La Rivista 2022-23/A Retrospective

2022–2023/A RETROSPECTIVE

In this Issue:

La Scuola’s 20th Anniversary

Silicon Valley Ribbon Cutting

New Building Update

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)

Grade 8 Italy Trip

Inspiring brave learners to shape the future

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

As many of you know, this year La Scuola celebrated its 20th Anniversary. While there are countless reasons why La Scuola has made it to this milestone and countless people to thank for getting us here, as I reflect on this year, it seems fitting to highlight 20 accomplishments in the 202223 school year of which I am particularly proud.

We opened our Silicon Valley Campus, expanding the La Scuola community to serve even more students.

Our faculty and staff engaged in rich professional development opportunities, including a study group in Reggio Emilia, Italy and on-site IB trainings.

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Parents and caregivers were able to once again join us on campus to volunteer in classrooms, celebrate birthdays, attend assemblies, and more.

Learning extended outside the classroom walls, during field trips to local museums, botanical gardens, and cultural centers.

Activism abounded, from Middle School protests for gun reform to elementary bake sales for earthquake relief in Syria and Turkey.

Our Board of Directors reaffirmed their support of and commitment to the La Scuola community, and the state of our school is strong.

Our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging efforts continued among students, faculty, staff, families, and community.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day was once again held in person, allowing students to share their school life with loved ones.

During our annual La Dolce Vita gala and auction, we raised record-breaking funds to support Sliding Scale Tuition.

Students explored the 100 Languages of Children through our Art, Garden, Music, and Design Ateliers

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During our long-overdue and first-ever Grade 8 Italy trip, students spent two

Cari Amici / Dear Friends:

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

weeks immersed in the country’s language, culture, and history.

We found new ways to support the socialemotional learning of our students, prioritizing their wellbeing as highly as we do their academic studies, and bringing back cross-grade “Flocks” which brought students of all ages together to both learn from and inspire each other.

We had an incredible Admissions season and exceeded our enrollment goals for the year!

On-campus cultural celebrations returned and expanded, exposing our students to new perspectives and traditions.

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From PreK-Grade 8, childcentered learning allowed students to explore personal interests, ranging from the sound the rain makes to the effects of social media. This process encourages critical thinking and is another way children can use the adaptive reasoning skills they build through math and language learning. This all ties together when students in Grades 4-8 take their standardized ERB tests, and we see their academic success reflected in those results.

Thanks to the support of our community and Board, we are closer than ever to realizing our dream of building a K-8, Reggio-inspired new building in San Francisco.

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We graduated our fourth Grade 8 class, and celebrated their accomplishments ahead of their transition to high school. Here is a comprehensive list of all the high schools our four years of Grade 8 graduates are attending to date: Academy of Thought and Industry; Archbishop Riordan High School; The Bay School of San Francisco; Castro Valley High School; Collegio San Giuseppe - Instituto de Merode - Rome, Italy; Convent of the Sacred Heart High School; Drew School; Gateway High School; International High School; Instituto Marcelline Tommaseo - Milan, Italy; Lick-Wilmerding High School; Lowell High School; Mercy High School Burlingame; Mission High School; Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory; Saint Ignatius High School; San Francisco Girls’ School; San Francisco University High School; St. Stephen’s School - Rome, Italy; Stuart Hall High School; Urban School of San Francisco.

The Parents Association of La Scuola fostered strong relationships between parents and families through social events and family activities.

During the Winter and Spring Concerts students performed for family and friends, showing their continued musical growth and development.

Together, as one community of faculty, staff, students, and families, we upheld La Scuola’s mission to inspire brave learners to shape the future.

We did all of the above, and so much more, while always staying true to our motto: Niente Senza Gioia ! / Nothing Without Joy! Thank you for your ongoing partnership in making the past 20 years–and the next 20 to come–possible.

Con stima e affetto, Valentina Imbeni, Ph.D. Head of School

BOARD OF DIRECTORS UPDATE

PERMANENCE

1 PERMANENCE

To build a place that furthers the magic of our community, spaces, and programs

2 NURTURE + GROW

To nurture the professional growth of our team and continue to attract and retain the best educators

On Permanence, having already brought our K-8 community all together under one roof at our Mission campus, we then opened our warm, beautiful, and inspiring Silicon Valley campus in East Palo Alto last year. We have been laser-focused on our new building project for the Mission campus, and are excited to have begun voluntary retrofitting and cosmetic improvement of San Carlos Hall, which is part of the Mission campus on South Van Ness.

Thanks to our fearless leader, Valentina, our amazing faculty and staff, and the commitment of our parent community and Board, we have accomplished a great deal this year. On behalf of the Board, we are so excited to share with you all the work we have been doing behind the scenes, and to celebrate La Scuola’s amazing successes.

While we have just begun our next 5-year strategic plan, we would like to provide an update on the 5 pillars (Permanence, Nurture and Grow, Heart and Mind, Community, and Thriveability) of our strategic plan that is coming to an end. We are so happy to report making significant progress across the board.

Lama Nachman, Board Chair Courtenay Brown, Board Co-Chair

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HEART + MIND

To integrate the richness and strength of the IB framework with the intentionality and creativity of the Reggio Emilia Pedagogy to ensure that our students understand the world and create their place in it

4

COMMUNITY

To preserve our unique multiculturalism and further diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within our community

5

THRIVEABILITY

To transition from sustainability to thriveability

The Facilities Committee has prioritized both of these projects. Regarding San Carlos Hall, we commenced construction in June and we are on track for our renovations to be complete by the start of next school year. These improvements to the gym, stage, and ateliers upstairs will make the space much more usable for sports and activities and allow plenty of room for community gatherings and events.

Regarding the new building, the site permit was submitted in December, and we expect entitlements to be completed by July; we are on track to obtain our building permit in October.

As many of you are already aware, the Embrace Committee, focused on our capital campaign, has been working tirelessly to raise the funds necessary for this incredible project. We made great progress this year and are almost two-thirds of the way to our goal; we will continue to run as fast as possible to achieve our dream.

