New Family Guide

SCHOOL HOURS

Junior School Hours

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 8:30am-3:30pm

Tuesdays: 8:30-2:45 pm (early dismissal)

Drop-off and pick-up procedures will be communicated close to the first day of school.

Upper School Hours

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 8:15am - 3:00pm

Tuesdays: 8:15- 2:20 pm (early dismissal)

First Day of School

Friday, 30 August: First day for Grade 6

Monday, 2 September: First day for Grades 1-5 & Grades 7-11

Wednesday 4, Thursday 5, and Friday 6 September: Half days for Early Years-Foundation

Monday 9 September: Full day for Early Years-Foundation

Welcome to our ISF family,

On behalf of the entire ISF community, I want to extend a warm welcome to our school! We are thrilled to have you as a part of our close-knit community and we look forward to getting to know you and your children.

At ISF, we strive to provide an enriching and supportive learning environment for all of our students. We believe that every child has unique talents and abilities, and we work hard to create opportunities for them to excel both academically and personally.

We understand that transitioning to a new school can be daunting, but we want you to know that we are here to support you every step of the way. Our faculty and staff are dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive environment where every student can thrive. We encourage you to get involved in our school community and to take advantage of the many resources and opportunities we offer.

Once again, welcome to ISF! We are excited to have you join us and we look forward to a successful and fulfilling school year.

Sincerely,

Sharyn Baddeley Head of School

CONTACTS

Junior School Campus

Early Years to Grade 5

Ville le Tavernule - Via del Carota, 23/25

50012 Bagno a Ripoli (FI), Italy

tel: +39 055 6461007

email: juniorschooloffice@isfitaly.org

Admissions Office

Villa Torri di Gattaia - Viuzzo di Gattaia, 9

50125 Florence (FI), Italy

tel: +39 055 2001515

Email: admissions@isfitaly.org

Patrisha Lauria - Head of Admissions

Giorgio Aguilar & Olivia Monti - Admissions Officers

Upper School Campus

Grade 6 to Grade 12

Villa Torri di Gattaia - Viuzzo di Gattaia, 9

50125 Florence (FI), Italy

tel: +39 055 2001515

email: upperschooloffice@isfitaly.org

QUICK FACTS

• New Family Orientation - Friday 23 August

• School Calendar 2024-2025

• Junior school early dismissal: Tuesdays at 2:45pm

• Upper School early dismissal: Tuesdays at 2:20pm

• Junior School Office contact for attendance and absences: juniorschooloffice@isfitaly.org

• Upper School Office contact for attendance and absences: upperschooloffice@isfitaly.org

• Weekly school e-bulletin Friday Flash released every Friday

NEW PARENT CHECKLIST

• Contact the uniform shop

• Obtain a non-competitive sports certificate (if requested)

• Contact private bus service (if needed)

• For student devices, refer to student Technology pp. 7

• Review necessary school supplies

• Mark your calendars for New Family Orientation

ISF BUDDIES

UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS

All new Upper School students will be assigned a buddy.

• A buddy will be selected from your child’s Homeroom class, with whom they will share the first 15 minutes of each day and be available for any other assistance your child may need as they familiarize their time at ISF

• Our students always look forward to welcoming new children, introducing them to ISF, showing them around, providing information about what it’s like to be a student here and helping them during their first few weeks of school.

• Your child will meet their buddy on the first day of school.

STUDENT TECHNOLOGY

(Early Years - Grade 5)

• All students will be assigned a personal school email address at the beginning of the school year

• All students from Grades 2-5 will be provided with an individual iPad to be used during school hours..

STUDENT TECHNOLOGY

(Grades 6 - 12)

• New students joining ISF will receive their student email account during the end of August, with a temporary access password.

• ISF has a Bring Your Own Device Policy (BYOD)

• The student BYOD device must be a laptop.

• There are no further requirements (in terms of brand or operating system) but ISF has partnered with an external provider who offers all ISF families Apple products at discounted prices. The school-specific portal can be found HERE.

IMPORTANT: ISF strongly recommends that families purchase their own insurance for their child’s device. Any damage will be investigated by the school and the results of the investigation will be shared with the involved families. Any settlement however must be arranged directly between the families.

*As part of the BYOD roll out, grade 8 students (class of 2027) can decide whether they wish to bring their own device or receive a school-assigned Chromebook during the 2023-2024 school year only.

STUDENT SCHOOL SUPPLIES

(EY1 - Grade 5)

The Junior School provides school supplies to all students at the beginning of the school year.

STUDENT SCHOOL SUPPLIES

(Grades 6 - 11)

Please see the list of school supplies here.

SUMMER HOMEWORK (EY1 to Grade 5)

Students from EY1 to Grade 5 are not required to complete any homework over the summer, however summer reading is always recommended.

SUMMER HOMEWORK

(Grade 6 to 9)

Students from Grade 6 to Grade 9 are not required to complete any homework over the summer, however summer reading is always recommended.

SUMMER HOMEWORK - IB PREP (Grade 10)

Please see here summer math homework for all incoming Grade 10 students.

IB SUMMER HOMEWORK

(Grades 11 - 12)

More information will be provided by the IB Coordinator, Jason Blackstone and shared with new families during the month of July.

ECA PROGRAM

(Extra Curricular Activities)

The ECA Program will be available to all students and more information will be shared with students and families during the beginning of the school year.

NON - COMPETITIVE MEDICAL CERTIFICATE

(Certificato Medico Non Agonistico)

• Students who take part in any sports-related ECAs during the school year or participate in any competitive teams, will have to present a Certificato Medico Non Agonistico.

