Marymount International School of Rome
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Marymount International School of Rome [1] (also referred to simply as "Marymount" or "MMI") is a private, co-educational, Catholic school catering to students from Early Childhood to Grade 12 (aged 3-19) located in Rome, Italy. It operates on the American school system but also offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma program [2] for its Grade 11 and Grade 12 students, as well as the Italian Esami di Stato (state exams) for the Terza Media (8th grade).
| Marymount International School of Rome | |
| School type | private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1946 |
| Staff | 100+ |
| Students | 800 |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
Contents |
[edit] History
The Institute of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM) [3] dates back to 1849, when it was instituted by Father Gailhac and Mother St. Jean Cure-Pelissier, in Beziers, France. The first Marymount was established in Tarrytown, New York in December 1907, followed by the Istituto Marymount [4] at the Nomentana location in Rome, Italy in 1930. Upon request from the US Embassy in Rome, the RSHM established the Marymount International School of Rome in 1946 at the Villa Lauchli location . Since then, enrollment has steadily grown to 840 students to include pupils from over 60 countries and 11 religions .
In October 2006, Marymount will celebrate its 60th anniversary.
[edit] Campus
Marymount’s campus spans over 15 acres and is surrounded by the Parco di Veio national reserve; it was the first School Yard Habitat in Europe certified by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) .
The school comprises four buildings, renamed in October 2002: The Villa (Administration and 1st grade), Gailhac Hall (Elementary School building), Butler Hall (Secondary School building), St. Jean Hall (known as “Residence” building, houses the Early Childhood, Chapel and Dining Room).
Marymount has three libraries (Secondary School, Elementary School, Early Childhood) renovated in 1998, and two computer laboratories. There are two multi-purpose athletics courts, a calcetto field, an indoor gymnastics room and students make use of the nearby Olympic track for track and field.
[edit] Administration
The school's highest governing body is the Board of Trustees of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM) located in Tarrytown, New York, which also governs the Marymount Schools in Paris (France), London (United Kingdom), and Nomentana in Rome (Italy). The Board of Trustees is advised by the Board of Regents, currently chaired by Mr. Jerome Oetgen (parent of two MMI students and husband of a faculty member). The Board of Regents is composed of members of the community who sit on various committees as well as the Headmistress (currently, Dr. Yvonne Hennigan) and Director of the Marymount Schools in Europe (currently, Sr. Anne Marie Hill, ex-Headmistress).
The current Headmistress is Dr. Yvonne Hennigan (preceded by Sr. Anne Marie Hill, now Director of the Marymount Schools in Europe), who began her term in the 2003/2004 school. She is the first lay person to serve as the school's Head.
The school's administration is further divided into Elementary and Secondary School with Sr. Paulita Kuzy, serving as the Elementary School Principal and Mr. Terrence McAndrews serving as Secondary School Principal, who will be replaced by Mr. Duggan.
Additional positions include various Administrative Assistants, School Nurse, College Counsellor (currently, Mr. Bryn Jenkins), IB/College Assistant (currently, Mrs. Ginanna Sales), School Counsellor (currently, Sr. Rosaleen Sheridan), School Chaplain (from Santa Susanna, the American Church in Rome), and the team at the Business Office who oversee the daily functioning of the school.
[edit] Faculty and Staff
Marymount's defining feature is its strong academics, and consequent acceptance of its students to top universities worldwide. The dedicated faculty is arguably Marymount's best resource with over 90 men and women (including three Sisters), of which 50% have advanced degrees. Four have doctorates:
- Dr. Erick Wilberding, art history and religion,
- Dr. Fiona Leckie, biology and chemistry,
- Dr. Livia Sacchetti, English, and
- Dr. Alan Bates, mathematics and physics.
All teachers must:
- be mother-tongue English or proficient in the English language,
- have at least two years of previous teaching experience, and
- a minimum of a Bachelor's degree.
There is a very low teacher turnover at Marymount with 64% of the faculty having been at Marymount for over four years, 25% for over 10 years, 14% for over 15 years. Some of the school's most notable teachers are Mr. James Romano (mathematics), Ms. Nova Olaco (mathematics), Mrs. Christine Nace (English), Mr. Pasquale Zinzi (biology and photography) and Mr. Dennis Cigler (art), owing their notoriety to the many years of service at the school.
The school is committed not only to continuity but also to innovation in education, with its teachers regularly participating in education conferences organized by the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) [10], the Rome International Schools Association (RISA) [11], the Mediterranean Association of International Schools (MAIS) [12], the International Bacclaureate Organization (IBO) [13] and US State Government-sponsored programs.
