How to create a spark, when no matches are provided

Currently I am employed in an International School and teach only 3 hours a week of science.  This is such a change from teaching 5 hours a week in an American public school.  I have no forms of technology in my classroom, even the bathroom was broken for about three months.  Coming from a classroom that had a Smart Board, a document camera and three computers at my disposal, taking this job has been a wake up call to say the least.

 There are many struggles that I deal with every day.  First of all, I am the ninth teacher to be responsible for the education of these students.  They have had a rollercoaster of a year with the ups and downs that come with getting used to a new teacher every month or so.  The chance of STEM education for these children based on this fact ALONE is gone. 

Secondly, the rate of theft in this area is tremendous.  The school had four computers that the children could use once a week.  About 4 weeks into my employment here, we had a break in and they were stolen.  It took us about 4 more weeks to purchase new computers.  Now, we have laptops and they have to be locked away in the directors office if they are not in use.  Thankfully, the directors are very willing to allow my students to use them if we are completing a project. However, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the PC teacher is at the school and I cannot use the computers.  Of course, On Tuesday is 1 of my science classes and on Wednesday is the other.  This makes planning a STEM project using technology almost non existent. 

Lastly, my students receive instruction in math, science, history and geography, and literature in Italian as well as English.  The Italian way of teaching is to read out of a book and have the students memorize what they have read and spit it back to their teacher.  It is no wonder the students lost their minds when we did a simple experiment.  They informed me that they had never done anything that resembled an inquiry assignment as far backa s they could remember.  It seems as if I will be bringing in any sort of STEM education into my classroom.

This year I came to the school with four months left of the school year.  Even though I have been teaching for three years in the states, teaching in an International School where 12 out of 14 students are NOT fluent in English has been a real struggle for me to just get them to understand what I was talking about. 

Next year, if I continue to teach at this school, I plan on doing many more STEM activities, including building the children up to an open inquiry if possible.  Research on the internet and suggestions from past colleagues will be where I find ideas from.  I want to show my students that life is more than soccer and cigarettes (the latter is more geared towards their parents and other teachers in the school), they can be truely successful and make a difference in this world if they open their eyes.