We were so fortunate in our first year of this journey to find a school where our kids were happy.
Our children started at the International School of Turin in the nearby small town of Chieri. It’s an international baccalaureate school (PK-12) and they experienced almost no transition at all. Their peers were accustomed to meeting new kids frequently and there were systems in place (assigning buddies, attending workshops, etc.) designed to make them feel welcome from Day One. For us, one great advantage was that it is a school that is definitely focused on “free-thinking”. I always felt the school was producing “game changers” – a vision they accomplish by posing difficult questions to their students and encouraging a response that reflects a truly international focus.
However, as the year evolved, we found ourselves increasingly concerned that by keeping them enrolled at this school, we were not going to be able to provide a truly immersive experience. Aside from a few hours of Italian per week, the school was conducted completely in English. The majority of their friends (and subsequently our friends) were Expats who had moved to Italy from English-speaking countries. The only true Italian they were getting was from their respective soccer teams, on the playground, or during their weekly one-hour session spent with an Italian tutor.
By the spring of our first year, this served as the catalyst that pushed us to start to look into other options. We again considered Spinelli, a public international school (that we had come across during our first search of schools in Turin. Because at the time we were making inquiries from Chicago, with very little understanding of Italian, we did not really understand what the school offered and whether or not it was a viable option for our children.
But over the first ten months of living in Italy, our language skills greatly improved, and we were able to schedule tours of the primary and secondary schools, as well as successfully understand the process for submitting an application. The procedure was incredibly confusing to us, but we continued to move on with very little information along the way and were excited to finally find out in July that they had space for all three of our children. Our kids showed mixed levels of excitement. And in reality, their feelings changed from day-to-day. At first, our oldest, Ali was excited to go, but on the actual first day of school, she was so anxious that she was crying outside of the classroom and wouldn’t go in. Meanwhile, Joy, our youngest, wasn’t sure she wanted to go, but on the first day of school, instantly met an outgoing Australian girl and walked right in. All three came home from the first day excited, happy, and talking nonstop. We needed another parent so tall three could talk at once!
Of course, there have been ups and downs along the way. We’ve experienced times when they were frustrated, nervous, scared, and just plain angry. By December, they were all understanding and speaking Italian (even stubborn little Joy) and we can say genuinely they are happy. It was this positive school experience that solidified our decision to remain for a third year. We want each of our children to experience a year when they are not seen and judged and treated as the ‘new kids.’ We want them to gain the full advantage of being truly comfortable in their surroundings, developing deep friendships, being immersed in the language, and having fun.
The Avventura 