Concurrently, we approached lenders/banks in the first quarter of 2023, and are working now with a loan consultant to secure financing to be in place for the start of construction. While we still need more support in order to reach our goal, we are confident about

breaking ground in the 2023-24 school year, with a construction end date in 2025, which would allow us to be ready for the 2025-26 school year.

Please see pages 34-35 in this publication for new building designs by our esteemed architect, Michele Zini, who truly shows the role of the environment in our pedagogy. This will be a building like no other in San Francisco, and we can’t wait for our students, faculty, families, and community to experience it.

NURTURE AND GROW

We continue to Nurture and Grow as we consistently prioritize attracting, retaining, and growing the best faculty and staff possible. This year we continued to focus on training our faculty and staff, including a trip to Reggio Emilia, IB training, a mentorship program for new teachers, and more. We ensured more competitive compensation, enabling our amazing faculty and staff to afford living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area.

HEART AND MIND

When we started on the Heart and Mind pillar of the strategic plan five years ago, we did not yet have any middle school graduates, which we have now. The outcome of La Scuola’s brilliant combination of Reggio Emilia and IB pedagogical approaches is no longer theoretical, it has become a proven success!

We graduated our fourth Grade 8 class who will be off to more great high schools in San Francisco and Italy. Our graduates will be attending Sacred Heart, International, University, Mercy Burlingame, Saint Ignatius, Mission High School, and schools in Milan and Rome, Italy. This past year, our Grade 8 class went on the inaugural Italy Trip and completed their IB-MYP Community Project Presentations. One of the things that makes us most proud is to see

how our high schoolers are thriving academically and socially across the very different schools they are attending. They are the best La Scuola ambassadors and continue to pave the way for our up-and-coming high schoolers. It was also wonderful to see them coming back to La Scuola and engaging in our admissions events, Summer camps, and other activities, as well as marketing their high schools to our current eighth graders during campus visits.

COMMUNITY

On Community, we have come a long way to realizing our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging goals. La Scuola’s DEIB Committee, a group of parents, faculty, staff, and Board members, successfully facilitated seven events this year across all three campuses, which included restorative yoga sessions and other activities. The committee, in tandem with the Board, expanded the current Sliding Scale Tuition offering for our Summer program. Our focus on DEIB remains at the center of who we are as a school.

We also want to acknowledge the wonderful work by our PALS (Parents Association of La Scuola) leader, Melissa Ippolito, and the PALS team to support our community; your work is truly remarkable. Next year, we encourage and challenge each of you to join Melissa and find ways to get involved at La Scuola.

THRIVEABILITY

Lastly, on Thriveability, we have been working on ensuring a strong financial foundation for La Scuola, and exploring different growth opportunities to make it even more sustainable in the Bay Area’s highly competitive education market. As you all know, we secured a generous gift to open our Silicon Valley Campus, and look forward to achieving our goals, including the

addition of a K - 1 combined class this Fall. If you haven’t yet had a chance to visit that campus, we would be delighted to welcome you anytime.

We continue to forge ahead on our Milan expansion opportunity in order to strengthen our connection with Italy, enable compelling opportunities and movement of faculty and students across campuses, and attract new faculty and students in order to strengthen ourselves as a truly international school. We have narrowed down campus locations, established a separate Board of Directors, and remain on track to open for the 2024-25 school year. This campus will be independently funded and managed locally with oversight from San Francisco.

In conclusion, a lot has happened to be thankful for this year and there is so much more in the coming years. We will continue to move forward on our Embrace Campaign goals including to build our masterpiece building at our Mission Campus, renovate San Carlos Hall, and further establish our school in the Bay Area and in Italy. We would like to give thanks and say goodbye to two amazing pedagogical leadership team members — Sally Peterson and Douglas Lowney — and welcome Carmen Gomez. Sally will continue to support La Scuola from abroad. From the Board, we would like to give thanks and say goodbye to Aaron Harms, and welcome Nicholas Errico. We look forward to seeing you in the Fall and hope you enjoy a wonderful Summer.

20 YEARS OF LA SCUOLA

In October of 2002, La Piccola Scuola Italiana was started by two Italian-American families who wanted to ensure that they and their children would stay connected to their Italian heritage, culture, and language. Under the leadership of Valentina Imbeni, who had joined the school as a founding parent, the school quickly grew, and over the years La Scuola has been inspiring brave learners from inside a family home, a church, and our Fell Street campus, to the current Dogpatch, Mission, and Silicon Valley campuses.

Fast forward 20 years from our humble beginnings, we have grown into a truly international, multicultural, and multilingual school. We value our diversity, equity,

inclusion, and belonging and aspire to celebrate each of our 350+ students with their own cultural heritage and language.

We give thanks and appreciation to our founding families, past and present trustees, faculty, educators, parents, volunteers, supporters, the Italian American Community, the Italian Consulate of San Francisco, generous donors, and the entire La Scuola community for their continued support and accompanying us on this 20-year journey.

What’s next for La Scuola?

We have exciting plans! We continue to grow with the forthcoming construction of the new main building at the K-8 Mission Campus, the renovation of the San Carlos gym building, and the Early Childhood Dogpatch Campus expansion.

Our Silicon Valley campus is also growing with each passing year as we build awareness, and as our student body and grade levels expand.

SILICON VALLEY RIBBON CUTTING

La Scuola reached an important milestone in August 2022 as we welcomed students to our beautiful Silicon Valley campus! Our official community celebration came in September with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included our local Palo Alto and East Palo Alto mayors, the Consul General of Italy, East Palo Alto Chief of Police, East Palo Alto residents and partners, founding parent Nathalie Dompé, and many La Scuola families and friends.

Thank you to our amazing community for believing in us and to our generous donors for making this dream come true! We are excited to expand our class offerings for the next school year to include Kindergarten and Grade 1, and to welcome new students and families as this campus continues to grow.

