Brochure Kindergarten - English version

8/12/2019 Brochure Kindergarten - English version

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Educational

excellence in the

heart of the city

since 1973

KindergartenA c c r e d i t e d N u r s e r y

C e r t i f i e d I t a l i a n a n d B i l i n g u a l I n f a n t S c h o o l

C e r t i f i e d P r i m a r y S c h o o l


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Welcome to

Kindergarten!

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We would like to welcome you to our

school, which caters to children

straight through a united path of

education from 12 months to 12

yearsin two sections of Accredited

Nursery(Miro and Matisse), six

sections of Certified Infant School

(Klimt, Picasso, Van Gogh and

internazional sections Mondrian,

Pollock, Kandinsky), and Certified

Primary School(Elementary).

Our school prides itself in

celebrating 40 years of tradition:

thanks to the constant updating of

educational content and methods as

well as regular professional

development of our staff, we are

able to offer families a high quality

educational environment. Creativity,

experimentation, openness to

innovation, careful training of

educators and teachers, and passion

are all elements that make

Kindergarten an innovative,

dynamic, independent school.

Mario Amulfi

Headmaster

DEAR FAMILIES,


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"Thankyou for all

the attention thatyou have towards

our children!A wonderful

school"

Hours of operation

Kindergarten School is open from September

1st until June 30thfor all children (Nursery,

Infant and Primary School).School days are from 7:30 18:00, Monday to

Friday. Children may be brought to school and

picked up within this timeframe, with

flexibility.

School activities begin at 9:00 for the Nursery

School and Infant School, and Primary School

activities commence at 8:30.

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School spaces

Along with the excellence of the institute, Kindergarten offers

beautiful and ample spaces, which extend for over 1400 square

metres, including a spacious outdoor play areas with a tennis court

and a tree-lined play area. The spaces are well-equipped for all age

groups.

The institute has two locations, both a short walk from the historic

city centre:

The Central Location (2 sections of Nursery, 3 sections of Infant

School and the Primary School)has two entrances one which

may be entered on foot at Via S. Gallo 105, and the second located

at Viale S. Lavagnini 11 with ample parking space for vehicles.

International Infant School (3 sections) located at Via B. Lupi 8, a

short walk from the central location.

Since 2012 Kindergarten also operates the Nursery Menarini Baby,

at via Marchetti 7, Florence.

The parents of a girl in 2nd class at the celebration of the

40th anniversary of Kindergarten (March 2013)


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Our services

The Kindergarten offers many services for the needs of families and children, with guarantees

of safety and reliability.

Before school(from 7.30 to 8.30) and after school(from 16.30 to 18)

Ample parkinginside the school grounds

School kitchen

Tree-lined playground, tennis courtand a large gym

Medical assistance

Canteen

Lunch served at Kindergarten is prepared directly in our school kitchen, following 100% of

the "Regional Guidelines for School Catering" declared by the region of Tuscany. The menu

includes organic products without GMOs and processed trans fats.

Optional Activities

Within the school there are numerous optional activities made available in collaboration with

sport and musical associations.

MUSIC:

Kinderpiano: piano lessons for individuals or small groups

Saxophone, Clarinet and Flute: individual or small group lessons

SPORT:

Psychomotorin collaboration with the Associazione Sportiva Country Calcio.

Basket-footballin collaboration with the Associazione Sportiva Country Calcio.

Tennisin collaboration with the Associazione Sportiva Country Calcio.

Swimming(at the Tropos pool) in collaboration with the Associazione Sportiva Country

Calcio.

Dance Prep, Dance, Gymnastics, in collaboration with l'Associazione Fantasia Accademia

Danza.

LANGUAGES:

Sing in English

Play in English German


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Our strengths

40 years of educational

experience and child-centred

education

English Every day: an hour a day

of English at Nursery and

Primary School

Bilingual sections of Italian and

English at Nursery school

Theatrical and musical

performance for all elementary

classes

Educational visits and trips

throughout the year and year-

end trip (from a half a day up to

3 days)

Italian tutors outside of class

time for children who are non-

native speakers of Italian

Flexible schedule: before school

hours from 7.30 to 8.30 and

after school hours from 16.30 to

18.00

School 2.0: the use of

Multimedia Whiteboards and

iPads for students in Primary

School, screens displayed in the

school for parents of the

Nursery and Infant school to see

photos and videos of children's

activities

Individualized acceptance

programs for the children of the

Nursery school

Optional afternoon activities

within the school


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At Kindergarten we have a

Nursery and Infant School which

together are part of the new

integrated educational

program from ages 0-6 years,

helping to form a single

homogeneous service for

students, which looks towards a

more coherent, holistic

developmental experience for

each child from the age of 12months through school age.