• This certificate can be requested by your local family doctor in Italy and a copy should be shared with our School Nurse Sofia Gori, at nurse@isfitaly.org

• If you do not have a local family doctor upon your move to Italy, please contact our school nurse, Sofia Gori, for more information.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Students from EY1 to Grade 10 are required to wear a uniform. Students in Grades 11 and 12 are given a revocable privilege of not wearing the school uniform. However, all G11 and 12 students are expected to dress respectfully and appropriately to a learning environment.

Please visit this link to check out the updated Uniform Policy for the academic year 2024-2025.

This policy outlines the guidelines and requirements regarding our school attire. Please take a moment to review the updated policy carefully with your child to ensure compliance and understanding.

If you have yet not purchased the uniform so far, please contact the uniform store urgently as to ensure that your child will be prepared for the first day of school.

ISF uniform supplier information below:

LM SCHOOL UNIFORMS

Palazzo Frescobaldi, Via Santo Spirito 11, Firenze Telephone. +39 055 62 82 130 e-mail: firenze@school-uniforms.it

Uniforms can be purchased:

• LM Boutique in Palazzo Frescobaldi in Via Santo Spirito, 11 Florence

• Online through the LM Uniform ISF e-shop (Access Password: ISF1952)

Please kindly remember to book an appointment to access the Santo Spirito boutique. This way the shop assistants can help you all and dedicate the necessary time to your shopping.

In case you have already made arrangements with the uniform shop for the next academic year, then you do not need to contact the supplier again. You will be informed when your order will be available for pick up or shipping.

SCHOOL NURSE, FIRST AID TEAM AND COUNSELOR

A full-time school nurse will alternate between both campuses, as well as a certified first aid and CPR-AED team.

For more information, please contact the school nurse Sofia Gori, at nurse@isfitaly.org

Social-emotional Counselors are also available at each campus. The counseling department at ISF assists students in discovering their passions and life directions. They collaborate with students, staff, and parents to deliver a comprehensive, balanced program that promotes academic, social-emotional, career growth, guidance and encouragement.

SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

Junior School - Lunch

Students are encouraged to use the hot lunch provided by the food provider that also offers alternatives for specific dietary needs. Students may also bring lunch. Healthy lunch and snacks are encouraged e.g. fruit, vegetables, yogurt, cheese, juice (no potato chips, sweets).

• EY1 and EY2 children eat lunch in their own lunchroom.

• A dietician designs the menu in accordance with the Italian Health and safety regulations and it’s sent weekly through the Friday Flash.

• Registration to the lunch programme and payment options will be communicated before the commencing of the academic year.

Upper School - Lunch

ISF Café is available for lunch breaks. In accordance with Italian Health and Safety regulations and in support of encouraging healthy eating habits, students may not order food for delivery to school from outside providers.

• A dietician designs the menu in accordance with the Italian Health and safety regulations and it’s sent weekly through the Friday Flash.

• Registration to the lunch programme and payment options will be communicated before the commencing of the academic year.

PRIVATE BUS SERVICE

A private bus service is provided by an external company, which has been collaborating with the school for many years. For a price quotation or potential routes, please see the company’s contact information below. For those interested, we advise that you contact the company as soon as possible as places fill up quickly.

Andrea Mangini

Contact: manginilimousine@tiscali.it / +39 335 606 6355

Massimo Pestelli

Contact: maxpe.mo@gmail.com / +39 339 432 5502

SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR 2024 - 2025

You can find the upcoming academic school calendar through this link. Check our website for recurring updates.

SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS

New parents will be added to our ISF mailing lists during the summer. A weekly school bulletin called the Friday Flash is sent to all parents every Friday with important and useful information. We encourage parents to consult the FridayFlash weekly to keep updated on news and important communications.

Our IT Manager, Riccardo Biagiotti, will be sending further information to access all Parent School Portals at the end of August.

PA (PARENT ASSOCIATION)

PA representatives, along with many parents at ISF are always happy to welcome new parents to the ISF Community and will be present at New Family Orientation.

To get in touch with other parents and PA members, please follow the Parent Facebook group here or visit the PA page on our school website.

UPDATED CONTACT INFORMATION CODICE FISCALE (ITALIAN FISCAL CODE)

We kindly ask you to provide any updated contact information including a local address, email and local phone number through the following link. We also ask you to provide yours and your child’s CODICE FISCALE (when available).

FINAL SCHOOL REPORT CARDS

A gentle reminder to please upload a copy of your child (ren)’s final report cards when available. For local Italian students going into Grade 6, we will also need a copy of the attestazione di Quinta Elementare through the following link.

NEW FAMILY ORIENTATION

Junior School New Family Orientation - Junior School Campus Friday 23 August from 9:30 to 11:30am Upper School New Family Orientation - Upper School Campus Friday 23 August from 1:30 to 3:30pm More information about this event will be provided over the summer.

PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS

(Grade 6 Parents Only)

The session will be held on 29 August 2024 from 5:00 to 6:00pm at the Upper School Campus (Aula Magna). The Grade 6 Orientation Parent Information Session for the new school year is to provide all new and current parents to the ISF Upper School some important information to assist you and your child’s smooth transition to the Middle School.

ISF PUBLICATIONS

For a glimpse into the school year so far, we would like to share a few of our inhouse publications:

Tuskan Times ISF Newsletter

SOCIAL MEDIA

Please follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Linkedin!