HOW WE EXPRESS OURSELVES: Storie Di Grafica

Children learn about the world by exploring it through the body and the senses, to satisfy motor, sensory, and emotional needs, in a joyful and imaginatively rich process. The first signs they trace in materials — on the sand, in the mud, on the wall — are all manifestations of a natural propensity to learn, supported by great curiosity and interest. Mind and body work in synergy. Gradually, the first random signs and the first scribbles transform into more complex shapes and designs: all children experience this process through lines, dots, shapes, and movements, creating increasingly complex graphic compositions on paper and thus continuing to explore the world and themselves, both from a cognitive and emotional point of view.

“The 100 languages” is the metaphor of each child who is capable of building and inventing their own ideas and who is the builder and inventor of their own culture. Children immediately enter the complexity of the world and of existence. Children love to confront each other, make predictions, and understand, but they also know how to welcome and make different points of view on their own. A child, as Loris Malaguzzi said in the 100 languages poem, does not know and does not want to separate their head from their body. The 100 languages are free entrances to knowledge, they are not hierarchical. As educators we must allow children these languages to open their minds.

Creativity becomes more visible when adults try to be more attentive to the cognitive processes of children than to the results they achieve in various fields of doing and understanding.

— Loris Malaguzzi

San Francisco Dogpatch Campus

Silicon Valley Campus

To observe, to listen, and to reflect are key elements of the Reggio Emilia approach. Children are empowered to learn through their own experiences, and to construct their own theories, by themselves or in collaboration with their peers, based on their own observations. In our new campus in Silicon Valley, children spent a lot of time outdoors, observing the plants, the insects, the four elements such as water or wind, and the plays of light and shadow.

Parents participation is another key principle of the Reggio Emilia approach. During our learning experiences, the participation of our families took place throughout the school year. Families came to share about their traditions, to volunteer during learning experiences connected with the International Baccalaureate units, and to participate in our school projects. With the participation of every member of our community - children, families, staff, and friends - we made a “Campus Flag” that represents the heritage and culture of our founding class. Our small community has been growing rapidly and we are overjoyed for it!

COLLABORATIVE COMMUNICATION: Using Their Senses, Students Moving Ideas Forward

The La Scuola educational program links the Reggio Emilia approach and the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework through language immersion. Students and their inquiry are at the center of the program. Teachers organize learning spaces and develop provocations to invite students to contribute observations, questions, and ideas — through voice, movement, and drawings — to the group. Making their own thinking visible — for example, playing a chord, crafting an opening paragraph — is foundational to the student-centered nature of Reggio and the IB learning experiences.

A classroom with all students communicating their diverse observations and ideas, how does that work? The Reggio environment, the third teacher, and the Learner Profile attributes (IB) shape and guide an inquiry that is both highly collaborative and problem-solving oriented. One hand holds the other — individual voices across 100 languages and highly collaborative problem-solving — they go hand in hand.

Reggio teachers emphasize achievement in personal expression and reflection of one’s own patterns of thinking.

— The Hundred Languages of Children, Edwards, C. et al

MULTI/PLURILINGUALISM

While Italian is part of the core of our program and identity, it is also a doorway into a plurilingual world. Once students have learned more than one language, their mind is primed to learn more — and they are curious and eager to learn!

Multilingual students draw on all their linguistic resources at all times; we can see this in the early grades, when our first graders added the word for hand in German and Albanian to the classroom posters they made. In Kindergarten Arancioni, the teachers noticed how the morning assemblea routine in Italian sparked an interest in greetings in other languages — so all year, they introduced and sang greetings in a new language.

In Grade 4 Spanish, teacher Daniela did not start with hola and walk the students through conjugations. Instead, she encouraged them to use what they already knew (Italian and English) to try to understand and notice things about what they didn’t know yet (Spanish). She encouraged them to look for what was the same and what was different, and found that the inquiry then went in the direction of language, history, power, and empire. This is the power of inquiry in language learning!

Math is also a language, and our students are learning how numbers, patterns, and deductive reasoning can help them make sense of the world. They don’t only learn how to calculate; they learn to look for relationships, to seek to understand the parts and the whole, to communicate and debate ideas. They consider the

history of our mathematical language and how certain ideas, such as a base ten system, zero, or negative numbers, came to be.

Through shared activity, communication, cooperation, and even conflict, children co-construct their knowledge of the world, using one child’s idea to develop another’s or to explore a path yet unexplored.

— Leila Gandini

AN EXPLORATION INTO SPACE

In various learning groups through the elementary years, students developed their explanations for space. Through an extensive dialogue, a listener, whether child or adult, comes to understand that space has an expansive meaning. An attentive studentcentered educator guides this development about space to its fullest potential, with all voices shaping its meaning.

Let’s ponder how they do it with this collection of Grade 2 perspectives and ideas:

Well, space is right here there is space between the two lines and there is space right in here and right here.

–Max

Space is something around you that space is also in between something and another thing.

–Lorenzo

Space — the measurements and distances from one object to another –Avery

Planets, stars, galaxies — is this material called air? It’s the greatest creation. –Sashi

So, like there is outer space and outer space is full of space, and there is also another kind of space.

–Robert

Space is something like when there is some space between us like air, and the space up in the sky is the space between planets.

–Kiana

Space: is it invisible? Heavy? It’s very soft.

–Jaxson

One kind of space is outer space, the space that the planets are in, the space that earth is in, basically the space that everything is in.

–Lian

Space is like what if people are like you’re squished, space is the opposite of that, when you have room to actually move around.

–Sienna

I observe that it is strong and it can never break no matter what you do to it. Yes, it is flexible, it can bend, bounce, and it can’t break.

–Dylan

Space is between water and air, and from a scientific standpoint that is space.

–Ellis

Space — do you mean outer space? Personal space, like a space bubble? Space is like, if someone says can you please move over and you don’t move over, or move closer, that is not respectful.

People can have too much space.

–Arianna

Perspective: the understanding that knowledge is moderated by different points of view which lead to different interpretations, understandings, and findings.

