Our «Istituto Comprensivo» is a safe big secular school. There are 1316 students from 3 to 14 years old divided into three school levels: infant, primary and secondary school. There are 146 teachers and 27 administrative and technical auxiliary staff. The aim of our school is education and integration, so we involve our students in several activities to guide them to be ethical citizens of the world. They study two foreign languages, English and French, and other subjects that are the same for all schools in Italy, such as Italian, maths, science, art, music, P.E., Technology and religion. Students are also engaged in several laboratories in the afternoon: Spanish lab, Music lab (they learn to play an instrument), Art lab, Ceramic lab, and Papier – mache lab (they build some sculptures for the Carnival wagons). Our school is opened to social life, and it is involved in the town events like the Carnival parade or demonstrations against mafia or violence.
Our school is located near Cinisi, situated in the north-west of Sicily, near the wonderful Tyrrhenian sea, and is also connected with the name of Peppino Impastato, a man that fought against the mafia. However, it is a little town, full of people, especially in summer because the sea is exciting for the tourists. It has Arabic origins, but it was always under the Catholic hand that made the country prosper with numerous public works. The economy is based on fishing, agriculture and tourism.
In February the celebration of the Carnival is a significant event for our town: it lasts four days, and everybody goes out and dance in the carnival parade. It’s a beautiful festival.