In this integrated course of

development we offer children

and families an open

educational atmosphere with

mutual exchange and

assistance in communicationbetween school and families,

which aims to achieve significant

milestones for each child in the

processes of developing an

identity, autonomy, competence,

a view of global and social

responsibility as well as

personal harmony.

Our school establishes its

curriculum and activities upon

some basic principles:

Thevalue of playas a

primary resource for learning

and emotional relationship;

Free explorationand the

perspective that every child is

an active protagonist in their

learning, constantly engaged

in interchanges with peers,

adults, objects, and activities

that intrigue them;

Mediated instructionas a

tool to guide and support

development;

Knowledge of the

communicative ways of each

individual child to respond to

their specific needsand verify

valid educational plans to

support learning.

Particular attention is given to

the shift from a familiar context

well known to the child, to a

different one children should

familiarize themselves with to

ensure continuity andgradual

integration and continuity

between various forms of

reference for the child.

Another key principle of the 0-6

path is the formation and

training of educators. Educators

regularly participate in meetings

for professional development in

order to plan, organize, and

evaluate the performance of

educational activities as a whole.

Integrated Path 0-6

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With a wide variety of activitiesoffered,

combined with the presence ofskilled and

motivated educators, the Nursery alwaysappreciates the input of families in order to

create an open, innovative program with

constant prospects of expanding on all that

it already offers.

The school and its structure are recognized

and certified by the Municipal Authorities

of the City of Florence.

Mixed Groups

Our Nursery is divided into two parallel sections:

Joan Miro and Henry Matisse, for children

aged 12-36 months.

The mixed age group favours imitative

behaviours of the younger and the protection

and help from the older children.

A suitable space and structureallows for the

splitting of children into small groups, allowing

for age-appropriate groupingsin learning

activities.

n times of arrival, transitions, eating, and sleep,

all groups interact together and take advantage

of the mixed age learning possibilities.

NURSERY SCHOOL


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A childs way towardsindipendence

The educational function of the adult is not so

much to transmit specific, pre-made lessons as

learning content, but rather to assist the child in

organizing their experiences in a rich and

varied manner.

Beginning from Nursery, the journey of

educational growth and autonomycontinues

into their following years at school. Autonomy is

not a goal to be achieved immediately, but a skill

to be acquired through enriching processes,

leading to the maturity of the present child and

the student of the future.

A time foreverything

A day in Nursery consists of precise patterns

related to the physiological needs to the child,

and by actions that are consistent each day.

With the acclimatization of Nursery, children

become accustomed to the varying moments

of their day: the morning routines, those in

the canteen, personal hygiene, and of play.


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The activities andspaces of the Nursery

One important part of the activities in the Nursery is

geared towards experiencing the natural, artistic

senses of children, bringing them closer to nature

and art through modes of free, spontaneous

creation and manipulation. These are experiences

of great importance in the cognitive and emotional

development of early childhood.

Reproductions of paintings by Miro and Matisse

have been placed in the two sections of the Nursery.

The organization of space in a Nursery is very

important for cognitive and motor development of

children. For this reason, the areas of the Nursery

are organized into centre environments(for

example, the Soft Area, Construction Centre,

Kitchen/House Centre, Costume Centre, Animals,

Discovery Centre, Water Tub Centre) where toys and

objects are within childrens reach, so that they can

choose for themselves which materials to play with

alongside their peers as they explore together.

To make the environment feel more relaxing and

welcoming, natural colours and materialshave

been selected, taking the place of plastic and

artificial materials as much as possible in both the

indoor and outdoor play areas.

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The goals of the Infant School, aimed at children aged 3-5, are to

promote the development of identity(building a positive self-

image), autonomy(engaging in relationships with others,

participating in activities in different contexts, the understanding

of their potential and the expression of their feelings), competence

(the desire to discover, learn, design and invent), and citizenship

(discovery of others, of their needs, the need to manage differences

and contrasts through shared rules) so that the child grows up in a

harmonized and serene manner.

At Kindergarten we value a continuous curriculum from the

Infant School to the Primary School, for a common working

methodology that is applied to all learning disciplines.