[edit] Academics [14]
[edit] Student Life
Marymount students must comply with the mandatory dress code, dominated by the school's colors: white shirts and navy blue shorts or pants.
[edit] Elementary School
At the Elementary School level, children can take part in basketball, board and word games, ceramics, chess club, basic Chinese lessons, computer club, creative computers, computer maths, dance club, drama, homework club, Italian, mathematics, junior sports, singing, soccer and table tennis.
[edit] Middle School
At the Middle School level students have a choice between drama, ecology, gardening, music ensemble, illustration cartoon, lettering design, mini soccer, robotics, study, volleyball (season 1), basketball and soccer (seasons 2 and 3) and tennis (season 3), chess, karate, photography, dance and reducing test anxiety workshops. In addition, the last friday of each month students can take part in an activity night including karaoke, film night, team activities, table tennis and the regularly organized school dances.
[edit] High School
At the High School level students can take part in a variety of activities ranging from varsity sports, drama, Model United Nations (MUN), National Honor Society (NHS), Student Council, private music lessons, the literary magazine, the newspaper, the yearbook and chess club.
[edit] Varsity Sports
Varsity sports at Marymount are very competitive. The first season is Girl's Cross Country (2000 League Champions, 2000 and 2001 Individual European Finalist), Boy's Cross Country (2000 Individual Champion in League and European Competition), Girl's Volleyball (2000 League and European Champions) and Boy's Volleyball (2001 second place in League). The second season is Girl's Basketball (2001 League Champions and European Runner Up), Boy's Basketball and Cheerleading (2001 League Champions). The third seasons is Girl's Soccer (1999, 2000, 2001 League Champions and European Champions), Boy's Soccer (2001 third place in League), Girl's Track and Field (2001 Individual European Finalist), Boy's Track and Field (2001 Individual League and European Champion). Marymount also boasts an excellent track record in tennis with the victory of student Flavia Cirrincione, crowned European Champion. Marymount's Athletic Director is Ms. Simone Trott, who oversees Marymount's membership in the DoDDS Mediterranean League. The school's teams are called the "Royals" and the mascot (which is seldom present) is the lion.
[edit] Drama
Marymount also has a very strong Drama department, with its membership in the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) and participation in the ISTA festivals held worldwide; students have attended festivals in Switzerland, Austria, Turkey and the UK. Marymount has also hosted ISTA festivals in the past. This year students will be attending the festival in Copehagen, Denmark.
Students at Marymount are encouraged to take part in directing, acting and crew positions, culminating in the after-school Drama Club's end of year production. The most recent productions have been Alice in Wonderland, a Midsummer Night's Dream, Our Country's Good, The Crucible, Women of Troy and most famously in 2005, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest directed by Mr. Douglas Dean. This year's production was William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"(directed by Mr. Douglas Dean).
[edit] Student Council
Marymount students can also take part in the Student Council (colloquially known as "Stu.Co") as one of two class representatives (for each of 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade) or as the Executive Board's President, Vice-President, Treasurer or Secretary. This year, 2007 executive board consists of Beatrice Scibetta (President), April Lecato (Vice), Giacomo Ciriello (Treasurer), and Cecilia Corsano(Secretary).
[edit] Student Council Activities
Past Student Council activities have been:
- Halloween Dance
- Christmas Candy grams
- Pictures with Santa Claus
- Valentine's Dance
- Valentine's Candy grams
- Free Ice-Cream Day
- Movie Nights
- Spirit Week
- Tug-of-War between grades
- Mis-match day
- Culture day
- Famous person day
- No dress code day
- Nerd day
- Sports Day
- Teacher vs. students sports games
The teacher advisor to the Student Council is Mr. John Searle (also Dean of students and Middle school Coordinator).
[edit] National Honor Society
A second student-representative body is the National Honor Society (NHS), whose membership is limited to students who excel in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Character and Service. Members of the NHS are seen as the best of what Marymount has to offer and are often called upon to represent Marymount in formal occasions. In the past, the NHS has been engaged in volunteer and charity work, especially in Marymount's permanent mission in Zambia.
[edit] Model United Nations
Due to the international nature of Marymount, one of the salient activities of the school year is Model United Nations (MUN) culminating in Marymount students' attendance every January at The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) [15] conference in The Hague, The Netherlands. In the past, Marymount has represented Morocco, Syria, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Czech Republic, and Mauritius.
