Institute E. De Amicis tremestieri Etneo
Ours is a Comprehensive Institute which brings together kindergarten, primary and
middle schools. It takes care of the educational needs for children beginning from
the age of three and guides them until the end of the first cycle of secondary
education on a single structure path.
The Institute has a remarkably stable teaching and administrative staff, as well as
direction. The teachers are very proactive in enriching the educational curriculum
and welcome the input from the Ministry of Education. Other relevant subjects with
professionalism and creativity, in order to implement the learning process of the
students are also given space at our institute. The administrative staff promptly
supports the activities to be implemented from an administrative point of view and
with the necessary collaboration of the staff. All planned initiatives and activities see
the engagement of the headmaster and of the teachers as well as the school staff,
to form a new generation of citizens with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that
favor a more sustainable and inclusive methodology. The great challenges of
contemporary society (poverty, social imbalances, migration, conflicts, climate
change, etc.) are caused by the mechanisms of the global economy and by current
developmental models; for this reason young people must have the tools to know,
interpret and to act consciously in an increasingly interdependent world where
individual choices can have repercussions at a planetary level. We try to promote
the ability to elaborate and interpret in a critical way the complexity of
contemporary reality through reflection and comparison with others through the
proposed activities.
Furthermore, our school which is part of the Polo Catanese di Educazione
Interculturale (Global Teacher Center) has joined the project: “Etna, Vulcano della
Pace”. It is an intercultural project lasting several years aimed at raising awareness
among students about the risks of new wars and is divided into four thematic areas:
Intercultural Intelligence, Dialogue between Civilizations, Global Democracy and the
Global Teacher (Pampanini, Iluminism pedagogical Buenos Aires: Altamira, 2008).
The socio-economic context in which we operate is that of a medium-sized
municipality at the Etna foothills: the town has about twenty thousand inhabitants
and extends over a very large area bordering with Catania.
The town in which we operate is also affected by the continual mutation underway
in Sicilian and Italian society. With its economic, demographic and social changes, as
well as critical and problematic scenarios due to the ongoing economic and cultural
crisis. There are no theaters, cinemas or other cultural structures so children are
forced to seek opportunities for cultural enrichment or entertainment in the
neighboring municipalities or in the City of Catania.
The quality of school buildings is adequate, needing only routine maintenance which
would be needed to make some improvements. The technological and didactic tools
can be judged at a good level:
- Kindergarten distributed in two structures, has a IWB and adequate spaces.
-Primary School distributed in two structures also has a IWB in the classrooms and a
well-equipped computer laboratory.
-Secondary School has an IWB or SMART TV in all classrooms, a mobile computer
laboratory, a classroom for active learning, scientific and artistic laboratories as well
as a lecture hall where we host conferences, seminars and performances.