such as football, volleyball and basketball. We have a full range of athletics equipment and hold an annual sports day in a nearby arena where the pupils compete against one another in the various athletic disciplines.  The gymnasium is utilized and marked out for football, hockey, rugby, badminton, gymnastics and boxercise fitness training.

Special Education Needs - A full-time specialist is on hand to assist children with learning difficulties and to conduct diagnostic tests where appropriate.  An experienced EAL teacher plans two to four weekly sessions either in the student’s classroom or in the well-equipped EAL classroom, covering a range of skills from letter formation to enunciation through a range of activities from reading aloud to role play. All lessons are linked to other areas of the curriculum. Language assessment is on-going and an end of term EAL report is included with their class report.  The objective of the Italian Syllabus is to develop students' communication skills so that they are able to express themselves in everyday practical situations.  Students learn about Italian culture and have intercultural experiences with an IAL teacher. The content is developed according to a year plan level of (beginner, intermediate and advanced) and age (lower, middle, upper elementary).  

Information Technology - The school has recently upgraded the network and computer rooms and most classrooms boast interactive whiteboards to enhance teaching and learning.  The main computer suit has 25 PCs running Windows XP professional operating system and Office 2003 for cross curriculum support using Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word and Access.  They have also Macromedia/Adobe DreamWeaver for web design and development and Fireworks for Image creation and editing, which is the latest industry standard.  The vision for the future will be an interactive whiteboard in all classes and every child in the school able to connect to the school intranet to send and receive coursework at any time, to create a learning environment where the students have more of an input in their learning. 

Medical Service - The School Doctor attends twice a week to conduct medical check ups on all children and is available to see parents if required. An SRN school nurse is on site at all times to provide First Aid where necessary.

Extra Curricular Activities - The pupils of Rome International School are invited to express themselves through sport, music, art and a variety of other activities which will develop their physical and creative abilities and potential; making it easy for them to combine learning with play.  Our main goal is to develop and maintain a good balance between the mental and physical well-being of our children, giving them the possibility to participate in a variety of courses which will ensure that all aspects of development are covered.  We aim to help in our children’s growth process, giving them the chance to experience and experiment with different stimuli both mental and physical, as they move through childhood and into adolescence.

Student Welfare - A warm welcome is given to all new children and to their parents. Every effort is made to help both children and parents to settle in smoothly to the new environment, the school being very aware of the problems encountered by International families.