— Concepts and Conceptual Understanding, ibo.org

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE AND REGGIO EMILIA IN ACTION MIDDLE SCHOOL

At La Scuola, the integration of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program (MYP) and the Reggio Emilia approach creates a dynamic and innovative learning environment for our students. One of the ways this integration comes to life is through captivating class projects that showcase the power of interdisciplinary learning and student-led exploration.

For instance, in our middle school fashion design class, MYP Year 3 students embarked on a project that seamlessly integrated the design cycle, knowledge of chemistry, electricity, math, and the Reggio Emilia approach. Drawing inspiration from nature, students designed their own organic cosmetic products, perfumes, face masks, dresses, jewelry, and even created a stage for showcasing their designs. They worked collaboratively in groups or individually, incorporating their own logo, packaging, and website design. Throughout the process, students not only applied their artistic skills but also took into account the chemistry behind their creations, ensuring sustainability and environmental consciousness.

Another noteworthy project that exemplifies the IB/Reggio in action is the “Atelier of Democracy and Culture” initiative. Through this Reggioinspired approach, our middle school students engaged in an upcycling project focused on food. They collected leftover ingredients and creatively rearranged them into new recipes, showcasing their culinary creativity and promoting sustainability. This project allowed students to explore the interconnectedness of culture, democracy, and the environment while fostering critical thinking and creativity.

These projects are just a glimpse of the incredible learning experiences that take place within our IB-MYP and Reggio Emilia-inspired classrooms. By integrating diverse subjects, encouraging

student-led exploration, and promoting critical thinking and creativity, our students develop essential skills and a deep understanding of the world around them.

The combined power of the IB-MYP and the Reggio Emilia approach nurtures our students’ curiosity, sparks their creativity, and prepares them to become compassionate and globallyminded individuals. Through interdisciplinary projects like fashion design inspired by nature and upcycling food, our students embody the spirit of inquiry, innovation, and sustainable practices. They become active participants in their own learning, creating meaningful connections between subjects and embracing the values of the International Baccalaureate and Reggio Emilia philosophies.

ITALIANO AT LA SCUOLA

Why Italian?

Perhaps the most romantic of the romance languages, Italian has consistently charmed populations abroad, despite being only primarily spoken on the European peninsula. There are likely some explanations as to why, but we are especially concerned with the what — what learning can happen in and through the Italian language? At La Scuola we are not just teaching Italian, we are teaching our students to be lifelong language learners.

Bilingualism is well known to be a strong predictor of academic success and lifelong happiness. The Italian language especially benefits students by giving them an understanding of Latin roots, and thus an increased ability to appreciate art, music, history, and

science. Italian is the language that has stayed the most closely linked to Latin — the language from which so many others have borrowed words and phrases — allowing those who study it the advantage of more easily learning words in not only other languages, but in English as well. Statistically, children who study a second language score higher on verbal standardized tests conducted in English, perform better in math and logic skills testing, and are better at solving complex problems.

In the IB-Primary Years Program, Italian language is part of the daily routine of every student at La Scuola. We start the day with an Assemblea where we share our emotions, our passions, and special events with our peers. Every week, students have responsibilities that help us run our classroom routines in Italian, for example: appello, calendario, orario. We use Italian language to teach Math, Units of Inquiry, Music, Physical Education, Tech, and Tinkering, and children can apply their Italian skills in all those subject areas and interactions, making their learning useful and visible.

Italian language is also enhanced through Italian culture and lifestyle and students get to know Italian traditions, literature, songs, art, and more. La Scuola participates in international

events such as La Settimana della Lingua Italiana, where all the grades explore a theme related to Italian culture through different lenses and create amazing projects. The elementary students participate actively in exchanges with Italian schools in Italy and all over the world where Italian language is the common language, allowing students to build awareness around a global community.

In the IB-Middle Years Program, Italian language connects our inquiries to a rich cultural and historical heritage in Italy and beyond. Language study bridges inquiry into other subjects, such as art history, political philosophy, design, architecture, biotech, agriculture and gastronomy. It also introduces our students to the network of romance languages.

In upper elementary, students begin study of a third language moving from a bilingual model to a multilingual one. Our young scholars continue the study of three languages throughout the Middle Years Program in their pursuit to become independent inquirers, effective multilingual communicators, and principled global citizens.

The atelier: Encounters, discoveries, wonders, and experiments

The atelier is a place for discussion, for planning, for building hypotheses, theories, and where to express different points of view.

ART

PRESCHOOL ART Dogpatch Atelier

The atellerista introduces the techniques and languages of art into the school, allowing children to experience the limits and possibilities. These experiments and explorations do not happen sporadically, but daily. Art is understood not only as a technique, but also as a compass, giving children the right to express their language through drawing, clay manipulation, photography, investigations of light phenomena, digital landscapes, and much more.

Silicon Valley Atelier an open space to inspire wonder

During the first year of the Art atelier in La Scuola’s Silicon Valley campus, the children had the opportunity to get familiar with the new space, different expressive languages, and materials.

In the new space of the atelier, we witnessed children being amazed in front of the language of light and colors, the changes of clay, the endless possibilities of graphic marks and drawing, the spontaneity of photography, the freedom of dance and body languages, the engagement with music. Week after week, this new space started to feel more and more as ours and reflected children’s learning, their own discoveries, and curiosities.

Towards the end of the year, we opened the atelier to the garden/play yard to create a stronger connection between Art and Nature. That inspired an even “newer” space where our identity as a community, our daily life, and our research have been combined in a wonderful and harmonious ensemble.

MIDDLE SCHOOL ART

MUSIC

The music program at La Scuola begins in Preschool and extends through the end of Middle School. Every child participates in the music program! As one of the Hundred Languages, children study music by listening, singing, playing, reading, and composing, from the start of the curriculum to graduation. We inquire into music as science, as culture, as history, as math, connecting through all disciplines. Our graduates speak the language of music – it is one more tool they have to express themselves. And when they make music together, they witness the beauty and impact of collaboration and the benefit of diversity.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC

During the school year, students are able to familiarize themselves with a variety of musical instruments and observe, explore, compare, make sounds, and experience the sound of music, while building appreciation. Through activities and games, they begin to develop a musical ear — being able to recognize the variety of sounds and timbres created by different musical instruments.

