Istituto Comprensivo Statale „Karol Wojtyla-Pontefice“ S.Flavia

Karol Wojtyla Pontefice Secondary School is in Porticello, a seaside village, fraction of the municipality of Santa Flavia. It owes its origin and its subsequent development to the tuna fishing activity linked to the tonnara of Solanto and Sant’Elia. It has a population of 11.246 inhabitants and its main agricultural products are the grapefruit, the olive and the lemon. Additionally, the town, due to its location on the coast, is known for its different types of fresh fish. Today there are precarious and seasonal activities and a significant rate of unemployment and underemployment.. Many immigrants from China have settled in our area and in the last years we welcomed students who did not speak Italian. For those who could speak English we worked by CLIL and basic literacy curricular courses, for those who could only speak their own language we activated basic literacy curricular courses, which have been gradually integrated with the school curriculum. Our school is a Comprehensive school, with five Infant school complexes, three Primary school complexes and our Secondary school complex, where there are the secretarial staff’s offices and the headmistress’ study. There are 140 staff members and 1000 students. The school population is heterogeneous from a social, economic and cultural point of view. Some students of Primary and Secondary School live in an environment rich in interests, others in a more modest family background, with a few cultural stimuli; some pupils live in a disadvantaged socio-cultural and economic context. In each school, there are disabled students and there are also foreign students. Pupils attend school regularly. The age of our students ranges from 3 to 14. The Secondary School curriculum is integrated with a Music course that lasts three years. Pupils must pass an aptitude test to attend the Music course. They learn to play one of the following musical instruments: piano, violin, flute and clarinet (the lessons are in the afternoon and last one hour per student). The musical expressive area becomes a privileged concern with all other subjects. The students attending the Music course, in agreement with the general aims of the school, through an educational and training music program are provided with the necessary skills to study music in the future. During the school year students sometimes perform in contests or concerts both at school and in extra-school contexts. Students study two foreign languages: English and Spanish or French. In the afternoon, some students are involved in extra-curriculum projects, such as Chess, Art and Trinity courses. Every year, the students are involved in the FAI project „Fondo ambiente Italiano“.Students also experienced the “STEM” world. This project showed them how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life and it had a direct impact on participants. The students built small robots and playing with them they could study some laws of Physics, such as dynamics and kinematics.

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