Celebrating LOTE Week

The motivation to learn languages is always connected to the culture of a nation. Often, we can enjoy the language through expressions, words and customs learned in films, songs, stories, eating food or participating in a pastime.

During LOTE Week (2-5 August), students were able to engage in different cultural activities during lunchtime. Clara D’Angelo, our 2021 LOTE Prefect, hosted activities such as the film Shrek in Italian, an Italian quiz and the card games of scopa and briscola. Students also made creative origami creations and watched an anime film in Japanese.

Throughout the week, the lunchtime prayers were read by Year 12 students Clara D’Angelo, Masara Hanna Shmuni and Wiktoria Krawczyk in Italian, Arabic and Danish. These included the Hail Mary and a prayer of peace for Hiroshima Day, read in Japanese by Stephanie Martinez and Emma Di Paolo.

In the classroom, Year 7 and 8 Italian students were able to show their artistic flare by making carnevale masks. The Venetians used these masks as way to hide their identity and social status, which allowed them to interact freely with other members of society. Also, students in Mr Michael Modini’s Year 8 Italian class were lucky to make a deconstructed version of tiramisu using Italian sponge biscuits (biscotti), cream and chocolate topping. In the Year 7 and 8 Japanese classes, students were able to make their own ‘inkan’, which is a name stamp used like a signature. They carved their names in printing rubber using lino cutters and they enjoyed ‘stamping’ their names, which is still very much part of the Japanese culture.

It is wonderful to see how celebrating our differences can help us work towards a world full of peace and respect.