This year focused on learning musical patterns through color-coded keys, which stimulates the learning and understanding of music, allowing children to become aware that music has a certain recurrence through musical patterns. The overall musical experience allows students to grasp a basic understanding of what a band/orchestra is and what it means to play in one, demonstrating their ensemble skills.

The benefits of children being exposed to music are countless, such as increased coordination, which involves more than using only their voice or fingers; they use their eyes and ears, as well as large and small muscles, all at the same time. This helps the body and the mind work together. Also, they use their social-emotional skills by learning to work together as a team and develop their sense of empathy with others. Children are better able to tune into other people’s emotions, as well as develop the skills of self-regulation, discipline, respect, patience, memory, attention, and concentration.

In preschool, music is an important part of the child’s development

The La Scuola music program for children in Kindergarten to Grade 2 is designed to provide a comprehensive and engaging musical education. Every child participates in the music program at La Scuola!

In Grade 1, the focus shifted to note reading and rhythm exploration. Students learned to read and identify musical notes as well as their corresponding rest symbols. They practiced clapping and playing these rhythms using various percussive instruments, developing their sense of timing and coordination. As the year progressed, they began integrating pitched percussion instruments such as xylophones, which allowed them to apply their newfound note-reading skills to produce melodic patterns. This was the year they also began to perform musical compositions with sheet music, studying the various aspects of compositions, such as form.

In Kindergarten this year, the emphasis was on exploring pitch through the study of solfege, employing both the voice and the kinematic movements of the body, as well as through instruments like boom whackers and xylophones at the end of the school year. Students learned to recognize different pitches and developed a sense of tonality by singing simple melodies using solfege syllables visually and by hand gestures. The boom whackers, colorful tuned percussion tubes, helped reinforce pitch recognition and basic rhythm skills. Through interactive activities and games, kindergartners have fun while building their musical understanding.

In Grade 2, the students were ready to delve into more complex compositions and ensemble playing. The curriculum revolved around pitched percussion ensembles, where students were exposed to a wide variety of instruments, each with its own unique timbre and role in the musical pieces. They learned to collaborate with their peers, working together in different sections to create harmonies and layered melodies. Second graders developed a deeper understanding of musical structure, dynamics, and expression as they performed more intricate and challenging compositions.

Each grade level focuses on specific concepts and skills, gradually building upon the foundations established in the previous years.

OUR ATELIERS K-8 MUSIC

In Grade 3, students explored music and musical concepts through the ukulele, giving them an introduction to the plucked string curriculum. They explored the roles of melody and harmony, by playing both roles at some time. Our third graders also led our school song, La Marcia, during assemblea.

Grade 4 Music gave students the opportunity to select their instrument by listening to them and trying them out. The fourth graders were able to choose from a selection of mandolin, mandola, guitar, and bass. This grade explored a wide range of music, with a slight emphasis on Italian classics.

Students in Grade 5 continued their exploration of music through plucked string instruments. While Italian music was studied, along with more complicated musical concepts, the students also explored the music of television themes, including The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle and The Addams Family. They accompanied the Grade 1 students in a performance of Non Temere Halloween for our school community.

In IB-Middle Years Program Music, the students developed musical knowledge and skill by delving into the music of different times, communities, and cultures. Some of their favorite units centered around Contemporary Pop/Rock Music, Irish Music, Scottish

Music, Bluegrass, Tarantellas and Ragtime, and The Blues. These middle schoolers performed in two large concerts, as well as in smaller events throughout the year.

Specifically, Grade 6 Music made connections with the popular music of the 1960s and the 2020s, choosing to play music by late 1960s rock band Cream, and by contemporary band Imagine Dragons.

For the Spring Concert, Grade 7 elected to learn a Tarantella by mandolinist and luthier Raffaele Calace and the famous ragtime piece The Entertainer, exploring the structural similarities. They also explored the roots of Bluegrass music, following some back to the British Isles.

In Grade 8, students produced the entire Winter Performance, from stage plots to working the sound to managing the younger performers. This collaboration between music and design demonstrated the interconnectedness and collaborative nature of our curriculum. Students had the real

world experience of putting on a large event.

Grade 8 music, in collaboration with Grade 8 Italian, put on two carnevale performances, bringing the music of the Renaissance and the characters of the Commedia dell’arte to our community.

Our Ambassador Ensemble had a busy year as well, with a record number of 19 members from different grades!

Ambassador Ensemble and some alumni performed at the Museo Italo Americano for their Festa dei Dolci, a December fundraiser centered around Italian treats. We also performed for La Scuola’s fundraiser, La Dolce Vita, bringing the sounds of the 1920s.

The La Scuola garden program provides students with a unique opportunity to be in the environment when learning about the environment. They practice empathy and touch, feel, and experience science and math firsthand. They feel a duty to steward the planet and to help others do so as well.

The natural environment quite often surprises children and provides them with the spontaneity that leads to new cognitive pathways, curiosities, and a sense of wonder.

PRESCHOOL GARDEN

In the garden our preschool students learn exploration, collaboration, agency, observation, reflection and research, empathy and kindness with living things, care for plants and our environment, and creativity in and with nature.

They hold bugs, water plants, taste food, and create projects such as “leaf man” and seed balls. They learn empathy and kindness to small creatures. By watering plants, they learn to care for plants and our environment. They taste the food that grows out of the garden, which teaches them to be risk-takers to try new things.

Learning outcomes in the garden include: critical thinking, multi-sensory exploration, and seeing the garden as a place of scientific research and higher learning — returning to the same inquiries over time to see growth gives the opportunity to compare.

K-8 GARDEN AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

This year has been a really special one! It’s the second year of our community garden at the Mission campus and students were able to experience the changes that happen in all four seasons, including the reset of some of our beds. Plants that were planted last year have bloomed for the very first time this Spring and

brought a variety of honey bees, bumble bees, and butterflies to our space that have allowed us to understand the impact of our stewardship, as well as to appreciate observing their beauty. By studying their habitats, we learned how to play while protecting them, and enjoyed harvesting flowers and edible plants sustainably.