Objectives are pursued through the organization of daily

environments, relationships, and the learning fromhighly

qualified, professional teacherswith the continuous and open

dialogue between school and families.

Learning objectives are articulated through educational play

activities, exploratory, manipulative, communicative, psychomotor,

and relational discovery. The learning environment is carefully

organized by the teachers so that the children feel recognized,

supported and valued.

The school is organized into 3 sections: thefirst two, called Klimt

and Picasso, cater to children from 3-4 years old (mixed sections),

while the third, the Van Gogh section is specifically for childrenwho are 5 yearsold and is structured to be in line with the

methods, schedules and learning styles of those in the Primary

School in order to prepare them for their next educational step.

The choice to have mixed sections arises from research of positive

interactions with boys and girls of different ages, within a safe

environment, while at the same time stimulating in the older

children high levels of reinforcement of skills and abilitiesand a

sense of responsibilityand in the younger ones capacities to

emulate and tend to greater autonomy.

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INFANT SCHOOL

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The educational activities of theInfant School are structuredaround numerous curricularprojects, where children work insubgroups.

Project English Everyday: Ourinstitute is extremely proud ofthis program which involves onehour of English every day forchildren aged 3-4 years andbilingual sections for 5 year oldchildren(50% Italian and 50%English with mother-tongueteachers). Children learn the

language through engaging andstimulating teaching approachesconsisting of songs, rhymes,games, stories and action games.Courses are taught by specialistteachers with the presence ofinterns from various Americanuniversities.

Settling-in period: the childlearns to trust and rely on

teachers within the newenvironment.

Music: one hour per week withspecialist teachers. Lessonactivities are very active andincorporate all the senses.

Physical Education:at least 2hours per week where childrenlearn to control their own bodiesthrough activities teaching crucialmotor skills such as the properuse of hand-eye coordination,and also learning how to relate tosystems of rules and regulations.

Art:children experience the

discovery and use of newtechniques and materials toexpress their feelings and theirown imagination, produce andrecreate images, and create theirown original pieces. Art projectsalso aim at the development ofobservational skills andunderstanding of reality.

Knowledge of local area: 5 year

old children learn to know thezone in which they live and go to

school, and about services,monuments and businesses intheir community.

Knowledge of emotions:children learn to live positivelywith their emotions and how tomanage the ways in whichemotions affect theirrelationships with peers, teachers,and school staff.

Promotion of Literacy: eachweek the children take home abook to read with the family.

They can use the book as aninstrument to build relationship,gain knowledge, and develop alove for reading from an early

age.

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One school, many projects


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Kindergarten school welcomedthe International Section of theInfant School in September 2013which serves children who arethree, four, and five years old.

This new section is the result ofmany experiences accumulated

over 40 years of Kindergarten andof the openness to innovationthat has always characterized ourschool.

Like the other sections of theInfant School at Kindergarten,groups of the internationalsection are also named after

painters: Mondrian, Pollock andKandinsky.

BILINGUAL ENGLISH-ITALIANOR ENGLISH MONOLINGUALSECTIONSWhen families enroll they can opt

for:- a module of teaching bilinguallyin Italian and English, whichincludes the use of the Englishlanguage for 50% of alleducational activities. Theteaching is provided by nativespeakers (half English and halfItalian)- a module of monolingual

English teaching, which providesthe exclusive use of English for allacademic activities. Teachers areall native speakers of English.

EDUCATIONAL METHODSThe learning of a foreign

language typically comes easierand more naturally for childrenduring early childhood years.

Learning any language is aspontaneous processgenerated by the need tocommunicate and repetition ofsounds and familiar words.

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Infant School

International section


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Preschool aged children learnthrough the integrated use of thesenses, which allow them toexplore and interact with theworld around them, by seeing,smelling, hearing, tasting andmanipulating it.In Infant School, where the use ofimages, play and experimentation

are the principal teachingmethods, we maximize the use ofthese interactions within theenvironment and paired with theuse of all sensory channels withdifferent types of activities toactivate the unconsciousprocesses of assimilation ofsyntactic and phonetic structures.

The inclusion of the secondlanguage in the context of earlychildhood promotes greatermental flexibility, enhancinginterpersonal relationships for theindividual child and their familyof origin.

The International Section islocated at via Bonifacio Lupi 8, ashort walking distance from themain school location.

