Friday 4th October

Dear Parents,

European Day of Languages Friday 27th September For our "European Day of Languages", the students in Secondary had the opportunity to participate in a number of activities connected to the country they will visit during their residential trip in March. Year 7 students started the day with a presentation about Barcelona, followed by a language session in Spanish with the Spanish teacher Mrs Del Forno and a cultural workshop on Gaudi with Mrs Thorp. Year 8 also enjoyed language and cultural sessions with Nurse Lanny with an introduction to Holland held by Mrs Salmon Year 9 had the pleasure to find out about their visit to Paris; they also had a language session in French on idiomatic expressions used in Paris and a cultural workshop about the principal monuments of Paris, accompanied by the Edith Piaf’s song “Sous le ciel de Paris” sung by Zaz, with their French teacher Mrs Kerhomen. Year 10 followed the introduction of their London trip with Mr Blundell; they enjoyed learning Cockney rhyming slang during a language session and explored the conventions of gothic literature in the cultural workshop with Mrs Bothwick. Year 11 students were introduced to Berlin during the presentation of their residential trip with Mr Strang; the session was followed by a language workshop with Herr Thompson in German.

The Principal’s Weekly Newsletter

Mr Deryck M. Wilson

Year 12 students had the opportunity to learn some Chinese Mandarin with Mrs Zhang from the Cultural office of the Chinese embassy; Mrs Zhang brought some lovely souvenirs for the Year 12 students as well. They also found out about their future visit to Beijing with Ms Watson and Mme Mattei. Some secondary students who went on residential trips last academic year visited classrooms in order to answer questions and give advice about the different trips. After break, students in KS 3 and 4 were then put in groups to create posters on the different aspects of their extended curriculum residential. Students were given an opportunity to have a non-uniform day and were asked for a donation of 1 Euro in aid of a charity to be decided by the student council. Mme Florence Mattei, Head of MFL My thanks go to Mme Mattei for organising such an active and enjoyable day.

“Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery.” On Friday, the senior school celebrated the European Day of Languages, a day recognised across Europe, highlighting the importance and value in language learning and acquisition. The opportunity to gain some new linguistic skills was taken as we had a number of visitors supporting us in the event that had been carefully planned and brought to fruition by our excellent head of Modern foreign languages Madame Mattei. We were lucky enough to welcome parents, staff from outside the senior school and we had a very special guest from our sister school Rome International. Year 12 experienced a Chinese lesson in preparation for their residential trip in March with Ms Xiao from the Cultural office of the Chinese Embassy, who is also a parent of one of our primary school students. Year 8 had a lesson in Dutch from our own Nurse Lanny, who was also happy to share the cultural aspects of her home country to whet the students’ appetite for their visit to Amsterdam later in the year. We were especially pleased to see the return of Mr Thompson, our previous head of Primary School and current Principal of Rome International School, who delivered a fun German language lesson to Year 11, who can now all tell you the names of a number of food items auf Deutsch. Our students had a fantastic time, supported well by all staff involved in the day. Mrs Carly Barber, Head of Senior School

Making ‘Pizza Faces’ in Nursery The Nursery classes have been learning about their faces. To

finish off the children had a great time making 'Pizza faces'.

Ms Shirley Duckers & Mrs Luisa Jane Franceschini

Geography in 3W Last week, Southlands celebrated the European Day

of Languages and in 3W, we learned how to say

‘Hello’ in lots of different languages, including

French, Russian and German. We enjoyed our

learning so much that this week we have continued

by learning the countries of Europe. The students

worked in pairs and learned how to use an Atlas to

find out the names of the countries in Europe, before

working together as a class to carry out an online

quiz. The first time we tried it, we found 28 countries,

then a few days later we improved our score to 36!

Soon we hope to be able to name all 47 countries!

Ms Jennifer Wells

Year 10 WWI Studies Year 10 students have been studying the

impact of WWI on Germany. To help

them understand why many soldiers in

Germany in 1918 felt that they had been

'stabbed in the back' by politicians, they

participated in a 'thinking history' arm-

wrestling activity which helped them to

understand the sense of betrayal felt by

the army at the end of the Great

War. Francesco Gentile, who

represented the USA, said 'this activity

helped us to understand, in a fun way,

how Germany (and Rocco!) felt after

WWI'. Overall, Year 10 students have

made a fantastic start to their GCSE

History course. Miss Aasha Chauhan

Sustainable Development Goals Underpinned by the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals 2030, Southlands first action as

a whole school community will be the removal of plastic cups from the school.

From Monday 7th October, students are encouraged to bring a more sustainable reusable water bottle to

school with them to reduce our combined carbon footprint and limit our impact on subsequent food chains

after disposal.

Focus of school change: Goal 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Our Rational

In addition to the academic education we provide, we will always seek to ensure our students develop the

skills and compassion needed to thrive in the wider community. We recognise the importance of student

voice, and our responsibility as educators to act alongside our students to improve our environment and

ultimately lay foundations for a better future for all.

Since the introduction of the IB Diploma, students and staff across the whole school community have

regularly sought out and participated in events to improve areas across Rome. With the welcomed

cooperation of Retake Roma, Southlands students have breathed new life into areas of graffiti, litter and

vandalism and they have not stopped there.

Most recently, a number of our students engaged with the very real issue of climate change and marched

alongside 470,000 others in Italy to demand their voices heard by World Leaders and for immediate action

to be taken to reduce climate change.

We celebrate the care and commitment our students have shown to their wider-community and the planet

we live in and sincerely hope that our friends and families join us in modelling how small steps together can

make a big difference.