Furthermore, after a whole year, our worm farm and compost bin have provided us with fresh, rich soil to amend our garden beds and give our plants a new set of nutrients to continue growing during the summer.

Our students value the caring, exploring, learning, and sharing in the communal riches of this ever-changing living classroom.

DESIGN

Design is the subject in which the Middle School students learn the concept of design thinking. Every project we do follows the Design Cycle, which is divided into four phases.

Phase “Inquiring and Analyzing”

This is the moment in which we delve into the challenge. What is it? Why do we have it? Who is involved? Where is it? Is this part of just a group of people, or is it a general problem that everyone can encounter in their lives? Inquiry and Analyzing is a phase full of questions and wonder.

Phase “Evaluating”

This is the moment in which the final solution is applied, and the consequences are evaluated.

Phase “Developing Ideas”

During this phase we start to think through various solutions to the challenge. Usually each student arrives at one or two personal solutions. And, once the solutions are discussed in a classroom setting, it is incredibly rewarding how they interconnect with those of our peers, and may even change. During this phase, there is a great deal of collaboration and active listening.

Phase “Creating the Solution”

Once we finish brainstorming our solutions, a final decision needs to be made. This is the moment when one solution is selected, taking into account many interrelated factors.

A unique feature of this Design Cycle is that there is no starting or finishing point. These phases can be mixed in the process and the fact that it is not a straight line, but a circle, makes everything more interesting and creative for students and teachers.

This year, Middle School students were able to use the Design Cycle on various projects:

• Creating the Carnevale event. Back in February, our Grades 6 and 7 students collaborated together to create an event for the entire K-8 student body. Each of them worked with a partner to build a booth and together they created the Fiera di Carnevale with music, games, dance, and a lot of smiles.

• Creating four new promotional videos for La Scuola, which are being used for promotional and marketing purposes. (Grade 7)

• Organizing the Winter Concert, put on by the school. (Grade 8)

• Creating their own fashion brand. After their trip to Italy, our Grade 8 students came back eager to explore Italian Fashion Design history. Each of them focused on a specific Italian designer and then they built their own brand that was showcased at the La Scuola Exhibit.

• Designing their own house in a specific ecosystem. By exploring the concept of architecture, students learn how space and time are interconnected with the building tradition of a specific region in the world. Each of them had the pleasure to build a sustainable dream house in a specific ecosystem.

Thanks to the Design Cycle, students are the protagonists in their learning process, and they experience how failure can be a learning moment. Students see how to overcome emotions and find different solutions. Students become independent in finding new and creative ways to solve problems.

OUR ATELIERS DESIGN

Grade

Building a unique fashion brand.

Grade 7 Video: La Scuola International School Presents Elementary School.

Grade 8: Organizing the Winter Concert.

8:

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) are essential components of La Scuola’s community. Each concept is woven into the fabric of the school.

THIS YEAR’S GOALS AND REALIZATIONS OF THE GOALS:

DIVERSITY

Strengthen cultural competency capacity for teachers, students, families, and Board to continue to learn and embrace La Scuola’s growing global community.

EQUITY

Provide equitable opportunities for all students and families to participate in La Scuola learnings, events, and activities.

INCLUSION

Continue to develop a school with classrooms, programs, and activities that will encourage students and families to learn and participate together.

BELONGING

Build a culture of being accepted, valued, and included within the La Scuola community. We identified diverse opportunities to bring La Scuola families together at each campus to connect and learn more about one another.

We Identified three Community Ambassadors to amplify the voices and needs of our growing campus community.

We expanded our Sliding Scale Tuition (SST) program to support Summer Programming.

Created specific DEIB events to meet the needs of the three La Scuola campuses.

We ensured that every La Scuola campus provides childcare services to support our families’ opportunities for participation.

We are conducting a campuswide survey to learn the needs of neurodivergent learners.

There were coffee chats, restorative yoga, artivism, and workshops, such as navigating essential conversations.

La Scuola has continued our partnership with the SMART (Schools, Mentoring and Resource Team Inc) program. SMART families are in the lowest income quartile in San Francisco and more than 97% of SMART students will be the first in their family to graduate from college. Our partnership with this incredible organization includes giving these families access to the opportunities that a La Scuola education provides. We were thrilled to accept four SMART students this year!

La Scuola is a community where young learners foster their joy of learning. It is where diverse experiences are celebrated and honored.

NEW BUILDING

The 2022-2023 school year has been a momentous year indeed. Our ateliers provided students with endless opportunities to facilitate their exploration and inquiry. In preschool, our students investigated the ways in which colors appear in the natural world through fruits and vegetables and how extracting these pigments can create beautiful shades. This level of curiosity was elevated in middle school as students in Grade 7 embarked on their Community Engagement Project, learning about community organizations in the Mission and how to support their work. Students volunteered with The Women’s Building and the San Francisco Marin Food Bank, packing over 15,000 lbs of food to be distributed.

As our inquirers continue to explore the world around them, we are tasked with creating an environment that reflects their commitment to this inquiry. The Embrace Campaign has an ambitious goal of $10 million to elevate our campus to meet the needs of our students. We are renovating San Carlos Hall and transforming our Mission campus to mirror our Reggio Emilia approach to education. La Scuola continues to grow and soon

we will run out of space to house all of our amazing students, unique ateliers, and special programs. With the new building, we ensure our longterm sustainability not only physically, but financially with two full sections for every grade level.

The new space will also allow us the opportunity to further cement our existence as a center for professional development and thought exchange with educators from across the globe.

Additionally, our commitment to embracing the Mission community around us will deepen through our architecture of inclusion, as we invite our neighbors and local residents to share in and enjoy our new campus for special classes and events.

While our students are away for the summer, we will be busy! Renovations have begun at San Carlos Hall in the gymnasium, as we make cosmetic improvements and conduct a voluntary retrofitting of the building. We expect the space to be open to students by this Fall.

