A four-hour online seminar for Sri Lankan children aged 8 to 14 who will walk into an Italian classroom for the first time this September. Two Italian teachers explain how school really works here — and everything is explained in Sinhala, so nothing is lost.
Children arrive knowing they will be in a new school. What surprises them is everything around the lessons: being asked to stand up and answer questions out loud, marks out of ten, a diary the parents must sign, a teacher speaking quickly in a language they are still learning. None of it is difficult once someone explains it. Nobody usually does.
Your child may already be a strong student — in English. Italian school works differently: different subjects, a different grading system, and a different classroom culture. We show them what changes and what stays the same.
If your family has moved to Italy in the last year or two, this seminar covers the practical side too — what schools expect from families, and what help your child has a right to receive.
Children worry most about small things: how to ask for the bathroom, what to do at break time, who to sit with. We spend real time on exactly those things, with children who have already lived through it.
A sample of the survival phrases every child leaves with:
Four hours is a long time for a child, so the day is built in short blocks with two 10-minute breaks — one at 15:00 and one at 16:35. No single session runs longer than 45 minutes, and almost half the seminar is spent talking, playing and practising rather than listening.
We help everyone get their camera and microphone working, explain the simple Zoom rules, and start with a light activity — where in Sri Lanka is your family from, and where in Italy do you live now.
Our Italian teachers walk through the school day with pictures: the levels of school, subjects, the timetable, marks out of ten, homework, break time and the canteen. Explained in Sinhala throughout.
The children move into two smaller Zoom rooms by age, each with its own Italian teacher. An eight-year-old starting primaria and a fourteen-year-old choosing a scuola superiore need very different advice — so they get it separately.
We teach around 30 essential classroom phrases, then the children move into small groups of five or six and practise them in short role-plays with a Melitalia teacher: arriving in class, asking the teacher to repeat, making a friend at break.
Three or four Sri Lankan students who are already in Italian school talk about their own first weeks — what surprised them, what was hard, what helped. Then the children ask them anything they want.
Parents join the main room for a practical briefing on enrolment, documents, canteen and school bus, book vouchers, the language support your child is entitled to, and how to speak with Italian teachers. Meanwhile the children play a quiz game in a separate room.
We announce the quiz winners, explain how to get the materials, present our September children's courses for families who want to continue, and finish with a group photo.
For part of the seminar we separate the children into two rooms. You do not need to choose — we place your child automatically using the age and school level you give us when you register.
Focused on confidence, routine and the classroom itself.
Focused on study skills, marks and the decisions ahead.
Our own teachers translate everything into Sinhala in real time and run the small speaking groups, so no child is left behind because of language.
The student panel. Three or four Sri Lankan students currently attending Italian schools in Lombardy will join to answer questions. They speak from experience, not from a script — and in our experience this is the part children remember most.
Near the end of the seminar the children move to a separate room for a quiz game, and we speak directly with parents. Please plan to be present for this part — it is the most practical half hour of the day.
How iscrizione works, which documents the school asks for, and what to do if your child's previous school records are from abroad.
Mensa, scuolabus and cedole librarie are arranged through your comune, not the school. We explain what to ask for and when.
Many schools offer italiano L2 laboratories and a mediatore culturale for newly arrived children. Most families never know to ask.
What colloqui are, how to book one, and simple Italian you can use even with very basic language.
How to get your login, and how to read your child's marks, absences and homework from your phone.
A realistic homework routine, how much Italian to expect by Christmas, and when to worry — and when not to.
Within two days of the seminar we email every registered family a pack of materials. Even if your child misses part of the day, you keep all of it.
Around 30 classroom phrases in Italian, English and Sinhala. Print it and put it in your child's zaino.
The words you will hear constantly — registro, diario, verifica, interrogazione, pagella, nota, giustificazione, supplente, ricreazione — explained simply in Sinhala.
Exactly what to buy, which notebooks for which year, and roughly what it costs.
A personalised participation certificate from Accademia Melitalia — a small thing that means a lot before a big first day.
We ask for your child's name and age, the school year they are starting, your city, how much Italian they already know, and a parent's WhatsApp number. Nothing else.
You receive a confirmation message and we add you to a small reminder group for this seminar only. The Zoom link is sent the day before, and again one hour before we start.
Tap the link on any phone, tablet or computer. Please help your child join five minutes early so we can check their sound and camera.
A note about the four hours. Children may step away during the breaks, and it is fine if a younger child needs a longer rest. We ask only that they are present for the speaking practice and that a parent is there for the parents' session at 17:15.
The seminar is free, but places are limited so that every child gets time to speak. Registration closes on 30 July 2026 or when the places are full.
It is completely free and there is nothing to pay at any point. At the end we will present our September courses for children, but you are under no obligation whatsoever, and your child receives all the materials either way.
Not at all — that is exactly who this seminar is for. Everything is explained in Sinhala. The Italian your child hears is deliberately simple, and every phrase is translated.
That is common in families who came through international schools, and it is fine. Our teachers switch between Sinhala and English as needed, and all written materials are in Italian, English and Sinhala.
Yes, and we encourage it for younger children. We only ask that one parent is present for the parents' session near the end, since that part is aimed at you.
Yes. Please fill in the form once for each child so we can place them in the right age group and prepare a certificate with each name on it.
Join for the parts you can. Tell us in advance if you know you will miss a section, and we will make sure you still receive everything by email afterwards.
Yes — two 10-minute breaks, at 15:00 and at 16:35. No single session lasts more than 45 minutes, and children are welcome to turn their camera off during the breaks and step away from the screen.
No. A smartphone is enough. Zoom works on any phone, tablet or computer, and you do not need to create an account — just tap the link we send you.
We record only the teaching sessions, not the small speaking groups, so children can speak freely. The recording is shared privately with registered families afterwards.
Write to us on WhatsApp and we will advise. The material is built for 8 to 14, but we would rather discuss your child's situation than turn a family away.