Throughout LOTE Week, held 7-11 August, students were invited to explore the Italian and Japanese languages and cultures through various activities.
The week started with the much-anticipated students versus staff soccer match. The fine weather provided perfect conditions for an outdoor match, where spectators watched eagerly and cheered on the players. The staff team was challenged by the Year 12 students, but pulled off the win, 2-1. Well done Mr Dunstan, Mr Hysted, Mr Regan, Mr Reilly, Mr Wicks and Mr Beard on showing your formidable skills.
Lunchtime activities through the week included watching animation films in Italian and Japanese and making Lego models of a Japanese tranquil garden and Himeji Castle (the most famous medieval castle in Japan). Students also tried their hand at the traditional Italian game of bocce and played Italian card games of Scopa and Briscola. Our Italian senior students organised a ‘chiacchierare’ (chit chat) in the Quadrangle at lunchtime, inviting junior students to practise their Italian. Paper cranes continued to be folded for peace, with the goal of taking 1000 paper cranes to Hiroshima on the Japan Study Trip in mid-September. You can read more about this initiative HERE.
In the classroom, Year 7 students showed their creativity by making Italian carnevale masks, Japanese inkan (name stamps) and kanji (Chinese characters) stones. Year 8 Japanese students learned about the etiquette of using chopsticks. They played a chopsticks game using jellybeans and special Japanese lollies to test their skills. Miss Hamment’s Year 8 Italian LEAP class enjoyed the experience of making pasta by hand, while Mr Modini showed his Year 9 Italian class how to make a simple Italian biscuit dessert, called pavesini, which resembles chocolate eclairs.
During the week, the lunchtime prayers of the Hail Mary were read by Year 12 students Liv B (Year 12 Orange), Rian M (LOTE Prefect) and Alisson T (Year 12 Blue) — in Italian, Tagalog (Filipino) and Spanish — and Carissa M (12 Silver) read a prayer for peace in Japanese to mark Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day.
Three senior Italian students competed in the finals for the Dante Alighieri Poetry Recitation Competition in July and we congratulate Ava L (Year 10 Jade) who was awarded ‘terzo premio’ (third prize). The Dante Alighieri Society will invite Ava and her family to a presentation ceremony at the University of Melbourne in early October.