The Embrace Campaign, the first of its kind in La Scuola’s history, will transform our Mission campus. The project will be made possible by a combination of fundraising and financing; the faster we reach our fundraising goals, the sooner the new building will become a reality. With additional fundraising and financing, and based on the city’s timeline of providing entitlements, we expect to break ground in Winter 2023-2024.

Thank you for your support and partnership on this journey. As always, we welcome any opportunity to answer your questions, share updates, and hear your thoughts as we build the future of our school, together.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Here at La Scuola we place a high value on professional development for our faculty and staff. As always, we offered many opportunities for them to attend professional development courses, as well as scheduled in-school professional development days, focused on specific topics from which all faculty and staff could benefit and find value.

Below are some of the incredible opportunities made available to our faculty and staff this year:

Regular professional development training days throughout the year

An onsite, interactive DEIB learning workshop

Two International Baccalaureate training sessions for our Primary Years Program and Middle Years Program educators, taught by internationally-accredited IB instructors, on the topics of IB Philosophy, Implementation, and Approaches to Learning

Our beloved annual trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy, to attend the Reggio Children International Study Group at the Loris Malaguzzi International Center

The LEARNING & the BRAIN Conference, focusing on strategies to promote student connections, collaboration, cooperation, and belonging

A longtime partner of La Scuola in the Reggio Emilia approach, we participated in Innovative Teacher Project roundtables held at various schools in the Bay Area, including one hosted at our very own Dogpatch campus

Exchange programs with a variety of independent schools in the Bay Area

USA Basketball Clinic for our athletics coaches

We are all lifelong learners and students ourselves, and we value ongoing professional development as a fundamental part of our work as educators and leaders.

Talented teachers help create engaged and successful students.

FIELD TRIPS AND OVERNIGHT TRIPS

This year, students from Preschool through Grade 8 were once again able to explore the greater Bay Area community during field trips to museums, nature preserves, cultural centers, and more.

We were also able to participate in our overnight nature field trips, an important part of our Environmental Science curriculum and SEL growth of students. Students went to the NatureBridge retreats in the Marin Headlands and Yosemite National Park , and the CYO Camp in Occidental

At any Reggio Emilia school the environment is the third teacher, and at La Scuola, our environment extends far beyond the classroom.

STUDENT LIFE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Our middle school students participated in a variety of extracurricular activities that helped them thrive outside the classroom and foster a sense of positive community.

In the Fall, students took part in our annual Giorno dei Giochi (Day of Games) filled with a series of communitybuilding and competitive games at Duboce Park.

There were two dances — the Winter Holidays Dance and the Red Carpet Dance, the latter being our firstever dance co-hosted with another school (Synergy).

These dances were both team building and fundraising events that were led, managed,

and coordinated by the students, and the money raised was then donated to a local nonprofit, selected by the students.

Our middle schoolers also participated in a robust Athletics program, offering sports opportunities for volleyball, basketball, track and field, and performance training. Representing La Scuola with immense pride, our student-athletes competed valiantly in the San Francisco International Athletic League (SFIAL), showcasing their skills and spirit against neighboring independent schools. This year, 82% of our middle school student body actively

participated in at least one of our athletic programs, signifying the vibrant engagement and enthusiasm that courses through our athletic community.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Middle school students got out into the community in meaningful ways this year. In the Spring, the Grade 7 class took on a community engagement project as a part of their advisory period. They selected three different organizations in our neighborhood with which to partner: the SF/Marin Food Bank , Farming Hope, and The Women’s Building For each organization, they learned about the organization’s work and what they could do to support it. All of the projects revolved around food access in the Bay Area, so students also took on a research project to learn more about the causes of food insecurity and what could be done to address the problem. Then, students spent time working at each of these organizations.

At the Food Bank, students helped to sort and pack food that would be distributed to community members. At The Women’s Building, students helped with the food pantry program: meeting community members and passing out fresh fruits and vegetables. At Farming Hope, students helped to prepare and package food that was used at the organization’s community events.

Students plan to continue these partnerships next year so that they can continue to learn from, and make a difference in our local community.

GRADE 8 ITALY TRIP

In April, Douglas Lowney and I accompanied the Class of 2023 on La Scuola’s inaugural experiential learning trip to Italy. Originally scheduled to begin with our first graduating Grade 8 class, this trip has been a long-time coming after being postponed due to the pandemic. Our interdisciplinary units in Italian Language and Literature and Individuals and Societies inquired into how innovation has both positive and negative meanings in different disciplines throughout history. We asked questions such as: What is innovation? How have perspectives on innovation changed over time? How do

we balance innovation and cultural preservation? These questions guided our field study into culinary culture and food production; art history and preservation; and architecture and renovation.

Students and faculty alike kept a travel journal in which we documented our observations, took notes, reflected actively on our experience, and experimented with written, visual, and oral expression. We wrote, we read poetry aloud, we cooked and ate together, we painted with watercolors. The academic learning was notable but we found the real focus for the students to

be the social and emotional learning: How do I take care of myself when I am away from my family? How do I dive deeper into my relationships with my peers? How do I fit everything into my suitcase?!

By the end of our travels, we had learned a lot about Italy’s cultural history, architecture and design, and diverse regional cuisines, but mostly students (and chaperones!) learned about themselves, each other, and the way we come together as a community.

Carmen Gomez, Interim Middle School Director

LA SCUOLA EXHIBIT: INSIEME

Ateliers are environments promoting knowledge and creativity, suggesting questions and generating evocations; they are beauty that produces knowledge and vice-versa, the places where “the hundred languages” are enacted.

Throughout the school year, all La Scuola students from Preschool - Grade 8 explored the natural world through their studies in the Art atelier. The resulting artwork – everything from ants carefully constructed out of clay to delicate paper butterflies to custom fragrances combining peppermint and essential oils – was on display at the annual all-school exhibit, INSIEME (TOGETHER): The Natural World.

This culminating event is a true testament to the work led by the atelieristas all year.

Congratulazioni to all of our incredible artisti!