Mr Paul Johnson, Deputy Head of Senior School and IBDP Co-ordinator

Year 5T ‘Natural Disasters’

We have been researchers, explorers and adventurers in

5T this week. Having made model islands as a homework

project, we have been using them as inspiration for our

topic 'Natural Disasters'. They are the setting for the stories

we are writing and we have using them to help us imagine

being stranded on a desert island. We are also creating

research portfolios in pairs and have been using our library

time and computing sessions to conduct the research. Here

are some photos of our experts presenting their findings.

Ms Naomi Taylor

Year 5TC Volcano Eruptions This week, we have been looking at volcano eruptions.

We have labelled the different parts of a volcano and

have completed our very own eruption using bicarbonate

and vinegar. This will link to our next science topic too as

we will be learning about irreversible and reversible

chemical changes. Miss Taylor Critchley

Year 4's Olympic Games We love the Olympics in Year 4. We carry quite a torch for it! Over the past few weeks, the children in both 4A and 4B have been working exceptionally hard to create their own board games based around the Ancient Olympics. We began by researching facts about the Olympics to include in our games, such as: did you know the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C.? The children then had a lot of fun creating their own giant board games and then even more fun sharing them with their friends in both classes, whilst also learning new things. We have been exceptionally proud of the level of enthusiasm, dedication and teamwork from the children. As you can see, the finished games were amazing! Miss Armitage and Mr Barker

Honey Sports City – Football Team @ Southlands Last week Southlands hosted a football team from ‘Honey Sports City, Sporting Centre’. The team trained on the School’s ‘Wembley’ football pitch. AS Roma football player, Mr Nikola Kalinic, joined us on Friday to say hello and wish the young team the best of luck!

Upcoming Football Tournaments to look out for!

It has already been a great start to football this year at Southlands, with now 15 players enrolled, and we have managed to arrange a number of tournaments for our players to test themselves competitively against the other RISA schools as shown below. Letters will be sent out nearer the time, inviting interested players but please keep this information at hand so that you know when and where events are taking place:

Date Event Location

Sat Oct 19th U11 Football Tournament for Boys/Girls St George’s School

Sat Dec 7th U11/U9 Football Tournament Southlands School

Sat Jan 18th U9 Football Tournament Ambrit School

If you are interested in joining the Football Club on Tuesdays, we still have a few places left, but they are going fast. Richard Hough Football Coach

A very special thank you to all the parents,

relatives and friends of our students and

our staff for donating blood last week. We

received more donors than last April and

hopefully we aim to have more next year.

Thank you again for giving the gift of life.

Just a reminder to everyone regarding head lice. Head lice contact is most common in classrooms where children are frequently in close contact when playing or studying. Head lice survive in short or long hair, clean or dirty hair. They do not jump, fly or swim but contact occurs from hair to hair. When there is a diagnosed case of head-lice in your child’s year group

we will ask you to check your child’s head according to the “Bug-Busting” method by wet-combing conditioned hair with the special lice-comb (wet lice do not move and therefore cannot escape like in dry hair).The technique is based on breaking the head-lice’s life cycle. Once this method has started, your child can continue coming to school because baby lice cannot leave the head from which they hatch, therefore, your child cannot pass them to other children. For those of you not familiar with the “Bug-Busting” method, visit https://www.chc.org/ and click on the video. We also have a DVD available in our room (10 minutes) that demonstrates what to do step by step and a “Bug-Buster” kit can be purchased in the shop (Euro 10,00).

Using a head-lice shampoo as a preventative measure is not to be recommended. If, however, you prefer a chemical shampoo, this should only be applied once live lice have been detected using the “Bug-Busting” method. We would like to be informed if any of you have found any lice so that we can face the problem together. Do not forget: your child caught lice from a child who in turn caught them from another.

The Nurses

Messages from the Administration

Letter to Parents from Mr Luca Uva, Head of NACE Schools in Italy and

Chief Operations Officer of the NACE group

Dear Parents, Ms Giulia Rosito has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer for all NACE schools in Italy. This entails a change in the organisation of the management structure at Southlands International School.

Mr Wilson will take on the overall responsibility of the school. He has appointed Mr Gabriele Beretta as School Manager who will oversee the non-educational aspects of the school. Mr Beretta will maintain his role overseeing Admissions. Yours sincerely, Mr Luca Uva, Head of NACE Schools in Italy and Chief Operations Officer of the NACE group

Extra-Curricular Activities

Guitar Club – Mr Fiorella Every Friday from 3.45pm to 4.45pm.

(Years 2-6)

If you have not yet booked your child’s trial lesson please do so via the

school office.

Kumon Mathematics – Mrs Parise (Years 1-6) Every Friday from

3.45pm to 4.45pm. If you have not yet booked your child’s trial lesson

please do so via the school office.

Football Club – Mr Hough (Years 2-6) Every Tuesday from 15.45 to 16.45.

Mixed Sports Club – Mr Hough (Years 2-6) Every Monday from 15.45 to 16.45.

Piano Lessons – Mr Manenti (Years 1-6) Every Wednesday. Southlands joined (Absrm) International

Programme. At the end of the year, children will have an exam and receive the International Certificate valid

for university as well. Buy a carnet for 20

individual 30 minute lessons for your child

to learn to play piano.

School Uniform Shop times Kindly note that the school uniform shop will remain open from Monday - Friday from 8.30am to 2.30pm.

For further information please contact the school shop 06 5053932 (ext 212).

Dates for Your Diary

P-T Meetings

Senior School P-T Meeting (Y8-Y13) Thursday 17th October 15.45 – 18.30

Friday 25th October 9.00 – 15.00

Primary School P-T Meeting (Nursery – Year 6) Friday 18th October 16.00 – 19.00

Friday 25th October 9.00 – 15.00

Year 7 P-T Meetings Thursday 19th December

I wish you an enjoyable weekend.