The hours of operation are thesame as those of the centrallocation: 7:30-18:00 from Monday

to Friday, from September 1st toJune 30th, with the sameflexibility in pick up and drop offtimes.

For those families who areinterested there are programs inJuly involving activities in theEnglish language.

It is also possible in theInternational Section toparticipate in optionalextracurricular activities duringthe after school hours from15:00-18:00.


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PRIMARY

SCHOOLIt is crucial in primary school that students are provided with solidfoundations that will lead them on a smoother path for the durationof the studies.

Kindergarten is a school founded on tradition, because it offersstudents a solid cultural base and preparation in all disciplines. It isalso a school open to innovation, from the use of multimediawhiteboards, iPads, to embracing foreign language instruction,artistic projects, sports, and more.

Our school has always sought to achieve these objectives; aswitnessed high level of learning achieved by our students.

Our teaching methods take into account the abilities of theclassroom teachersas well as those who lead afternoon workshops.Activities are well organized within the scholastic schedule, providingmoments of study, interdisciplinary research, and also creativemoments with art, music, and theatre. These activities are paralleledby sports and leisure activities which contribute to personalachievement in the area of gross-motor development as well as otherimportant objectives.

The student learns gradually not only through school tasks andcompleting homework, but also by participating in school field tripswhere they practice life skills such as the organizing of personalspace, time, and belongings.

Since Kindergarten Schoolsbeginnings, it has benefitedfrom the long experience ofProfessor Mario Amulfiwho

launched and set the schoolsmethodological points of view.The professor, in addition to

having served for many years asSchool Headmaster, hasoverseen the production of

hundreds of importanteducational texts by major

publishing houses.


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English every dayIn 2013 we initiated a new rule: one hour ofEnglish per day in elementary school toprovide constant and natural languageacquisition. This is a major change in thecurriculum that invests in not only the

quantity but also the quality of teaching.

Our methodology seeks to take advantage ofthe tender age of children, when it is an idealtime to activate the unconscious processes ofassimilation of syntactic and phoneticstructures of language without focusing onsimple memorization of vocabulary. This isdone with the presence of native Englishteachers and interns from various American

universities.

Educare 2.0Kindergarten participates in a projectpromoted by the Ministry of Educationcalled Educare 2.0 (Education 2.0), whichintroduces the use of informationtechnology tools to students, teachers andfamilies.

Since the 2012-13 school year the school

has used:! Kit Lim, consisting of interactive

whiteboards, computers and projectors

! iPad Tabletfor each child

! Wireless network

! Computer Room with a computer foreach child


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School hours

The school is open five days aweek from Monday to Friday,8.30-16.00, with a break from13.00 to 14.00 for lunch and freeplay.

The morning hours (8:30 to13:00) are entrusted to theclassroom teacher, who has therole of coordinating activitiesfor the whole groupand has

the task of teaching the basicsubjects: Italian, Maths, History,Geography and Science.

This lesson schedule is free frominterruptions, to allow for thelearning of core subjects.The afternoon timetable(between the hours 14:00 to16:00) consists of concentratedexpressive and creative activities:

painting, theatre, musical and

physical education.The afternoon also involveslessons in the English language,Catholicism and multiculturalstudies.

All afternoon activities aredesigned as educationalworkshops, lead by specialistteachers.

Thank

you Professor,Mrs. Irma and all the

teachers and

instructors who teach

me something new

every day!

Giordana, 3 elementare

Theatre andmusicalperformancesAll primary classes put on theatrical and

musical performances for families during the

school year, according to a thirty-year tradition

of Kindergarten.

The scripts of the performances are mostly

related to areas of study, such as history and

geography. The dramatization contributes a lot

to deepen the contents studied: students

step into the role of a historical character,

allowing them to experience firsthand the

story as the protagonist themselves.

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Workshops andprojects in primaryschool

Information Technology: the use of computers

today is fundamental in work and social sectors oflife. As a school "capable of future" we haveintroduced an hour a week of computer classroomequipped with 29 computers, available from year 1onward.

Musical Education and Performing Arts:Kindergarten school has stood out for years ofexperience with highest quality in singing, flute andacting. At year end, the children are experiment witha classical work, using a specially written or adapted

script.

Physical Education:activities and games (free orguided) are offered as a key to self-knowledge,where children learn how to compete with eachother as in the real world, share excitement andaction, and the acceptance of the rules.

Catholic Religion-Multicultural Project:one hourper week of the Catholic religion or multiculturalworkshop, based on the project "Cultural Diversity:Religions and Cultures in Dialogue."