WINTER AND SPRING

GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY

We were so thrilled to be able to once again host Grandparents and Special Friends Day in person on all three of our campuses this December. After several years of hosting the event remotely, it was an absolute joy to welcome our guests inside our doors and classrooms. The day was so special honoring and celebrating the unique relationships that children can have with adults other than their parents. Our Grandparents and Special Friends enjoyed a fun-filled morning and afternoon experiencing learning in action, participating in special activities with their students and friends, and getting a glimpse into daily life at La Scuola.

LA DOLCE VITA

La Scuola’s annual Spring gala and fundraiser, La Dolce Vita, was a night to remember as we celebrated in style amongst the gilded glamour of the Hibernia. This year we honored our 20th anniversary in roaring 20s fashion, all while raising much-needed funds for our school. We celebrated our past twenty years and how much we’ve grown, while embracing our bright future of the next twenty years and beyond.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our parents, friends, faculty, staff, and community members, we raised over $640,000 - a new La Scuola record! $325,000 of this total was raised specifically for our Sliding Scale Tuition program, which helps keep La Scuola as accessible as possible to as many families as possible. Every dollar raised at La Dolce Vita is essential, also supporting our unique special programs and ateliers, including Art, Music,

Design, and Environmental Studies — our extraordinary arts and sciences that are at the core of a La Scuola education.

It takes a village to put on such a memorable event! This year’s gala would truly not have been possible without the time and commitment of our fantastic and passionate LDV Committee, including Co-Chairs Helen Jones and Lorraine Mulvihill, and committee members Clara Azulay, Kelsey McNellis, Melissa Stephens, and Caroline West, in addition to all of the wonderful parent volunteers who helped to make our fundraiser a success.

A heartfelt grazie di cuore to our La Scuola Community of parents, alumni parents, friends, sponsors of the school, the La Scuola Board of Directors, the Italian Consulate

of San Francisco, and the Italian-American community for donating your time and talent in support of La Scuola. Together, we make a great impact on La Scuola and in our community, and we couldn’t do it without your generosity!

GRADUATION CEREMONIES

All of this is a great forest. Inside the forest is the child. The forest is beautiful, fascinating, green, and full of hopes; there are no paths. Although it isn’t easy, we have to make our own paths, as teachers and children and families, in the forest.

— Loris Malaguzzi

HIGH SCHOOLS OUR GRADUATES WILL ATTEND IN THE FALL:

Collegio San Giuseppe — Instituto de Merode, Rome, Italy

Instituto Marceline Tommaseo, Milan, Italy

Mercy High School Burlingame

Mission High School

Class of 2023, we send you forth to high school with confidence in the foundations you have built during your La Scuola experience: your love of learning, inquiry skills, personal maturity, and commitment to act in community and shape a better future. As a class you are small, but mighty. You can take pride in the friendships that you have formed and the values of

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory

Saint Ignatius College Preparatory

San Francisco University High School

respect and collaboration that you have modeled as school leaders this year.

Having completed both a year of rich inquiries in Humanities and the school’s first Italy learning experience together, I feel a special connection to the Class of 2023. I am excited to “graduate” with you, and share your sense of

hope and curiosity about what the future holds.

Let’s go forth with gioia and gratitude for our time at La Scuola.

Best Wishes,

Douglas Lowney, Middle School Director

CONGRATULAZIONI TO OUR CLASS OF 2023!

PARENTS ASSOCIATION AND COMMUNITY

The Parents Association of La Scuola (PALS) had a busy year celebrating all things community!

We started over the summer matching our incoming families with “Welcome Families’’ to help ease the transition to the start of school and ensure each child had a friend when school started. We kicked off the school year with our Welcome Aperitivo, which was a smashing success. Parents mixed and mingled, kids played lawn games and soccer, and we chatted over Aperol Spritzes and Italian sodas. We enjoyed Parents’ Night out at Harmonic Brewery; participated in the Italian Heritage Parade; held our annual Holiday Party; had a Beach Clean Up; supported Carnivale, Autumn Festival, Annual Fund, La Dolce Vita; built the Yearbook; brought back the Dogpatch Library; and supported an amazing Admissions season!

We finished the year celebrating our phenomenal faculty and staff with Teacher Appreciation Fridays and closed it down with the Fiera, a festival of games and soccer. Overall it was a wonderful year of building community and making friendships that will last a lifetime.

Melissa Ippolito, PALS Chair

LA SCUOLA BY THE NUMBERS

354 Students

LANGUAGES

30 Languages spoken by La Scuola families

14 Languages spoken by La Scuola faculty and staff

AFFORDABILITY

95 Faculty and staff

289 Families

17%

Families that have at least one Italian speaker at home

83% Families that do not have at least one Italian speaker at home

GEOGRAPHY

39 Zip codes represented

32%

Familes that identify as non-white

3% 30% Families participating in Sliding Scale Tuition

DIVERSITY

34%

Students of color Faculty and staff of color LGBTQ families

35%

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

La Scuola’s finances are strong and balanced. We are in our fifth year of our robust strategic financial plan and remain committed to strengthening the financial sustainability of the school for years to come.

La Scuola continues to grow our operating revenue, investing in and expanding academic programs

We continue to grow our enrollment as we add two classes per grade in K-8

15.5% of the total gross tuition revenue is allocated for our Sliding Scale Tuition program

Over $1.2M in fundraising from the Annual Fund and our annual La Dolce Vita gala

Sliding Scale Tuition Instruction Gen & Admin Facilities Salaries & Benefits

The increase in the operating expenses reflect the overall program expansion and our investment in our quality academic program.

Our biggest expense line is compensation and benefits. We continue to invest in our exceptional team. Retaining our amazing teachers and adding new talents is one of our priorities and key to the success of our program.

Despite pandemic interruption, La Scuola demonstrated an enrollment growth of almost 50% in the last five years. We continue to increase our enrollment year over year.

The enrollment for 2023-24 is 375 students, a 12% increase over current year.

Our San Francisco PreK campus is operating at full capacity and our K-8 program is on a growth projection to reach maximum capacity.