Teaching subjects
The following subjects are taught in the primary school
- English
- Maths
- Science
- History
- Geography
- Italian
- I.C.T
- Music
- Art
- P.E.
- Spiritual, moral, cultural and social education
Daily timetable- primary school
8.00-8.20 a.m.: Children come into school
08.20-10.20 a.m.: First teaching session
10.20-10.50 a.m.: Second teaching session
10.50-12.30/1.00 p.m.: Second teaching session
12.30-1.00 p.m.: Lunch for Key Stage 1
1.00-1.30 p.m.: Lunch for Key Stage 2
1.00-1.30 p.m.: Playtime for Key Stage 1
1.30-2.00 p.m.: Playtime for Key Stage 2
1.30/2.00-3.45 p.m.: Third teaching session
3.45 p.m.: Home time
Playtime and lunchtime procedures
The children have a 15 minutes snack break every morning where they eat their snack from home (reception class snack is provided by the school). They then have 15 minutes to play outside under adult supervision. Children have 30 minutes in which to eat a well balanced lunch, again provided by the school, and then 30 minutes to play, let off steam and re-energise ready for the longer afternoon session. The children are always supervised when they eat and when they play outside by the class teachers and auxiliary staff.
Show
At Christmas every child in the school takes part in one of our fantastic Christmas shows, from the youngest nursery child to the oldest middle school child! Parents and families are obviously very welcome to come and watch and enjoy the show.
Every summer we hold a special Fabulous Friday assembly in which all children from Reception upwards perform a short play, show or songs for their peers and parents.
Sports day
In late spring the traditional Sports Day takes place, an event where Early Years and Key Stage 1 pupils take part in competitions and sporting games of every kind and for every skill level. Parents are invited to come along and cheer on their children!
Assessment
Assessment is part of our daily practice in striving for quality. It helps us to constantly check:
- quality and effectiveness of our teaching methods
- quality and effectiveness of our support and teaching strategies
- children’s progress acquired knowledge and abilities
- acquired competence
- degree of commitment given by a pupil
- sense of responsibility shown by a pupil
- reinforcement of different strong points, abilities and attitudes of a pupil
- targets to help children develop in ‘weaker’ areas
Ongoing assessment is an integral part of the school’s curriculum and commitment to every child’s progress. Teaching, learning and assessment are inter-related and the key purpose of assessment is to move children on in their learning. The school staff follows a complete assessment program for every child in the school and every child from the Nursery school upwards has his/her own personal profile document. Our assessment policy is available on request.
Reports
Reports are given out twice a year, in February and June. Appointments can then be made with class teachers to discuss the reports.
Year-end exams
As an end of year assessment each child from Year 1 upwards sits an internal end of year Italian, Maths and Topic exam IN ITALIAN, in order to assess their level of education gained. These exams are not recognised by Italian state schools.
In year 5 students must sit state exams as we are part of the “Albo Regionale Scuole non Paritarie.” These exams are obligatory for all students in order to proceed into middle school.
How to apply
It is possible to enrol your child at Villa Grimani at any point during the academic year providing there are spaces available. Children are accepted from Italian, foreign and international schools. They may be asked to sit an entry test and meet with staff on a few occasions to gage their level of English and to decide in which class they should be placed. Children entering with little or no English are given individual support from our support teachers in and out of the classroom.