Italian
The Italian Students at St Aloysius have certainly enjoyed and appreciated learning the Italian language and the cultural differences. To learn a foreign language is to have an extra window from which to look at the world. Students have enjoyed learning about Italian architecture, food, fashion and how the geography of a country can influence its culture.
Poetry Competitions
In Term 2, the Year 9 & 10 Italian students memorised and recited a poem for the Dante Alighieri poetry competition. All students have enjoyed the experience of mastering reciting a poem by inferring meaning of the poem by voice inflection, expression, and fluency to make the poem more easily understood. The winners of the competition will be announced before the end of term. The Year 7 & 8 students will have an opportunity to experience this before the end of the term.
Italian Cultural Incursion Year 8-12
On Friday 15th July, the year 8 Italian students were treated to a pasta making experience. Gianluca a 21 year of chef made “orecchiette” and served them with a delicious “sugo al pomodoro”. He also demonstrated making “cavatelli and fusilli”. Before the girls enjoyed the “orecchiette col sugo” they had a go at making their own.
Year 9 were excited to learn about cannoli and even more about eating them! They learnt that the traditional cannoli Siciliani are filled with ricotta and that the cases are deep fried. The girls enjoyed cannoli with ricotta with dark chocolate chips and ricotta with pistacchio cream! Delicious! The students were also treated to a small cup of espresso, some enjoyed it more than others. It was a great experience for all and so much fun.
Year 10, 11 & 12 savoured an antipasto lunch made up of various Italian cheeses such as Bocconcini, Asiago e Montasio. They enjoyed “il prosciutto di Parma e la mortadella con olive da Bologna” just to name a few meats. The girls loved the Sicilian marinated split olives, so much that some followed their southern Italian tradition of dipping fresh bed in the left-over oil (fare la scarpetta). They washed it all down with chinotto and finished with an espresso.
Italian Club
The Viva Italia club has been a popular lunch time event every day 10 with many varied activities. Games such as Tombola (Bingo), Bocce (Italian bowls) and Scopa, (an Italian card game; one of the three major national card games in Italy), they have experienced the Italian language through film and music. For Languages week the students will have an opportunity to eat ‘un-Gelato’!
Learning another language is more than just learning different words but rather a way to broaden their life’s horizon. Learning a language leads to new connections with inspiring people, seeing the world through different eyes.
Rina Prinzi e Rita Stangherlin, Italian Teachers