Florence and the Arts:various educational tripsthroughout the year allow for the knowledge andexploration of Florence and the surrounding area inorder to appreciate and understand the importanceand value of its artistic, historical, monumental andurban development.

Social Responsibility:students are involved in

building their own rules of the class and the schoolcommunity. This allows them to gradually developas a student-citizen with a sense of belonging to acommunity.

Promotion of Reading:like we do at the InfantSchool, we favour an approach to reading in apleasant and stimulating way, teaching autonomyand the range of choice to children, a respect forbooks and orderly management of the schoollibrary.

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Discovering the city

Several cultural field trips (guided historical and

artistic tours, theatre and musical performances,

visits to museums, cultural workshops, farm visits

and other numerous excursions of various

kinds)are planned throughout the school year in

accordance with the curriculum.

It is also part of Kindergarten tradition to partake

in a wonderful year-end school triplasting

from one to three days, depending on the class,

to discover the extraordinary historical and

cultural wonders of Italy.

ExtracurricularactivitiesThere are many after-school

extracurricular activities that children

can join which take place within theschool between 16:00-18:00, run by

associations that collaborate with

Kindergarten. Some of the diverse

cultural and sporting activities available

are: Sing in English, Play and Learn,

German Language, Saxophone, Clarinet,

and Flute, Dance, Gymnastics, Soccer-

Basketball, and Tennis.


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The Kindergarten has enhanced the education of

social responsibilities, rights and freedoms,which seeks to increase a childs confidence in

living together with others and respecting

common rules.

To this end, we foreshadow and implement a

path founded on these key moments:

children start coexistence through integration

with their peers in the classroom, through

team sports, theatrical and musical

performances, in research, and during schooltrips;

students become accustomed to detectingproblematic situations in interpersonal

relationships and learn to discuss them

together while expressing their own opinions,

without rejecting those of others

find and create solutions to problems as a

unified group, agreeing on shared strategies.

In these ways, the teaching of rights and

freedoms also becomes the education ofresponsible choice.

Educating freedom andresponsibility

The parents of a child in the Infant School,

at the celebration for the 40th anniversary

of Kindergarten (March 2013)

Congratulations!Nice school,

welcoming andrrrgood!


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School - Family relationshipOur school is characterized as an open school where the dialogue between parents and teachers must

be cultivated and nurtured day by day, sharing news that fosters attitudes of curiosity on the part of

families for educational aspects, and also for routines such as daily lunch, sleep and so on.

To encourage the sharing of educationand a good integration between school and home, Kindergarten

offers educational meetings for parents of children in Nursery, Infant, and Primary School (Elementary).

Since 2013, the school has had screens on displayfor parents of the Nursery and Infant Schools to see

photos and videos of the day's activities of children.

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School office

From 8:30 to 17:00, Monday toFriday, the school secretary is

available to families for all school-family related communication andfor the organization of curricularand extracurricular activities of thechildren.


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Why KindergartenOur school regularly involves families in order to verify the level of satisfactionwith the services we offer (with a satisfaction questionnaire and /or throughother means).The results of the surveys are published on our website, in hard copy, and aremade visible in the school.

In 2013, responding to the question "why did you choose the Kindergarten?"83% of households responded they chose Kindergarten for the quality ofteaching and services.

quality teachingquality servicescost valuteother


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Where we are

Opening hoursThe Kindergarten is open from September 1 to June 30 for all sections(Nursery, InfantSchool, International Infant School, and Primary School).

Hours of operation are from 7.30 to 18.00,Monday to Friday. Children may be dropped off

and picked up at any time within this time period, with flexibility.

School activities begin at 9:00 for the Nursery and Infant School, and 8:30 for the Primary

School.

Come and visit us!Please feel free make an appointment with us for a visit at the facility at Via S. Gall 105 from

Monday to Friday from 10.30 to 13.00 (by appointment only).

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A) Kindergarten - Car entrance:

Viale Lavagnini 11

B) Kindergarten - Walk-in

entrance: Via S.Gallo 105

C) Kindergarten - Infant school -

International section: Via B. Lupi 8

Notes


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Via S. Gallo, 105

V.le Spartaco Lavagnini, 11

50129 - Firenze - Italy

Tel. +39.055.495061

E-mail: [email protected]

Sito: www.kindergarten.it

Kindergarten

Documents

Brochure Kindergarten - English version