History
Medacta for Life Foundation was founded in 2011; the following year, the My Baby 0-3 nursery was opened.
The Foundation was set up thanks to the support of Medacta International SA, a company with a strong focus on social responsibility, corporate welfare and Sustainability & ESG Strategies.
Promoter and founder of the project is Maria Luisa Siccardi Tonolli, vice-president of the Foundation, member of the Board of Directors of Medacta International, Head of the Family Office, mother and entrepreneur. Maria Luisa follows the history of the Institute with passion and daily commitment, from its beginnings to current and continuous innovations, giving life to a philanthropic project committed to the local area and close to its needs. The history of the educational facility has followed a rapid and constant development in response to a specific demand from families in the surrounding area. Initially designed to accommodate the children of its employees, the My Baby 0-3 Nursery was soon opened to the whole area, with the intention of providing support for parenthood and promoting women’s return to professional life after maternity leave.
In 2015, the educational offering was expanded with the My Child 3-6 Pre-School, which doubled in size with a second section in 2018 and a third in 2024.
In 2017, the entire facility became My School Ticino: a bilingual educational institution open to the local community with a wide range of curricular and extracurricular educational offerings.
In 2018, My Kid 6-10 Primary School opened. In September of the following year, My Languages – Language School was established, offering language courses for children, teenagers, adults and companies.
Today, My School Ticino includes the Nursery School, the Pre-School, the Primary School and the Language School, with two locations in Castel San Pietro and Lugano. The institute has a continuous and extended-time structure, complete with extracurricular activities managed by the My Extraschool Service. This includes pre- and after-school care, a canteen service with in-house kitchen (awarded the “Fourchette Verte” quality label), and courses and workshops open to everyone, even those not enrolled at the school.
My School Ticino currently has 200+ pupils; some are the children of Medacta International employees, while the rest are children from the surrounding area.
Promoter and founder of the project is Maria Luisa Siccardi Tonolli, vice-president of the Foundation, mother and entrepreneur, Member of the Board of Medacta Int SA
Bilingualism and active pedagogy
MY SCHOOL TICINO, ITALIAN/ENGLISH BILINGUAL SCHOOL
Italian/English bilingualism is a key element of our educational offer. The full-time co-presence of English-speaking teachers starting from the nursery onwards promotes an immersive approach to bilingualism. The principle used is known as OPOL: one person, one language.
The nursery teachers and section teachers ensure continuity with the local language, while the educational representatives who use English introduce and familiarise the children with a different sound, a pleasant sound, from nursery age onwards, which will lead them to develop recognition and acceptance of a different language, acquire the basics for learning it and subsequently actively learn the new language.
Recent research in neuroscience shows that early exposure to two languages promotes the creation of new neurological connections, enhancing cognitive development, mental flexibility and attention skills. In particular, in the early years of life, the brain is particularly plastic and receptive: introducing a second language at this stage offers children a unique opportunity for growth, not only linguistically but also neurocognitively.
Educational approach
The educational method adopted in our School, which inspires our teachers at My School Ticino every day, is pedagogical activism. What does it mean? Who are its pioneers? Maria Montessori, Loris Malaguzzi, Emmi Pikler, John Dewey, Baden Powell, Thomas Gordon and others. We take the very best from each of them and we create a unique melting pot to experience and share.
Maria Montessori's active learning and "Help them to do it themselves"
The key feature of active learning, of which Maria Montessori is one of the greatest exponents, is that children are active participants in their own educational process and not simply passive recipients of adult instruction. Knowledge is acquired through experience and concreteness of doing; concepts are understood through action.
Adults are no longer transmitters of knowledge but guides who prepare the environment in such a way as to facilitate independent discovery, curiosity and direct activity on the part of the child: they stimulate the child’s interest by sowing as many seeds as possible.
The Montessori method is based on an environment prepared to respond to the child’s developmental needs, where each material has a specific educational function and is presented in a specific sequence. The adult takes on the role of an attentive and respectful guide, observing and accompanying the child on their journey, without imposing but encouraging autonomy, concentration and curiosity.
In this context, the child actively builds their own personality and opens up to culture in a natural and profound way.
Loris Malaguzzi
Similarly, Loris Malaguzzi’s Reggio Emilia approach also aims to educate children through active learning.
Reggio Emilia schools encourage the use of children’s 100 languages: ways of communicating, expressing themselves, adults must give children the opportunity to reveal their true selves in a self-constructive process where they can put themselves and and their abilities into play.
In our Reggio Emilia-inspired Atelier, we use non-structured materials such as reusing clean, collected and selected waste, divided by type, colour and substance. Guided by the atelierista, children give voice to their creative impulses thanks to the indefiniteness of the materials provided. The atelier does not “produce” learning, but rather conditions for learning.
Outdoor Education
Outdoor Education is an internationally recognised pedagogical approach that aims to promote experiences in direct contact with nature: from children’s natural need to explore and experiences themselves to environmental education projects.
My School Ticino campus is located in a sunny, green area with little traffic. The local area and its cultural richness offer a variety of learning and life experiences in contact with nature and local realities: rural life of the past, the changing seasons in the surrounding woods, the nearby rivers, the discovery of local fauna and flora, and much more.
My School Ticino offers outdoor education projects for all users: nursery, pre-school and primary school children, as well as users of the after-school service. Last but not least, we have a special area within our campus: My Woods, a portion of woodland where children can experiment and learn outdoors every day.
Discover our team
Highly qualified educational staff in regular training, with native Italian and English speakers full time!
Structure
The school campus is located in a privileged, sunny area with little traffic, surrounded by meadows and a beautiful forest. From the large windows that characterise all the buildings, you can follow the rhythm of the days and the changing seasons with their shifts in light and colours. The facility borders a stream and green areas, offering children vast spaces for outdoor play and learning: My Woods, for activities in the woods and al fresco lunches and snacks, the vegetable garden, the garden, the football pitch, the wooden playgrounds dedicated to primary and nursery schools, with covered areas that are also accessible in bad weather.
The interior spaces are designed and furnished by specialists in the field of early childhood education. In particular, in accordance with Montessori principles, the interior areas and furnishings are designed with children in mind, encouraging their independence. With attention to detail and choice of materials, well-studied use of light, constantly tidied and sanitised, free of obstacles or dangers, and undoubtedly aesthetically beautiful, the interior spaces of the school fully reflect our guiding philosophy: the child and their well-being at the at the Heart of our philosophy.
