New students

For example, when asked why she decided to switch schools in the middle of her high school
years, Nicole Martignani answered:
“Because I didn’t like the Italian study methods of Italian schools; there was no interaction between
the teacher and the students. For example, in the essays, we have to do more analytical thinking
instead of just memorizing and writing down something already made.”
Meanwhile, Virginia Comiotto gave an interesting explanation for why she chose our school
specifically:
“My parents showed me this school and I chose this school mostly because of the opportunities,
courses, and how many windows it could open me since it has many things that other schools don’t
have.”
From these two answers, we can see how our school appears to people outside of campus and how
they imagined it to be when they read about it. Nicole let us know that our school earns a good
reputation based on its teaching methods which are different and considered way better than the
ones in, for example, the public Italian schools. Meanwhile, Virginia gave accredits to the school
because of its IB system that rewards students for their hard work with a wide array of future paths to
follow.

Apart from most of their high expectations for the school being perfectly met, there was one thing
that left them a little bit disappointed. Some students felt that the variety of after-school activities was
insufficient. In his answer, Riccardo Pizzoni Ardemani said:
“Yes, it reached my expectations. I was a little sad about the lack of sports activities, but I was already
aware of that.”
Nicole’s answer sounds a little bit more disappointing:
“At the beginning, it seemed like a well-organized school with many after-school clubs and activities,
but in the end, I haven’t seen that many activities. So I thought there were more things to do.”
So, while Nicole, like all of the other students interviewed, was pleased with the education she
received at our school, she, as a boarder student, felt that the school lacked activities.

- 3rd paragraph 
The question that produced the most interesting answers was the one where the students were
asked to explain which characteristic they found to be the best about our school based on their
experiences during their first three months here. I would be lying if I said that the interviewees were
disappointed with their current lives at H-farm. In fact, some of them showed great astonishment at
how organized everything was on our campus and enjoyed the“nice and quiet” environment they
found themselves in. When asked whether her expectations had been met, Virginia replied with this
surprising answer:
“No. I thought it would’ve been a way more strict school, which I was not excited about, and I didn’t
expect it to have such a comfortable environment where you can be comfortable and yourself. Also, I
didn't expect the good relationships I had with the students, and definitely how good of an
environment it is to study in. Compared to my previous schools, it’s the best one yet.”
This gives us very positive information about the way our school welcomes its new students.
Virginia, a girl who has been in different schools in countries like Panama and Russia, was really
confident when she said that H-Farm exceeded her expectations as an IB school. The fact that such
an impression was left on her after only three months makes all current students sound even more
fortunate to be able to have an opportunity to study at our campus than they could ever imagine.
Meanwhile, Riccardo mentioned specific points that he thought made the school better for the
students:
“It’s the activities that this school organizes for CAS, for example, because in Italian schools there is
no such thing. I like it because it gives us students useful experiences that we carry throughout our
lives.”
Here, he shows appreciation for the CAS experiences that the DP students are required to have
and the different opportunities that they can offer the students. He also mentions the difference that
it makes in quality compared to the Italian public schools. From his answer, we can perceive that, for
the people living in the area, H-Farm seems like a better option even to the people that don’t know
much about it because it is an IB school.

​

- 4th paragraph 
Now that we have reviewed the positive feedback from the new students regarding the school, we
can introduce some of the negative comments. Fortunately for us, the interviewees listed specific
aspects they would change on our campus. One of the most common remarks was on the lack of
after-school activities, but there were also some other negative observations about the organization of
the school. By adding follow-up questions when necessary, we were able to uncover straightforward
answers and acquire some very interesting points of view. This is a comment that Nicole made when
she was asked to talk about the impression that was left on her by the mentors and the teachers:
“It depends on the teacher, but I found them quite available for the students, and they help through
the process of learning. But some teachers didn’t know how to really explain their subjects, so I had to
put more effort at home, looking on the internet.”
On one hand, we have students saying that thanks to the freedom that is given by the teachers,
they found themselves in a better position to study and acquire more knowledge on the topics that
they were most interested in. But on the other hand, some of the teachers gave too much liberty or
weren’t clear with their instructions. This makes it difficult for some students to adapt to the new
system. However, this isn’t a problem that was often mentioned in the interviews, meaning it's an
issue that is more personal and based on the person’s preferences for their studies.
Effective educators are the key to good education in any school. So when one of them is not
willing to participate in the study journey of students by helping them, that automatically creates
problems for the entire teaching system. But that doesn’t mean that we, as students, always need
someone to tell us how to complete a certain job or task. We are teenagers who obviously prefer
freedom over anything else, which also creates a problem when we need some guidance on a specific
matter. We, as a community, need to balance the students’ freedom and individual responsibility in
order for them to have an effective learning process.
Another student, Sofia Sacchetto, talked about the technological side of the school:
“I think ... for the most part, it is, but I thought there were going to be more technology-based
activities in the subjects.”
Here, she expresses her disappointment regarding the high-tech image that was portrayed in
school advertisements. Regardless of whether presumptions were confirmed, this suggests that, to
applicants, our school sometimes sets expectations that are far too high to be met, such as the issue of
a lack of activities. This could be because of the way the campus is advertised or because the
admission team giving potential clients presentations of something that is only in the planning stages
that automatically makes the school look more appealing, regardless of whether or not the children of
the clients will actually experience what has been presented to their parents.

- 5th paragraph (the specific things that have been complimented)
In the interview, we also asked which specific classes the students have enjoyed most so far. Since
they all had different subject choices, each of them complimented different teachers for their style of
teaching or the good environment that they create inside the classroom.
The subjects that have been complimented the most are the English and math courses. The
question asked was: “From your chosen subjects, what would you call the best class, based on any
kind of criteria?” We can divide the answers that were given into two categories: the ones that gave
credit to the teacher, and the ones that did so for the subject syllabus.
Here is a comment that compliments Mr. Fry, the Language & Literature teacher:
“I would say History or English Lang. & Lit. ... the English teacher, he knows how to behave with
other students and make them at ease, or comfortable, as well as the content of the lessons is
interesting.”
Here is a comment that compliments Miss. Hammoud, the math AI teacher:
“I would say math class because the teacher I'm lucky to have has incredible skills in teaching and
makes things very clear.”
And here are two comments made by Riccardo and Sofia regarding their favorite classes:
“Math AI, because I think it is a really important math that students need to learn. For example, now
we are doing financial math that teaches students how banks' interest, inflation, etc. work. Because it
teaches us how to manage your money.”
“I would say art because I think it's very interesting. The IB art program is very interesting, and it's
enjoyable to do the lessons with the teacher and the class. The things we have to do are very
interesting. And it doesn’t have a lot of writing.”
And here is a separate comment where the student just wanted to praise the DP Coordinator for
doing such a great job:
“...the DP coordinator is a really kind person who meets the needs of the people at the school.”

- Conclusion 
In conclusion, the new students were pretty impressed by the way that our school welcomed them
into our H-Farm community. Not only because it is an IB school, but also because of specific
characteristics that it has, like its environment and how comfortable they feel in it, which noticeably
differentiates it from other schools. Of course, there were some disappointments, like the lack of
after-school activities or some teachers giving too much or too little freedom at times. But overall, the
interviewees have let us know that, as a school, H-Farm has completed its job in providing its
students with a good education, which then comes with great opportunities.

- This article is brought to you by the Burgundy Newspaper team, written by Matrëna Uvarova, and
published with the help of Elisabetta Balzano and Emma Tobe.