[edit] Environmental Club
In the academic year 2004/2005 by initiative of Mr. Duncan Pringle (economics teacher) Marymount saw its first-ever environmental club. Members of the Club were assigned topics to research and present to the student body during Assembly, on the status of the environmental issues in the world and at Marymount. Some of the topics included recycling and the Kyoto protocol
[edit] Additional Activities
[edit] Yearbook
At the end of the year, Marymount also publishes an annual yearbook called "The Roman Times", under the direction of Mr. Pasquale Zinzi (an accomplished photographer and biology teacher). This year the yearbook, a hard-cover 200-glossy page album, will be at its 59th volume.
[edit] Music
Marymount also boasts considerable musical talent, with several students opting to take private music lessons in piano, violin, several other instruments and voice. The school's piano teacher, Mr. Alfred Di Rocco has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson and is a composer in his own right.
[edit] Trips
Students also take part in various trips, including the annual "Roman Day Trip", where each class is sent to explore a part of Rome, and other trip destinations which in the past have included Paris, Spain and various locations in Italy.
Students in grades 6-12 also participate in an annual Retreat, where they are encouraged to explore their spirituality. The retreats take place in local religious centers. In grades 6-10, retreats are a day event, whilst in grades 11 and 12 students remain over night.
[edit] Whole-School Events
Marymount holds annual:
- International Food Day
- Family Day
- Anniversary Celebration (October 16th)
- National Honor Society (NHS) induction ceremony
- 8th grade graduation
- Senior graduation
- Art Vernissage (a showcase of the work produced by IB Art students)
- Arts Festival
- Elementary School Science Fair
Past whole-school events have been:
- Moda Mania 2 fashion show
- Zambia Fundraising events:
- Car-wash
- Student production "Almost Famous"
- Student production "The Portrait of Dorian Gray"
- Student fashion show
- Bake sales
- Oscar Awards for Students and Teachers (which raised approximately 600 euros)
[edit] Awards and Recognitions
[edit] Academic
At the end of each year, Marymount awards certificates of Academic Excellence and Most Improvement to deserving students in grades 6-12 in each course offered by Marymount, at the discretion of the teacher.
During senior graduation, deserving graduating students are awarded Gold Medals in the various disciplines taught at the senior level (including English, Italian, French, economics, history, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and religious studies).
[edit] Graduation
A student in the graduating class is also awarded the "Marymount Award", in recognition of his/her embodiment of the Marymount spirit.
One student per graduating class (or more, if there is an ex-equo), is awarded the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) [16] award for "International Understanding". According to the ECIS website the recognition is:
"Awarded to a student who is a good representative of his/her own country, with a positive attitude toward the life and culture of others, able to converse in at least two languages, a contributing force in the life of the school, with the ability to bring differing people together into a sense of community, thus furthering the cause of international understanding."
A chosen senior student is also given the American Women's Association Award for best representing American culture at Marymount.
[edit] School Spirit
Every year a class that has shown the most school spirit is awarded the Natasha Simpson Award, named in memory of a Marymount student who died in the crossfire of a shooting at Rome's Fiumicino airport.
[edit] University Acceptance
Marymount’s alumni have attended some of the top schools worldwide including:
- University of Cambridge, UK
- Oxford University, UK
- London School of Economics, UK
- University College London, UK
- City University, UK
- Queen Mary College, University of London, UK
- Yale University, USA
- New York University, USA
- Boston University, USA
- University of Pennsylvania, USA
- Bates College, USA
- Northwestern University, USA
- University of Toronto, Canada
- McMaster University, Canada
- University of British Columbia, Canada
- LUISS, Italy
- LUMSA, Italy
- Bocconi, Italy
- Universita' La Sapienza, Italy
[edit] Miscellanea
- The IB-exam pass rate of the class of 2005 was of 100%.
- The highest total score obtained by a Marymount student in the International Baccalaureate Diploma was of 45 (out of 45), achieved by Stefano Mariani (2003 graduate, now at Oxford University) on his second attempt.
- The highest total score obtained by a Marymount student in the International Baccalaureate Diploma on their first attempt was of 44 (out of 45) obtained by Radhika Gupta (2001 graduate, also alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 2005).
- Marymount teacher, Dr. Livia Sacchetti, participated in a seminar at the American Comparative Literature Association's 2006 Annual Meeting at Princeton University. The theme was "The Human and Its Others". Dr. Sacchetti addressed the idea of "Meaning in Motion", presenting a paper entitled "Motion in Late Twentieth Century Drama: The Paradox of a Shifting Present".
