Kinder College Aims – Middle Years school
From 11 to 16 years old
At the Kinder College private middle school students grow up and mature in a cosmopolitan environment. Our aim from a formative point of view is to guarantee an excellent education and an outstanding method of study in order to make them be successful in the following years. But not only that. These are years of deep changes and of the construction of personality, therefore it is important that our teachers support the students in their emotional and intellectual growth. It is important to transmit the pleasure of knowledge by making them think about the importance of having positive relationships with other people, of being constructive and not giving up to peer pressure.
Programme in brief – Italian, 50% English plus the choice of other languages among French, German, Spanish and Chinese
The academic programme follows the programme of the Italian Ministry with more subjects taught in English plus another language chosen by the students.
As far as competencies in Italian are concerned, we start with reading and text analysis with the aim of developing their ability of expression through writing. Scientific subjects and mathematics are integrated with laboratory time for experimentation. Besides, we monitor learning and comprehension by giving the students multiple tests.
Geography, History, Music and arts are taught by highlighting the fact that they are extremely interconnected and the teachers often interact with each other in order to create interdisciplinary didactical units. Our method is based on the involvement and collaboration between teachers and students. We believe that motivation is fundamental for learning and for this reason we ask our students to offer suggestions for creating actual didactical units-ranging from history events to the challenges of the future- while in a constant dialogue with the teachers.
The detailed studies are conducted either alone or in small groups with multimedia tools and applications ( interactive whiteboard, Internet, shared platforms) and the conclusions are presented in public. We give a great importance to the ability of using logic, the ability of being synthetic and the skills of sentence construction; the students besides studying are also supposed to develop their ability to deliver a presentation.
We have also introduced the project “Philosophy for Children”. This project helps teenagers to confront themselves and reflect on topics related to their experience.
In the afternoon the study of languages is deepened in order to improve at best the students’ skills and their ability to express themselves. At 14 years old our students are perfectly able to carry on a conversation in Italian, in English and in the third language of their choice. Everybody has the opportunity to participate in cultural exchanges Abroad and in many external activities such as visiting museums, lectures, scientific laboratories, the opera and many other activities. Our students come to school with enthusiasm, since they absorb the energy of a school that stimulates them, a school where they feel involved and motivated and where they are encouraged to challenge themselves and think about the world that surrounds them.