“Italian festivals are rich in culture, tradition and history,” said Assistant Head of Junior School Languages Annamaria Ferragina.
“Starting with Carnevale in Venezia, some students were able to draw on prior knowledge to enhance class discussions. Revising Carnevale this year enabled all students to acquire a deeper knowledge of the history and traditions of Venezia,” she said.
“The Year 5 students greatly enjoyed watching clips of the Palio horse race and learning about the significance of the Contrade teams. The students made their own Contrade posters.
“As a precursor to future studies of democracy, the Festa della Repubblica provided the class with fruitful discussions about Australia’s past referendums.
“The students got creative by making paper wind wheels donning the Italian colours. Some students were enthusiastic to display their wheels and test their functionality by hanging them outside the classroom window.
“While learning about Easter in Italia, students enjoyed some Easter crafts despite the time of the year. Learning about this festival gave students new ideas about what to include on their Easter menus. Following from this festival, students were enthused to learn about Perugia’s Eurochocolate.
“Many students planned trips to Perugia for next September to sample the free chocolates on the streets (sorry parents!) The class survey of who eats the most chocolate at home was very revealing, students asked each other about their chocolate eating habits, then they presented their findings on a bar graph.”
The weekly craft lesson saw the students making a paper “choc-casa,” kindly emailed to Maestra Annamaria by the creative co-ordinator of the festival in Italy. He is eagerly waiting for photos of our creations which will surely impress.
